30A – Final Reflection

My most formative experience: By far, my most formative experience this semester was contending with the unpredictability and unforeseen circumstances of COVID while also contending with school and my own personal life. When I found out that I had to leave Gainesville, I had to (within a week), take two tests, complete assignments in four courses, pack up my apartment and my girlfriend’s apartment, and then drive us to my house to stay. This was a moment full of stress, anxiety, and doubt. What if I didn’t have enough time to study? What if I couldn’t sleep well and had to drive the next day? It was pretty rough to say the least. However, it brings out the best in us. I made amends where I could, and I planned with my girlfriend and just buckled down and did it. It took a great deal of grit and resilience on our behalves, but we got it done! Not only was this a great experience for us as a couple, but also as individuals. It tested our mental, physical, and emotional capabilities to the max.

My most joyous experience: My most joyous experience this semester started at the beginning of the course. When I found out that I had to come up with a business idea and an unmet need, my girlfriend and I sat down one night and came up with the idea of revising bags and packaging in the restaurant industry. I was really happy that I had something so niche and impactful, and that we were able to do it together as a team (As you can see, I am pretty head over heels about her too).

My most prideful experience: I am most proud of myself for taking and finishing this class as a whole. When I was in highschool, I was much more adventurous and entrepreneurial at heart. By the time I had graduated, I had started and ran 2-3 small local businesses in my community at a time. This gave me a lot of hands on experience, but I didn’t learn very many lessons from them (mostly due to them going exceedingly smoothly due to my connections, but also because I was young and naïve). In a way, taking this class was me forcing myself to get back in touch with that side of myself, which I am very proud of myself for doing!

I would absolutely say that I see myself now as more of an entrepreneur than when I first started this class. Being an engineer (computer scientist), I’ve always had a problem-solving mindset, but this class helped me to fine tune my methodologies and thought processes to be even more so. This class has taught me more than I ever expected, especially about efficiency, prioritizing on what actually matters, and getting the important things right. The little details only matter if you have the whole right! Being a perfectionist makes it hard to see that at times, but this class has helped me to combat it.

In addition, I have come to embrace my natural aptitude for being a realist. Before, I used to think that I needed to replace it with more positivity, but I have seen that it can actually be used as an asset to find opportunities when used properly!

If there’s one thing I had to recommend to students in this class in the future, it’s this: this class isn’t just about business, making money, or getting it off the ground. It’s also about being a better, smarter, more resourceful and more intentional individual. This has profound implications for every area of your life. Let Prof. Pryor be your mentor and get ready to learn! You get what you give… especially in this class. Once you realize that this class will impact you in ways you don’t even yet realize… you won’t have a hard time showing up and doing the work. Rather, it’ll be fun! Get ready to fall in love with the process of being better, one lecture and exercise at a time.

Image from: https://miro.medium.com/max/1000/1*iKPqdjkTLDETVM6GhIclNw.jpeg

29A – Venture Concept No. 2

29A – Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity:

Who has the need?: This need is had by companies who offer catering/delivery/takeout services to their customers and who value the opinions and repeat business of said customers. Such customers of my customers are really anyone at all: busy families, busy professionals, or anyone who is in a rush and needs said services.

The nature of the need: You know the feeling: you’ve just gotten off of work, and your spouse/roommates/friends want you to pick up food. You do so, thinking that you’re doing a good deed for everyone. But by the time that you are home, the bags are wet, soggy, and the food is cold! Everyone is on your case. This is not an ideal experience to have, and this is where my product comes in, ready to save the day. Whether it’s a family matter or a business event, we can make it happen.

How big is this opportunity?: Potentially, massive: as big as the restaurant industry. Food is a necessary thing for sustaining life, so the need for restaurants will always be around. That’s a given. As society gets more and more fast paced, delivery/takeout/catering will become even more prevalent, leading to more and more increases in business in my target market.

How long will the window of opportunity be open? As mentioned above, it will be open indefinitely.

How are customers currently satisfying this need?: Well, they really aren’t, and that’s what makes it an unmet need. Unless you go out of your way to keep an insulated bag in your car 24/7 for picking up food (let’s face it, we all forget), you’re probably not doing anything about it. You’re stuck living with those subpar plastic and paper bags that you get when you order food.

Innovation:

I would describe my product more so as a mix between radically and incrementally innovative. I’m not recreating the bag, but I am building a bag in a way and in a mixture of features that has never been done before. I’m using bags that are fully recyclable, lightweight, and insulated to keep foods protected and at their optimal temperature. They have handles and are available in a variety of sizes as well as custom sizes if orders are of great enough quantity. This allows us to provide basic solutions while also adapting to whatever a customer may need. They feature custom branding as well. Pricing will vary based on size and quantity ordered, but it is priced to match competitors plus an additional 25% per unit as a rule of thumb. This allows us to make our marks while still producing a quality and innovative product at a low price.

One additional future innovation that I would like to explore with this business and its product line is the introduction of a universal packaging/bagging divider system that allows for one bag to satisfy a variety of size, shape, and structural needs. This bag would provide flexibility in inventory. Instead of having to carry multiple bags of varying sizes, businesses can carry this singular bag, reducing wastage and overhead. In addition, it will allow businesses to divide the various foods up into compartments (keeping cold from hot, etc.) in order to keep contents safe and as they should be. As one can see, this will need some further development.

Venture Concept:

Companies care about how their customers perceive them: If they perceive them positively, they will get repeat business and good reviews. Yay! If they perceive them negatively, they will get no more business and bad, scathing reviews. This could kill the company! As one can see, it is ESSENTIAL for businesses to provide their customers with the best experience possible. One of the biggest flaws in such an industry is the bags (as mentioned in the opportunity), which is where my innovative product comes into play. It solves all of these unmet needs, providing a cost-effective way for businesses to not only make their customers happier, but to also get more repeat business and increase revenues in the process. It helps the businesses while also helping their customers. WIN WIN!

Overall, I don’t think it would be hard to get businesses to switch to my product, especially when they are presented with potential projections and examples of what in can do for them (but this will come with time as people start to catch on and adopt this idea).

My competitors would be existing producers of bags for B2B transactions. They could potentially beat me out by trying to knock my product off, so I would need to either trademark/patent my product in some way, or establish relationships and offer things to them that no one else could via things like customer service and a beneficial relationship. These both will be imperative to long term, sustained success in this industry.

In order to form this into a business, I would need to setup a contract with a manufacturer to build my products for me as they are ordered. I would also need to secure contracts or licensing with restaurants to ensure their business. The good thing about this is that I could do all of this by myself at first until I had the capital to hire people to help with logistics as I scaled. In time, I could potentially build my own production facilities, but that would be years down the line.

Three Minor Elements:

I truly believe that my most important resource will be the intimate partnerships that I build with restaurants and their brands. I will (especially at first) be heavily relying upon this, as I probably will not be able to beat others out on price, especially if they knock off my product. However, assuming that they don’t do this, my products qualities will easily sell themselves, especially with my relationship with businesses.

The next step in my business is trying to actually set things in motion. Up until now, it has just been planning, debating, strategizing, and interviewing. Now that I have the facts and the lay of the land, it’s time to go out and execute!

If I am to launch this venture, in five years I’d like to have at least 15% of the market share in the bagging sector of restaurants. For me personally, this would allow me to work for myself, on my own terms, and to impact my employees in a positive light- building a company with good culture and values above all else. It would also allow me to support my future family and to retire early in life.

Student Feedback:

Overall, all of the feedback that I got on my venture concept was positive. No one really had anything constructive or negative to say, citing that I seemed to cover all of my bases and did a great job with the revenue models. One reader said that he agreed a cheap knockoff could be a potential threat to my product, so it was nice to get this consent and support behind patenting it and or making strong connections with my clients. The other reader also agreed that my relationships with restaurants would be imperative to the success of my business.

In regard to the feedback on my “What’s Next?” post, I got really strong praise on the notion of a flexible packaging/bagging system for my clients to implement. This would solve the issue of needing multiple sizes and types of bags, replacing it with just one. This would reduce wastage and overhead while also satisfying customer needs. This is something I need to work more into the future of my venture.

Changes I Made:

I did not have to modify anything in regards to the opportunity section, as the opportunity at hand is still at large the same as it was some 2-3 weeks ago, with the exception of the boom in delivery and takeout due to COVID (this will be a trend to watch in the future, though!). However, I did add a lot to the Innovation section based on the feedback I got and realizations I had. I also added more emphasis to the necessity of patents and strong customer relationships in order to prevent losing sales and business to competitors or knockoffs.

Image from: http://americaninvienna.com/bagging-your-own-groceries-oh-my/

28A – Your Exit Strategy

My Exit Strategy: My main goal with my business (at this point in time) is to hold onto the business for no more than 10-15 years, after which point, I would desire to sell it off to another firm/company/individual. I would potentially have interest in being on the board of the company as an advisor, but I wouldn’t want any big commitments per say.

My goal with this strategy is to milk the majority of growth out of the firm, realize its potential, and acquire as much value and assets as I can. I firmly believe that this is achievable within 10-15 years, and that most of the growth beyond that will be slower paced.

One of the main reasons why I want to sell it off is so that I can retire early on in life. This is due to the things that I value in life: family, experiences, and growing in all areas of life. It’s one of my major goals to retire at a young age (before 50, perhaps even around 40) so that I can spend the second half of my life and then some watching my family grow, living with the love of my life, travelling the world, reading books, seeing art and shows, things of that nature. I believe that a full and fruitful life comes not from material pleasure, but from the experiences that we have, the memories that we make, and the things that we know. Wiping my hands clean from the job of running a business would provide me with ample time (and funds) to do all of these things and more.

My exit strategy has without a doubt had a major impact upon my decisions: If I saw this venture as a life long opportunity, one that I could play out over the course of 40+ years, then I would be much less inclined to grow it at such a high rate and to lock in assets and deals/contracts as fast as possible.

In addition, it also gives me more incentive to set up infrastructure (distributors, supply lines, manufacturing, employees) faster and more efficiently, since they will all be assets that companies would pay more for when acquiring my company. If I did not have all of these things set in place already, my idea and my company would be much less appealing and lucrative. The faster that I can move and grow, the better!

As such, my short timeline of 10-15 years of ownership has incentivized me to move fast and grow it as much as possible before I call it quits and sell it off so that I can explore all that life has to offer.

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

Book of Choice: Makers by Chris Anderson

General Theme/Argument: In Makers, Anderson tries to purport the idea that a third industrial revolution is coming upon us in the near future, this revolution being the advent of the possibility of everyday individuals to become manufacturers, designers, and what have you. He believes that in the near future, people will use open source software and tools to create the next big thing. He believes that the people themselves will own production lines/means, and that it will be less of a move in the direction of big companies like Google and Amazon. He believes that this will have an overwhelmingly positive impact upon the world, empowering people in places everywhere.

This is certainly a very bold idea, and one that I do not agree with at all. From what I have seen of the world and from my first hand experiences and manufacturing, design, and engineering, none of these things will be happening any time soon. We as sole individuals do not possess that power. However, when we harness it together in large conglomerates, we can really drive innovation as a whole and as a society.

If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.

Connection to ENT3003: One of the things that I do have to applaud Makers for is the underlyingly positive message that it seeks to send. This is one of the things that we learn here in ENT3003 as well, and I believe that it is necessary to succeed both as an entrepreneur and just in life in general. Without a positive outlook and a resilient attitude (surpassing failures, as we talked about recently), we can’t get far. However, with it, the sky is the limit.

Exercise: If I had to make an exercise, it would consist of asking everyone to think of three things that they could build using resources at home, online, or in their circle. What I really think Makers is about is thinking on your feet and using the things around you- being resourceful and creative. I would have everyone think of such things and then share with one another and get feedback on them. This would allow everyone to see that they truly are capable of doing things, building things, right here and right now. You don’t have to be an expert to build something, and the same applies to being an entrepreneur. You just have to think, plan, act, and roll with the punches!

Biggest Surprise Moment: My biggest ‘aha’ moment definitely came from reading the bits about how Anderson truly believes that the everyday person can be a designer, manufacturer, or creator and build the next big thing. While I usually am a proponent of such beliefs, I’m also a realist in the regard that I think there is a finite limit as to what one person can do, especially dependent upon their circumstances and the opportunities given to them (check out Outliers by Malcom Gladwell, he makes a profound case for this). While I want to say that everyone can be the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, it’s just not feasible. However, I get that Anderson is trying to promote creativity and open source development. While his beliefs are rather radical in my opinion, I admire them for the inspiration they give. After all, you never know what you are truly capable of until you do it!

26A – Celebrating Failure

The event that I chose to speak about in regard to failure is the journey that I faced this semester with my progress on my bodybuilding journey. Along this journey, I’ve been training six days a week, every week and meal prepping along the way. Each workout is usually an hour and a half to two hours, which takes up a considerable chunk of my day, not to mention the time in between due to things like cooking extra, doing extra laundry, grocery shopping more often, etc. This has led to a lot of unexpected difficulties, to which I will now divulge.

For example, waking up and not realizing that I was out of tank tops or shorts, or not checking the weather before I left for the gym, only to realize that I really wish I had a hoodie or a pair of sweatpants in my gym bag. In order to remedy this, I learned that preemptive action and planning is always key. As such, I started keeping a pair of sweats and a hoodie in my bag at all times. The result? No more frigid workouts! In addition, I started keeping better track of when I did my laundry so that I would not run out of clothes. I found that always choosing to do It on Saturday while I prepped my meals not only let me alleviate this problem, but it also made it more efficient for me (killing two birds with one stone!).

One other recurring problem I had was straining my muscles and not recovering them fast enough. This led me to examine some of my daily habits and routines, as I was not sure what was the cause. What did I find? I wasn’t drinking enough water (especially on my off day), and I wasn’t getting enough sleep, particularly on weeknights before I had things due for classes. This led me to formulate a plan: I would keep a note in my phone every day as to how much water I had drank. Every time that I filled up my bottle, I would add to it. I also did the same for how much sleep I was getting. What I found astonished me: I would almost always get 8 hours, but usually one night a week (Thursday) I would only get 6 hours due to having a lot of recurring deadlines. This led me to shift my schedule so that my off day was on Thursday, when I had the most work to do. This let me get enough sleep each night while still getting my work done.

Simply put, failure sucks. It always feels bad, and anyone that tells you otherwise is lying. Having to recognize, assess, and solve a problem takes time and energy, which we do not always have in surplus, especially if we are already under stress with other things in our life. Being a massive perfectionist, I’ve always been extremely hard on myself. I always expect my best, and I get upset whenever I fall short. While this has led me to extremely successful, it has also mad prioritizing and improving my mental health a challenge. However, over time, I have come to the realization that if I can improve my mental health and the conversations that I have with myself, then everything will benefit. Why be mad when I could focus on a solution? At the end of the day, it’s all about being better to me. Why be mad or upset when you could be awesome!

ENT3003 has without a doubt made me more prone to taking risks, be it with voicing my opinion more, or just pushing through the little bits of self-doubt on a daily basis. I’ve realized that when you just say you know what, whatever happens, happens, life gets a lot more fun.

25A - What's Next?

Existing Market:

What’s next?

·         Branded bags

·         Insulated boxes to hold multiple bags at a time for catering services

·         Reusable bags given to customers, when 5 are collected by a customer, they get an incentive like 25% off an order

·         Different options for bags: most environmentally friendly choice, a cold bag, a heat bag, different sizes, etc.

·         Bag with structure to encourage food to keep its shape and stay where it belongs in the bag

Interviews:

·         Small restaurant owner: In quarantine, their takeout frequency has skyrocketed. Because of this, they have not prepared adequately for this explosion of orders. With more takeout orders, comes more complaints when food is not quite up to par.

o   He recommends looking into production of extra-large structured bags, that have separate pouches/compartments for separate orders in the delivery process. Having different orders all in the same insulated bag will help put even more heat to be circulated within the food, keeping the orders extra hot.

o   He also loves the idea of having his logo placed on the bags, as his restaurant is very small and local, so in the use of these branded bags, the word would be spread about his business.

o   He often gets orders for things like cannolis and salads, which do not stay cold very often, so he recommends adding a cold bag option to the business for things like desserts.

·         Fast food restaurant manager: Fast food purchases/customers have boomed in the last month or two due to quarantine, and are expected to continue as such for a while. They have diverted all of their focus from in-store orders to order ahead and drive through. As such, they have been running out of supplies and having problems like above.

o   She has bought clothes from places before that have given her reusable bags, and she has gone one to use them out and about for things like carrying food to work, to the gym, to the beach, etc. She thinks using these could also be applicable in the setting of a fast food restaurant to help give more exposure.

o   She also suggested doing some sort of a promotional deal in which if customers brought a certain number of reusable bags back in, they could get some sort of a reward (free meal, etc.).

o   She also suggested the incorporation of insulated/reusable cups/drinkware into my product lineup for the same reasons as before. This would help drinks from getting prematurely watered down, especially when getting takeout! It would also be another chance for incentive and brand growth.

·         Catering company: Obviously no one is getting catering right now due to the times, but once things resume as normal, catering companies will be stuck with the same issues that they had before (or perhaps even more so) as they will need to provide less family style things and more personal meals since people will be more conscious of it.

o   Having structured boxes that have insulated/cooling capabilities would be a big win for catering events and situations. Not only would this facilitate transport, but also the distribution of meals to customers.

o   Giving customers some sort of a memento to keep (a reusable bag!) would be a key way to market and spread growth. Not only would you be getting business from the event, but also potentially from the attendees in the future!

Future Path:

The first thing that I will pursue in the coming future is the branded bags. This makes the most sense I would say and has the greatest chance of playing out as a success based on my market research thus far. It would also be a nice segue into some of the other future options.

Aside from this, I would definitely explore marketing my products with incentives for companies (another way to help sell my product!) and then pursuing the cups, as I believe they would be easy to sell to customers once they have started to buy into my bags and my ecosystem!

New Market:

Step 1) Instead of targeting a B2B market, this time I will be trying my hand at a B2C market, selling bags directly to consumers instead of the companies that would distribute them to them.

Step 2) I would be able to provide value for the people in this market space in the same exact way as before, solving the exact same problem as before. The only difference here would be that I would be selling directly to the consumers.

Step 3)

·         Mom of 3: She is frequently buying carryout/takeout and has issues all of the time with the food being wet and cold by the time that it gets home. Having my product would ensure that the food she brings home is always hot and fresh, no matter where she goes to get food from. She like the security and reassurance that this provides.

o   She suggests giving bags with eye-appealing patterns like chevrons, dots, and assorted color palettes. This would help incentive customers to use them more frequently and buy them in the first place if they had aesthetic appeal.

o   She also likes this idea because they can also be repurposed for use during shopping. Not only will this keep her from having to pay for plastic bags, but it will also help keep her groceries cool and fresh on the way home. This would really help sell her on this product.

·         Single Professional: She always is making lunch to take to the office, and she struggles with having a good solution to taking her lunch in while also being fashionable. She also likes to keep things as minimal as possible and will often stop at the store on the way home to pick up groceries if she needs something to make a recipe for dinner.

o   Having a reusable bag that would allow her to not only take her lunch to work in style but then also grab groceries after work, all while being to keep it in one neat and compact package in between is extremely appealing.

o   On the occasion that she were to go through the drive through, she would also be able to use this bag too! She could keep it in her glove box for easy storage since it could be folded down neatly.

Step 4) This new market turned out to be more promising than I had first expected- there does seem to be a lot of room for me to sell my product to consumers. However, I am still skeptical as to whether or not this by itself would be a better avenue for my product since there are already a lot of options in this space and I feel that I would have less edge and utility.

However, one thing that I could potentially be able to do was to both simultaneously conduct B2B and B2C sales! This could potentially allow me to capitalize on two avenues of revenue, but from the same product. Sounds like a win win to me, but needs more testing and market research to see if it would be worth it.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity:

Who has the need?: This need is had by companies who offer catering/delivery/takeout services to their customers and who value the opinions and repeat business of said customers. Such customers of my customers are really anyone at all: busy families, busy professionals, or anyone who is in a rush and needs said services.

The nature of the need: You know the feeling: you’ve just gotten off of work, and your spouse/roommates/friends want you to pick up food. You do so, thinking that you’re doing a good deed for everyone. But by the time that you are home, the bags are wet, soggy, and the food is cold! Everyone is on your case. This is not an ideal experience to have, and this is where my product comes in, ready to save the day. Whether it’s a family matter or a business event, we can make it happen.

How big is this opportunity?: Potentially, massive: as big as the restaurant industry. Food is a necessary thing for sustaining life, so the need for restaurants will always be around. That’s a given. As society gets more and more fast paced, delivery/takeout/catering will become even more prevalent, leading to more and more increases in business in my target market.

How long will the window of opportunity be open? As mentioned above, it will be open indefinitely.

How are customers currently satisfying this need?: Well, they really aren’t, and that’s what makes it an unmet need. Unless you go out of your way to keep an insulated bag in your car 24/7 for picking up food (let’s face it, we all forget), you’re probably not doing anything about it. You’re stuck living with those subpar plastic and paper bags that you get when you order food.

Innovation:

I would describe my product more so as a mix between radically and incrementally innovative. I’m not recreating the bag, but I am building a bag in a way and in a mixture of features that has never been done before. I’m using bags that are fully recyclable, lightweight, and insulated to keep foods protected and at their optimal temperature. They have handles and are available in a variety of sizes as well as custom sizes if orders are of great enough quantity. This allows us to provide basic solutions while also adapting to whatever a customer may need. They feature custom branding as well. Pricing will vary based on size and quantity ordered, but it is priced to match competitors plus an additional 25% per unit as a rule of thumb. This allows us to make our marks while still producing a quality and innovative product at a low price.

Venture Concept:

Companies care about how their customers perceive them: If they perceive them positively, they will get repeat business and good reviews. Yay! If they perceive them negatively, they will get no more business and bad, scathing reviews. This could kill the company! As one can see, it is ESSENTIAL for businesses to provide their customers with the best experience possible. One of the biggest flaws in such an industry is the bags (as mentioned in the opportunity), which is where my innovative product comes into play. It solves all of these unmet needs, providing a cost-effective way for businesses to not only make their customers happier, but to also get more repeat business and increase revenues in the process. It helps the businesses while also helping their customers. WIN WIN!

Overall, I don’t think it would be hard to get businesses to switch to my product, especially when they are presented with potential projections and examples of what in can do for them (but this will come with time as people start to catch on and adopt this idea).

My competitors would be existing producers of bags for B2B transactions. They could potentially beat me out by trying to knock my product off, so I would need to either trademark/patent my product in some way, or establish relationships and offer things to them that no one else could via things like customer service and a beneficial relationship.

In order to form this into a business, I would need to setup a contract with a manufacturer to build my products for me as they are ordered. I would also need to secure contracts or licensing with restaurants to ensure their business. The good thing about this is that I could do all of this by myself at first until I had the capital to hire people to help with logistics as I scaled. In time, I could potentially build my own production facilities, but that would be years down the line.

Three Minor Elements:

I truly believe that my most important resource will be the intimate partnerships that I build with restaurants and their brands. I will (especially at first) be heavily relying upon this, as I probably will not be able to beat others out on price, especially if they knock off my product. However, assuming that they don’t do this, my products qualities will easily sell themselves, especially with my relationship with businesses.

The next step in my business is trying to actually set things in motion. Up until now, it has just been planning, debating, strategizing, and interviewing. Now that I have the facts and the lay of the land, it’s time to go out and execute!

If I am to launch this venture, in five years I’d like to have at least 15% of the market share in the bagging sector of restaurants. For me personally, this would allow me to work for myself, on my own terms, and to impact my employees in a positive light- building a company with good culture and values above all else. It would also allow me to support my future family and to retire early in life.