27A- Reading Reflection No.3

27A- Reading Reflection No.3

Book : Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman

·      1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The general theme of this book is the different routes of persuasion, and the thinking processes behind them. Kahneman talks about the two different “systems” of persuasion and contrasts them based off of the differences they display. System 1 focuses on intuitive thinking, which occurs faster as a result of impressions and logical heuristics. System 2 focuses more on the development of ideas to convince. System 2 requires more time and deliberate persuasion, while System 1 focuses solely on what people think immediately. While the book covers these ways of persuasion and thinking, it also shows how people can market differently, and how these systems can relate and benefit marketers. 

·      2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

I think this book connects and enhances to this class because it elaborates on how people think when trying to make arguments. One of the things entrepreneurs have to focus on is the way they approach people and the way they can influence people without being overbearing. I think this book reflects on how marketers in general can do this, as well as the biases that are attached with each mode of thinking. This can help entrepreneurs figure out what type of persuasion is most useful in certain situations and ultimately use them to their advantage. 

·      3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

If I had to design an assignment for this course based on the book I read, I would have students find examples of when to use each type of persuasive thinking, and compare the benefits and objections for each.

26A – Celebrating Failure

26A – Celebrating Failure

1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time. 

This semester, I have been working tirelessly to get a “victory royale” in a video game called Fortnite, which is a third person shooter game. While this may seem silly, this game is becoming super popular, and winning a game can mean a lot to your status in the video game world. After playing probably fifty games or more, I kept failing to be the last man standing. One of my weaknesses in the game is building forts. There were even a few games where it came down to myself and one other player, and I would get sniped or something else ridiculous. I am a born shooter, and have had experience in shooter games through games such as Call of Duty and others, but this building aspect really kept me from my goal. After practicing day in and out, I now have 4 solo wins and a few wins with a “squad”. If you believe, you can achieve. 

2) Tell us what you learned from it.  

After repeated failure, I learned that if you really set your mind to your goals, anything is possible. I also learned that sometimes focusing on your strengths is the way to succeed at something you may be uncomfortable with. In my case, I won my first couple of games by being stealthy rather than building forts. This can be translated to the real world in that perseverance is important, and capitalizing on your strengths can sometimes be even better than trying to improve upon your weaknesses. 

3) Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn't it? It's embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failure (emotionally, behaviorally). Finally, talk about how this class has changed your perspective on failure -- are you more likely to take a risk now than you were just a few months ago?

Failure is embarrassing for sure, especially when the others around you are succeeding constantly. I think one thing that I took from my experience is to focus on what I can do to improve upon myself, as well as using my strengths to my advantage. I have always been a resilient person, and usually handle failure in a positive way. When I fail, I make sure to reflect on how I can change to succeed the next time I go around. This class has changed my perspective on failure in that I am more open to taking risks even if I know I may fail. Repeated effort can get you far in life, and comes in handy when learning about entrepreneurship. 

25A- What's Next

25A- What’s Next?

Existing Market. 

Step 1: 

When looking at my venture concept, I feel that there is a lot of potential for improvement, with time. As of now, I feel that I am prepared as a person to take more action with my business idea, but I know that there are aspects of my idea that are fuzzy or need improvement before actually beginning the process. Overall, I think that my venture is feasible, but the proper parts have to be put in place for success. I can see my idea expanding to more than just keys, and as I take more action, I will think of ways to make my product irresistible. 

Step 2:

When I interviewed three members of my existing market about what’s next for my business idea, I basically got the same message from all three participants. They said that they loved my idea, but I would have to find some more special qualities to separate myself from Tile, a competitor who has a similar idea already in action. They made suggestions about how to separate myself, some of them being targeting a more specific population, such as college students. They claimed this would be beneficial in that I already have a good grasp of this population, rather than a general population such as “ages 16 and up”.

Step 3: 

When I heard this feedback from my existing market, I was pretty shocked at first. I failed to realize that I needed to be targeting a much more specific audience for a market, and this “smaller” group of people will lead to more and more growth. I think now I will find ways to make this idea more in favor for college students on campus. I have already thought of a few ways to make this happen, and it makes my idea a lot more complete and show that true “secret sauce” it’s been lacking. 

New Market.

Step 1 and 2: 

While my market is primarily college students, I was thinking of unique ways that I could target the senior community. Though there is a smaller market because not all seniors drive, there could be different features I could introduce on the app that could assist in a variety of ways. An example could be a way to figure out the model of the car and providing them with manuals on how to work different more technologically advanced features of the car. While this may be a stretch, it could also provide help to seniors who may need it.  

Step 3:

When I interviewed my grandparents and explained my business idea, they were very supportive of my venture. While they may be biased, they did recognize how my idea could be useful for the senior market. They were skeptical about the whole “app” part of it, because not a ton of senior citizens have smartphones, but they did feel like a market could be reached. They also said how they hate when they lose their keys, and having that could help save such a hassle in their days.

Step 4:  Reflect, in two to three paragraphs, on what you learned about this new market. What surprised you the most? Were any of your expectations/assumptions correct? Does this new market, on second thought, appear to be as attractive as your existing market? And so on. 

In exploring future opportunities regarding a new market, I was intrigued with the feedback I received when interviewing an older market. I found that there are a lot of innovations that could be made to make the lives of seniors easier and more efficient. While my product includes a lot of technology (something that seniors tend to stay away from), I feel that the benefits outweigh the costs and this is something that I should continue to pursue. People are looking to make their lives easier every day, and I feel that my original idea, complimented by some new innovative strategies targeted to an older audience, could produce exceptional results. Losing your keys is one thing, but older citizens tend to have questions and problems surrounding new technology, which is something I plan to make very simple and logical for them. I don’t think that this market is more attractive than my existing market, but it could provide new opportunities I neglected earlier in my business idea process. 

24A-Venture Concept No. 1

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

My business opportunity is made for those who are able to drive, though I would say my target audience is between the ages 16 and up. The nature of my need is that everyone loses their keys. Finding your keys can take forever, and there is no true solution besides retracing your steps, which can take forever and cause a real hassle in someone’s day. I have experienced this myself, so I can relate to my customers in this way. For this reason, my opportunity will be around for a while. While my product can be extremely useful, I understand that some people will be resistant to buying something that they feel that they would never use. In my opinion, finding keys when they’re lost is always a need, and people with smart phones will be able to retrieve their keys quickly and efficiently through the use of my product. Currently, the only practical solution to this is a competitor’s product, Tile, which has a GPS tracking system connected to your keys/ wallet. I believe my product can not only compete, but outlast Tile for a few reasons, which I will address later. My market is defined by those who are young enough and willing to use smart phones, as well as those who drive and may have trouble finding keys or always seem to lose them. While my opportunity may not be life-changing, I believe this is a bug that can ruin people’s days, and always seems to be a hassle. Through my product, this bug can be relieved before it even happens. 

Innovation

My product, “Freeze”, allows users to find their keys by using a GPS tracking device which is connected to both the users’ smartphone as well as their keys. This means that whenever keys may be lost or misplaced, the user can simply use the app to track their keys and resume their day efficiently. For my product, I will be selling a small chip-like GPS device that can connect to someone’s keychain as well as the app which allows users to access a variety of features. I will be charging $25 for the tracking device and app together, and when users use an access code, they will receive free shipping as a bonus. They will also receive a manual/ instruction on how to connect their keys and GPS device to the app. 

Venture Concept

In applying my product to the opportunity I’ve identified, my product will solve the problem of losing keys by using a GPS tracking device connected to the keys and an app in order to find the keys. One thing that stands out about my opportunity is that the users will be notified when they are a certain distance away from their keys. Users will be able to select this distance through the app, and if they are “forgetting” something they will be notified before the problem even happens. This gives me an edge on competitors, and ultimately eliminated the bug before it even occurs. I think people would use this product and possibly switch from Tile to Freeze because I have heard from Tile users that it is sometimes ineffective and does not solve the problem immediately. While I am excited about the opportunity I have identified, I am unprepared when it comes to start-ups, and will need some help from others that I have reached out to in a targeted networking exercise. This may take a while, but if I put the pieces together right, I think my product could be a success. 

Three Minor Elements

After conducting VRIN analysis on my top resources in last week’s exercise, I think my top resource in my business venture would be the targeted networking experience. In researching my market and finding people who experts in their fields, I have a better chance of actually making my venture’s ‘staying power’ grow. My idea is far from finished, but this resource is one way I can actually make things move forward. Also, I think my inclusion of notifying the user when they are a certain distance from their keys beforehand will give me an advantage on my competitors. In looking to the future for my product, I am going to start thinking of ways to further innovate my idea, or spread to different aspects of “missing items”. I was thinking that I could possibly expand my market not only to users who drive cars, but maybe other aspects of life. Lastly, I believe that this idea could be a true starting point for me as an entrepreneur. Although I want to explore my options in the business world, taking action on this idea could provide me with a broad network of people who can help me, as well as experience with market analysis. In five years, I want to be working for either myself or a company that I believe I can grow in as a professional. Ultimately, this venture concept can help me tremendously in my journey.

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage 

·       Generate a list of all of the resources in your venture: This can include your human capital, social capital, financial capital, and capabilities.

Human Capital

1.    Knowledge expertise regarding iPhones- This resource proves influential because it is the basis of my business venture. My app will revolve around the users iPhone, whether it is connecting GPS to their keys, or simply accessing the app.

2.    App development and innovation- I have recently become more informed about app development and ways to make my app really stand out compared to competitors. I found that this is one of the top reasons for my ventures “unfair advantage”.

3.    Targeted networking experience- Through this class, I have reached out to seasoned professionals in the business world, and have found that human capital will prove to make my idea more feasible. Targeted networking has helped me refurbish my idea and make it as realistic and functioning as possible.

Social capital

1.    Organized plans for app launch- Organization and solid plans are very important in entrepreneurship, and I believe that I have the proper plans for launching my app whenever that time may come. While my idea is far from beginning, I will have plans in place to get these ideas into motion.

2.    Reciprocity between workers and investors- Having a two-sided relationship between investors and workers is truly important. When starting up a company, you have to make sure you are working within not only your capabilities and expectations, but also of your investors.

3.    Market analysis- Before I even had my idea, I have had true experiences where others have lost their keys and had an unproductive day because of it. I feel that my market analysis has played a big part in my idea, because I want to remove this bug from people’s lives.

Financial Capital

1.    GPS tracking influence- This part of my venture plays crucial to the ‘staying power’ of my business idea. Through my app, when a user loses their keys, they will be able to track their keys within a few clicks of a button. Accessibility to a location of their keys will completely eliminate the bug, and users will be able to fix the bug before it even happens because my app will notify the user when they start to move a certain distance from their keys.

2.    Investors (in future)- Having investors to boost your idea into reality is a huge advantage. I plan on having investors who not only provide financial resources but can also give ideas on how to continue innovation and productivity.

Other resources

1.    Social Media- Having knowledge and experience with social media is also a big part of my venture. I think I display an expertise in this field, and ultimately it will play crucial in the success of my business idea.

2.    Company Culture- In creating a company culture, I want to instill hard work and creativity into the main aspects of the way things run. This will be a more light-hearted aspect of the company but will still be based off of hard-work.

·       After conducting the VRIN analysis, determine what your top resource is. Explain why it's more important to your venture than all of the other resources.

I think my top resource in my business venture would be the targeted networking experience. In researching my market and finding people who experts in their fields, I have a better chance of actually making my venture’s ‘staying power’ grow. My idea is far from finished, but this resource is one way I can actually make things move forward.

22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3

22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. 

In reading my reflections from elevator pitch one and two, I realized that the thing that stood out to me the most was not my enthusiasm, or the way I spoke. I noticed that one thing people commented on that I never even realized was my motions and gestures. I often moved back and forth, almost swaying and moving my hands too much. I found this made me look nervous, so I found the feedback to be useful in making this new elevator pitch.

3) What did you change, based on the feedback?

Based on the feedback I received from my peers, I found that one thing I changed was my motions and gestures. Being the third time I was doing the elevator pitch, I found myself more comfortable and polished, and I believe this shows in the third video.