Assignment 29A – Venture Concept No. 2

Assignment 29A – Venture Concept No. 2

•           Opportunity:

• Music hobbyists, professionals, or just those interested in making a song would be Hyperspeed’s potential customer base.  Hyperspeed provides the ability for clients to work with music professionals to develop their song idea.
• The forces that let this happen include the professional music industry at large and the premium pricing of music studio equipment, creating a large demand for affordable music recording. This means the middle-class people continue to be excluded from the traditional studio experience, and the window of opportunity will stay open until the best solution is found to serve the middle-class marketspace.
• There is no current solution to satisfying this need, they are priced out from using it. Studios remain unaffordable for the average non-professional consumer.  Hyperspeed would provide a much better quality product than iPhone recording, the most common workaround that people don’t particularly like and are mostly unsatisfied with.

• Innovation:
• For professionals, I would offer the chance to work with members of our in-house staff for a flat rate of $60 an hour. This would be the collaboration aspect of the business, and be a key revenue driver.  This in-house talent would initially come from my own personal connections in the industry, and grow by word of mouth exposure.
• For people who want to create their own music and casual hobbyists I would sell packages.  For only $200 a day, you’d get an entire studio setup mailed to you and a 2-and-a-half-hour session every day on your time with an in-house producer, songwriter, or audio engineer, depending on your needs.  The introductory 3-day package for $575 is an easy way to learn at a convenient pace, and is recommended for beginners.
• I would make money through a combination of these two revenue drivers, with the majority coming from selling to consumers, and diversifying with collaboration. Margins would be around 20-30%
• Venture Concept: 
• I am offering it to two main groups: those who want to rent a studio equipment setup and learn to make music, and those who would like to collaborate with the professionals on the platform. Included in my target market would be young affluent college students (a subsection of the local Gainesville market), amateur music professionals (for the collaboration service), middle class affluent music enthusiasts, beginners to music creation.  This service will mostly be marketed toward men based on the demographics of the DAC, although women are also encouraged to buy it.  Music should be diverse.  While this service is marketed for the lower end of music production, it is still at a premium price in the minds of many consumers (which is why affluence is a key trait of all my targeted customers). 
• The second aspect of the collaborative service would be marketed as the lower end of HomeStudio, encouraging people to get lessons before renting the equipment.  Other music creators can pay a $60 flat hourly rate for the opportunity to work with our in-house staff on our very own native video servers.

Unfair advantage: The VRIN analysis has shown me my top resource is my expertise in the music field.  I intimately know what I’m selling to a deep degree, and have a wealth of music knowledge and experience to offer to customers.  This ability is unique and special, if the leader of the business knows all aspects of it on an expert level, the company can thrive and succeed.

What’s next: I think the next move for Hyperspeed would be to branch out and differentiate and diversify our offerings. I would like to get all aspects of the business up to their peak earning potential.  Hyperspeed should do some local marketing to attract the first clients to perform testing and begin to make improvements in the infrastructure of the company.

• For Me: I plan to remain with Hyperspeed until I could realize a large enough return to be able to start a new venture. After the $5 million revenue mark, I would want to be acquired by a large music company like Spotify who understand what I was trying to do.

What's different: I decided to further develop the idea of our personalized video servers in relation to the collaborative aspect of the media.

Assignment 24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Assignment 24A – Venture Concept No. 1

•           Opportunity:

• Music hobbyists, professionals, or just those interested in making a song would be Hyperspeed’s potential customer base.  Hyperspeed provides the ability for clients to work with music professionals to develop their song idea.
• The forces that let this happen include the professional music industry at large and the premium pricing of music studio equipment, creating a large demand for affordable music recording. This means the middle-class people continue to be excluded from the traditional studio experience, and the window of opportunity will stay open until the best solution is found to serve the middle-class marketspace.
• There is no current solution to satisfying this need, they are priced out from using it.  Studios remain unaffordable for the average non-professional consumer.  Hyperspeed would provide a much better quality product than iPhone recording, the most common workaround that people don’t particularly like and are mostly unsatisfied with.

• Innovation:
• For professionals, I would offer the chance to work with members of our in-house staff for a flat rate of $60 an hour. This would be the collaboration aspect of the business, and be a key revenue driver.  This in-house talent would initially come from my own personal connections in the industry, and grow by word of mouth exposure.
• For people who want to create their own music and casual hobbyists I would sell packages.  For only $200 a day, you’d get an entire studio setup mailed to you and a 2-and-a-half-hour session every day on your time with an in-house producer, songwriter, or audio engineer, depending on your needs.  The introductory 3-day package for $575 is an easy way to learn at a convenient pace, and is recommended for beginners.
• I would make money through a combination of these two revenue drivers, with the majority coming from selling to consumers, and diversifying with collaboration. Margins would be around 20-30%
• Venture Concept: 
• I am offering it to two main groups: those who want to rent a studio equipment setup and learn to make music, and those who would like to collaborate with the professionals on the platform. Included in my target market would be young affluent college students (a subsection of the local Gainesville market), amateur music professionals (for the collaboration service), middle class affluent music enthusiasts, beginners to music creation.  This service will mostly be marketed toward men based on the demographics of the DAC, although women are also encouraged to buy it.  Music should be diverse.  While this service is marketed for the lower end of music production, it is still at a premium price in the minds of many consumers (which is why affluence is a key trait of all my targeted customers). 
• The second aspect of the collaborative service would be marketed as the lower end of HomeStudio, encouraging people to get lessons before renting the equipment.  Other music creators can pay a $60 flat hourly rate for the opportunity to work with our in-house staff.

Unfair advantage: The VRIN analysis has shown me my top resource is my expertise in the music field.  I intimately know what I’m selling to a deep degree, and have a wealth of music knowledge and experience to offer to customers.  This ability is unique and special, if the leader of the business knows all aspects of it on an expert level, the company can thrive and succeed.

What’s next: I think the next move for Hyperspeed would be to branch out and differentiate and diversify our offerings. I would like to get all aspects of the business up to their peak earning potential.  Hyperspeed should do some local marketing to attract the first clients to perform testing and begin to make improvements in the infrastructure of the company.

• For Me: I plan to remain with Hyperspeed until I could realize a large enough return to be able to start a new venture. After the $5 million revenue mark, I would want to be acquired by a large music company like Spotify who understand what I was trying to do.

Assignment 25A – What’s Next?

Assignment 25A – What’s Next?

"What should we be doing that we aren't planning to do?" Next, ask them about your ideas of what customers might want next. 

What I Think Is Next:

I think the next move for Hyperspeed would be to branch out and differentiate and diversify our offerings. I would like to get all aspects of the business up to their peak earning potential.  Hyperspeed should do some local marketing to attract the first clients to perform testing and begin to make improvements in the infrastructure of the company.

Existing Market Interviews:

1 – I talked to Jason, a DJ in Miami.  After hearing the business plan, he suggested to split the packages, such as one for beginners, intermediate and expert, using tiered pricing and adding more features as customers go up the line, an intriguing idea.

2 – I spoke to Reyes, a sales engineer at a local marketing firm.  He liked the overall business idea and its multiple revenue drivers, but also stressed the importance of generating awareness in your target market.  Without clients, you don’t have a company.

3 – I talked to John-Paulo, an advertising consultant for a technology company.  He liked the company and echoed Reyes’s recommendation for advertising.  He said for me to target my advertising efforts on the group of people I want to reach with Hyperspeed.

Reflection:

These interviews have showed I should prioritize expanding my core offerings, and most importantly, start to build awareness in the minds of consumers.  Both potential directions for the company require some degree of advertising to others and gaining exposure to build a base of clients to use the service.  With the collaboration aspect as well, this business would rely on human connection and strengthening my network.  This would allow me to attract more top mid-tier talent that my customers would be seeking at this price point. 

To kickstart this process, I would print off some flyers and hang them in the local Gainesville area.  There are already a bunch of newsletters and ads tacked up on the boards around town, Hyperspeed would use this strategy as well.  I would also hang around the music building and hand out business cards to students that might be interested.

New Market: 

A new market to enter would be equipment rental to established music companies.  Since the business is based off rentals and equipment, it might make sense for Hyperspeed to provide equipment for events and gatherings and collect fees from that. 

New Market Interviews:

1 – I talked to my neighbor Joe, a large time party and event planner and audio engineer.  He does party planning for a living and could help me enter the new market with his connections and insight.  He recommended to have a professional logo and business cards, so I could hand them out and publicize the company at the venue I rent to.  Joe advised to focus on initial marketing of the company and get free advertising wherever I can.

2 – I spoke with Donny, a friend of my friend’s who works at a Miami beach club.  He is involved in a lot of events and parties hosted by the club, and represents a perfect test market.  He recommended to charge a lot more for the venue rental than I would to the consumer.  Places like hotels or beach clubs have big entertainment budgets, and want the best equipment possible at reasonable rates, potentially providing more revenue than the consumer facing side.

Reflection:

What surprised me the most is how the new market might be surprisingly easy to get into. My first interviewee Joe is already well connected in the space. He said he would help me out if I chose to pursue that avenue.  The party planning sector represents a good opportunity for the company.
            I think this new market is somewhat attractive, since parties are very common, and Hyperspeed has access to good quality equipment to use for events.  Getting into this space would serve to diversify my offerings and expand my community outreach, gaining more company exposure.

Assignment 30A – Final Reflection

Assignment 30A – Final Reflection

• The most formative experience for me was probably the first assignment, the bug list. That was the one that first got me thinking with an entrepreneurial mindset and how to solve problems from a critical perspective.
• I’ll remember when Avery’s dad said he’d do an interview, but took 2 months before it actually happened.  The most joyous experience was when I got good feedback on the business idea, helping me modify it along the way and come up with something great.
  I am most proud of actually developing a viable business idea using the skills and resources I currently have.  I always thought starting a business was impossible, but I could start this one right now if I wanted to.  That’s fascinating to me.

• I feel I’ve definitely moved closer to the entrepreneurial mindset. I see more opportunities to solve problems now, and take more notice of the things that could be improved in some way or made more efficient.

• I would tell them to keep up with the lectures, it definitely helps for the cupcakes so you’re not scrambling to watch everything at the last minute. Also keeping a schedule of the assignments due is really helpful.   
• To foster an entrepreneurial mindset, you just have to learn how to recognize problems and develop viable solutions to them.  It’s something that comes over time and is a very useful skill to pick up.

Assignment 28A – Your Exit Strategy

Assignment 28A – Your Exit Strategy

Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?

• I plan to remain with Hyperspeed until I could realize a large enough return to be able to start a new venture. After the $5 million revenue mark, I would want to be acquired by a large music company like Spotify who understand what I was trying to do.

Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

• I believe that once you start something, you should see it through, and the $5 million revenue mark for me would be achieving that goal, and I could begin to work on something else that is useful to consumers.  I will grow Hyperspeed until that point, it’s my company and original idea.  I don’t intend on having a family business though, just my own personal ventures.

How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?

• Planning to leave the business someday, depending on how much revenue I can make and how quickly, has influenced me because I’m trying to build more of a generalized network, to help me now in the specific industry and in my future ventures.  If I only end up staying with the company for a short time, I won’t have to concern myself with long term growth prospects of the company or deal with new problems as they arise.  This business would essentially be for turning me a profit and providing the capital to create my next opportunity.

Assignment 27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

Assignment 27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

• What was the general theme or argument of the book?

• Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan explains that social media is an invaluable tool to leverage in your marketing endeavors.  Inbound marketing places an emphasis on attracting customers online.  In order to do this, find your potential clients and develop a relationship with them so that they keep coming back to you.  Attracting more visitors should be where most of your priority is.

• How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

• This book is directly linked to ideas covered in Principles of Marketing.  The book is a guide on how to best recognize and reach your customers.  This book streamlines the process of getting your product exposed to your targeted customer base.  It provides a structure to follow in order to attract attention and the visitors you want through your own content and advertising via social media.  Also, as with starting a business, you don’t need a lot of money to get started.

• If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

• I would probably have students study the impact of using social media for business.  Social media is a powerful tool to be leveraged and taken advantage of.  It is a crucial piece of inbound marketing, so I’d have them develop a social media marketing campaign for a sample product using Halligan’s guides and methods.

• What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

• My biggest “aha” moment was when the authors talked about how you don’t need a large-scale ad campaign to get your message out there. Success comes from creating new and unique engaging content for the end consumers.  Social media is the tool to connect to your consumers, and an incredibly powerful one at that.  I never realized the actual deep importance of social media in relaying a marketing message.  I knew it was ideal to advertise on online platforms, but never knew it was to this degree.

Assignment 26A – Celebrating Failure

Assignment 26A – Celebrating Failure

·        Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time. 

·        My business finance course has been giving me trouble, and has been the most difficult by far. I failed the first exam since I was studying concepts rather than doing a lot of practice problems.  I was very unhappy since I’d spent hours studying for the class for nothing.  I needed to do better on exam 2.

·        On the second exam, I got the same score, and was very confused.  I had studied a lot of practice problems and learned better ways to study, yet it didn’t even show in my performance.  Next semester when I retake the course, I have all the knowledge I need to succeed going forward.

·        Tell us what you learned from it.  

·        I learned concepts behind things aren’t as important as just practicing over and over again until you get it right.  It takes dedication to understand hard concepts, and they may not come easy at first, but you can’t give up on them.

·        Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn't it? It's embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failure (emotionally, behaviorally). Finally, talk about how this class has changed your perspective on failure -- are you more likely to take a risk now than you were just a few months ago?

·        Failure is definitely not a good feeling, especially when you put a lot of work into something and still been unsuccessful at it. Telling my parents that I didn’t pass was not a pleasant thing to do.  However, to advance in anything, failure is a key component.  Learning from what you do wrong is key in finally getting to accomplish something right.  Failure allows you to receive feedback and change your approach to a situation.

·        This class, through constantly having to modify my business plan based on external feedback and a changing situation, has definitely better equipped me in accepting failure.  Entrepreneurship is one big process of failure and changing until you find what works.  I think I am more likely to take a (controlled) risk now, because you can adjust your actions pretty easily based on the feedback you get.

Assignment 23A – Venture Advantage

Assignment 23A – Venture Advantage

1. Startup capital ($): I have some spare cash with which to launch the business.

• Valuable: Yes, very. It lets me start the business in the first place.
• Rare: No, many people have the resources and funding to create a business.
• Inimitable: Yes, anyone with their own money or external funding can have this.
• Non-substitutable: Not really, money is usually an essential part of getting a business off the ground.
1. Absence of Competition: No other company or product offers what Hyperspeed does.
• Valuable: Yes, extremely. No one else can come close to my offerings.
• Rare: Yes, this market is underserved, and I provide a wide range of services.
• Inimitable: For the time being, no.  Another company could copy the idea down the road, it is not protected.
• Non-substitutable: Partially.  There are other music services that offer much less, but they do exist.
2. Social Capital (Industry Experts): I know professionals in the music industry that I could go to for advice or guidance.
• Valuable: Yes, incredibly.  Experts can provide key perception I wouldn’t have had access to otherwise.
• Rare: Kind of. It’s hard to find experts willing to help you, but it’s not unheard of.
• Inimitable: Yes, no one else can gain this knowledge and insight without knowing these people personally like I do.
• Non-substitutable: This could be substituted with sufficient effort and resources, there are many industry experts.
3. Little/No overhead cost for storage: Since this is all my personal equipment, I can store it at my house for free when it’s not out being used.
• Valuable: Definitely, storing equipment off site for the long term can get expensive.
• Rare: Kind of, usually music companies need external storage options.
• Inimitable: This could be imitated by other small businesses.
• Non-substitutable: No, it’s not a unique thing.
4. Personal relationships with other musicians: I know other fellow musicians that I could call on to be service providers.
• Valuable: Very, having connections with peers is a crucial resource to possess.
• Rare: Somewhat, there a lot of musicians around, but few would know as many as I do.
• Inimitable: These relationships are unique, between me and the others and can’t be copied.
• Non-substitutable: This could be switched for another musician/s that have experience and connections.
5. Expertise in the music field: I am an amateur musician, and I know music theory and how to make a song sound good.
• Valuable: Yes, very.  Knowing how everything in your business works on a deep level is incredibly valuable.
• Rare: Yes, a lot of CEOs and business owners don’t know their product on the expert level, but I do.
• Inimitable: Sort of.  Someone who is an industry expert like me could see the same opportunity in this space.
• Non-substitutable: While there are resources to help guide the music learning process, no other person has access to all my personalized knowledge and what I’ve learned.
6. Audience/Fanbase: I have consistent listeners for my projects and people enjoy my new music.
• Valuable: Extremely. This fanbase provides opportunities to get customers.  My music demonstrates what I could offer them.
• Rare: It is somewhat rare, a lot of musicians have fans and supporters, but many who are just starting off don’t yet.
• Inimitable: No, but it is difficult to find a fanbase in the beginning of the music journey.
• Non-substitutable: A fanbase provides a unique opportunity for greater exposure, they show their friends and it grows from there.
7. Human Capital as a Musician and Hobbyist: I am marketing to the exact type of people as myself.
• Valuable: This is valuable because I know how someone like me thinks, and I am in the same situation as potential clients.
• Rare: Yes, CEOs are not typically this similar to their clients, and probably don’t understand them as well.
• Inimitable: This isn’t difficult to copy, but it requires consistent effort and passion for music. 
• Non-substitutable: Making music for fun is very common, but my specific journey and knowledge is unique to me.
8. Human Capital: Education about business logistics: I am gaining specific knowledge on how to start and run a business, giving me an edge over competitors.
• Valuable: Yes, it helps me understand the processes I need to go through and how to streamline the business journey.
• Rare: No, a lot of people have received relevant business education.
• Inimitable: This could be obtained by those with sufficient resources and accessibility to education.
• Non-substitutable: No, a lot of schools offer similar programs and the opportunity to gain the knowledge.
9. Availability of time: Full time college student
• Valuable: Yes. Since I’m a full-time student, I have time to commit to the business.
• Rare: No, a lot of people and full-time students and start a college business.
• Inimitable: No, this is pretty common and nothing unusual.
• Non-substitutable: It’s not a big thing to be a full-time student, but is valuable in the time it provides me

.

The VRIN analysis has shown me my top resource is my expertise in the music field.  I intimately know what I’m selling to a deep degree, and have a wealth of music knowledge and experience to offer to customers.  This ability is unique and special, if the leader of the business knows all aspects of it on an expert level, the company can thrive and succeed.

Assignment 21A – Reading Reflection 2

Assignment 21A – Reading Reflection 2

• What was the general theme or argument of the book?

• The general theme was how you can fail a lot on the journey, but still succeed in the end. There are many factors that influence the world around us, and luck can play a hand in helping you achieve success.  When you put yourself in a position to maximize your chances of getting lucky, eventually you will, despite any missteps along the way.
• How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
• In this class, I learned the key concept that things are often the opposite of what you’d think.  Entrepreneurship operates in a way that least matches what everyone thinks.  Adams and the philosophies and his ways of thinking are often contrary to the societal norms.  The idea of everything being a process is also interconnected to entrepreneurship.  Success, like starting a business, comes from following a dynamic process that can change along the way.  Identifying and maximizing your available opportunities and chances of success is also a key principle of entrepreneurship.  At its core, Adams’s entire mindset throughout the book is that of an entrepreneur.
• If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
• I would have an exercise to design or elaborate on your own everyday ‘systems’.  Adams considers goals to be too much in the future, believing ‘systems’ of things you do every day are more crucial to focus on.

·        I would ask students to log and later reflect on what they spent the most time on, and whether they were satisfied with it. Oftentimes, time slips away from us, and you could be spending a lot of time doing unproductive things.  Once you consciously take notice of how much time you’re wasting, you can improve and put your limited time to better use with other activities.

• What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?
• The thing that most surprised me was Adams’s opinion on goals and passions. I am a person who likes to set goals to achieve, and seeing Adams’s take on it was intriguing.  Considering the title and the author’s Dilbert background, I expected a comedic book, but I found some parts were filled with a surprising amount of insight.  Particularly the concept that being selfish can sometimes be good, if it’s shown with the right things.  We need to take care of ourselves before we can shift our focus toward others.  I agree with Adams’s take on news; I only watch it to see how the economy and stocks are being affected.  A lot of the book is filled with ideas like this that seem crazy, or an out of the norm way of looking at things, but Adams presents them so they make sense.