28A

My exit strategy is hopefully to sell the business for a reasonable return.Every business has its life cycle and when I deem it time for it to be sold I will sell for funds for a new company. I would like to get bought out by a bigger company in order to have a lot of funds and maybe go into a different industry.  As a college student I would need capital especially coming out of school to fund a new project. Finding new capital for my new company would most likely be my next move once I cover startup costs with the money I made from selling the old company.

27A

 I read Steve Jobs. His determination to get things done was what surprised me the most about his journey. He went back to apple after leaving them because he believed his idea was possible and he could bring the company back from a dark period. His story is remarkable because everyone knows the base of his story about how he brought apple . He, like most college students, struggled in school and had to rework his priorities. Steve has accomplished  a lot but that only came with changing his mentality. He was great with every company he worked for but was a business guy . If he saw something that was not fit he would tell people and was not afraid to tell people about his opinions. With apple he wanted to show innovation without clutter and thats where the idea of the original iphone came from .How did you see failure ? What you did with apple is it possible to do it with another company?

26A

Ive failed many times this semester but I never look at failure as a bad thing in the scheme of things. Failure is part of life in the sense that you can never succeed at something if you can't accept failing at it at first. You have to learn from failure to make sure the next time you have the opportunity to succeed you do. The one failure I have in the past semester is failing to have my priorities in order. I failed an exam because I decided to put my time into another activity  for something I thought would be beneficial for me . Not only did the activity not benefit me I failed my exam badly. I learned that you should always put your priorities in the order that you know you will reap the benefits of putting effort into . I will always study my exam first as I know if I had studied more for my exam I would have done better . Failure for me has never been hard for me as I look at it as something I did not as something that defines me. The next opportunity is the most thing once you have failed.

25A

Currently I am targeting a middle to lower class.People can afford houses and have some extra money to get there drink outside of the house which would allow for them to use my straw at a establishment. I think the commercial market is very much the target I should put my focus on to next. I think commercial places will focus on distribution and will show everyone how great my product is. The value is created by people that do not use the straw on a dialy basis. The value becomes a need and can be seen as a everyday product with the right exposure. If I was to target a poorer market I would try to help them get the product into they're hands and convince them this is just anothere grocery item we need in the house or to help advertise the product . It wont immediately increase my profit margins but over the long run will spread awareness of my product

I think I could sell to a poorer market I can see if the market is big enough to warrant investing money to make a cheaper but less enjoyable straw that will try to mimic the product we want to use for commercial use. I would only cater to different markets if the profit was there overtime . If there is no profit to be made by expansion the resources are better used elsewhere.

I interviewed two people from a poorer part of society. One was a 21 year old man who is middle class and a 25 year old girl who is part of the lower class.

From these two interviews I learned a lot. I learned what they would like to see from my company coming from a poorer background. Two things I took from these interviews is that the cost of everything for everyone no matter the economic class.

From these two interviews I learned a lot. I learned what they would like to see from my company coming from multiple backgrounds. Two things I took from these interviews was that they would like straws that are cheap and last for longer than 5 minutes in a drink. So my solution to this is just to have straws that are affordable, last  long, and are not a mess. I was not really surprised by this. I kind of expected them to answer this why. Straws are about enjoyment, cost, and usability. My product aims for that.

24A

• What are the forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity? 
• There are many things in the current social environment that creates the opportunity for my product. The enjoyment of your drink can change your whole day. It can change how much coffee you consume , which can lead to how much energy. Changes like covid 19 could make my product less popular as people are drinking from outside there homes which means they will not use the straw we provided.
• How is this market defined geographically and demographically? 
• This market is large geographically. The market is anyone who consumes a drink with a straw. The demographic is not limited by my product either. By definition my product provides anyone that uses a straw the experience they used to have with plastic.
• How are customers currently satisfying this need?  And how loyal are they to whatever they use now? 
•  Right now customers need this by using a paper straw which they do not want to use based off my countless interviews or are using a lid which you can consume your drink directly without a straw. The reason my product is relevant is because  the consumers are dealing with it but truly miss their experience with a plastic straw.
• The only loyal customers are those that approve of the eco-friendliness of the straws. My product will continue to provide that benefit and give them the old experience they had with plastic straws.
• How long will the “window of opportunity” be open? 
• As long as no one put out a product that is even more eco friendly than mine the window of opportunity will always be there. Straws are a necessity in life and there's a reason they have never been replaced. 

Innovation.

My innovation is a straw which you can drink out of and be eco friendly at the same time. When you use my straw you will understand the purpose for my product which has been missed by many recently. With my product my straw becomes the best option to enjoy your beverage out of . The paper straw never was a good enough product to release on its own and was released because there was. We will be constantly changing the straws and making sure we are using the most efficient and eco friendly materials to stick by the purpose of our product. I hope to be able to sell these in stores and online in the future and make subscription type programs for those that enjoy out product.

Venture Concept. 

• What are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product?  How hard will it be to get them to switch? 
•  Paper straws were put on the market to please a small minority and was not made for commercial use. People hate there soggy drinks and drinks that get wasted due to the paper getting in there drink. The switch will be easy as we bring the best experience of drinking back with our straws. People will notice how nice it is to have their normal and eco friendly straw option at restaurants and coffee shops.
• Who are the competitors?  What are their possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities?  
• Our competitor is amazon and other online websites that do sell straws but haven't made them eco friendly or are not cost effective to the point where they can be mass produced to make a profit. There are other straw companies but the most important concept is making them in bulk at a low costs where restaurants and coffee shops can order them for a low enough price in order to use them. Corporate companies will not make the change to other straws if they cannot offer a straw at a similar or lower price.Money is everything and my product is everything you need in order to be mass produce,
• What role does packaging, your price points, distribution, customer support, the customer experience or the business location play (if any) in defining your business concept? 

Cost of packaging will be kept at minimum to ensure we are profitable. Distribution will be the way we succeed. The more people want to buy the product the better.. I want to ensure our product it in the correct condition. My price point and experience define my business product. 

• How would you organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of your new product, service, or process? How many employees? What roles are in the venture? 
•  Expansion would be the way to support ongoing product . However I think that greed is your enemy. If you get to big your profits can go down and customers will suffer also from this. I want this to be a small company with good profits. Keep costs low and the amount of straws being made and distributed high. Those are the roles I would only take on more money and endeavors if I see the business striving and not losing its quality while it grows.

The three minor elements

Besides your actual innovative product, service, or process, what will you have that will make it hard for competitors to copy your success?

The material we use to make the straws cannot be remade as it is patented therefore they would need to make a whole new product that is cheap and eco friendly. I believe it would be near impossible to copy my product and have be as low cost and eco friendly as it is.

Second, what’s next for the venture? Describe either the next opportunity you want to tackle with your current innovation, or describe the next new product, service, or process that may be aimed at your existing customers. 

My next venture is just to keep expanding our product. Using different color straws and maybe different fruits and vegetables to keep bringing the cost of my overall product down.It would be to keep innovating and never let comfortable with my product the way it is. There will always be a way to have a better product and I have to make sure I'm always ahead of my competitors.

Third, what’s next for you? Assuming you launched, where do you want to be in five years with this venture? Where do you want to be, as an entrepreneur, in the next decade, and how does this first venture help you achieve your vision? 

In five years I want this venture to be profitable and have a power customer base.I want to keep the company simple. I want to keep customers happy and proud to support my dream. I hope to be what the plastic straw was for may years which was irreplaceable 

23A

1. Human Capital - Understanding of the concept

Valuable - this is valuable because I can use it to make helpful decisions for this company

rare - People do not understand the biodegradability of straws and I have experience with it

inimitable - It is not easy to understand the various things that go into biodegradability 

non- substitutable - There is no way to know what I know and how to understand it

2. Human Capital - My ventures

Valuable - The various interactions i've had with the industry have helped .

rare - It is rare to have the experience i've had through my research

inimitable - it is impossible to replicate the job I have done and experiences ive had

non- substitutable - someone may have had different experiences i never had.

3. Social Capital - My Associates

Valuable - I know many associates who have worked in the industry for decades

rare - It is rare to find someone who knows as many people as I do

inimitable - You cannot take away the knowledge they know and spread it differently

non- substitutable - Knowledge is never replaceable. 

4. Financial capital

Valuable - The money I own is only valuable as the way I spend it. 

rare -N/A

inimitable - if you earn money it can be copied

non- substitutable - Have an investor give them the money to copy it.

5. Social Capital - Customer Wants

Valuable- Knowing what the customer will want will help steer our product towards them.

rare - understanding the customer

inimitable - Can be copied if companies see what we are doing right.

non- substitutable - It can be copied 

6. Capabilities - Hard work 

Valuable -This is not replaceable. Hard Work beats everything in any industry. No matter how good your product is.

inimitable - the amount of work can be imitated 

non- substitutable - Everyone can work hard.

7. Capabilities- passion

valuable - I want people to enjoy there morning coffee like I enjoy mine. 

rare - I think customer interests are very important and having the passion to help others.

inimitable - My passion may be able to be copied.

non- substitutable - passion is not substitutable

8. Social Capital - Knowing my customers

Valuable - I know who my market is

rare - Great research

inimitable - research can be copied.

non- substitutable - It can be substituted.

9. Social Capital - Feel for a smaller company

Valuable - Its value comes in consumer experience

rare - Usually lost in the corporate world 

inimitable - Large companies struggle doing this

non- substitutable - The 1 on 1 experience is not substitutable 

10. Human Capital - suppliers 

Valuable - Having many options to make my product.

Rare -This is not rare its capitalism

Inimitable -Relationships are hard to imitate

non- substitutable - any supplier is substitutable

My top resources is hard work the consumer experience and with my product . The size of my company allows me to see what works and what fails with the company. I can see hard work and I can see who is lazy. It all part of the buisness.

22A

https://youtu.be/G80_zsOyzuY

Sorry did not have proper clothing and had to use an old computer because I left my school material in my dorm.

I realized that the proper materials are needed to have a stellar elevator pitch. Without the regular materials I was not as ready as I should have been for this one. I still want to learn how to improve it as it will be very valuable to me going forward.

21A

I delved into The Art of Social Media by Guy Kawasaki 

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

The general theme of the book was how to be better to improve your behavior on social media and how your behavior affects your image.

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

This book as able to enhance my learning in class while as well teaching myself rules for my own social media use. I was glad to delve into this book since I am doing a straw service for my company and the social media response is a great part of my plan. I believe the knowledge I learned will not only help me today but down the line when I start my own buisness

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

I would have everyone tweet, with a picture and the first 10 hashtags that come to hand when thinking of good and proper internet behavior. I would then go through each post and discuss with the class why each #that the student provided would be beneficial towards them and they're business. Then afterwards I would do the same thing with 10 negative hashtags.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

Pictures are the most important thing on social media because you give whoever is seeing it on social media an image to think about and if good enough leave in the person's head for the rest of the day. Imagery is a huge part of social media because it makes people judge and think very hard about the image they just saw.