Venture Concept No.1

Opportunity:

When examining my venture concept, ChompNation Books, I see a great opportunity right before my own eyes. This opportunity revolves around the fact that thousands of college students are overpaying for and overbuying textbooks every single semester. The current need that I see is an alternative source for students to get quality textbooks, fair prices, and expert advice on which books are necessary to buy. The forces that currently shape the environment in which I plan to enter are mainly the prices set by the UF bookstore, as well as the alternatives to buying them elsewhere, which are few and far in between. My target market is located in Gainesville, FL and my target demographic is focused on UF students of all ages and majors. Currently, the students inside of my demographic are satisfying their needs by buying from either the UF bookstore, exchanging with other students on Facebook, or ordering books from other websites. However, the loyalty rate among this demographic is not high at all, and as a student myself, I know that I would be willingly to buy from somewhere else if I knew I could obtain these texts at a lower price. Knowing all of these things, I believe that my opportunity could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and impact thousands of students at the university. The best part about this venture opportunity is that this opportunity can last for years on end, depending on the consistency and quality of the services that I provide. Also, this will depend on whether or not a lot of competitors flood the market in the coming years.

Innovation:

The innovation portion of my venture concept is nothing along the lines of inventing the new iPhone or a teleportation device, but rather a service that will make peoples' everyday lives easier while saving them time and money. The innovation that I am proposing is a website where students can come to buy, sell, or even trade their textbooks and school supplies. Through efficient supply chain management, I plan to offer these textbooks and supplies at lower prices than students would typically pay for them, while letting students buy and sell texts with one another over an e-marketplace setting.  An interesting feature of our website will allow students to communicate with one another by posting questions about classes or materials that are needed. I know from personal experience that buying $400 worth of books that I maybe opened three times all semester is a real bummer and wished that I would have gotten the advice of an older, more experienced student. To go along with this, I am trying to provide either same or next day delivery to students so that they will receive their materials as soon as they need them. Finally, I hope to release a note-taking app that will be compatible with PC, tablets, and phones. Through this app, students will be able to access all of their texts in one place electronically and have the ability to edit and create custom note templates to help them study. I have not decided to charge extra for app or tie it in with the purchase of texts. However, I do believe this app will entice to students to buy their books with us, and it will be exclusively available to ChompNation patrons.

Venture Concept:

I believe these innovations will be able to solve the problems students’ deal with when purchasing texts for a multitude of reasons. First of all, money is one of the most important priorities for a college student, and they will be able to save possibly hundreds of dollars every semester through our services. Second, it will save students loads to time. Since we are an online business, students will no longer have to experience a two-hour bookstore wait during the middle of their usually busy day. Third, I believe that the app, bundled with the texts, will allow to students to access their texts from anywhere and not have to lug multiple books across campus throughout the day. They will also be able to customize the way that they learn, which in turn could lead to improved customer satisfaction and high retention rates. 

Customers will want to switch to my company due to the fact that our prices will be lower and service quality will be higher. I believe that in the first year or so, it could be hard to garner the reputation against competitors. However, if I am smart about how I market the company and services that we provide, people will be looking to us as their place of choice for buying books in no time. The competitors in my market (Facebook, UF Bookstore, Chegg, etc.) are merely trying to turn a profit, while ChompNation is geared towards giving the most bang for the buck. We are genuinely interested in providing the best buying and learning experience for students and our prices will reflect this. It is here that I believe I will be able to gain an advantage over my competitors.  The main points that I want to focus on while creating the customer experience are: easy usability, high interaction between the buyer and seller, lower prices, and efficient delivery time. If I am able to manage these aspects well, I believe this venture could be a huge success. I would not have many employees, however the ones that I hire will have to be very tech savvy and have some experience with UF courses and require materials.

Three Minor Points:

I feel like my venture unfair advantage would be my experience with building a brand name and catering to the demographic which is the student body of UF. I really could use these experience to figure out the Do’s and Don’t’s when first starting out in here in Gainesville.

Eventually, I would like to launch my app to students and businesspeople nationwide. The students at UF will be the test market for this production, but I feel like I could give it to much more people on a national scale, years down the road.

Honestly, I do not know where I see myself 10 years down the road. However, if the launch of the company is successful it might be something I could carry on for years to come, or maybe launch a different company based on what I have learned.

Week 11 Reading Reflection

Hey everyone,

This is my weekly post dedicated to the our Weekly Reading Reflection. This week's reflection comes from the Harvard Business Review and is an article written by Gary P. Pisano, titled "You Need an Innovation Strategy".

The biggest thing that surprised me in this week's reading was the fact that innovation is continuous. Before reading the article, I thought of innovation as just merely coming up with a new idea. However, Pisano explained that innovation is a continuous process of creating customer value, rather than just a single idea and leaving it at that. I also did not realize that there are so many factors within a company that go into innovative processes, including the determination of what type of value a company wants to create, and how this type of innovation fits the organization and its goals.

One thing that I found confusing was the Innovation Landscape Map. I am not too familiar with the numerous types of innovations and how these types of innovations require certain things of a company in order to accomplish this innovation. However, if I knew more on the subject, hopefully I would be able to understand the significance and meaning of these concepts and the chart.

Two questions I would ask the author:

#1. Is it possible to cross multiple innovative fields with a single product and still be able to stay within the means of a company?

#2. For a young college student, what qualities should I possess to be a skilled innovator?

Finally, there is nothing that I disagreed with in this article. I thought that Pisano did an excellent job of articulating himself and hammered home his points with numerous facts. On top of that, he is clearly very experienced in numerous innovative fields, so I trust that most everything he says is reliable.

Until next time,

-Bryce

Amazon Whisperer

The current cost drivers for my business concept revolve around revenue from the sale of textbooks and school supplies as well as revenue from online advertising on my website.

The product offering that I believe should be offered to students next is a mobile note-taking app geared specifically towards textbooks. For example, if a student took four classes, they would upload their books for each class onto the app, where they would then be able to create their own note templates as well as annotate their textbooks. Through the use of the app, studying will be made easier for students and will contain all of their notes, highlights, reminders, and key info right alongside their textbooks. This would also eliminate the need for dragging cumbersome textbooks and notepads to class and around campus.

I was not able to search Amazon for a product like the one that I would like to deliver; however, I was able to find an app on the Apple App Store that closely resembled the app that I would like to create. This app was called Notability. Notability is an app that allows students to create their own notes in any which way they please. However, this application is geared specifically towards class notes. Really, the sky is the limit with this app as far as note-taking goes and it allows you to type, draw, sketch among its other features.

All of the customer reviews I read were very encouraging and had a lot of good things to say about the app. Customers seemed to be mostly comprised of college students (the demographic I want to cater to) that stated the app had made their note-taking experience much easier. Most customers seemed to enjoy the fact that they could customize their notes in whichever way they wanted to and which in turn led to easier learning. Some people said they no longer bought notebooks because of the app, and most everyone highly recommended it to other students. The main things that customers were dissatisfied with revolved around syncing to different devices, making sure the most recent versions of their notes were the ones that are saved, and some formatting errors regarding graphs and charts.

As far as the design of the product, I would not change it too much. Its main function would be geared towards the actual textbooks themselves rather than just class notes. I want students to be able to sync to their different devices, whether mobile, tablet, or PC with ease and allow them the opportunity to study on the go. When it comes test time, I want students to be able to scroll through their books with guided and efficient notes, and be able to say "Yea, I remember that concept" or "I know Professor ____ said that will be on this next exam". So I believe the biggest jump my product makes is its purpose for textbook annotations first, then class notes.

Finally, I think this product will make a good addition to my business due to the fact that my whole business revolves around the sale of textbooks to students. If I could develop an application to make e-books more user-friendly and ready to edit, it would save students a lot of time and making studying easier. In return, we would charge a small fee for the app, and the students would find themselves achieving higher grades with greater satisfaction!

Until next time,

-Bryce

My Unfair Advantage

Hey everyone,

This is my post dedicated to "My Unfair Advantage", where I list of ten of my best resources and using a VRIN analysis, really determine which resource provides my greatest "unfair advantage". So without further ado here it goes.

#1. A large, diverse, and specific target market
V: I believe that having a very distinct, yet diverse target market is extremely valuable due to the fact that it allows me to cater to many different types of students all under the same type of market setting.

R: I do not believe it is rare to have a market like the one that I have described, although I do believe it is still very advantageous.

I: I believe it is extremely hard to imitate this market, even at other large, state schools.

N: There are no substitutes for this market.

#2. Expert advisors to give me help starting my company ( 2 of the 3 Human Capital)
V: I believe that having previously worked with two market experts gives me critical insight has to how I should approach this start-up.

R: I believe that it is pretty rare at my age to have already done business with two experienced people within the same market, and being able to use them as guidance.

I: Obviously, these relationships cannot be imitated in any fashion. However it is possible for others to have strong human capital as well.

N: There are also no substitutes for these relationships and experts.

#3. We offer lower prices than that of the competition
V: This is a very valuable concept for my company because students every year spend thousands of empty dollars on materials and supplies they do not use.

R: This is not extremely rare, but it is uncommon to find lots of textbooks at fair or low prices.

I: This, I presume, would be pretty easy imitate for the most part, as there are companies elsewhere that have attempted to do this.

N: There are other resources that could provide the same benefits, however I believe that I will be able to provide these "benefits" in the best and most affordable way possible.

#4. Lower up-front costs
V: This is always an extremely valuable asset to have. In this way, I will not be spending as much money to start the company. However marketing costs could be expensive, which I need to watch for.

R: I do not believe that it is very rare to have low start-up costs.

I: No, I do not believe that it is very easy to imitate low start-up costs

N: The only substitute for low start up costs would be high start up or intermediate start up costs.

#5. User-friendly and student to student interaction
V: This is extremely valuable because it will make shopping easier, faster, and friendlier for everyone.

R: Yes, I believe it is really hard to find extremely user-friendly service, as well as student to student advice forums on book-selling websites.

I: Yes, this could be imitated by other companies if they chose to.

N: There is no substitute, in my eyes, for these types of services.

#6. Same-day delivery services
V: I believe this creates the greatest amount of value due to the fact that it gives students their materials right when they need them.

R: Yes, this is an extremely rare attribute for a business to possess.

I: Other companies could imitate this, but it would be extremely hard for them to do so.

N: The only substitutes would be to go to the store and pick it up yourself, or next-day delivery.

#7. I have experience with marketing start-up companies
V: This is extremely valuable when you have worked for companies similar to yours that also cater to your same market. This will prove to be extremely valuable in the beginning stages of my companies development.

R: It is not rare to have field experience, although it is extremely advantageous.

I: You cannot imitate real-life experience.

N: There is also no substitute for actual market experience.

#8. Our clients will be able to achieve greater profit margins with us
V: This will create a lot of value for both us and the customer as they will have to opportunity to sell their books on our website, and in turn it will increase web traffic and publicity for us.

R: This is not extremely rare as a few other websites allow you to do this.

I: I believe this will be pretty easy to imitate for other companies.

N: Facebook selling or selling back to the bookstore (what a joke) are the only substitutes.

#9. A brand name that heavily identifies with my market (ChompNation Books)
V: When people around UF hear that name, they know it is specifically dedicated to their needs.

R: This name is both unique and rare.

I: No other companies would be able to imitate this name.

N: There are no other substitutes for this company name.

#10. A customer-first culture that makes people want to be a part of ChompNation
V: This will make customers return and continually give us their business, which adds an ample amount of value.

R: This is (sadly) a rare concept in reference to many of my competitors nowadays.

I: Other companies would be able to imitate this culture for themselves if they wanted to do so.

N: I believe their is no substitute for this type of company culture.

After performing a VRIN analysis on all of my resources, I believe that my own marketing experience is my greatest unfair advantage. You cannot buy or put a price tag on experience, especially in your field of interest, and at my age not a lot of kids can say that they have already worked for multiple start-up companies. This is what I believe separates me from the rest of the pack.

Until next time,

-Bryce

Growing My Social Capital

Person #1

#1. Jeremy Ryan - Founder and Creator of CollegeTraders.com

#2. Domain Expert

#3. I have had a personal relationship with Jeremy for about two years now stemming from another job that I have had, and I have actually worked for his company for a short period of time this past year (Brand Ambassador at UF). I have had both in-person and over the phone contact with Jerry.

#4. The nature of our exchange was basically me asking him questions about growing a brand name at a college and how to get students to select my services over others that are readily available to them. He told me it takes a large marketing effort and something distinguishable that will put a face to my brand and company that makes amongst the competition. It is great to get firsthand advice from both a friend and business partner on what it is like to grow and expand a brand of a company just like mine.

#5. Adding Jeremy to my network will allow me to receive advice and guidance moving forward as he has grown his network to a couple schools around the state. He knows firsthand the struggles and difficulties of a start-up in a college town, so I believe he will be able to offer me valuable advice.

Person #2

#1. John Tan - Growth Manager of OneClass.com

#2. Market Expert

#3. John was my Growth Manager during my time as a OneClass Community Manager here at UF. He actually was a couple levels above me, but I was in contact with him time to time, checking up on weekly results and giving me advice on how to maximize my results. I was actually able to garner a few hundred sign-ups in just over a month with his guidance. This is encouraging because OneClass has the same target market and offers a few of the same services that my company will offer.

#4. The nature of our exchanges has been, and was about maximizing my skills and potential as a "salesman". This really means how can I most effectively target my audience, and which groups desire which services. While working with John especially, I was able to see what different market segments were looking for with his company.

#5. Adding John to my network will continue to allow me to get expert advice and critique from someone who is well established in my market at both the local and national level.

Person #3

#1.  Daniel Rodgers - McGraw Hill Sales Representative for Florida

#2. Supplier

#3. I saw Mr. Rodgers name on the McGraw-Hill website and proceeded to contact him through an email.

#4. The nature of the exchange was me inquiring about prices and processes of buying and purchasing books from McGraw Hill, who is one of the top book manufacturers in the U.S. I also wanted to know what I would have to do in order to reap possible benefits of doing business with them.

#5. Adding someone like Mr. Rodgers to my network could be crucial to my business due to the fact that my business cannot function without a reliable supplier. However, I feel as though I will have to establish relations with numerous suppliers because not all textbooks come from the same source.

Looking forward, I play to use this experience to give myself confidence when networking in the future. It takes a lot of time and effort planning on who you should associate yourself with, and I was actually able to use my past work experience and networking in this venture. This was a great opportunity to get my name out there and talk to various experts in my field that can possibly contribute to my success.

Until next time,

-Bryce

Week 10 Reading Reflection

Hey everyone,

This week's post is dedicated to our weekly reading reflections. This reflection comes out of Chapter 11 of our Entrepreneurship textbook written by Donald F. Kuratko. The title of this chapter is "Financial Preparation for Entrepreneurial Ventures" and deals with a lot of accounting principles and numbers.

Although nothing "surprised" me in this reading, there were a few terms and concepts that I was unfamiliar with. These terms included: Internal Rate of Return, Pro Forma Statements, Capital Budgeting, and the Payback Method. I have only taken a couple accounting classes thus far, so I am sure that I will be very familiar with these terms sooner than later. However, as of now I am very unfamiliar with these terms in regards to the financial side of a venture.

One of the concepts that I thought was particularly confusing was Capital Budgeting. This is most likely due to the fact that I have not covered this topic yet, and on top of that, it is a computational concept. Table 11.11 on page 358 was also particularly confusing, and although I do understand what it is trying to accomplish, the mathematical side had me baffled.

Two Questions that I would like to ask the author:

1. When preparing a capital budget, what is the most influential factor to let one know when budgeting for a for a certain venture?

2. Why is it necessary to use the IRR method if the NPV is so similar and effective?

Finally, there is not really anything that I disagreed with in this section. Once again, Kuratko's writing is so objective that there is nothing I can really disagree with.

Until next time,

-Bryce

Elevator Pitch No.3

Hey guys,

This post marks my third elevator pitch! Pretty big stuff haha. Anyways, going off of the feedback from my previous pitch, there was not much that I felt needed to be changed, just reinforced. Pretty much everyone likes the idea of saving money on textbooks as well as getting them faster than they normally would while shopping someplace else. I went in with the same witty approach as I did last time because it seemed to be embraced by all those who gave me feedback from last time. So here it is, I hope you all enjoy it!

Elevator Pitch #3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYyd58czQR4

Until next time,

-Bryce

Week 9 Reading Reflection

Hey everyone,

This week's reading reflection was based of off Chapter 10 out of our Entrepreneurship book written by Donald F. Kuratko.

Due to the fact that I am taking a marketing course here at UF right now, not much in the reading surprised me; except in the very beginning when Kuratko mentions the 4C's: Cocreated, Communities, Customizable, and Choice. I am very familiar with the 4P's of marketing, but the 4C's was a term, or group of terms that I was not yet familiar with, nor had ever seen before. Also, I did not realize just how big social media and mobile marketing has and will become in the near future. With the rise of social media and mobile devices, this, I believe, will soon become the largest marketing sector for countless companies and target segments.

This was the first reading where I was not really confused during any single part. The section about the pricing strategies seemed difficult to understand at first, but upon further reading it makes much more sense to me now.

2 Questions I would like to ask the author:

#1. At what stage in the starting one's own venture, should one begin worrying about marketing?

#2. Which form of marketing, do you believe, gives you the most bang for your buck?

Finally, There was nothing in this reading that I did not agree with due to the objective nature of Kuratko's writing and the way he is able to articulate himself to his audience. Maybe one day I will find a reason to disagree with this guy.

Until next time,

-Bryce