Reading reflection no. 3

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

Is written from the perspective of Phil Knight, the creator of Nike, it is narrated around when he started the business and traveled the world.

What surprised me the most was how real and relatable Phil Knight was, he was so human he went at a normal pace and followed his own path. What I most admired was how interested he was in finding meaning, looking for it in other cultures religions, something that I can relate to. What I least admired was the constant lies he’d tell in business, but it did get him to create styles in this brand that I love. Phil encountered adversity and failure multiple times throughout his career, selling shoes part time while accounting or teaching, the main set back was tensions that arose between his supplier Onitsuka Tiger, this resulted in him finding a new supplier and changing the name of his business Blue Ribbon to Nike and also changing the design to a swoop.

The entrepreneur looked to history to help him start his business, following how the Japanese camera company Kodak took over the German camera business in the past he wanted to use Japanese suppliers to help take over the shoe business.

A part of the reading that was confusing to me was why he lied, again, about having two retail stores in America he was selling his shoes from, why he would buy a new retail story when he couldn’t afford it and didn’t have the time for it.

I’d ask the entrepreneur why wasn’t he truthful in some parts of his business, why he hadn’t created Blue Ribbon before and also why he hadn’t waited to open a second store? Also, why didn’t he put all his attention into selling shoes, why did he keep switching careers?

I think Phil Knight’s opinion of hard work would be that you can lie sometimes to get there. I don’t believe in this opinion because its just a quick scary route, should be truthful throughout a business’s career so it doesn’t come back to haunt you.

Your exit strategy

I think I plan to stay with my business, maybe for at least a decade. Keep growing it with other apps for all types of disabilities, trying to help all types of people. I would try to pass it down to my children if they wanted it, and then retire.

I’ve selected this particular exit strategy because I came into this business good hearted and laid back and I want to leave that way, keep up the tradition. I also don’t want any of my customers to notice my absence in the venture once I’m gone.

I think my exit strategy had influenced the other decisions I’ve made in my concept because I’ve kept everything valuable and loving, creating a good work place for those with disabilities who would use my venture. My venture has definitely influenced how I identify an opportunity, as in the moment and can’t be forced but will come along, like the opportunity I used to create this app with the virus and everyone relying on this app at home. Its influenced my growth intentions, I wouldn’t have done anything else but create this app for special education students, but I decided to now move onto more disabilities.

Celebrating Failure

A time this past semester I failed was being unable to double major in English and Elementary Education. I’m already an English major and I came into this university with over sixty credits, so I decided I wanted to double major in Elementary Education. But because I’m in the Innovation Academy here at the University of Florida, I wasn’t allowed to major in this. 

What I learned from this failure is that I have time, I still have time to fully decide if I want to major in Elementary Education for my master’s degree in the future. I also have time to decide if I want to withdraw from the program I’m in now.

What I think about failure is that it doesn’t come easy, I see black and white and I don’t see it as a possibility to lose or not get something. I take failure very hard, it can make me anxious and really upset, drive what I’m thinking for a long time. This class has changed my perspective on failure, reading “Coco Chanel” by Lisa Chaney and seeing how Gabriel didn’t get what she wanted for over half her life makes it feel normal if I don’t get what I’ve strived for. I think I am more likely to take a risk now, especially knowing all that I’ve learned and that I can create better ideas after.

What's next?

Existing market

Step 1 What I think is next in terms of products and services for my venture would be an app for regular children, not special needs children, who can still learn and entertain through its games and videos.

Step 2

Interview #1: I interviewed John who is part of the market whose brother is autistic. I asked him what I believed is next for a venture like mine and he said to create apps for all types of developmental issues like down syndrome, dyslexia, and processing disorders because they’re all different in some way and all have some type of learning barrier. He said what I should be doing that I’m not already doing through this app is targeting each individual developmental issue. What he said about my ideas of what customers might want next with an app for regular children who aren’t special needs is that it still kind of has the same idea of targeting children to learn and enjoy through apps and games but it is different because these aren’t special needs children.

Interview #2: I interviewed Mary who is a part of the market as a teacher’s assistant in a classroom full of special needs children. She believes my venture is great, especially with the current opportunity of special needs children at home who are distracted in lessons and aren’t as active. She didn’t have an answer for what she thinks we should be doing next that we aren’t planning to do, she thought my current idea was good enough. I asked her about my ideas of what customers want next, an app for regular kids who aren’t special needs children, she thought it was a great idea but that I should create and launch this app for special needs children first.

Interview #2: I interviewed Sarah who is already part of the marker whose sister has down syndrome. I asked her what she believed is next in a venture like mine and she didn’t believe there would be anything next, she didn’t think special needs children would be able to use an app on a phone and continue using it. I asked what we should be doing that we aren’t planning to do and she said to create physical toys for these special needs children to play with outside of the app, and to upload some of the entertaining videos to youtube where it might be easier for the special needs children or parent to access. I asked her about might idea of creating an app for regular children with the same concept except it isn’t targeting special needs children, and she believed this was a better idea because they would know how to get to and use the app and might even have phones or devices of their own.

Step 3 What makes the most sense for my venture in terms of growing my existing market is to create this app for children who do not have developmental issues. It might be easier for these children to access the app because they might have phones or devices of their own and have definitely used apps before. I maybe should have taken this step first and put more studying into the developmental issues of the special needs children I want to target, maybe make separate apps for each developmental issue.

 

New market

Step 1 I’d target children with behavioral or emotional issues, like children who are ADD or bipolar. Through lessons that would help them stabilize their emotions and learn why they are experiencing this emotions, videos to calm them.

Step 2 I think my venture concept might be able to create value for people in this market because it is a very different approaching, this app isn’t more suited for entertaining but instead for taking care of current issues that person with behavioral or emotional issues has. Create value because they are learning why they are experiencing these emotions, and are going through soothing videos, and are learning different skills to control their behaviors and emotions.

Step 3

Interview #1: I interviewed Dita who is in this market, she has ADHD. I asked her how she thinks my business might be able to help meet customers like her and she said through promoting the app a lot, through maybe therapy sessions through the app or someone to talk to in the app. Kinds of adaptions to the product/service mix that she thinks I should make to be successful in this market is twenty four hour therapy sessions, especially for emergencies.

Interview #2: I interviewed Elizabeth who is in this market, her mother is bipolar. I asked her how she thinks my business might be able to meet customers like her or her mother and she said by talking to other therapists who can put in a good word to their patients, or information in waiting rooms at therapists offices, calming mindful videos for her mother to interact in the app. Kinds of adaptions to the product/service mix that she thinks I should make to be successful in this market is quizzes after lessons where the person with that behavioral or emotional issue can use what they’ve just learned.

Step 4 What I learned in this new market is new ways to promote my idea, and new activities I could include in this new app. What surprised me the most is all the people close to me who have or know someone with behavioral or emotional issues, and the great ideas they had. Some of my expectations or assumptions were correct. This new market seems to be more attractive than my existing market because this is something very close to me.

Venture concept no. 1

Opportunity

My opportunity strikes children who have special needs and the parents/family members of those children with special needs. The nature of the need is to educate, entertain, and distract their special needs child. 

The forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity are the growth in special education students in classrooms, the coronavirus moving special education students to online schooling where they are distracted and not as involved. The market isn’t defined geographically because it would be all over the country, maybe more so in cities where the population is higher, and defined demographically to special needs children receiving schooling under the age of eighteen years old. Customers are currently satisfying this need by providing to their special needs child through toys and games, fun videos, and online schooling; they are very loyal to what they use now, going to school everyday for hours, before and after school playing with toys and games and watching fun videos. This opportunity is very big with the right timing currently, there have been opportunities like this in the past but nothing involving games, education, and videos all in one. This “window of opportunity” will be open as long as special education students are receiving schooling online, maybe even as long as the coronavirus lasts.

 

Innovation

What this is is an app for special education students to access so they can learn what they’re learning in school through fun games and interactive videos. What this app does is grow the special needs child’s knowledge and understanding of the lessons they are partaking in school at the moment, it also serves to distract and entertain the special needs child. It works by the parent downloading the app from the app store, letting their special needs child access the app from their device whenever is possible, the special needs child will be enrolled on the app with their current grade and will be linked to games and videos of they are currently trying to learn in school. I at first wasn’t planning to sell the app, but noting I need to make money it will be sold at ten dollars when downloaded, there won’t be any in app purchases and no monthly subscriptions to this service.

 

Venture Concept

My innovation will solve or address the opportunity I defined by educating and entertaining special needs children through its games and videos on the app.

The reasons customers would switch to this new product is because it is the right time, their special needs children are distracted in their online video lessons and aren’t involved in as many activities as they would be in school, the customer will find their special needs child learning and entertained in a new way. It might be a little hard to get my customers to switch over to my app because there are other apps out there, but because a lot of special needs children do like to play games on their parents phones and watch videos they will eventually find my app. The competitors are the other similar apps out there that try to have the same goals I have through my app. Possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities my competitors would have is that they don’t have the opportunity I have right now with the coronavirus occurring and special needs students at home, my competitors might not have games and videos in their app where special needs students can grow their learning. The role packaging, price points, distribution, customer support, the customer experience or the business location plays in defining my business concept is very small because this is an app which can be used or distributed through anyone’s phone, I think the only thing that is very important is the customer experience because there are other apps similar to this one out there and the customer wants to see their special needs child enjoying and entertaining and growing their learning continuously. I would organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of my new product, service, or process by needing an app developer that I can trust and work with to help create this app and reach all my goals I want to achieve through this app. There would maybe be one employee and that would be the app developer, kind of unknown because I don’t know how many employees it takes to help develop an app. Roles in the venture would be me as the creator and the mind behind the app, the app developer as the employee that helped make this app real.

 

The three minor elements

My most important resource, my “secret sauce” or “unfair advantage,” is that I do have experience with parents and children who are customers and I know what they do and don’t like and I know how to treat them fairly and work hard. Besides my innovative product, service, or process what I have that will make it hard for competitors to copy my success is this experience because competitors might not have interacted with parents and children before, especially in an educational setting.

What’s next for my venture, the next new product, service, or process that may be aimed at my existing customers is an app for regular children in school to learn and entertain after school through its games and videos, this wouldn’t be for special needs children, this could target my existing customers if the parent has another child who doesn’t have special needs who could use the learning and entertaining through the apps games and videos.

What’s next for me, where I want to be in five years with this venture, where I want to be as an entrepreneur in the next decade is having these two apps out there in the app store that have many customers children growing their education and actually enjoying it. This first venture helps achieve my vision because this is an app for special needs children that would help them greatly and make them very happy.

Your venture's unfair advantage

What makes me so special?

Resources

1)    Skills

This valuable because I will be able to easily connect with the families, children and parents.

This is rare to find as much experience in others my age with children and parents who are customers.

Not very inimitable because others can pick up the skills and strategies I use in the workplace, can be a good influence on others.

This is non-substitutable when connections and trust are formed between me and the parent or child, hard to develop these skills in a short time, have learned through these skills.

2)    Training

This is valuable because I am prepared for any task a child or parent asks of me, had little training at the beginning and learned along the way.

This is rare to get this many hours and years of training that I have received at my age.

This is a little inimitable because it would be a lot of training lessons, I didn’t begin with any knowledge.

This is substitutable, other resources like experience can replace training.

3)    Experience

This is valuable because I can now be trusted by the parent and child.

This is rare to find this much experience for someone my age for so long, having undergone training and will use skills.

This is very inimitable, cannot copy experience.

This non-substitutable, this is resume material and can be required.

4)    Judgment

This is valuable to keep parents and children safe, to feel protected and getting the best service.

This is not rare, anyone can make the right judgment even without experience, training, and skills.

This is a little inimitable, just because everyone has different judgment than others.

This is non-substitutable because this can even drive other resources.

5)    Creative

This is valuable because it’s fresh and new for the parents and children.

This can be rare, not everyone is creative around children.

This is not inimitable, others can copy my creativity through lessons or art pieces.

This is non-substitutable because no other resource can replace creativity.

6)    Participation

This is valuable because it includes the parent and child.

This can be rare because there are others who won’t fully participate taking away from the opportunity.

This is not inimitable because others can copy my participation with the customer.

This can be non-substitutable but sense of belonging can be included when participating.

7)    Sense of belonging

This valuable when providing for a parent or child because it makes them feel like they fit in and can keep going on.

This is rare to give off this much confidence to someone, need to know skills and experience for this.

This is inimitable because it goes along with how much experience, skills, training I have, and goes along with my personality.

This can be non-substitutable because of participation, can feel like they belong because they are participating.

8)    Wisdom

This is valuable because I can give it to the child and parent, can lead them to success.

This can be rare but can also depend on my experience, training, and skills.

This is inimitable but others can follow my own guidelines.

This is substitutable because other resources can make it seem like I already have that wisdom.

9)    Committed

This is valuable to be committed to the child and parent so they will return for another great experience.

This is rare because I’ve known others who have been uncommitted.

This is inimitable because others can grow tired of helping children and parents.

This can be substitutable because of continuing experience,

10) Empathetic 

This is valuable because it connects me with the parent and child on an emotional level.

This is rare if I were to not participate and not have that wisdom.

This is very inimitable because it is personal, cannot copy someone else’s emotions.

This is non-substitutable because there is no other resource like this.

My top resource is experience, because it can go along with my other resources- I have the wisdom from my past experience, I have the training under my belt, I have participated with the customers, and it shows I am committed to the customers.

Elevator pitch no. 3

https://youtu.be/0uKqX7Ixc8A

A reflection

This was the best feedback I’ve received on an assignment yet, my peers reviewed what I’ve changed so far and informed me to remove my introduction because it wasted time and the attention of my listeners, what’s included in these apps, to not run at such a slow pace but to be quicker in my presentation because it was more engaging to my listeners.

What’s changed

It’s almost memorized but I keep including more important points every presentation that bring it all together, I am definitely more comfortable in front of the camera getting my presentation down after just three videos, I think the pitch is definitely better now including what’s inside the app.

Reading reflection no. 2

1)    What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The general theme of the book was like a beginners guide to facebook, how to be constant with keeping up with your account and gaining followers. Now looking at it I can see how this guide can also be used to begin a facebook account for your business and to keep followers on their toes.

2)    How did the book connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT3003?

This book created this extra step for your entrepreneurial business by creating an active facebook page, to keep returning customers. It connected the social media I use to starting an entrepreneurship business.

3)    If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would it be?

I guess creating an imaginary business and running a successful facebook page for a week or semester, bringing in potential customers and using the tips provided religiously. Maybe a business to go along with our product we’re pitching throughout the semester.

4)    What was your biggest surprise or ‘aha’ moment when reading the book? What did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

That I want people to keep coming back to my profile, for people to want to pay attention. I can’t do this through content creation because I’ll become tired of what I’m creating, but I can do this through content curation its always different every time, I can be someone’s source.

Growing your social capital

1)    Who they are and what their background is

William Jackson is the director of network and desktop support services at Flagler College (my past school before I transferred to the University of Florida), he’s worked in Flagler’s technology services for eight years.

2)    Which slot they are and how they are filling the slot

William fills the domain expert in my market. I’d go to him with questions about websites and the importance of having a helpful platform.

3)    A description of how I found and contacted the person

I needed help with wifi in my dorm when I did attend Flagler, I saw him regularly for a club I attended at Flagler, I still had his email from then so I emailed him.

4)    The nature of the exchange we had

It was difficult because he didn’t actually develop any of the school’s apps so he couldn’t answer any questions on how to develop/start an app if I were to ask, he knew more about how the school’s websites were run.

5)    How including this person in my network will enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity

It was a step forward into this app, William hadn’t created the school’s apps but he had a little more of an idea in this area and explained it to me. 

 

1)    Who they are and what their background is

Brenda is a mother to her seventeen year old son Eric, who has autism.

2)    Which slot they are and how they are filling the slot

Brenda is the expert in my market, she represents a major piece of my market as her son would be using the app, as the mother to her autistic son.

3)    A description of how I found and contacted the person

She was a mutual friend, a friend to my friend’s mother. I contacted her by calling her through the information I was given by my friend’s mother.

4)    The nature of the exchange we had

We talked over the phone about how her and her son had taken to online schooling, what her son does daily, what she thought of my app idea.

5)    How including this person in my network will enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity

It was just another interview of a potential customer, almost directly speaking to her son about what he does daily and what apps he uses. Created realistic expectations of what my customers would think of my app.

 

1)    Who they are and what their background is

Anna is a family friend who works at a software company where apps are developed, her company actually creates these apps for those who have these ideas.

2)    Which slot they are and how they are filling the slot

Anna fills the slot of an important supplier to my industry, by creating the app so everyone can access it.

3)    A description of how I found and contacted the person

I found Anna because she is my father’s friend’s wife, I contacted her through calling my father’s friend.

4)    The nature of the exchange we had

She tried to explain how her business first begins to develop apps but it was hard to follow along, especially because I have no intention of actually creating my app.

5)    How including this person in my network will enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity

It would actually be creating this app so special needs children and families could use it, it’d be the final step.

 

Reflection

This experience goes to show how having many friends can create many connections to all different business areas, will shape me into not being afraid to ask how. It differed because these weren’t just potential customers but were who I’d contact to begin creating this app.

Elevator pitch no. 2

https://youtu.be/rpDDZ3X7YOs

I received positive and helpful feedback from my peers, to make sure to project my voice and use hand motions to make it seem like I’m moving. I expected more negative feedback. I thought there would be feedback on how short my video was and how fast I talked. I changed my presentation by being longer, using more hand motions, and made my video longer with more important points.

Idea napkin no. 2

1)    You

I’m Lauren Lytle, a sophomore at the University of Florida, majoring in English with a minor in Innovation. My talents are I’m creative in writing and coming up with ideas, I am visual with art and in my writing, and I am good at soccer. My skills and experience are I’m great with kids, as a counselor assistant I’ve always connected with kids and related to them. Also while working at an adoption center, I’ve found I connect with animals. If I were to start this business it wouldn’t be for the money, I would feel good about helping people who need it.

2)    What are you offering to customers?

I am offering an app for special education students that covers education and value. For students at home who don’t have activities at home and aren’t paying their full attention to their school work. 

3)    Who are you offering it to?

It would be offered to both the special needs student and the parent. They all have in common a new style of educating special needs children at home.

4)    Why do they care?

It’s a new advance for special needs students who receive schooling at home, if they aren’t paying attention in classes and as involved in physical activities. 

5)    What are your core competencies?

This isn’t just any child’s education game, its made just for special needs children, fitting their behaviors and what they are learning. What I have that nobody else has is time and an opportunity, with this virus sending children to home schooling; this gives special education students more time to play and learn through the app, an opportunity with the block special education students have faced with online lessons.

I think almost everything fits together, but the only thing I’d have to push more on is making this app as original as possible, with other apps out there existing like this with educating special needs children. I feel like the other elements back each other up though, and make me more confident especially with what’s setting me apart from everyone else.

My feedback was very positive, but what I took away from it is that I’ve volunteered as a counselor’s assistant at a children’s summer camp, I need to volunteer with just special needs children. I also haven’t been in the online schooling environment with special needs children.

Customer avatar

My prototypical customer is a forty eight year old (but feels like a forty year old) mother to two children, a twenty year old daughter in college and a seventeen year old son with special needs. Her hobbies include scrapbooking, cooking, and photography. She drives a black twenty eighteen Nissan Rogue. She watches Game of Thrones, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Poldark. Her favorite books are Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice. She’s a Republican, and her favorite politician is Trump.

What I have in common with my prototypical customer is I also love photography and scrapbooking, because I like to capture the moment forever through a photo. And I watch Game of Thrones and Poldark, because it seems historical but has magic to it. I don’t think it’s a coincidence we have these things in common because its partly what I see myself as when I’m forty eight years old.