Week 11 Reading Reflection

Gary Pisano: You Need an Innovation Strategy (Harvard Business Review) 

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?
This article talked about innovation and the strategies that are needed when you are an entrepreneur. I enjoyed this article and I found it interesting to read that entrepreneurs must continually try to stay ahead of the market and all of the many products and inventions that are out there. All departments in a company must work together in order to be on the same page when it comes to innovation. 

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
I did not find any parts of the reading to be confusing. The author did a great job at addressing the topic. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?
Two questions I would ask the author are where does he think innovation is going to lead to in the future and does he think these strategies are going to continually change. 

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?
I did not find anything the author said to be wrong. He backed up his articles with specific examples and facts. 

Amazon Whisperer

•    Describe the revenue drivers you currently include in your business concept for this class. Revenue drivers are the different ways you make money. 

I will be making revenue specifically from my camelback made of cork.

•    Describe what kind of product offering you believe should be next. What's the next thing your customers want?

I believe the next thing my customers will want is somewhere to put their camelback when they aren’t using it. It will be a drawstring backpack with a thin layer of cork on the inside of the lining.

•    Describe how this "next" thing will enhance your existing product/service offering. Does it improve the user experience, does it increase customer-switching costs, does it foster customer loyalty, etc.?

Offering this new drawstring backpack will definitely enhance my existing product. It will give the consumer a place to put their bottle when they aren’t using it. I think it would foster customer loyalty especially if they like that the original product is made from such a unique material such as cork.

•    Go to Amazon and try to find a product that is similar to the one you want to offer next. Describe the product. Include a picture of the product.

The product is a typical drawstring backpack that is light and durable. It is low in price and is easy to carry around. It is most similar to my product except for the material that is used on the inside of it.

•    What are the customer reviews for the product? What, exactly, do customers not like about the product? What do they like about it?

This product was given 4.7 out of 5 stars. Most of the comments were positive saying that it was the perfect size and that it was a great price. The only thing some people did not like about it was that it was overly big in size but many other people did like that aspect.

•    Describe what design/usability changes you'd make to the product. 

I want to change the interior of the bag. I think that a bag with a very thin layer of cork on the inside can prevent damages to the bag and will also absorb any liquid that may spill onto the bag preventing books, valuables, or whatever may be in the bag from getting ruined.

•   Describe why you think this product would make a good addition to your current product/service offering.

This would be a good addition to my current product because they go hand in hand. People hate to carry things around in their hands and it would be really convenient if they could simply buy a bag to go with their camelback, all at a reasonable price. This product is unique and people in this generation love change, so I think using cork would be a great way to incorporate that.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

This chapter discussed what entrepreneurs must be prepared for financially when choosing to start their own business. There are three financial statements that entrepreneurs focus on and they include the balance sheet, the income statement, and the cash-flow statement. Entrepreneurs have to specifically focus on budgeting. Starting a new company is a challenge and it is important to be aware of where you are investing your money. Because of this, there are key budgets which include the operating budget, the cash-flow budget, and the capital budget. The operating budget has a sales forecast and an estimation of operating expenses. The cash-flow budget gives an overview of of the inflows and outflows of cash during a specific period. Lastly, the capital budget helps entrepreneurs make decisions regarding investments.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

I like how the author divided the chapter to make it easier to understand, especially since this was a chapter based on financial information and many equations were discussed. I found it easy to understand because of how he broke up the chapter. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

If I could ask the author two questions I would want to know how some of these formulas were proposed. I would also ask him if he thinks financial prospects are changing for entrepreneurs. 

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I don't think the author was wrong about anything. He backed up all of his points with examples and analyses so I found that I agreed with everything. 

Elevator Pitch No. 3

1) The pitch:

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch: All the comments I received were very thought out and for the most part, constructive. I found them to be helpful and tried to improve this pitch as best I could. It stood out to me that many people thought my idea was so innovative and different. I also liked that one person asked me how I think my product would stand out from other insulated products, which I add in this new pitch.

3) What did you change, based on the feedback?: Based on the feedback I was given on my last elevator pitch, I tried to relax more. When I'm speaking, I tend to speak at a fast pace to get my pitch to be under one minute. But what I don't realize is that I might be talk too fast and my audience might not understand what I'm saying as well as I would hope. I was also told that I kept looking away from the camera so I tried to improve on that as well.

Week 9 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

This chapter is about the marketing challenges that come with being an entrepreneur. Marketing research is discussed as well as the reasons why entrepreneurs may choose to not carry out market research. This chapter also talked about some innovative ways that entrepreneurs can conduct research because we have become so technologically advanced.  Developing a marketing concept has three parts: the formulation of a marketing philosophy, market segmentation, and understanding consumer behavior. Pricing strategies are also taken into account when marketing research is being conducted. 

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

I did not find any parts of the reading confusing. I really enjoyed reading about the many challenges that come into play when being an entrepreneur and I felt like the author did a great job explaining them. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

Two questions I would ask the author are how did you decide to organize the chapter in the way that you did and what kind of research and resources helped you to write this chapter. 

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I did not think the author wrote anything that I disagree with. I thought the author used the write amount of examples and citations when he discussed the topics in the chapter. 

Idea Napkin No. 2

1) I am a third year Marketing major with a minor in Entrepreneurship. I started my time here at the University of Florida as a pre-dental student. However, I was unaware of the amount of hard work and effort it takes to achieve such a goal. I was also not fully ready to achieve this goal. Currently, it is my goal to graduate with my Business degree and work for a few years before I decide where I want my life to go next. I aspire to one day be successful and love my career. I believe I will take the skills I have been taught through the Business School and use them to start my own dental practice.  If I were to start my business, it would play a role in my life everyday. I carry a camelback everywhere I go to constantly keep myself hydrated so I know I would absolutely use my product.

2) I am offering to customers an innovative to drink water or any cold beverage. This product will be made with a light, thin layer of cork around the bottle so that condensation will be prevented. I know many people, myself included, hate when their water bottle or camelback condensates as soon as they poor a cold drink or bottle of water. My product will prevent this from happening. It will also come in standard colors as well as an option of customizing your own. The product will also be set at an affordable price, around $15.

3) I am offering my product to anyone who brings a bottle to keep themselves hydrated no matter where they are. I want my product to appeal especially to college students as we are always walking around campus and trying to stay hydrated.  

4) I believe customers will pay for this product because it will be around the same price as an camelback but it will be different from what is already out there. There is no water bottle or camelback that is made of cork. This product will prevent condensation and can be customized any way a consumer wants it.

5) What sets this product apart is that there is nothing like it, and I think it is something that could be extremely successful. Yes, there are products that do keep cold drinks from forming condensation, but there is yet to be a product made with this material. 

I believe the elements of my product fit together very well. My only concern is being able to buy the materials for the product at an affordable rate. Buying them at a cheap price will allow me to sell the product at lower price so that college students can afford them. I think I would have a competitive edge because I will be using cork instead of a typical material. 

The only points I was given from feedback is to talk about the cork being light in weight, how affordable the price will be, and whether it would be offered to students. Other than that my feedback included it being a cool idea and that the material I chose was an interesting one. I incorporated the feedback I was given by simply adding the information into the questions above.