Your Exit Strategy
1. In 5 years if my business is returning profits of more than 10 million a year, I would protect the venture as a family business and pass it down to my family. However if the business has been mildly successful over the 5 years, I would strongly consider selling it to a larger corporation for a large return so that I do not have to worry about running the daily operations that a business entails.
2. I choose these exit strategies based on the amount of money that the company will have brought in over the 5 year span. If a company is highly profitable, there is no reason to sell it for a lump sum when you can bring in recurring revenue every year for the rest of your life.
3. I do not think my exit strategy has affected how I identify an opportunity. However, it definitely affects the way I plan on acquiring resources and growing the company. I definitely want to put more resources in to the company and grow it as big as possible so that I am bringing in enough profits that I can keep the venture in the family. However if the resources do not help the company grow, I would limit the amount of resources I would acquire and just sell the venture in 5 years.
Friday, July 26, 2019
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
27A - Reading Reflection No. 3
Steve Jobs
1) You read about an
entrepreneur:
· What surprised you the
most?
· What about the entrepreneur
did you most admire?
· What about the
entrepreneur did you least admire?
· Did the entrepreneur
encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
What surprised me the most about Jobs was that even though he
agreed to have this book written about him, he did not want to have a say in
what was said about him and he did not even want to read it. I admire this
about Jobs more than anything because it shows he does not want to tell people
to think about him in a certain way. He just wants to live life and let people
express themselves how they please. He focused Apple around this type of
ideology. What I admire least about Jobs is that he focused too much resources
on projects that could have never been completed the way he wanted them to be.
They were lost causes.
2) What competencies did
you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
I noticed that Jobs is
hardworking and resilient which are two keys to his success.
3) Identify at least one
part of the reading that was confusing to you.
The part that confused me
the most in the book was when he talked about Bob Dylan’s music. I don’t understand
the meaning behind this excerpt in the book.
4) If you were able to
ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
I would ask how he
decided that his role in life was to be someone who would create products that
have never been dreamt of before and I would ask him how long he thought of
each product before deciding to get a team to work on it.
5) For fun: what do you
think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
I think that I have the
same opinion of hard work as Jobs and that is that you cannot give up until you
have accomplished what you set out to do.
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
26A - Celebrating Failure
A time I failed this semester, specifically in this class, was when I submitted my first video pitch assignment. I did not read the directions correctly and unfortunately my video pitch was not as good as it should have been. I recorded the video without being dressed professionally and I was not as prepared as I should have been, thus it was a lackluster performance. I then make the second video and although it was better, it was not as good as it could have been.
For the third video, I learned from all of my previous mistakes and I think I made my best version of a video pitch. I dressed professionally and spoke clearly and concisely.
I think I handle failure pretty well because I see it as a learning experience rather than just a plain old failure. This class has helped me realize even more than you should take every failure as an opportunity to learn how to be better. I'd see I am just as likely to take a risk now as I was before this class.
For the third video, I learned from all of my previous mistakes and I think I made my best version of a video pitch. I dressed professionally and spoke clearly and concisely.
I think I handle failure pretty well because I see it as a learning experience rather than just a plain old failure. This class has helped me realize even more than you should take every failure as an opportunity to learn how to be better. I'd see I am just as likely to take a risk now as I was before this class.
Friday, July 19, 2019
25A - What's Next?
What's Next?
Existing market: The next move for us for our venture is to start making our controllers and to find a production facility that is affordable and spacious enough.
After interviewing three customers who are already part of our identified market, when asked what we should do that we aren't planning on doing, all three people told me that production is the most important thing to focus on which is exactly what I said. Production is the most important part of our venture because this is when the actual product is made. This is also where the profit margins either become big or slim.
In terms of growing in our existing market, the only way to grow more would be to increase production by hiring more people and creating more facilities. Also, we could spend more money on advertising so that we reach more people.
New market: A new market we could target is current gaming companies like Sony and Microsoft instead of targeting the consumer directly. This way, we could sell to them our entire product or just integrate our cooling technology into their current systems to make them better. This would reduce production costs for us and increase our profits. After interviewing two people, it is evident that the cooling technology mixed with established technology from a reputable company is a recipe for success.
I learned that the new market, targeting other companies rather than consumers, is actually very profitable because costs decrease. What surprised me most is how easily other companies could integrate our technology into their systems. This new market is as attractive if not more than our existing market.
Existing market: The next move for us for our venture is to start making our controllers and to find a production facility that is affordable and spacious enough.
After interviewing three customers who are already part of our identified market, when asked what we should do that we aren't planning on doing, all three people told me that production is the most important thing to focus on which is exactly what I said. Production is the most important part of our venture because this is when the actual product is made. This is also where the profit margins either become big or slim.
In terms of growing in our existing market, the only way to grow more would be to increase production by hiring more people and creating more facilities. Also, we could spend more money on advertising so that we reach more people.
New market: A new market we could target is current gaming companies like Sony and Microsoft instead of targeting the consumer directly. This way, we could sell to them our entire product or just integrate our cooling technology into their current systems to make them better. This would reduce production costs for us and increase our profits. After interviewing two people, it is evident that the cooling technology mixed with established technology from a reputable company is a recipe for success.
I learned that the new market, targeting other companies rather than consumers, is actually very profitable because costs decrease. What surprised me most is how easily other companies could integrate our technology into their systems. This new market is as attractive if not more than our existing market.
24A - Venture Concept No. 1
Venture Concept No. 1
After playing video games for 16 years of my life, I recognized there was an untapped opportunity that if correctly exploited could be very profitable. This opportunity arises out of a pain point in gaming and something that has always been a problem, the fact that there is no way to limit the amount of sweat you release on to gaming controllers. Playing video games has always been fun but when you have to wipe off the controller every time you use it or someone passes it to you, it takes away from the phone. The force in the environment that created this opportunity to create a gaming controller with an internal cooling system is the fact that too many people get frustrated from sweaty controllers and no other company has fixed this problem yet. The market is defined demographically rather than geographically. Our target market is basically anyone who plays video games and uses gaming controllers. However, the prototypical consumer for our product tends to be males aged from 10-21. Customers currently attempt to satisfy this need for a way to reduce sweaty controllers by either just wiping off the sweat with their shirt or towel, or they buy controllers that have grips. Although these grips make it easier to hold on to the controller while you sweat, it does not actually limit the amount of sweat there is. They are not very loyal to these grips because it is not that efficient. This opportunity is huge solely because there is such a need for it and no other company has created a controller with an internal cooling system yet. The window of opportunity will be open until someone creates the actual controller.
Our product is a controller with an internal cooling system specifically designed to limit the amount of sweat that gets released from one's hand to the gaming controller. It basically works when the sensor inside the controller senses it is getting overheated and then the cooling system gets to work. By making the cooling system start with a sensor, we are able to save money in production because you can use a smaller battery. We will sell the cooling controllers for 75 dollars.
Our innovation will solve the problem of sweaty hands while playing video games. Customers will definitely switch to this new product because there is currently no product like ours out there. They will easily switch over from using grips to using our product when they hear that our product will completely solve the problem rather than just attempt to make it a little less worse like grips do. There are no direct competitors but companies that put grips on controllers would be the closest competitor. They are very weak and vulnerable because grips just make it easier to hold sweaty controllers, it does not actually make you sweat less. Packaging plays a huge role because the customer should be able to clearly see what our product is and how it works from the packaging. I would rent out a big factory and pay employees to make the product. I would probably need about 50 employees for production. I would need about 25 employees to package the product and then another 25 to distribute the controllers to retailers.
I think my most important resource will be my human capital. My perseverance and hard working nature will make my company successful because I will never give up on my product until it is is successful. It is impossible to match someones personality and that gives us a leg up on competitors.
Our next venture will be to get our technology, the internal cooling system, in to any small device that gets overheated such as iPhones or even computers.
In five years, I want to be the leading gaming controller company and as an entrepreneur, I want to have had started another company in a different segment to diversify my portfolio. This venture helps with my vision because it gives me valuable experience on how to run and start a company.
After playing video games for 16 years of my life, I recognized there was an untapped opportunity that if correctly exploited could be very profitable. This opportunity arises out of a pain point in gaming and something that has always been a problem, the fact that there is no way to limit the amount of sweat you release on to gaming controllers. Playing video games has always been fun but when you have to wipe off the controller every time you use it or someone passes it to you, it takes away from the phone. The force in the environment that created this opportunity to create a gaming controller with an internal cooling system is the fact that too many people get frustrated from sweaty controllers and no other company has fixed this problem yet. The market is defined demographically rather than geographically. Our target market is basically anyone who plays video games and uses gaming controllers. However, the prototypical consumer for our product tends to be males aged from 10-21. Customers currently attempt to satisfy this need for a way to reduce sweaty controllers by either just wiping off the sweat with their shirt or towel, or they buy controllers that have grips. Although these grips make it easier to hold on to the controller while you sweat, it does not actually limit the amount of sweat there is. They are not very loyal to these grips because it is not that efficient. This opportunity is huge solely because there is such a need for it and no other company has created a controller with an internal cooling system yet. The window of opportunity will be open until someone creates the actual controller.
Our product is a controller with an internal cooling system specifically designed to limit the amount of sweat that gets released from one's hand to the gaming controller. It basically works when the sensor inside the controller senses it is getting overheated and then the cooling system gets to work. By making the cooling system start with a sensor, we are able to save money in production because you can use a smaller battery. We will sell the cooling controllers for 75 dollars.
Our innovation will solve the problem of sweaty hands while playing video games. Customers will definitely switch to this new product because there is currently no product like ours out there. They will easily switch over from using grips to using our product when they hear that our product will completely solve the problem rather than just attempt to make it a little less worse like grips do. There are no direct competitors but companies that put grips on controllers would be the closest competitor. They are very weak and vulnerable because grips just make it easier to hold sweaty controllers, it does not actually make you sweat less. Packaging plays a huge role because the customer should be able to clearly see what our product is and how it works from the packaging. I would rent out a big factory and pay employees to make the product. I would probably need about 50 employees for production. I would need about 25 employees to package the product and then another 25 to distribute the controllers to retailers.
I think my most important resource will be my human capital. My perseverance and hard working nature will make my company successful because I will never give up on my product until it is is successful. It is impossible to match someones personality and that gives us a leg up on competitors.
Our next venture will be to get our technology, the internal cooling system, in to any small device that gets overheated such as iPhones or even computers.
In five years, I want to be the leading gaming controller company and as an entrepreneur, I want to have had started another company in a different segment to diversify my portfolio. This venture helps with my vision because it gives me valuable experience on how to run and start a company.
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage
Your Venture's Unfair Advantage
1. My perseverance
This resource is very specific to me and is very valuable because not all business owners possess the same perseverance as me.
2. My background in gaming
This resource is not very rare but not every business owner has background in what they are selling.
3. Our state of the art internal cooling technology
This resource is rare and valuable because no other company has been able to make a small internal cooling system that can fit inside a controller.
4. Our financial resources
This resource is valuable but not rare because we need money but everyone has money.
5. Our grasp on the target market
This resource Is valuable because you need to know your target market before you spend advertising money.
6. Our understanding of the target market
This resource Is valuable because you need to know your target market before you spend advertising money.
7. Our employees
Our employees are valuable but not rare because they are hardworking and needed but there are plenty of people we could hire.
8. My dedication to success
My personality trait is valuable and rare because I will never stop until I'm successful.
9. My hardworking nature
My personality trait is valuable and rare because I will never stop until I'm successful.
10. My experience meeting with store owners
My experience meeting with store owners in other areas has given me valuable experience with how to convince a store owner to carry a certain product.
Top resource is experience because I have the ability to know how to react in certain situations based on past experiences.
1. My perseverance
This resource is very specific to me and is very valuable because not all business owners possess the same perseverance as me.
2. My background in gaming
This resource is not very rare but not every business owner has background in what they are selling.
3. Our state of the art internal cooling technology
This resource is rare and valuable because no other company has been able to make a small internal cooling system that can fit inside a controller.
4. Our financial resources
This resource is valuable but not rare because we need money but everyone has money.
5. Our grasp on the target market
This resource Is valuable because you need to know your target market before you spend advertising money.
6. Our understanding of the target market
This resource Is valuable because you need to know your target market before you spend advertising money.
7. Our employees
Our employees are valuable but not rare because they are hardworking and needed but there are plenty of people we could hire.
8. My dedication to success
My personality trait is valuable and rare because I will never stop until I'm successful.
9. My hardworking nature
My personality trait is valuable and rare because I will never stop until I'm successful.
10. My experience meeting with store owners
My experience meeting with store owners in other areas has given me valuable experience with how to convince a store owner to carry a certain product.
Top resource is experience because I have the ability to know how to react in certain situations based on past experiences.
Friday, July 12, 2019
22A - Elevator Pitch No. 3
Watch video here -> Pitch Link
Reflection: I realized that I needed to dress more professionally. I also got feedback that my video should be longer and I should be more enthusiastic. I think all of the feedback I received on my last pitch video were fairly accurate and I acknowledged them so I would be better the next time
Change: I decided to dress more professionally for this video because you have to dress to impress. I also made my pitch a little longer than my other two pitches. Also, I tried to be more enthusiastic for the audience and explain how our product differs from the competitors.
Reflection: I realized that I needed to dress more professionally. I also got feedback that my video should be longer and I should be more enthusiastic. I think all of the feedback I received on my last pitch video were fairly accurate and I acknowledged them so I would be better the next time
Change: I decided to dress more professionally for this video because you have to dress to impress. I also made my pitch a little longer than my other two pitches. Also, I tried to be more enthusiastic for the audience and explain how our product differs from the competitors.
21A - Reading Reflection No. 2
Reading Reflection No. 2
1. The general theme of How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams is that the key to happiness and success in life is for you to look after yourself and your economics before you worry about your friends or family. He claims that if you do not look out for yourself first, you become a burden for your friends and family.
2. The book connected with and enhanced what I have learned in ENT 3003 because the book shows how you need to have a plan and an outline before you achieve a goal and we learn in this class that it is more important to find a problem for a solution then achieve a goal because there has to be a clear need for a product. The book also shows that you should do what you think you are good at because that is where you have the best chance of excelling.
3. I would ask students to talk about which 5 jobs they would sample to see where they feel comfortable enough to task a risk.
4. The one thing I read in this book that differed most from my expectations was that Adams shows that having mediocre skills and knowing how to use them as well as having good networking skills, you can be valuable. I never thought that just having skills that are mediocre could create such a successful career for myself, but Adams shows that you can.
1. The general theme of How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams is that the key to happiness and success in life is for you to look after yourself and your economics before you worry about your friends or family. He claims that if you do not look out for yourself first, you become a burden for your friends and family.
2. The book connected with and enhanced what I have learned in ENT 3003 because the book shows how you need to have a plan and an outline before you achieve a goal and we learn in this class that it is more important to find a problem for a solution then achieve a goal because there has to be a clear need for a product. The book also shows that you should do what you think you are good at because that is where you have the best chance of excelling.
3. I would ask students to talk about which 5 jobs they would sample to see where they feel comfortable enough to task a risk.
4. The one thing I read in this book that differed most from my expectations was that Adams shows that having mediocre skills and knowing how to use them as well as having good networking skills, you can be valuable. I never thought that just having skills that are mediocre could create such a successful career for myself, but Adams shows that you can.
20A - Growing Your Social Capital
Growing Your Social Capital
The first person I am going to talk about fulfills the domain expert area. This person is Brad Gamble and he is my supervisor at The Selling Factory. He co-founded the company, which provides the service that I would like to produce. The Selling Factory helps other companies find prospects and ultimately partake in outbound call and email campaigns. I found this person because he is my boss. We talked about how he came about founding this company and he just asks that I do my job well and help his company succeed. He could help me enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity by providing me with valuable sales experience and connecting me with future employers.
The second person I contacted fulfills the expert area of this assignment. This person is Sasha Bartnovsky and she is a genius at conducting customer research. She works for a major advertising and research agency in New York City and has moved up in the company greatly over the past few years. I found Sasha because she is part of my extended family and I gave her a call to get some feedback about what she thought of my product. She told me ways I could find out who the best target market would be based on my product and in return she just wants me to be successful in life. Including this person in my network will enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity because she can always help me with research and knowledge in terms of target market and advertising.
The third person I contacted fulfills the important supplier to my industry part of this assignment. This person provides services to other organizations in my industry. They help companies scale their company by providing consulting services. I found this person because they are a friend of my dad and they told me the best way to successfully scale a product or business in the right time frame. This will help me in the future because now I know limitations to businesses and how quickly you can scale a product or company.
This assignment will definitely help me in future networking events because I know have experience reaching out to experts in a field I am interested in. I have never done a networking experience like this before.
The first person I am going to talk about fulfills the domain expert area. This person is Brad Gamble and he is my supervisor at The Selling Factory. He co-founded the company, which provides the service that I would like to produce. The Selling Factory helps other companies find prospects and ultimately partake in outbound call and email campaigns. I found this person because he is my boss. We talked about how he came about founding this company and he just asks that I do my job well and help his company succeed. He could help me enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity by providing me with valuable sales experience and connecting me with future employers.
The second person I contacted fulfills the expert area of this assignment. This person is Sasha Bartnovsky and she is a genius at conducting customer research. She works for a major advertising and research agency in New York City and has moved up in the company greatly over the past few years. I found Sasha because she is part of my extended family and I gave her a call to get some feedback about what she thought of my product. She told me ways I could find out who the best target market would be based on my product and in return she just wants me to be successful in life. Including this person in my network will enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity because she can always help me with research and knowledge in terms of target market and advertising.
The third person I contacted fulfills the important supplier to my industry part of this assignment. This person provides services to other organizations in my industry. They help companies scale their company by providing consulting services. I found this person because they are a friend of my dad and they told me the best way to successfully scale a product or business in the right time frame. This will help me in the future because now I know limitations to businesses and how quickly you can scale a product or company.
This assignment will definitely help me in future networking events because I know have experience reaching out to experts in a field I am interested in. I have never done a networking experience like this before.
Friday, July 5, 2019
17A - Elevator Pitch No. 2
Elevator Pitch
Video Link
The feedback that I received on my last pitch video was that I was not active enough with the audience and that I did not explain the benefits of my controller adequately enough.
Thus, for Elevator Pitch No. 2, I decided to be more active with the audience by speaking directly to them and by walking around the room. I also outlined the benefits of my product and why you should get mine compared to the competition.
Video Link
The feedback that I received on my last pitch video was that I was not active enough with the audience and that I did not explain the benefits of my controller adequately enough.
Thus, for Elevator Pitch No. 2, I decided to be more active with the audience by speaking directly to them and by walking around the room. I also outlined the benefits of my product and why you should get mine compared to the competition.
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
19A - Idea Napkin No. 2
Idea Napkin No. 2
1. I am Reed Sherman and I am a very personable, outgoing individual. I pride myself on being very sociable and easy to work with. I am a business major and I am proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe XD, and Hubspot. I hope to be able to use my experience that I got from helping businesses grow when I was an intern and create a profitable business model for a cooling gaming controller.
2. I am offering to customers a revolutionary gaming controller that has an internal cooling system, which in turn reduces the amount of sweat and germs spread when people share gaming controllers.
3. I am offering this product to any person who owns a gaming console like an Xbox or a PS4. Specifically, I expect the typical buyer of this product to be generally teenage or a little older than teenage boys. All of these customers have in common the fact that they may use a gaming controller on a daily basis and realize the need for this product.
4. People will pay money for my product because it will reduce the amount of sweat transferred from one person to another when they share gaming controllers while playing video games. What distinguishes my product from other companies products is that there is currently no other product on the market that has an internal cooling system in the controller. There exists controllers with grip to limit sweat, but no cooling controllers.
5. What sets my product away from every other is a special cooling system inside of the controller that no other controller has. I set myself apart with my perseverance and willingness to work until I meet my end goal.
I think that all 5 elements mentioned come together to create a strong business model and in turn can be very profitable. There is no other product like mine on the market, which distinguishes us from competitors. I think I have correctly identified the best target market. I also think I can relate to my target market well and can thus predict the best products. I am very perseverant and with a plan and a strong goal in mind, I will definitely make this a successful product.
Feedback memo: I received feedback from a peer that I should include what distinguishes my product from my competitors. Thus, I included in this go around how my product, a controller with a cooling system is different than any other product out there. I stated that there is currently no other company that has made a controller with an internal cooling system.
1. I am Reed Sherman and I am a very personable, outgoing individual. I pride myself on being very sociable and easy to work with. I am a business major and I am proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe XD, and Hubspot. I hope to be able to use my experience that I got from helping businesses grow when I was an intern and create a profitable business model for a cooling gaming controller.
2. I am offering to customers a revolutionary gaming controller that has an internal cooling system, which in turn reduces the amount of sweat and germs spread when people share gaming controllers.
3. I am offering this product to any person who owns a gaming console like an Xbox or a PS4. Specifically, I expect the typical buyer of this product to be generally teenage or a little older than teenage boys. All of these customers have in common the fact that they may use a gaming controller on a daily basis and realize the need for this product.
4. People will pay money for my product because it will reduce the amount of sweat transferred from one person to another when they share gaming controllers while playing video games. What distinguishes my product from other companies products is that there is currently no other product on the market that has an internal cooling system in the controller. There exists controllers with grip to limit sweat, but no cooling controllers.
5. What sets my product away from every other is a special cooling system inside of the controller that no other controller has. I set myself apart with my perseverance and willingness to work until I meet my end goal.
I think that all 5 elements mentioned come together to create a strong business model and in turn can be very profitable. There is no other product like mine on the market, which distinguishes us from competitors. I think I have correctly identified the best target market. I also think I can relate to my target market well and can thus predict the best products. I am very perseverant and with a plan and a strong goal in mind, I will definitely make this a successful product.
Feedback memo: I received feedback from a peer that I should include what distinguishes my product from my competitors. Thus, I included in this go around how my product, a controller with a cooling system is different than any other product out there. I stated that there is currently no other company that has made a controller with an internal cooling system.
18A - Create a custom avatar
Create a Custom Avatar
I attached above my custom avatar. My prototypical customer would usually be younger kids, aged 13-21 who own gaming consoles such as the Xbox or PS4 and play video games on a daily basis. The types of hobbies that my prototypical customer would partake in would include playing video games on their gaming console, playing outside with friends, going to the movies, or anything that a typical teenager would partake in on a daily basis. They would usually not drive because my prototypical customers range from 13-21 and the customers who would be most likely to buy it would probably be the younger ones who have more time to play video games. They would not have children and probably would watch tv shows on Nickelodeon or Disney Channel.
I have in common with my custom avatar the age range as well as hobbies. I used to play video games a lot with friends but I also used to spend just as much time playing sports with friends outside. I do not think this is a coincidence, I think it makes sense that I would target a market that I already know about.
I attached above my custom avatar. My prototypical customer would usually be younger kids, aged 13-21 who own gaming consoles such as the Xbox or PS4 and play video games on a daily basis. The types of hobbies that my prototypical customer would partake in would include playing video games on their gaming console, playing outside with friends, going to the movies, or anything that a typical teenager would partake in on a daily basis. They would usually not drive because my prototypical customers range from 13-21 and the customers who would be most likely to buy it would probably be the younger ones who have more time to play video games. They would not have children and probably would watch tv shows on Nickelodeon or Disney Channel.
I have in common with my custom avatar the age range as well as hobbies. I used to play video games a lot with friends but I also used to spend just as much time playing sports with friends outside. I do not think this is a coincidence, I think it makes sense that I would target a market that I already know about.
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