23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1. Public speaking: I developed this skill through practicing and thank to a public speaking class I took last year.
• Valuable: this is extremely valuable as communication is crucial within a business and outside of it, to communicate effectively with potential customers and partners.
• Rare: I believe this ability is not rare because many people know how to speak in public.
• Inimitable: I think this skill can be easily copied, even though it would be difficult to imitate the way I personally speak in public.
• Non-substitutable: I think no other resource could substitute public speaking because talking directly to your audience is the most effective way to convince them about the validity of your product/service.
2. Web design experience: through the years I got experience in web design and I managed to set up websites too.
• Valuable: I consider this skill valuable because it could allow my business to be known and to sell worldwide.
• Rare: this ability is not rare and mastered by many people.
• Inimitable: I think this skill can be copied, as anyone could learn how to set up websites.
• Non-substitutable: I think I could get the same benefits from ads (either online or on magazines/newspapers) if I wanted my business to be known, but I couldn’t sell my products through ads as I could through a website.
3. Investment experience: I got experience in this field when my father told me about investments and gave me a small capital to invest.
• Valuable: I consider this experience to be very valuable because it could represent a way for my business to raise funds.
• Rare: it’s not rare because many people invest their money.
• Inimitable: it could be imitated but not easily because investments require the understanding of foreseeing what happens in the world.
• Non-substitutable: it can be substituted by any other way of fund raising.
4. Analytical thinking: this ability is part of my human capital and I think it could be useful when running a business.
• Valuable: this skill is very valuable because it allows me to solve problems by finding solutions quickly and it would be particularly effective in a business environment.
• Rare: I think this skill is somehow rare because there are many people who struggle before finding a solution to their problems.
• Inimitable: this is not imitable because it’s part of one’s human capital.
• Non-substitutable: I think there’s nothing that could substitute this skill.
5. Contacts with experts in my field: this class allowed me to expand my networking skills by making first contacts with people employed in my field.
• Valuable: I consider this part of my social capital valuable because I could get information and advice to improve my business/product from these people.
• Rare: I believe this aspect of my social capital is not rare.
• Inimitable: anyone in this field can connect with experts, but it is not likely that they will get the same information and advice I got.
• Non-substitutable: I don’t think there’s any other resource to substitute the experts’ advice, if not personal experience collected through the years.
6. Partnership with eco-friendly companies: I think it would be easy for this business to have eco-friendly organisations as partners because we all have the purpose of protecting the planet.
• Valuable: these partnerships would be very valuable because all the business involved (including mine) would get benefits from it and also because we would all support the same cause.
• Rare: I think these partnerships are not rare because many companies fighting for the same cause decide to cooperate.
• Inimitable: With the right capital (both human and social) and the right product, it shouldn’t be difficult to recreate these partnerships.
• Non-substitutable: I believe there is no resource to substitute these partnerships.
7. Ability to work under pressure: this is part of my human capital and I think it represents an advantage for my future business.
• Valuable: I think that’s notably valuable because I believe that running a business often demands you to work hard in a stressful environment.
• Rare: I think this skill is rare because many people get anxious and panic when they have to work under pressure.
• Imitable: I believe this skill is not imitable because it’s part of one’s human capital.
• Non-substitutable: I think the only resources I could use having the same benefits would be human resources, that is employees working for me.
8. Personalized led lights: the product I’m offering is simple and well-known, but at the same time it has a unique feature that can’t be easily found in the market.
• Valuable: I think the feature of being customizable is extremely valuable for my product, because this way it is able to satisfy everyone’s needs.
• Rare: it is rare because at the moment there aren’t many products with the specific feature I’m offering.
• Inimitable: this feature could be easily copied by others.
• Non-substitutable: I believe the specific feature of my product is not substitutable, but I could get the same benefits from any other rare product.
9. Contacts with my target group: this class gave me the opportunity to connect with many members of my segment. Also, it is very easy to find and make contact with the people who fit my target group.
• Valuable: I think this aspect of my social capital is very valuable because establishing contact with the target group is essential to satisfy their needs by improving your product/service.
• Rare: I think this is not rare because it is not difficult to reach my segment.
• Inimitable: I think that making contacts with the members of my target group could be copied, but the specific information I got by talking to them cannot be imitated.
• Non-substitutable: I believe the direct experience with the target group can’t be substituted by any other resource, if not maybe online surveys.
10. Experience in creating a product/service: I had to create a product in my innovation academy class for the Catalyst showcase and this allowed me to start thinking like an entrepreneur.
• Valuable: I think this experience is very valuable because it forced me to think and act like an entrepreneur for the first time.
• Rare: I think this experience could be rare somehow because many young entrepreneurs often don’t get the chance to try and create a new product for a specific market before actually starting their business.
• Inimitable: the experience of creating a product/service is imitable and can be copied by anyone.
• Non-substitutable: I think there are no resources to substitute this experience because it is crucial and essential for every entrepreneur who wants to start a business.
TOP RESOURCE: I believe my top resource to be public speaking. Even if I don’t think I’m great at it right now, I think that improving this skill could only bring benefits to my business. Through public speaking I could convince possible investors and partners and better understand my target group and their needs, growing my segment, social and financial capitals. I consider communication to be essential because a business can’t survive without communicating with the environment surrounding it.