Final Reflection

1) Read through your blog from this semester. Recall all of the experiences you've had a long the way -- the highs, the lows -- the fun moments, and the moments of drudgery, and even the moments of dread.

2) What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing? The  most formative experience that I had in this class was the first round of interviewing customers for my venture idea. I did not get this blog post submitted on time and I was very disappointed that my computer was slow and the videos wouldn’t upload so I told myself that I would never again procrastinate. I have not missed an assignment since that one because of my fear of a video not uploading. I think this is also the experience that I will remember the most, even though it was my biggest “failure.” I think that my most joyous experience was the third elevator pitch. I had a lot of fun recording it and I was glad it got a lot of great feedback.

3) At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. And we repeated the mantra -- I am an entrepreneur. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset? I do see myself as an entrepreneur. I believe this because I find myself throughout the day identifying problems and thinking of solutions in my head that could be home runs.

4) What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset? I would say to stay on top of a consistent schedule. Do not procrastinate for any assignment and be diligent when doing the tasks at hand. Be open-minded and do not be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone, for it is only when we are challenged that we are able to grow.

Week 15 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? The biggest surprise for me was the fact that SKS was lending the poorest of the poor, who were making only $1 a day. This company made a great profit, too. It is incredible to me that this firm was able to go after the lower class as a target market. As the section is headed, “Why should business among the very poor be different than it is anywhere else?"

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. One part of the reading that was somewhat confusing was the first part about the thugs. It seems ridiculous that a small group of thugs could have such a great influence on such a large company. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why? How did you leverage the business so quickly? and What is your strategy moving forward? I think these are vital questions to ask the firm because this seems to be a successful and important business to so many people, over 2 million. 

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How? I do not seem to disagree with what the author is saying, since he has created results with a 99.5% repayment rate and has leveraged a great brand. 

Elevator Pitch No. 4

ELEVATOR PITCH NO. 4 CLEANLINE

1) The pitch. Same as last time, 1-minute long. No Web cams. No sitting. Be dynamic! Upload the video to YouTube (as you do with all of your videos) and post the link.

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. Describe what stood out to you as important, what feedback surprised you the most, what feedback you think was outright wrong or silly.

I was very surprised that I received overwhelmingly positive feedback. The one criticism I did have, though, was the fact that getting this blend approved by the FDA for potential hazards that could arise in the showering areas. This is an extremely important part of the entrepreneurial process for me. I want to make sure that I am providing the best product possible for my customers. There will be no shortcuts or loose ends, I will dedicate myself to creating a valuable and lasting product. It would be expensive, but it is something that we are currently working on and is a goal of ours to get better and cut the costs down. Also, there was criticism about having to mass produce this product. And to my disagreement with the person, I believe that this product would be extremely cost-effective and we could have great margins and would make a killing with maybe outsourcing.

3) What did you change, based on the feedback? 

I was more dynamic during my elevator pitch. I tried to not act like I was reciting a screenplay, but to be more open about my pitch. I received feedback that my cadence was smooth and that I was passionate about the product so I tried to emulate what I did in the first two elevator pitches and to keep the enthusiasm at a high level. I talked more about the logistics of getting the substance ran through multiple tests to evaluate cleanliness which would indeed cost a lot more money than expected. But overall, I think that the fourth elevator pitch was the most sound of the four.

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity

I have identified an opportunity that is important to me and many other fellow students on my hall and in my life. The opportunity that has risen for me in finding my venture concept helps the needs of college kids, gym-goers, and fitness enthusiasts around the country. The potential customers are basically anyone that lives in a dormitory in the United States and anyone who showers at their fitness center. This is a large consumer market base and I think it is very vital to tap into each sector I can find. The need arises from the problem of shower shoes not being suffice. The demographics of this market is generally healthy, young, elderly folks who are willing to pay a premium for a product that will be more convenient, cleaner, and cooler than the original shower shoe. This is a huge opportunity that has not been tapped into, and after hearing feedback from multiple customer bases, I think that this opportunity is a viable source of income for our company. This window of opportunity will not be open for long, considering that the idea may come about if action is not taken soon.

Innovation

This is a product that has never been invented. The technology is present, but it has not fully been put together to solve the issue that I am trying to solve. I believe that my product is unique, proprietary, and is something that nobody else has ever come up with before. It is taking a simple product and twisting it into an innovative, more helpful product. The formula in the bottle will spray on to people’s feet and will protect their feet from the ground, against bacteria and will give them the peace of mind knowing that their foot is not touching the dirty, gross shower floor. I would sell this product in a can for $15/can and the can would have about 45 uses out of it.

Venture Concept

My innovation will solve the problem of stinky gym bags, athlete’s foot, toe fungus, stinky cars, and wet gym bags. Customers will buy this product because it will save them time, energy, and from having to buy a new gym bag that does not stink. My competitors are the shower shoe people who will try to knock me off. Packaging, price points, and distribution will play a huge role in my product. I plan to have a sweet logo and will license my product to colleges, gyms, and fitness centers around the country. 

Minor Elements

My most important resource will be testing. Getting this passed by the FDA will be a tough feat, but will definitely have to be done. I have to get this blend tested to make sure it is safe on the feet and does not cause any harm to the user. Our next innovative product will be a traction shoe for the pool that people can use to play pool volleyball, aerobics, or work out in the pool. I want to create this product relatively soon after my first product in order to create a strong backing from both the swimming world and the gym world. 

Summary

I received feedback that my product is versatile, has a wide customer base, is unique, and could be very profitable. I did not receive any negative or helpful criticism, which is upsetting because I do not think that my product is perfect. There is always room to improve and I wish that students would be more blunt with me and tell me what I need to do to create a better venture idea. 

Change

I did not change my venture idea a whole lot. The few minor changes that I did implement was a lowering of the cost and a stronger emphasis on the cleanliness of the product itself and its array of benefits.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? The biggest surprise for me in the reading was the section about green capitalism. I did not think that this would make it into a textbook. A sense of environmental awareness is an important aspect to the business world and it is nice to see that it is making its way into textbooks.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. One part of the reading that was a bit confusing was the part about an integrative model of corporate entrepreneurship strategy. The talk about antecedents of a corporate entrepreneurship strategy were new to me and a little confusing. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why? The first question I would ask would be: why is pro-entrepreneurship vital to the organizational structure? and the second question would be: what are the individual entrepreneurial cognitions? I would ask these questions because they seemed to be the most vague to me. 

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How? I do not think that there was anything that the author was necessarily wrong about. I tended to agree with the author on what I already knew. 

Google Gold

1. My approach to SEO is to use keywords that are also used in the assignment directions. I figure that if somebody is going to read the directions in the assignment calendar, then they are willing to search the words that are in front of their face. I used some of the same words and common business terms for each blog post to pursue SEO.
2. Some of my keywords were “CleanLine” (the name of the venture), “Max wilkinson”, “blogger”, “blog”, “water shoes”, “venture”, “product”, “success”. I did refine my keywords through the semester when I became more confident in my product.
3. I used social media to enhance my SEO efforts by notifying others around me of my blog and directing them to my blog through Blogger, YouTube, Instagram, and FaceBook. My general impression of using social media to improve my blog’s profile is that it is extremely helpful in directing customers to my product base. I think that social media was generally ignored regarding my blog.
4. My most viral post was the 80-20 Rule post. I am surprised by this post being the most popular, but I did have a great interview with a local entrepreneur so I think that may have had something to do with its popularity. 
5. When typing in “Max Wilkinson blog” I am the second result on Google, which is on the first page. 
   

Very Short Interview, Part 2

The answers that I received from Leo during my first interview were very deep and insightful. The fact that the classroom is merely a connector between the students is a valuable piece of knowledge that should be utilized for schools across the nation. 

Me: “What challenges does an entrepreneur face on a daily basis?”

Leo: “The fact of scarcity is always present. There are always more things to get done everyday than we have time for, and that is okay. It is our job to prioritize. This is the key to a sustainable future.”

Me: “What is one advice you would give to people who are looking to be entrepreneurs?”

Leo: “Do not be afraid to fail. I know it sounds cliche, but going into a project knowing that the outcome does not matter is the reckless and lethal mindset that an entrepreneur must have.”

Me: “What is a habit that successful entrepreneurs possess?”

Leo: “Reading. This is the best way to obtain knowledge. It is like living through multiple people, and when they fail, you can learn from their failures even if you haven’t had the same problem yet. Reading is often overlooked, but it is the way to more success in this growing technological world.”

I am now a lot more comfortable talking about entrepreneurship as compared to three months ago. I feel that I have grown as a person and as a student studying entrepreneurship. Leo did think that I progressed in my journey as an entrepreneur. After discussing my venture, he thought that it would be implementable. Although there will be trials and tribulations, that is with any great concept.