Celebrating Failure

1.) A friend of mine asked me to help them edit a video. They asked me to take 45 minutes of footage that they had and cut it down into 2 minutes so they could use it for a presentation. I had a lot of late nights trying to make a video that worked, but with each new version of it I always say something wrong with it. There were simple things like awkward transitions, bad audio, the green screen was noticeable, and then there were more complex things, like the video didn't have any flow or was too all over the place. After weeks of working on it, I finally got it done. My friend was satisfied with it but after all the work I still wasn't happy with it.

2.) From this, I learned that things are never perfect. I spent so much time trying to make every detail in the video work, even though they never could be. Also, as long as a customer is happy you should consider something a success.

3.) I think in whatever we want do in life, we must experience failure in order for us to succeed. Experiencing failure makes us better at things. We become better prepared to tackle the challenge. The way I handle failure is accessing whatever I do wrong and trying to figure out why it happened and how I can make sure it doesn't happen again. Emotionally, I just let it eat away at me. With this class, I've become more likely to take risks. Looking back at the interview assignments, I was afraid of failing but after going through with them, even when they went bad, I feel better prepared for doing something like it again.

My Exit Strategy

1.) My exit strategy for my venture is to stick with the business for several decades, and then when it comes time to retire I find someone to replace me.

2.) I choose this exit strategy because my venture is all about creating different kinds of products. There isn't a one certain thing that this business does, it always something different. My first product was on key chains and my next product was a phone case. I think this inconsistency in what products my business makes would make it hard to sell. Also, I would like to keep control of my company.

3.) This exit strategy has influenced my venture concept by making it that I keep things small. It influenced how small of a staff I'm looking for. This exit strategy has influenced how I identify an opportunity. They would be ways to not only expand the reach of my products, but also way to keep things easy for a relatively small business . So I'd look to have partners in almost every aspect of the business to help me.

Week 12 Reading Reflection

1.) I was surprised to see that failing to explicitly communicate the company's strategy to employees was a fatal vision in strategic planning. I didn't think something like that could be so detrimental to a company.

2.) What confused me the must from this reading was the idea of strategic planning. With the way the book explained it, it took a long time for me to wrap my mind around it.

3.) One question I would ask the author is how long does it usually takes before a venture experiences failure. I remember reading something how they usually last 3 years or so, but is that really true. Also I would ask what he thinks could be the next company that could be like the "fab four" in innovation growth. Does he think something like Oculus could be the next big innovation.

4.) I disagree with the author on saying no is a way to help employee motivation. I think constant rejection of someone's ideas could heavily demotivate them and maybe ruin their working mindset completely.

Venture Concept No.1

Opportunity

My venture is trying to meet the under-met needs people have with their key chains. What created this opportunity was the fact there isn’t much innovation or redesign happening to key chains in this day and age. The market for this product is very broad. Anyone can benefit from using this product, but the main demographics I’m targeting are businesses and students. Workers in hotels, convention centers, or stores, would benefit from the advantages of my product, KeyBrain, since they would be the most likely demographic who would carry 10 or more keys at a time. Also, as a student myself, I believe that the younger demographic would like to see a more efficient design of a key chain with less of the annoyances a regular one has.

As of right now must customers are just complacent with key chains now. They are aware of the annoyances they have but do not know of a better alternative to fix it. But if a better key chain product became known I think many people would be quick to switch to it. I think this opportunity could have a large impact on the world. A majority of people carry a key chain around with them at all time, especially college students. People are always looking for the efficient versions of products and KeyBrain would be just that for them. I think the window of opportunity for this will be open for at least 10 years. The main detriment to this venture is the widespread use of key-less cars and doors, but these things are just starting to get into use. Also growth of it is very slow since it can be very expensive to implement, so many people just dismiss it entirely and stick with the old-fashioned key. If this mentality continues, this venture could still be success for much longer than expected.

Innovation

KeyBrain is a new way to carry around your keys. The old-fashioned key ring comes with many small annoyances. They can be bulky in your pocket and take up too much space, this can lead to them pricking the side your leg when walking or sitting, it can be hard to find the right key when you need them if you carry a lot at once, also they can be noisy by jiggling around when you walk. KeyBrains design is meant to eliminate all these issues. The product is a small, thin container that you slip your keys. The container itself looks like a thin USB drive. On the one its sides are small colored knobs for each slot a key is in. You push these up and down to reveal/ hide the key. With the compact design, it reduces the amount of space your keys take up and the noise it makes when you move around and eliminates the chances of your keys hitting your leg when you sit. Also the knobs on the side make getting the right key easier. There is also key finder feature with it. Many people tend to misplace their keys often. The KeyBrain has a companion app that helps you find your keys. If you lose your keys, you can open the app to trigger a small flickering light on the container to help make it more visible. There is also a small GPS device so you can have idea where they are.

With this product we are making money through customization options. The standard KeyBrain, which holds 5 keys, costs $20. These would come in different colors like dark blue, red, orange, green, etc. If someone just wants to add one more key to the standard product, a key slot attachment is afford at $2 with each different color. For business, the KeyBrain XL houses a minimum of 10 keys at $30 with different colors sold as well.

Venture Capital

The main reason customers would switch to this new product is because they see how more convenient it is over the old fashioned key ring everyone uses. In this day in age, people are buying new products for things that have always been the same for the sake of convenience. Modern takes on coffee machines of picture frames are a few of the examples that show this. One customers see how much better KeyBrain is compared to their key chains, I believe they would quickly make the switch to it. Today, if something isn’t working as well as it should be, people are quick to find something to replace. I believe that many people are sick of the annoyances that come with carry a full key chain and are waiting for something like KeyBrain to fix these small annoyances in their life.

The biggest competitor to my product is the Keyport, a modular key chain. However, their product isn’t as user-friendly or as well designed as mine. First of all, their product standard product is the size of what my XL model is. Also, it isn’t as easy as sticking your keys into it and its done. People have to order their keyport and send their keys to be made to fit into the container. With packaging, the simpler the better would do well for this kind of product. Having it placed in a small plastic box works well since the customer could fully see and imagine how the product would work. I also think our price points help define our business concept. We’re all about designing products that have maximum efficiency. Having these priced at $20 and $30 is a reasonable price for the product we are selling. The distribution, customer service have a small role in my businesses concept. With this venture I would like to keep a small number of employees. I would partner with a manufacturing company to make the product, and have a 5 man design team for future innovations, and 20 man business team to deal with company accounting and deals.

The three minor elements

My most important resource will be my design experience. Having prior knowledge on how to properly design something that’s user-friendly will give me an edge when starting this venture and help differentiate my products from others. The next product I aim to make is a modular phone case. With this you can add different peripherals to the back of your phone like a battery pack or earbud holder. Like the KeyBrain, it aims to maximize the efficiency of a product. If this venture launched, in 5 years I would like to be working on this business full time. After 10 years, I hope to have created a handful of products that people use every day. Hopefully, this venture would be the first of many.

Amazon Whisperer

-The revenue drivers in my business concept are the variations my KeyBrain product. So I'd make money by selling two different sizes of KeyBrain, and also small modular components you could add to the KeyBrain like a bottle opener and small change holder.

-The next kind of product I'm offering is a modular phone case that could work for all the latest phone cases. Besides just being a strong phone case, this product also allows you to add different things to the case. 

-The original purpose of KeyBrain was to find a way to find a way to make a keychain more efficient. It did this by making the key chain less bulky and noisy. This next product follows that same idea of making things more efficient. This modular phone case will maximize what the capabilities of a phone case can be for a better user experience. 

-The closes thing on Amazon to my product is the "uNu Exera Modular Detachable Battery Case for iPhone 4S/4". This phone case allows you to attach/detach a battery module whenever you want.

                                           

This product has mostly favorable reviews. Customers did not like that the product worked better for some and terribly for others. Many people complained that it was difficult to charge after a certain point or it would charge at all. People do like being able to add the battery whenever they want and remove it when they don't need it.

-With my idea, the modular phone case, a battery module would be just one of the things you could add to the case. You can add a slim battery pack to it for more battery, a headphone holder or a headphone amp. You can even add miscellaneous tools like a modular bottle opener, key holder, etc. These modules would also be compatible with the previous product, KeyBrain.

-As stated before, my previous product was all about maximizing the efficiency of the key chain. This next product is all about maximizing the efficiency of the phone case. So the phone case isn't just about keeping you phone safe, this product allows it to do more. 

Week 11 Reading Reflection

1.) What surprised me the most was seeing Cornings's tech history. Having such a long gap between products from 1982 to 2007 is amazing.

2.) I was confused with how they were trying to explain how will innovation create value for potential customers. I understood what they were talking about but I thought the way they explained it could have been better.

3.) One question I would ask the author is if he thinks more companies should practice crowd sourcing. Can this be used as a standard way of doing things now instead of a traditional route.
Also, I would ask what he thinks a company like Yahoo would need to innovate to become relevant again here in the states. He brought it up early in the article and it got me thinking out how Yahoo is still a top website in Japan but barely standing here in the states.

4.) I don't agree with the author that aping someone's else's system is not the answer. This has been done so many times today and it has worked. Services like Spotify and Tidal, Xbox Live and PSN, are companies looking to their competitors copying exactly what worked for them.

My Unfair Advantage.

Design Knowledge (human capital)
V: I have experience designing an actual app and its layout and functionality. Understanding how to properly design things is a good skill to have when making a product.
R: Not many people my age have this kind experience.
I: People can't copy the experience I have.
N: Although other people can be more experienced than me, they would do things differently than me.

Professional Clients experience (human capital)
V: Having experience dealing with professional clients at my age gives me a better understanding of how things work in the real world.
R: Not many people my age have experience pitching and presenting products to actual business clients.
I: People can't have the experience I have
N: Although other people can be more experienced than me, they would do things differently than me.

KeyBrain (human capital)
V: This idea is what makes my venture special.
R: Not many companies are looking to reinvent key chains.
I: People could have similar ideas, but nothing like mine.
N: There aren't many substitutions for this kind of product.

Connection to business professionals (social capital)
V: Having access to people who could help me grow my business could really help.
R: It isn't that rare for someone my age to know someone involved in business
I: My connections can't be copied.
N: This can be substituted by knowing better contacts.

Determination (human capital)
V:  Having the will to see this venture through to the end is very valuable.
R: Not many people are willing to invest this amount of effort into something.
I: You cannot copy this.
N: This could be substituted with someone more determined.

Connection to design professionals (Social capital)
V: Being able to get feedback or ideas from design experts can really help make my product better
R: Having this kind of connection isn't rare.
I: This could be copied by having the same connections.
N: This could be substituted by having better connections.

Location (Social capital)
V: Being in a university allows me test the product in every situations.
R: This kind of environment isn't rare.
I: This could be imitable with any other university.
N: This could be substituted with any other location

Large base of customers (social capital)
V: Being able to sell this product to 50,000+ on campus and businesses around Gainesville could give me an edge in breaking into the market.
R: A college town isn't that rare.
I: This could be imitable with any other college town.
N: This could be substituted with any other location.

Responsibility (human capital)
V: Being able to be trusted by customers and connections is extremely valuable in business.
R: Not very rare for people to have this
I: This trait could be imitable.
N: This could be substituted

Powerful laptop (human capital)
V: Being able to work on everything on one machine and being able to take is very valuable.
R: Having a good laptop isn't rare.
I: This could be easily copied by just buying the same computer
N: The software and hardware I used can be easily substituted.

My top resource is probably my experience dealing with professional clients.Working with professional clients on a project isn't something a lot of people have. Having a understanding of this helps my venture by giving me an edge on how to work with business partners.