23A-Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. My connection to the cause
• V: This is a valuable resource because it shows that I really care about the business and will put 100% of my effort into making sure it succeeds.
• R: This could be thought of as not rare, but in my case this is a cause that solves a problem I have been annoyed with my entire life. This long standing issue in my life makes it rare
• I: It is very hard for some entrepreneurs to have such deep hearted passion. They care about their products but they are often just ideas they have but not issues that they have been bothered by their entire lives
• N:There are no resources that will give anybody passion if it is not already present. This passion is very deep rooted and only comes from personal experience.
2. Connections to scientists to help me with the physics behind this product
• V: This is a valuable resource because it will help me make sure that my product will actually work and work well. Because I am related to one, I know I can always count on him to be accessible.
• R: This is rare because connections to people with large bases of knowledge when it comes to difficult topics is hard to find. Scientists are usually not very accessible as they are busy with their own research. 
• I: It is hard to copy this because if one does not have a connection with a scientist than they will not be able to easily contact one.
• N:There could be other resources that could give this advantage. These could include going to a large engineering firm to work out the logistics of the product.
3. Knowledge about physics and physical science to help me design this product
• V: Being a science major I have taken many chemistry and physics classes. I have some fundamental knowledge of magnetism from this. This is valuable because it will help me in concept design.
• R: This is rare because many business students or entrepreneurs with business degrees do not have this knowledge because they were not required to take science courses.
• I:This skill could be copied because people are able to take classes after they graduate or seek alternate sources of science knowledge.
• N:There are resources available, as stated above, such as large scale engineering firms that would help with the design of this product. 
4. Perfectionist attitude
• V: This is valuable because I will work until I feel as though this product is the exact way that I want it to be. 
• R: This is somewhat rare. I feel as though many entrepreneurs could also have this type of personality since we are all people who are passionate about our products.
• I: This skill is not easily copied. Many people think that they are perfectionists but having a perfectionist attitude is something very unique. I physically will not stop obsessing over things until they are perfect in my eyes. This is not easy to come by.
• N: There is nothing that one can do in order to give themselves this type of attitude. It is just a way that some people are. 
5. Experience in talking to professionals
• V: this is valuable because when I try to talk to business owners or investors I know how to conduct myself professionally and respectfully. This will help them to take me more seriously and possibly do business with me
• R: This is not rare. Many students in this program have had experience in talking to professionals due to internships or job fairs.
• I: This skill could be copied. Others can practice professionalism through business workshops.
• N: There are other resources such as classes or simply just by going out into the world and speaking to business executives to get practice in professionalism.
6. Experience in asking for money or donations.
• V: This is a valuable skill because I will inevitably have to ask for either donations or present this product to investors in order to gain monetary capital.
• R: This is a rare skill I think because many people at this age still do not really fully understand the concept of money. Since we do not pay for all things by ourselves we may not know all about money. This makes it harder to know how much to ask for and how to valuate it.
• I: This is a skill that could be copied. People can read books on how to and join organizations that require asking for donations in order to gain the experience.
• N: There are other resources that will give you the experiences in asking for money such as events like DM here on campus.
7. Contact with many restaurant owners and managers
• V: This is valuable because it puts me in close contact with people that would buy and use my product.
• R: This is a rare find because it is not usual for people our age to know many restaurant professionals.
• I: This is a skill that could not be copied. If you do not have the right connections with certain people then you will not be able to get in contact easily. 
• N:This skill could possibly be copied. People could get in contact with restaurant owners and have connections.
8. Photoshop experience
• V: This is a valuable skill that could be useful for generating adds for my product.
• R: This is a rare skill for an entrepreneur to have themselves because most people hire a professional to make their advertisements.
• I: This is a skill that could not be copied. It takes a long time to learn how to use photoshop well.
• N: This could not be copied themselves however one can hire somebody to do this.
9. Social media and internet marketing experience
• V: This is a valuable skill that could be useful when I am in the marketing phase. 
• R: This is probably not a rare skill since many entrepreneur students take marketing classes. 
• I: This is a skill that could not be copied since it takes a long time to gain experience and can not be done overnight. 
• N: This is a skill that could not be copied but one can hire an individual to professionally do the marking for them.
10. Leadership skills 
• V: This is a valuable skill to have since I will be the CEO of my company and will know how to do it well.
• R: This is a rare skill to have because if you are not a natural born leader than you will not do well when trying to be one.
• I: This is not a skill that could be copied. It is one that you have to possess or work very hard for.
• N: This is not a skill that could be copied. If one does not have the personality or passion than it is very hard to teach.

My top resource is my leadership ability. I think that it is the most important because it will help me actually running the company. This is something that is very hard to teach if one does not have the inbred passion for it. This will help me ensure that I make my product and business to be the absolute best it can be!

21A-Reading Reflection No.2

The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users

Written by: Guy Kawasaki 

1.  The general theme of this book is to keep your social media presentable, professional, and interactive. You want to create your own "brand” out of your social media so you want it to be a true representation of who you are so your followers get a feel for you as a whole
2.  When I first read the title of this book, I picked it to review because I use social media many times a day. However, I was unsure as to how it was going to relate to ENT3003 because we have not really discussed social media. Many of the main ideas that Kawasaki applied to social media, we apply in class to our business ideas. He states that you have to take your social media seriously and treat it as a business, even though many people treat it casually and more like a hobby. Our ventures began as ideas or stemmed from our pet peeves so we may not think of them as a serious business idea. However, in order for success we need to treat them with the up most importance. Kawasaki’s second lesson talks about showing your viewers content that they want to see. This connects to our ventures because we are trying to market these products to our customers. We need to see that they have a need that could be met and work to make sure we meet that need in the best possible way.  
3. I would create an exercise that requires students to use two platforms of social media to market their product or service. Kawasaki spends a section of his book talking about interconnecting multiple platforms. This helps to keep your social media branded to you. It also gets your name out there. This exercise would have students make two accounts on different social media websites, dedicated to their products. They would need to make at least three posts on each account and connect them using the skills and tips found in Kawasaki’s book. The posts would reflect the points we have talked about on our idea napkins. Why do people want this product? What does it do? How does it solve a need? And so on.
4. The biggest surprise I saw while reading this book was what I chose to create my assignment on. I never really thought about keeping my social media consistent across multiple platforms. I kind of just aimlessly post different things on each account and that does not help to establish who I am as a person. It is just a jumbled mess. I have not made a brand for myself and those looking at my social media could not answer the question, “Who is Shelley Robinson?”. I also did not think about using one platform to draw people to another. This keeps the reader on profiles all about you! This has them spending more time and though on things about you and your brand, allowing it to spread farther.

20A-Growing Your Social Capital

     1.) Domain expert- John Janusz a scientist.

a.     John is a scientist who is currently working in the chemical department at Proctor and Gamble. He graduated from Yale graduate school many years ago. Although his current focus is chemistry he has worked in physical sciences for many years and knows much about magnetism.

b.     John is filling my domain expert spot. He is somebody who can talk to be about the physical nature of my product. I need to know how and if the magnets will work. John can help me when it comes to making this product a physical reality.

c.     John is my great uncle. He has always been the person I turn to when I had questions about science related issues. Being a biology major, I have grown up intrigued by science and have been taking numerous science classes throughout my high school and college career. I face timed John to discuss my product.

d.     John and I talked about the nature of my magnets. I asked how strong the magnetic field would need to be to actually pull in the weight of a chair. He told me that the force of the magnet would have to be very strong. A low grade electromagnet would work but they are expensive. The ultra strong neodymium magnets in theory could work. He said their effectiveness depends on where I place them on the table and chairs. If I orient them correctly, I could get the attractive forces just right to a position where they would slide in with ease. However, he did remind me that I would also have to think about getting a magnet that is not too strong as to cause harm to people. If the magnets are too strong they can end up pulling in chairs tightly even when people are sitting in them. This is a big issue that will take a lot of troubleshooting to fix.

e.     Having John in my network will help me make sure that my product is safe and works well. He is somebody that will explain the physics and complicated science behind magnetism to me. This will help me when I go to start physically designing the product. He will also help me to draw up designs and put me in contact with builders.

      2.) Expert on Market-Rachid Choifani, restaurant owner of many restaurants in Orlando, FL

a.     Rachid is an entrepreneur who has opened and owns 5 restaurants in the Orlando Florida area and is currently looking to expand into South Florida. He began by opening his first restaurant, Marakesch, in Epcot at Walt Disney World. Since then he has simply grown his empire to expand all around Orlando.

b.     He is the expert on the market. He fills this slot because I am targeting this product to restaurants. My product will save time and make life easier for many restraint owners, managers, and servers. Rachid would be an expert here because he has been in the restaurant industry for many years and has been in many different restaurant settings. He would know a lot about the issues of chairs being left untucked and the problems that they cause.

c.     Rachid is the father of my father’s assistant. We have known the family for many years and have even visited them a few times in Orlando. I contacted him by way of a phone call.

d.     When I spoke with Rachid I showed him my idea napkin. He was very impressed with the idea. He liked the product very much and said it could definitely be a help in many of his restaurants. He told me about one specific waiter who was injured while working due to bumping into a chair that was left untucked. This was unfortunate because the server was then disabled for the rest of the shift and could not move as efficiently. Rachid told me that I needed to discuss more about why the restaurateurs should care about this product. On a surface level it seems like a good idea but is it really a product that many people will feel that they need to spend money on? He told me that I would attract some but not all. I needed to sit down and think about better reasons as to why this product is necessary. Saving time and efficiency simply just does not pull in enough buyers. In return, I will sit down and try to solve this issue and speak to Rachid once again after I have more ideas.

e.     Having Rachid in my network will help me greatly. He is now a resource I can speak to when I am questioning the success of this product. He represents my potential buyers. He is the market I am targeting. I can go to him and show him future idea napkins and elevator pitches and see if they are effective or not.

       3.) Supplier-Rick Blomqvuist, supplier of Florida sugarcane.

a.     Rick works for FloSun, one of Florida’s largest suppliers of sugar. He is the department head for the distribution center. Rick is in charge of making sure restaurants and businesses get their sugar.

b.     Rick is filling my spot for the important supplier. He is selling sugar to my industry, the restaurant industry. He will know about how to get the product out to certain businesses.

c.     Rick is the husband of my mother’s boss. I have always heard briefly that he was a sugar distributor and when I was thinking of people to reach out to connected to the restaurant industry, he came to mind.

d.     I asked Rick all about how to contact the businesses and the processes of getting people to distribute your product. He told me that his company is much more large scale than mine would be for a long time so the processes that he deals with is different than what I would start out with. He did though talk to me about how to sell my product in a way that distributors and restaurateurs would like to buy it. He told me that I needed to make it more marketable if I wanted to sell it on a larger scale. I would have to start with a few small restaurants and work my way up to larger distributors. Eventually, this product has the potential to be purchased by a big restaurant or food service and product developer. This would mean that I would not be the sole person selling the product. Instead, a large corporation would buy it from me and get it to restaurants and businesses all over the world. A feat I could not reach on my own.

e.     Rick will help me out by teaching me how to move up in the business world. He said that he will help me market and sell my product to a few smaller businesses. After that I would get the name out of my product to more and more people until finally I can reach out to a larger business. Since his career mirrors my end goal he will be helpful in telling me how to get there.

Reflection:
       I think that this assignment was a very good one to have us do. It got us started in the world of networking. It is a skill that entrepreneurs defiantly need to have because we will be trying to market our product or service and need to make connections. I now know how to ask people questions in a respectful yet still inquisitive manner. These people are different from those we have been interviewing in the past because they are more professional. I have not really had much experience with networking in the past as I am pre-health. I have never attended a career showcase or large scale recruiting event before. This experience though finally allowed me to do so.

19A-Idea Napkin No.2

Hello, my name is Shelley Robinson and I am currently a Junior at the University of Florida. I am not your typical entrepreneur as I am a biology major hoping to become a dentist one day. I have always been somebody who loves working with my hands. I enjoy crafting and art projects. I am also very good at talking to people. I have been considered a "people person" by many and love to look at life on the positive side! I am also a perfectionist. I like things to be organized and I hate when people forget to do basic things to keep organized. This specifically bugs me when people carelessly do something that will affect others. This business would affect my life in a positive note because it would give me another outlet in my life to be passionate about and also solve one of my worst "pet peeves".

Have you ever been sitting at a table and forget to push in your chair when you get up? Do you often bump into chairs that have been left out by others? My product will solve this problem. This product will attach magnets to the edge of the table and the chair, automatically pulling the chair in when it is left out. The magnets will be specifically placed so that when a person is sitting in the chair, they will block the attractive force. However when they get up they will expose the magnet, allowing the chair to be tucked back into the table. We will use high strength neodymium magnets that have up to 200 kg of adhesive force. 

This product will be useful in many different settings. Homeowners who have a large to medium sized family dinner table would be able to see benefit from this. Restaurant owners and managers would also find this product useful and time-saving for their businesses. This would also be useful for large business meeting and conferences where there are large or many tables. All of my customers would be individuals that have tables that people frequently sit at. This ranges from professionals to the average family or couple.

The value in this product can be seen in many ways. First off, this is a time saver. Now people will not have to spend time going around and tucking in the chairs to the tables where people have neglected to do so. This will also make it easier for people who are trying to walk around the space near tables so they do not have to pay close attention to ensure they will not walk into chairs.

I have a true passion for this product. This product is a solution to a problem that has bothered me for a long time. This idea stemmed from a point that I had on my bug list. This is something that is a pet peeve of mine and I would love to have a solution for. So I will do whatever I can to make it a reality. My perfectionist attitude will ensure that I will work extra hard to make sure that this product is exactly the way that I want it to be.

I think that these five elements do fit together in some way. However, I think that I am having trouble finding out why I am the right person to market this product. I know that this is a product that I believe in and want to succeed. However, I am not sure what skills I have that will help me achieve the end goal of this product. I do think though that I have a very strong idea of the customer base and how to sell it to them.

Feedback Memo:
I was told that I seemed very interested in this product. I tried to keep my interest apparent as I re-wrote some of this post. I was also told that my reviewer was confused on how the product would work. So, I wrote a little more explaining what type of magnets I would use and how they would be applied. I also added more about what sets me apart. I figured I could show more passion in this way.