30A – Final Reflection

1) I have to admit that some of these posts really did take a lot out of me and required me to really use some brain power. The lows that I experienced in this class was when I realized that I did not turn in an assignment or when I realized that I waited too long to begin an assignment. However, this got better when I started putting reminders on my phone. The highs of this class was reading all the feedback from my peers. I got to see what they actually took away from my posts and see what stuck out to them the most.

2) All the posts for this class really allowed me to display my creative side, which is not something I usually do. Creative thinking is extremely useful and important and this class taught me the benefits of it, so I think that is definitely something that I will cherish and take away from this class.

3) As I said before, we were really required to look at our business idea in a critical and creative manner, which is something that is required of entrepreneurs. I think this class really did help me to think and act more like an entrepreneur. Now, if I plan to be an entrepreneur in the future is a different question, but this class definitely helped me see that it is possible.

4) I would just encourage anyone who has the desire to be an entrepreneur to start planning now. Document and save everything down so you can see how your idea possible changed. Look to others for advice and feedback as different perspectives are necessary to develop the best idea. For this class, I would just advise students to take it seriously, start assignments early, and actually put some effort into it. The things you learn from yourself when doing these assignments are very rewarding so put your best foot forward when you are in this class.

29A – Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity: My business idea can completely eliminate long wait times in checkout lanes. This solution would be beneficial for the typical mother of two who is just trying to get their kids out of the store before they ask for about every candy on the shelf. It would also be great for the typical college student who is just trying to get home to finish studying for their three exams, or just about anyone who can't stand these long lines.
This would be a great opportunity as humans are only becoming busier in their lives. Checkout lanes are becoming longer than ever, especially now during this pandemic because everyone is trying to stock up on cleaning supplies and make home-cooked meals rather than eating out. Currently, people are attempting to bypass these long wait times by using self-checkout lanes. However, this is not always the best option for everyone because self-checkout was designed for people who have less than five items, not for the person who has a cart full of groceries and house supplies. This new situation we are facing in grocery stores will likely become our new normal so that is why the window of opportunity for my idea will probably be open for quite a while.

Innovation: My idea is that instead of all the checkout lanes, we equip our cashiers with smartphones that have scanning and paying ability. This can potentially save about five minutes per customer during their whole checkout process. This process also encourages customers to bag only the few necessary items. So not only would this solution help to cut down the long wait times, but it might also help to eliminate some of our plastic waste while keeping our customers happy and our cashiers employed. I would be selling this app to grocery stores and other stores who wish to get involved. This app can be downloaded on any smartphone or tablet, however a store must be registered to the app and the appropriate sign-in information (as created by the store admin) should be entered to verify everything and prevent fraud. I would probably sell this application for $15 per device as it allows for scanning and paying and requires large storage of data and accounts, however this price has not been declared yet.

Venture Concept: This is a good idea to implement into stores especially right now because people do not want to be standing in long checkout lanes for several minutes as they have other things to do and it might increase their risk of infectious contact. People are always looking for a faster alternative so I don't think it would be that hard to get the customers to switch. As for store owners, making that switch might be a little hard for them because they are the ones required to invest in this idea. The biggest competitor for me would be the self-checkout lanes, however one cannot really use these when they have a cart full of groceries, so it is not always the most convenient option. In creating this business idea, I do not plan to eliminate any employee positions. The utilization of my idea will require just as many cashiers as before as stores would need employees to operate these applications. Of course, a brief training and mastering of the application would be established prior to its use.

Minor Elements: 1) My secret sauce that will set my idea apart from others is my tenacity and perseverance.

2) What's next for my venture is to possibly venture out to clothing and appliance stores, which might be very useful during peak times of the year, such as for holidays and Black Friday.
3) In the next 5 years or so I plan to sell my idea to some company, which will allow me to focus on other possible ventures.

I didn't receive any critical feedback, but I was encouraged about the benefits of implementing my business idea into grocery stores during the situation right now. I was also encouraged about my idea to venture out into other stores, so I incorporated this more into my updated venture concept. I tried to clarify in this post what exactly I am selling to these store owners. This would allow people to see if my idea is actually worth investing in.

28A – Your Exit Strategy

For my exit strategy, I think it is best that I sell my business in the coming years to large company grocery stores. This might be the most lucrative option for my business and this way I would not have to deal with the individual store owners or managers. This particular exit strategy would possibly allow me to spend my time and efforts in other, bigger ventures such as expanding my business idea to maybe clothing and appliance stores. This isn't an idea that I was exploring prior to making this strategy. I was merely focusing on grocery stores because I thought that those checkout lanes were the only ones that could get as long. But I would profit off introducing my idea to these other stores because their lines can get crazy long especially during peak times of the year. So this strategy really helps me to continue aiming higher and bigger for my business.

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance

1. What surprised me the most about Elon Musk is just the great number of business ventures he set out on and the notability of each one of them. It's just so surprising to me that one can have that many unique ideas and and see to that all of those ideas are successful.
2. Just as it surprised me the most, I also admired it the most. His sheer ability to pursue all these ideas that are so vastly different from each other, and the ideas that might have seemed so far fetched is what is most admiring.
3. The thing I admire the least seems to be common between most of these figures. Elon Musk was known to fire his employees impulsively, which I don't agree with. His employees are people that he should be establishing trust and respect with. So I think he needs to work on his relationships with people.
4. Musk has had several failures involving failed model rocket launches. But he learned from those failures and found what was wrong, and now several people are signing up to be the first ones on Musk's rocket to Mars.
5. I think Musk was extremely courageous in his business ventures. He thinks of ideas that no one has even thought of or thinks is possible.
6. The one question that I could think of asking Musk is: When do you think the rock to Mars will be set to launch?
7. Musk obviously valued hard work and dedication from a very young age and he continues to use that today. These are extremely important elements to have along with many others in order to gain success, so I think it's definitely great qualities to have.

26A – Celebrating Failure

1) This semester, even though my grades did not show it, I felt like I was failing at my classes. There were a lot of times that I just forgot to complete assignments. There were a lot of bonus and forgiveness opportunities offered for these classes, which was a relief, but still, it just created a lot more headache in the end. I do procrastinate a lot, but this semester it has been really bad especially after being home and not in the typical class environments. I tried using an agenda, but I eventually stopped using it because it seemed more like a chore to fill out. Hopefully, I can just say it's because of senioritis.

2) The main thing that I learned from this is that you should never ever procrastinate. You will just end up regretting all your decisions leading up to it and it just creates even more headache, so it's not worth it. I learned that putting reminders in my phone might be the best way to go since they can be set to go off at a specific time and will go off multiple times until you actually delete it.

3) Failure sucks but I think it's necessary because we need to learn from our mistakes. We need to see what we did wrong and how to change it so that we never make that mistake again. So it's ok to fail at something as long as you know that you need to fix it and you figure out how to fix it.

25A – What’s Next?

Existing Market:
What's next with my product in the existing market is not only implementing it in busy grocery stores, but also implementing it in shopping malls and busy clothing or appliance stores during peak shopping times of the year. My product is something that would be very useful during Black Friday when almost every store is filled to the brim with customers. So my idea would not just be limited to only certain types of stores. Since we were not able to conduct the customer interviews, I used three of my friends and family friends who work or have worked in retail. They all agreed that my idea and the manner in which I am going about it is reasonable and doable. They all liked that it would not eliminate the cashier position, however they were afraid that it might reduce the amount of cashier positions. However, I assured them that with the smartphone scanners and payers there would be just the same amount of cashiers hired and required to operate the technology as there once were with the original checkout lanes.


New Market:
I think a completely different market that I could sell my product to is clothing and appliance stores like I mentioned above. Before, I was thinking that my product would only be useful for grocery stores. However, these other stores also see that their lines can become very long and wait times during checkout are also unnecessarily long. This happens especially right before holidays and school reopenings. That is why a product like mine could easily benefit such shops and their customers.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

We all hate waiting in long checkout lanes at the grocery store. We have things to do, places to be, people to see, so the checkout lane is the last place we would want to spend a good chuck of our free time in. We find ourselves constantly skipping from line to line in an attempt to secure the fastest-moving and shortest lane. But often the result of this skipping around just to save ourselves some time results in a facepalm when we notice the other line we were just in is actually moving faster and the person that was behind you has completely checked out. Customers become infuriated with long wait times in checkout lanes, especially when they see that only 2 out of the 12 lanes are actually open. We can no longer be forcing these customers to wait in these long lanes when they have other things stacked up on their busy schedule.

I have a great idea that can completely eliminate long wait times in checkout lanes. This solution would be beneficial for the typical mother of two who is just trying to get their kids out of the store before they ask for about every candy on the shelf. It would also be great for the typical college student who is just trying to get home to finish studying for their three exams. 

This would be a great opportunity as humans are only becoming busier in their lives. Checkout lanes are becoming longer than ever, especially now during this pandemic because everyone is trying to stock up on cleaning supplies and make home-cooked meals rather than eating out. This market might be defined more by parents as they are often the ones in a big rush to get home to their kids. Currently, people are attempting to bypass these long wait times by using self-checkout lanes. However, this is not always the best option for everyone because self-checkout was designed for people who have less than five items, not for the person who has a cart full of groceries and house supplies.

My idea is that instead of all the checkout lanes, we equip our cashiers with smartphones that have scanning and paying ability. This can potentially save about five minutes per customer during their whole checkout process. This process also encourages customers to bag only the few necessary items. So not only would this solution help to cut down the long wait times, but it might also help to eliminate some of our plastic waste while keeping our customers happier and our cashiers employed.

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1. Business idea involves technology that already exists
VRIN: This is valuable because this opportunity would not be difficult to implement. Since it already exists it is not really rare. Other companies might be able to create something similar to what I am trying to create so it may be imitable and some stores may go with self-checkout option rather than my idea so it is not necessarily non-substitutable.

2. I have engineering and computer science friends that are knowledgeable about the technology involved in my business idea
VRIN: This is very valuable because their expertise will help me create the platform I am thinking of. This is rare because the expertise offered by my friends is unique, which also makes it imperfectly imitable and non-substitutable as well.

3. Friend's mom is a manager at Walmart, a popular and very busy grocery store
VRIN: This is extremely valuable because she can offer me her insight and advice on grocery stores like hers and may even be willing to implement my idea in her store to test it out. This is rare I think, because not many students know someone who is involved in the management of a big grocery store. For that reason it can also be considered somewhat imitable and non-substitutable.

4. Smartphones are used for almost every task now and are equipped with countless features
VRIN: This is valuable because people are becoming so technologically savvy and reliant on their phones these days. This is not really rare; since people are so reliant on their phones in general, other companies might benefit from this same aspect. Because of this, it is not imperfectly imitable. However, it is non-substitutable since people will refuse to have their phones replaced by anything.

5. Customer testimonies about long checkout lanes
VRIN: This is valuable because I can use this information to assess what customers really want. It is not rare, since most customers think the same way. It is not imperfectly imitable since customer testimonies can be generalized, however it cannot be substituted.

6. Helps to also eliminate some of our plastic waste
VRIN: This is valuable because eliminating plastic waste has been a big issue that many people are trying to reduce. This is not really rare because reusable grocery bags have been attempting to reduce our plastic waste from grocery bags for years now. Some stores already do this where they do not bag any of their item, so this could be perfect imitable and substitutable.

7. Ability to scan and pay for items all under one application
VRIN: This is valuable because one application provides ease. It is also rare, because these abilities are not currently present under one application. It is imitable as many companies can create similar things to it and it can also be substituted by self-checkout.

8. Helps attract customers and generate more revenue for grocery stores.
VRIN: This may not be as valuable for big, chain grocery stores, because they probably generate enough revenue. This is also not really rare and it can be imitable and substitutable as self-checkout might attract more customers to a store since it is quick.

9. Demand is high for a product that would shorten checkout lane wait times
VRIN: This is valuable because if demand is high for this, then a product that solves this will be beneficial. It is not really rare because several grocery store customer will agree with each other and have this high demand. This may however be substituted because there are now a lot of platforms that will deliver grocery store items to your door in order to bypass long lines.

10. Eliminates the need for so many checkout lanes, clearing up valuable space in stores
VRIN: This is valuable for grocery stores that sell a lot and a variety of items. It is rare because self-checkout even takes up a lot of space and cashiers can technically still be employed with my idea, therefore it is hard to imitate and substitute it.

22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3

Pitch No.3 link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Xa_zbp3A7Kg3X8me7_OZx-LVHkG2fHtB

Reflection and change: All of the comments and feedback I received on my last two elevator pitches were positive ones. Everyone said that I had a good level of enthusiasm and good delivery. I was concerned if everyone would be able to understand my idea through my explaining during my pitch, but it seemed that it really helped to enhance my prior writings and blog posts about it. In this final pitch, I did not really change much. However, since my idea seems to be very relevant in this current pandemic we are in, I included this aspect in my pitch in order to explain how my product (smartphones equipped with scanning and paying abilities) would be extremely useful during a time like this.

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Scott Adams

1) General theme/argument: Scott Adams focused much on personality traits throughout his book. He also focused on the various aspects and ideas which people strongly believe or support. He then noted that these beliefs are actually incorrect. He was a big proponent of the fact that minor losses from time to time are ok, as long as you learn to take care of yourself and be comfortable with who you are and what you are doing. If this is done, then your losses will eventually transform into big wins.

2) Connection with ENT3003: From reading his book, we can see that Adams placed great importance on human capital; it was the driving force behind his ideas. He claimed that every skill we have significantly increases our likelihood for success. We have learned in class that as we gain more skills and knowledge we are increasing our human capital. So, the lessons learned from this book are things that can be applied to what we are learning in class.

3) Class exercise: Adams talked a lot about planning throughout his book and how these plans should be obtained through systems and not goals as goals were too specific and time sensitive. So, an activity that I would design based off this book would entail requiring students to write a list of their plans in life. Then I would ask students to devise a system (rather then small goals) for each one of their plans which would allow them to reach their desired destination all while improving their personal skills.

4) Surprising aspect: The most surprising thing to me seemed to be the fact that Adams claimed that we should be devising systems instead of goals in order to reach a certain destination. He claimed that goofs use goals while winners use systems. All my life I have been told to plan my life around specific and timely goals, so I was very surprised that the author of this book said that goals are flawed. However, it makes sense because systems allow us to continuously work on improving and finding something better in everything.