What's your secret sauce?
1) Own Assessment
a) Organized - I am a firm believer in having a well-planned schedule for at least two days planned in advance. This way, I feel that I do not waste any time trying to think what I need to do and most importantly more often than not, I stick to my schedule.
b) Leadership Skills - I feel that I am really good at handling people in a group and working with them. I can easily resolve disparities and I am always ready to take ownership of the problems being faced by the team.
c) Optimism - I am really optimistic and I always see the bright side of things even in the darkest of situations. I believe that everything, good or bad, happens for a reason and eventually, one will learn from his/her mistakes and end up on the bright side of things.
d) Hardworking - Since childhood, I always was taught by my father that there was no substitute for hard work. Since then it was rooted deeply in my brain and I never believed that there was a shortcut to success and always tried to give my 100% to achieve a goal.
e) Flexible - Even though I like being organized, stick to a schedule and work hard, in life we must always make time for the loved ones. Often we come across many unplanned events for which we must make space. I don't mind making changes to my schedule and instead, I would just wake up an hour earlier to complete the task and move ahead in the day.
2) Five Interviews
a) https://soundcloud.com/toshi-nandan/rohan-interview/s-Dtqt5
This interview is from my friend Rohan. He talks about my leadership skills and mentions how organized I am. He also mentions how organized and flexible I am at the same time.
b) https://soundcloud.com/toshi-nandan/nihit/s-RPtBU
This interview is from my cousin Nihit. He talks about my optimistic nature and how I see the bright side even in the darkest of situations. He also mentions that I am really patient.
c) https://soundcloud.com/toshi-nandan/university-of-florida/s-SDTk5
This interview is from my friend Aadesh. He mentions about my punctuality and my helping nature.
d) https://soundcloud.com/toshi-nandan/nithin/s-Etfrj
This interview is from my brother Nithin. He mentions about me being determined towards my goals and not dropping/changing my goals due to the toughness of the goal.
e) https://soundcloud.com/toshi-nandan/new-recording-5/s-uorQe
This interview is from my friend Tarang. He mentions about my organized schedule and my hardworking nature.
3) From the interviews, one can see that the observations made by others and me were mostly similar and I think the interviews are correct about me. I wouldn't make any corrections to my list from part 1.
Thursday, 12 March 2020
Wednesday, 11 March 2020
Growing Your Social Capital
Growing Your Social Capital
1) Amanda Schull - graduate student at UF with expertise in web and app development. The slot being filled by her is a domain expert. She fills the spot because she has a wide range of knowledge in building and hosting webpages. I first met her during the UF Cyber Security weekly meeting. She offered to teach and help me if I face any problems during the construction of the webpage and doesn't expect anything in return. Including this person in my network will help me exploit an opportunity because she has prior work experience in a big firm and her experience can be used to attract potential investors if she is willing to work with me in the future.
2) Martin Clint - works at Neilsen in Tampa. His role is conducting surveys and collecting data for different markets and upcoming businesses. The slot being filled is that of a market expert. He is a colleague of my uncle and I met him during a family gathering. He offered his expertise to conduct a survey to know if customers are really into my service. Nothing is expected in return as he is a family friend. Including him in my network is really beneficial as I can get accurate results on who is interested in my service and then I can customize my service based on the results to target the specific group.
3) Bharat Tilak - works at Nielsen in Tampa. Has expertise in building webpages and apps to upcoming businesses. The slot being filled is that of a market supplier. I came in contact with him after asking Martin if he knew someone in the supplying domain. He offered help in the development of my service without any expectation in return. He would be a great addition to my network as he has the experience of developing many webpages and apps.
Reflection:
This has been a completely new experience. I don't generally reach out to new people for help but this assignment made me reach out to a whole new set of people. This will really help me in future networking events as I will be confident to start a conversation with a random person and establish connections easily.
1) Amanda Schull - graduate student at UF with expertise in web and app development. The slot being filled by her is a domain expert. She fills the spot because she has a wide range of knowledge in building and hosting webpages. I first met her during the UF Cyber Security weekly meeting. She offered to teach and help me if I face any problems during the construction of the webpage and doesn't expect anything in return. Including this person in my network will help me exploit an opportunity because she has prior work experience in a big firm and her experience can be used to attract potential investors if she is willing to work with me in the future.
2) Martin Clint - works at Neilsen in Tampa. His role is conducting surveys and collecting data for different markets and upcoming businesses. The slot being filled is that of a market expert. He is a colleague of my uncle and I met him during a family gathering. He offered his expertise to conduct a survey to know if customers are really into my service. Nothing is expected in return as he is a family friend. Including him in my network is really beneficial as I can get accurate results on who is interested in my service and then I can customize my service based on the results to target the specific group.
3) Bharat Tilak - works at Nielsen in Tampa. Has expertise in building webpages and apps to upcoming businesses. The slot being filled is that of a market supplier. I came in contact with him after asking Martin if he knew someone in the supplying domain. He offered help in the development of my service without any expectation in return. He would be a great addition to my network as he has the experience of developing many webpages and apps.
Reflection:
This has been a completely new experience. I don't generally reach out to new people for help but this assignment made me reach out to a whole new set of people. This will really help me in future networking events as I will be confident to start a conversation with a random person and establish connections easily.
Final Reflection
Final Reflection
My most formative experience from this course is interviewing others to get feedback on my product. Usually, I am a bit of an introvert. But this course has helped me open up and make conversations with strangers. One most important thing that I learned from this course is that the most important aspect of a business is to solve a problem being faced by others. Also, I learned that the solution/product need not be very technologically advanced to be successful. At the end of this course, I believe that I have developed an entrepreneurial mindset and learned lots of tips and tricks in creating a successful business. My recommendation for the ones that are going to take this course is that make a schedule and ensure that you stick to the schedule at all times. At first glance, the assignments might look difficult and long but once you start the assignment, you will actually enjoy doing it and find it simple and also you will learn a lot of useful information while doing the assignments. Do not aim to just complete the assignment 10 minutes before it is due, the more time one spends the more one will learn.
My most formative experience from this course is interviewing others to get feedback on my product. Usually, I am a bit of an introvert. But this course has helped me open up and make conversations with strangers. One most important thing that I learned from this course is that the most important aspect of a business is to solve a problem being faced by others. Also, I learned that the solution/product need not be very technologically advanced to be successful. At the end of this course, I believe that I have developed an entrepreneurial mindset and learned lots of tips and tricks in creating a successful business. My recommendation for the ones that are going to take this course is that make a schedule and ensure that you stick to the schedule at all times. At first glance, the assignments might look difficult and long but once you start the assignment, you will actually enjoy doing it and find it simple and also you will learn a lot of useful information while doing the assignments. Do not aim to just complete the assignment 10 minutes before it is due, the more time one spends the more one will learn.
Your Exit Strategy
Your Exit Strategy
1) I believe that the best exit strategy for my business would be to grow my business as much as possible in the next 5 years and sell it for a good return. I can see companies like YouTube buying my business.
2) I have selected this particular business strategy because I feel that after a certain amount of time there will be similar products in the market and the competition will be very high. Once the competition is very high, one must keep on improving the features of the product to stay in the race. Instead, I feel that using the money that I will get after selling the business on other new businesses would be more useful and less burdensome.
3) I think that my exit strategy has deeply influenced the decision I have made in the business concept. I always treated this business as a short term goal rather than a long term goal. Since I always saw this as a short term goal, I never really planned on taking debt.
1) I believe that the best exit strategy for my business would be to grow my business as much as possible in the next 5 years and sell it for a good return. I can see companies like YouTube buying my business.
2) I have selected this particular business strategy because I feel that after a certain amount of time there will be similar products in the market and the competition will be very high. Once the competition is very high, one must keep on improving the features of the product to stay in the race. Instead, I feel that using the money that I will get after selling the business on other new businesses would be more useful and less burdensome.
3) I think that my exit strategy has deeply influenced the decision I have made in the business concept. I always treated this business as a short term goal rather than a long term goal. Since I always saw this as a short term goal, I never really planned on taking debt.
Your venture's unfair advantage
Your venture's unfair advantage
10 resources that I possess to make my business successful
1) Sound knowledge on using social media for marketing
a) How is it valuable? Easiest and the most efficient way to spread awareness about one's product.
b) Rarity: Not rare
c) Inimitable? No
d) Substitutable? Yes, but other methods for marketing are usually time taking and expensive.
2) Support from family
a) How is it valuable? With the support from my family, I will not have any external pressures and can completely focus on developing the business.
b) Rarity: Not very rare
c) Inimitable? No
d) Substitutable? I do not think so.
3) The originality of the idea
a) How is it valuable? The idea came out of my own head. So one cannot copy it. Thus, the competition will not be very high.
b) Rarity: Rare, as it is my own idea.
c) Inimitable? Yes
d) Substitutable? No.
4) Social capital - Connections with others who can help me develop this product
a) How is it valuable? I will get easy access to help from others.
b) Rarity: Rare.
c) Inimitable? Yes
d) Substitutable? No.
5) Human capital - My skills in web development and management of data.
a) How is it valuable? I have the pre-required knowledge to build my business so I will not need any experts to help in developing the product.
b) Rarity: Not very rare.
c) Inimitable? No.
d) Substitutable? Yes. One can always hire others.
6) Financial capital - Access to funds to set up the business.
a) How is it valuable? I will not need to depend on loans from the bank for financial support.
b) Rarity: Not that rare.
c) Inimitable? No
d) Substitutable? Yes. One can always try to loan money from the bank.
7) The knowledge I gained from this course.
a) How is it valuable? I learned many tips and tricks on how to create a successful business that cannot be obtained from elsewhere. This will give me an edge over my competitors.
b) Rarity: Kind of rare.
c) Inimitable? Yes
d) Substitutable? No.
8) Investors to fund my business
a) How is it valuable? It removes a load of stress on me to find my own investors,
b) Rarity: Rare, as it is not common to have investors even before the business is setup.
c) Inimitable? Yes
d) Substitutable? No.
9) Ability to take criticism and feedback on the product.
a) How is it valuable? It helps me in developing and improving my product.
b) Rarity: Depends from one individual to another.
c) Inimitable? No.
d) Substitutable? No.
10) I am organized and disciplined.
a) How is it valuable? It helps me stick to my plans and achieve my goals.
b) Rarity: Rare, not everyone is organized.
c) Inimitable? Yes
d) Substitutable? No.
I feel my top resource is taking this course. The knowledge I gained so far and will gain until the end of the course will be very useful in not only developing this business idea but also in making me stand apart from other competitors.
10 resources that I possess to make my business successful
1) Sound knowledge on using social media for marketing
a) How is it valuable? Easiest and the most efficient way to spread awareness about one's product.
b) Rarity: Not rare
c) Inimitable? No
d) Substitutable? Yes, but other methods for marketing are usually time taking and expensive.
2) Support from family
a) How is it valuable? With the support from my family, I will not have any external pressures and can completely focus on developing the business.
b) Rarity: Not very rare
c) Inimitable? No
d) Substitutable? I do not think so.
3) The originality of the idea
a) How is it valuable? The idea came out of my own head. So one cannot copy it. Thus, the competition will not be very high.
b) Rarity: Rare, as it is my own idea.
c) Inimitable? Yes
d) Substitutable? No.
4) Social capital - Connections with others who can help me develop this product
a) How is it valuable? I will get easy access to help from others.
b) Rarity: Rare.
c) Inimitable? Yes
d) Substitutable? No.
5) Human capital - My skills in web development and management of data.
a) How is it valuable? I have the pre-required knowledge to build my business so I will not need any experts to help in developing the product.
b) Rarity: Not very rare.
c) Inimitable? No.
d) Substitutable? Yes. One can always hire others.
6) Financial capital - Access to funds to set up the business.
a) How is it valuable? I will not need to depend on loans from the bank for financial support.
b) Rarity: Not that rare.
c) Inimitable? No
d) Substitutable? Yes. One can always try to loan money from the bank.
7) The knowledge I gained from this course.
a) How is it valuable? I learned many tips and tricks on how to create a successful business that cannot be obtained from elsewhere. This will give me an edge over my competitors.
b) Rarity: Kind of rare.
c) Inimitable? Yes
d) Substitutable? No.
8) Investors to fund my business
a) How is it valuable? It removes a load of stress on me to find my own investors,
b) Rarity: Rare, as it is not common to have investors even before the business is setup.
c) Inimitable? Yes
d) Substitutable? No.
9) Ability to take criticism and feedback on the product.
a) How is it valuable? It helps me in developing and improving my product.
b) Rarity: Depends from one individual to another.
c) Inimitable? No.
d) Substitutable? No.
10) I am organized and disciplined.
a) How is it valuable? It helps me stick to my plans and achieve my goals.
b) Rarity: Rare, not everyone is organized.
c) Inimitable? Yes
d) Substitutable? No.
I feel my top resource is taking this course. The knowledge I gained so far and will gain until the end of the course will be very useful in not only developing this business idea but also in making me stand apart from other competitors.
Saturday, 7 March 2020
Figuring Out Buyer Behaviour No.2
Figuring Out Buyer Behaviour No.2
1) Ricksberg Tait
Evaluation criteria: Price and Quality
Prefers online purchases rather than in-store purchases. Doesn't depend on anyone to make the purchase.
Post Purchase Evaluation: Said that he would be satisfied with his purchase if he finds others using the product too.
2) Smith Hill
Evaluation criteria: Quality
Prefers online purchases rather than in-store purchases. Depends on his parents' decision to make the purchase or not.
Post Purchase Evaluation: Said that he evaluates a product based on the fact if it has helped him or not.
3) Sarah Williams
Evaluation criteria: Price
Prefers online purchases rather than in-store purchases. She feels that there are many more options and reviews available online rather than in-store.
Post Purchase Evaluation: Evaluates a service based on whether or not it has been beneficial for her or not.
Conclusions: From the findings, we can see that the segment prefers an online service/purchase rather than in-store. The price and quality of the service are the major aspects of evaluating the service/product. Post-purchase, the major aspect they consider is whether or not the service has really benefitted them or not,
1) Ricksberg Tait
Evaluation criteria: Price and Quality
Prefers online purchases rather than in-store purchases. Doesn't depend on anyone to make the purchase.
Post Purchase Evaluation: Said that he would be satisfied with his purchase if he finds others using the product too.
2) Smith Hill
Evaluation criteria: Quality
Prefers online purchases rather than in-store purchases. Depends on his parents' decision to make the purchase or not.
Post Purchase Evaluation: Said that he evaluates a product based on the fact if it has helped him or not.
3) Sarah Williams
Evaluation criteria: Price
Prefers online purchases rather than in-store purchases. She feels that there are many more options and reviews available online rather than in-store.
Post Purchase Evaluation: Evaluates a service based on whether or not it has been beneficial for her or not.
Conclusions: From the findings, we can see that the segment prefers an online service/purchase rather than in-store. The price and quality of the service are the major aspects of evaluating the service/product. Post-purchase, the major aspect they consider is whether or not the service has really benefitted them or not,
Thursday, 5 March 2020
Elevator Pitch 2
Elevator Pitch 2
1)
https://youtu.be/DMYQHUu936E
2) The feedback I received on my first elevator pitch was that it was kind of on the shorter side and didn't explain the problem in detail. Also, in the first elevator pitch, I was sitting down and used a webcam.
3) In this elevator pitch, I tried to include statistical proofs to prove why one should compete and made the pitch a little longer. Also, I was not sitting this time and tried to make the pitch as dynamic as possible.
1)
https://youtu.be/DMYQHUu936E
2) The feedback I received on my first elevator pitch was that it was kind of on the shorter side and didn't explain the problem in detail. Also, in the first elevator pitch, I was sitting down and used a webcam.
3) In this elevator pitch, I tried to include statistical proofs to prove why one should compete and made the pitch a little longer. Also, I was not sitting this time and tried to make the pitch as dynamic as possible.
Wednesday, 4 March 2020
18A - Create a Customer Avatar
Create a Customer Avatar
The unmet need I want to solve is the lack of platforms for students and teenagers to compete and showcase their talents. So, my prototypical customer would be school and college-going students. My prototypical customer would be around 14-21 years old and he/she would most likely like to compete and show their talents. My customers would also have special skills which are not found in many others and would like to improve their skills by competing in competitions.
What I have in common with the avatar is that I also like to compete against others and I like to show my hidden talents to the world. Also, I am of the same age group as my avatar and I would love to use the experience I gained from these competitions to improve my skills. I don't think this as a coincidence because I felt that there was an opportunity to exploit as I felt there was an unmet need present just like my customer.
What I have in common with the avatar is that I also like to compete against others and I like to show my hidden talents to the world. Also, I am of the same age group as my avatar and I would love to use the experience I gained from these competitions to improve my skills. I don't think this as a coincidence because I felt that there was an opportunity to exploit as I felt there was an unmet need present just like my customer.
Tuesday, 3 March 2020
Idea Napkin No.2
Idea Napkin No.2
1) I am a Computer Science student at the University of Florida. I am from India. I believe I am a good leader and can lead a team well. My goal as of now is to gain as much knowledge as possible. My business aspirations include gaining the experience of running a business and not particularly to earn money.
2) I am offering my customers a platform to compete and to showcase their skills/abilities.
3) My product is particularly aimed at middle schoolers, high schoolers and college students who want to compete in competitions but find it difficult to find the competitions they like or sometimes they don't have the time to go out and compete.
4) My customers will find it really easy and accessible to take part in competitions without having the struggle to actually go to a place and compete. Also, as I previously mentioned, my customers will find it helpful during college admissions and job interviews.
5) The convenience the product offers to the students will be of great benefit to them. Also, in the long run, I am thinking of associating with universities and companies where they could host their own competitions. This way, the students get to participate in competitions with high value.
I am not 100% certain that these elements fit together, but I am confident with a few adjustments in my idea, I can make it a success.
Feedback: I was told that my idea is not clear and I keep changing what I want to offer my customers. I completely agree with the feedback I received and I feel that my idea is still in the very early stage and requires a lot of adjustments. But the good thing is that I am working on the idea...
1) I am a Computer Science student at the University of Florida. I am from India. I believe I am a good leader and can lead a team well. My goal as of now is to gain as much knowledge as possible. My business aspirations include gaining the experience of running a business and not particularly to earn money.
2) I am offering my customers a platform to compete and to showcase their skills/abilities.
3) My product is particularly aimed at middle schoolers, high schoolers and college students who want to compete in competitions but find it difficult to find the competitions they like or sometimes they don't have the time to go out and compete.
4) My customers will find it really easy and accessible to take part in competitions without having the struggle to actually go to a place and compete. Also, as I previously mentioned, my customers will find it helpful during college admissions and job interviews.
5) The convenience the product offers to the students will be of great benefit to them. Also, in the long run, I am thinking of associating with universities and companies where they could host their own competitions. This way, the students get to participate in competitions with high value.
I am not 100% certain that these elements fit together, but I am confident with a few adjustments in my idea, I can make it a success.
Feedback: I was told that my idea is not clear and I keep changing what I want to offer my customers. I completely agree with the feedback I received and I feel that my idea is still in the very early stage and requires a lot of adjustments. But the good thing is that I am working on the idea...
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