30A - Final Reflection

1.    Read through old posts.

2.    I think the most formative experience has been having to reach out to people I don’t know in order to complete some of the assignments. I usually don’t like doing things like that so being forced to for an assignment was a good exercise for me. I had the most fun creating the bug list and thinking of potential solutions to those problems. I’m proud of myself for coming up with an idea that would help others and the community as a whole.

3.    I definitely think that I have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset this semester. As I mentioned, I had a lot of fun identifying opportunities and brainstorming solutions to them. I have noticed that I now see opportunities everywhere. Instead of thinking of them as an annoyance or inconvenience, I think of exactly how it could be improved upon. 

4.    I would recommend that students at least look at the assignments ahead of time so that they can get the most out of them. There were instances this semester when I had to scramble to find people to interview and it made the experience less rewarding because I was more focused on getting the assignment done than learning from the people I was interviewing. To foster an entrepreneurial mindset, I would recommend thinking critically about the opportunity that the students choose as well as ones they see in everyday life. This practice will keep them sharp and aware of their surroundings.

29A - Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity: Underprivileged communities suffering from food insecurity often turn to charitable resources in their areas, such as soup kitchens and other nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing consistent and nutritious meals. These nonprofit organizations usually need help finding more food sources so that they can serve the greatest number of people in need. Seasonal food drives put on by local high schools and/or companies are undoubtedly helpful, but they do not provide enough for these nonprofits to feed people all year long. The final consumer market is defined demographically as a low-income population. However, my market is actually targeted at the businesses providing food to these populations and the restaurants and grocers willing to donate or sell goods at a lower price. The charitable organizations providing food currently utilize food drives and existing business partnerships to meet their needs. I am sure that there is some loyalty there as they are grateful for the outside support. This opportunity is relatively large in the sense that there are underserved communities all over the country but it is probably not so large in terms of profitability. Even though my business idea is not a charity, it is difficult and morally questionable to get into the business of helping others with profit being the number one priority. The “window of opportunity” is open indefinitely in the foreseeable future as I don’t anticipate there being an overnight solution to such a complex problem.

Innovation: My innovation offers a middleman service that connects restaurants, grocers, etc. to soup kitchens and nonprofit organizations that serve underprivileged communities. My business venture links two businesses who can both contribute immensely to easing the burden of food insecurity if they cooperate with each other. It would work by essentially streamlining the process of finding a working match or pair (of restaurant and nonprofit organization). Once I develop a large enough network, it will be easy to match food donors with organizations in need. Although I am not sure about exact pricing, I would essentially be charging a fee to find the organizations a willing business partner. If a donor is the one reaching out for my business’ assistance, I would set up a way to take a cut of whatever they are being paid for the food. One  important thing to keep in mind is that businesses will get tax deductions for donating to a non-profit organization, so that may incentivize them to want to donate consistently in order to get a larger write-off.

Venture: As described above, my innovation would solve nonprofit organizations’ continuing need to find new sources of food so that they are able to serve as many people as possible. These organizations already have existing business partnerships, so it would be difficult to get them to make the initial switch to using my business model instead. However, I am confident that the convenience of the streamlined process would lure more and more people in as my network of partners grows. At this point, my main competitors would be in-house employees whose jobs are finding new business partners, but they do not have the same network that I want to build. I anticipate that packing, distribution, and customer service will most likely have the greatest financial impact on the success of my venture. Since its purpose is to help charities, I could have a handful of employees assisting with the business operations side of things and then rely on volunteers to distribute the food in the area.

Minor Elements: 

1.    Most important resource: I think my most important resource is the social responsibility that would be demonstrated by working with a company like mine. In recent years, there has been greater emphasis placed on corporations to show customers that they are socially responsible and give back to the community. Being partnered with an organization that works directly with charities would certainly reflect well on the companies that choose to participate. 

2.    What’s next for the venture?: I see the most logical next move as expanding the geographic area that my business serves. If it were to start in Gainesville, it could slowly expand to serve Alachua County, then the greater North Central Florida region, then the whole state and so on. I anticipate that this growth would occur naturally.

3.    What’s next for you?: In five years, I plan on having completed law school and being a practicing attorney. With a JD, I would be able to contribute so much more to nonprofit organizations and provide them services that go beyond connecting them with other businesses. I have always wanted a purposeful career, and this venture would certainly put me on the right path.

Summary of feedback: The feedback I received on my first venture concept was positive. One thing that was mentioned that I had not thought of was that the donating business partners would get substantial tax deductions for giving to a nonprofit organization. I also got a few different recommendations for how to grow my business in the future.

Changes: I changed my venture concept by including tax deductions as a part of my innovation. It is a huge incentive that encourages businesses to donate more food more frequently.

28A - Your Exit Strategy

1.    The exit strategy I plan to make is to stick with the business for a few decades and then sell it. 

2.    In my opinion, this is not the kind of venture that you can make a meaningful impact doing for just a few years. Not that the work done in the beginning is not impactful, but I think that in order to get the most out of it, I should stay for a longer part of my career. This is also more interesting to me because I could move around and work in different parts of the business while staying within it, so I get to know it well. Additionally, it would be very cool to be able to contribute in a legal sense once I have my law degree.

3.    I think that my exit strategy has definitely influenced my growth intentions. Growth in this business relies on personal connections, so it would be silly to leave after only a few years.

27A - Reading Reflection No. 3

For this reading reflection, I chose to read the book Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.

1.    The general argument of the book is that your brain essentially has two systems that it uses to process new information and decision-making processes. The first system is automatic and impulsive; this is the part of the brain that has been around since the beginning of humanity and handles instinctual and/or mindless tasks. The second system is much more conscious and logical. This system plays a role in higher-functioning behaviors such as deep concentration and self-control. Kahneman argues that these systems do not always work perfectly together which may limit our ability to use our full mental capacity.

2.    The book connected with what we are learning in ENT3003 because the exercises in this class require that we think about our business ventures critically. Understanding the difference between the brain’s two types of systems allows you not to be fooled by system 1 when making business or financial decisions.

3.    If I had to design an exercise based on this book, it would involve writing down two examples of the types of activities that require system 1 and system 2 functioning. Then, students would have to apply system 2 skills to a business decision and explain how using only system 1 might have blinded them from making the best choice.

4.    The most surprising part of this book was how easy it is to let system 1 guide financial decisions. While it seems obvious that emotions should stay out of finances, it is a lot easier than it seems to let loss aversion play a major role in financial decisions. 

26A - Celebrating Failure

1.    This semester has been especially overwhelming for me because I started LSAT prep which takes a considerable amount of time out of my weeks. There was one week near the beginning of the semester when it was three of my best friends’ birthdays and I also had two exams the following Monday, on top of normal assignments for other classes and LSAT prep. I was very overwhelmed and I ended up forgetting to submit an assignment for this class as well as another class. I also did not do great on my exams the next week. I felt like a failure because I just kept beating myself up about it and wishing that I had managed my time better the previous week.

2.    This stressful moment in my life taught me that you really can’t do it all, and sometimes you just have to choose your priorities and stick to them. That week, I chose to celebrate with my friends rather than focus on school, and that made me realize that I cannot be upset or surprised at the outcomes (like forgetting to submit assignments or not doing as well as I’d hoped on a test) when I am the one who chose my course of action. At the end of the day, we are only human and we have limits on how much we can do.

3.    To put it simply, failure sucks. I think that I let it affect me too much emotionally, but it definitely redirects my behavior in a positive direction. Failure also highlights the limitations we face. I can get stressed out pretty easily, so whenever I fail at something I let the failure itself stress me out even more. However, I know that there is no use in stressing about failure. Instead, what is important is being able to acknowledge and accept it, and then improve so that it doesn’t happen again. I have always been a risk-averse person, so I don’t think that I am more likely to take a risk now than I would have been a few months ago.

25A - What's Next?

Existing Market:

In the last assignment, I predicted that my next move would be expanding to serve larger geographical areas. After talking to three people, they all came to the same conclusion. They also all said that this type of growth would likely come very naturally to a business venture like mine. Obviously, it will take additional effort each time I want to expand to a new area, but it will be the logical next step in expanding my business within its existing market. One of the interviewees had an interesting suggestion to try to expand in an area where food insecurity is less prominent than other areas of the country. He said that if it is a less prominent problem, people and businesses in the community might be more proactive about trying to solve or help it. I thought this was interesting because I had just assumed that my venture would expand to surrounding areas, not ones in a completely different region. 

New Market:

It was pretty difficult for me to think of a different market for my idea. I decided on targeting wealthy philanthropists rather than other businesses to partner with nonprofit organizations providing food to underserved communities. They could donate money, time, and/or food. One of the people I talked to brought up a good point that there is often a lot of leftover food at luncheons and other catered events that philanthropists host. I could seek donations from these kinds of events as well as seek monetary donations.

24A - Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity: Underprivileged communities suffering from food insecurity often turn to charitable resources in their areas, such as soup kitchens and other nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing consistent and nutritious meals. These nonprofit organizations usually need help finding more food sources so that they can serve the greatest number of people in need. Seasonal food drives put on by local high schools and/or companies are undoubtedly helpful, but they do not provide enough for these nonprofits to feed people all year long. The final consumer market is defined demographically as a low-income population. However, my market is actually targeted at the businesses providing food to these populations and the restaurants and grocers willing to donate or sell goods at a lower price. The charitable organizations providing food currently utilize food drives and existing business partnerships to meet their needs. I am sure that there is some loyalty there as they are grateful for the outside support. This opportunity is relatively large in the sense that there are underserved communities all over the country but it is probably not so large in terms of profitability. Even though my business idea is not a charity, it is difficult and morally questionable to get into the business of helping others with profit being the number one priority. The “window of opportunity” is open indefinitely in the foreseeable future as I don’t anticipate there being an overnight solution to such a complex problem.

Innovation: My innovation offers a middleman service that connects restaurants, grocers, etc. to soup kitchens and nonprofit organizations that serve underprivileged communities. My business venture links two businesses who can both contribute immensely to easing the burden of food insecurity if they cooperate with each other. It would work by essentially streamlining the process of finding a working match or pair (of restaurant and nonprofit organization). Once I develop a large enough network, it will be easy to match food donors with organizations in need. Although I am not sure about exact pricing, I would essentially be charging a fee to find the organizations a willing business partner. If a donor is the one reaching out for my business’ assistance, I would set up a way to take a cut of whatever they are being paid for the food. 

Venture: As described above, my innovation would solve nonprofit organizations’ continuing need to find new sources of food so that they are able to serve as many people as possible. These organizations already have existing business partnerships, so it would be difficult to get them to make the initial switch to using my business model instead. However, I am confident that the convenience of the streamlined process would lure more and more people in as my network of partners grows. At this point, my main competitors would be in-house employees whose jobs are finding new business partners, but they do not have the same network that I want to build. I anticipate that packing, distribution, and customer service will most likely have the greatest financial impact on the success of my venture. Since its purpose is to help charities, I could have a handful of employees assisting with the business operations side of things and then rely on volunteers to distribute the food in the area.

Minor Elements: 

1.    Most important resource: I think my most important resource is the social responsibility that would be demonstrated by working with a company like mine. In recent years, there has been greater emphasis placed on corporations to show customers that they are socially responsible and give back to the community. Being partnered with an organization that works directly with charities would certainly reflect well on the companies that choose to participate. 

2.    What’s next for the venture?: I see the most logical next move as expanding the geographic area that my business serves. If it were to start in Gainesville, it could slowly expand to serve Alachua County, then the greater North Central Florida region, then the whole state and so on. I anticipate that this growth would occur naturally.

3.    What’s next for you?: In five years, I plan on having completed law school and being a practicing attorney. With a JD, I would be able to contribute so much more to nonprofit organizations and provide them services that go beyond connecting them with other businesses. I have always wanted a purposeful career, and this venture would certainly put me on the right path.

23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1.    Social responsibility

a.    Valuable: There is a notable trend toward businesses wanting to be socially responsible and consumers wanting to spend money at companies with that reputation.

b.    Rare: Not really, there are other businesses that are socially responsible

c.    Imitable: yes

d.    Non-substitutable: not substitutable

2.    Experience in operations management 

a.    Valuable: Having the knowledge and background to run a business efficiently is an essential part of any business venture.

b.    Rare: Not necessarily, if someone wanted to gain experience in operations management, it would not be that difficult to do so.

c.    Imitable: yes, it is a skill most people can develop

d.    Non-substitutable: not substitutable

3.    Bilingual

a.    Valuable: This skill allows me to communicate with a larger sector of the population which is certainly valuable.

b.    Rare: somewhat

c.    Imitable: yes, but it takes years to become fluent in another language

d.    Non-substitutable: not substitutable 

4.    Friendly demeanor

a.    Valuable: You are more likely to connect with someone in a meaningful way if your exchange with them is pleasant and lighthearted.

b.    Rare: no

c.    Imitable: kind of, it’s something you can work on but it’s also dependent on personality type

d.    Non-substitutable: not substitutable

5.    Ability to learn new skills quickly  

a.    Valuable: This allows me to be adaptable and waste less time learning new skills rather than implementing them.

b.    Rare: unsure

c.    Imitable: no

d.    Non-substitutable: not substitutable

6.    Worthy cause 

a.    Valuable: People tend to be more generous and feel good about giving money to organizations with genuinely good intentions.

b.    Rare: no, there are lots of nonprofits

c.    Imitable: not for certain business plans

d.    Non-substitutable: not substitutable

7.     Connections with local food drives in South Florida

a.    Valuable: Having a close family friend who runs one of the largest annual food drives in South Florida will certainly be useful, at the very least to get advice from her and at most having her hands-on help.

b.    Rare: yes

c.    Imitable: no

d.    Non-substitutable: not substitutable

8.    Time management skills 

a.    Valuable: Time cannot be wasted if you are trying to run an efficient and successful business

b.    Rare: no

c.    Imitable: possibly, it’s always been a skill that came naturally to me though

d.    Non-substitutable: not substitutable

9.    Experience in customer service 

a.    Valuable: Knowing how to treat people who are giving you business is so important to retain customers

b.    Rare: no

c.    Imitable: yes

d.    Non-substitutable: not substitutable

10.  Solid understanding of micro and macroeconomics 

a.    Valuable: While microeconomics is more applicable to starting and running a business, having a firm grasp on both micro and macro offers a fuller picture

b.    Rare: somewhat

c.    Imitable: yes

d.    Non-substitutable: not substitutable

After making this list, I see my top resources as the social responsibility and worthy cause that are inherent to my business venture. These have intrinsic value that can never be lost. Additionally, there has been a trend in recent years to put pressure on companies and corporations to be morally, ethically, and socially responsible. This pressure comes mainly from consumers’ perception of a business. If your business can at least be perceived as a responsible company, it will likely do better than a company that does not prioritize this.