My Venture's Unfair Advantage

My venture's resources:

1) Product approval from the Food and Drug Administration: This is valuable because it will serve to legitimize our products to a much greater extent than if they were not FDA approved, which could affect which stores carry them as well. This resource is not particularly rare, but it is time-consuming to acquire and not doing so would be a major impediment to getting the company going. This resource is easy to copy only in that other companies can seek FDA approval as well, the process is equally rigorous for competitors. There are no substitutes for this resource, not having it would limit the product to the shelves of homeopathy quacks.

2) A space to grow the cannabis for the CBD-based medicine: This is valuable because it will enable us to produce the main component of the product, cannabis, on an industrial scale. This resource is also not particularly rare, and definitely much easier to acquire than the above. Again, quite easy to imitate if only because there are bound to be numerous large properties that fit the bill which competitors could utilize. There are other resources that can be used in substitute of this, such as large pieces of property for outdoor growing, but a large indoor space is ideal.

3) Staff to grow and harvest said cannabis: This is valuable because like a large grow space, numerous employees with horticultural experience will enable us to turn out the components for quality medicine on an industrial scale. Horticultural labor is not rare at all, lots of people want to work in the medical cannabis industry, at all levels. Easy to imitate due to the high number of people wanting to work in this industry, even at the entry level. The resource itself does not exactly have a substitute, but there is a large labor pool, so individual employees are easily replaced.

4) A space for the CBD extract to be turned into medicine: This is valuable because without this space there would be no medicine, a designated space for this is absolutely necessary. While not particularly rare, finding and preparing a space that would meet FDA guidelines might be tricky or time-consuming. Again, only as susceptible to copying as their are other locations that competitors could utilize. There are not really any substitutes for this resource, it is necessary to both production and to FDA approval.

5) Specialists to facilitate and oversee this process: This is valuable because without such specialists the likelihood of turning out a safe, effective product is very low, as is the likelihood of any sort of FDA approval or wider sale. This resource is fairly rare, as the job requires both an understanding of horticulture and botany as well as pharmaceutical knowledge. This resource is only as inimitable as there are specialists in this field available for work, if there are none, then competitors are out of luck. There is not really any substitute for this except for maybe working with a larger pharmaceutical company to produce the product, but the idea of that does not sit well with me morally.

6) A website and mail service to distribute the product: This is valuable because it will greatly expand the number of potential customers who can purchase and receive our products in a convenient manner. This resource is not really rare at all, it is quite simple to have a website created for a company, and the products should be able to be shipped through the usual carriers without any problems. This resource is, however, easily inimitable, for the same reason that it is not rare. The only real substitute to this is operating exclusively out of brick and mortar pharmacies, which would greatly limit the reach of the company.

7) Brick and mortar pharmacies that will stock the product: This is valuable because it will expand the number of potential customers that the company can reach, and the ease and quickness with which they can purchase medicine for their pets. The rarity of this resource may vary, there is no telling for sure how much trouble a company would run into getting these products stocked in mainstream pharmacies, though medical cannabis pharmacies would surely stock it. Again, only as inimitable as there are pharmacies that will stock these products. The online-only substitute is not ideal, but it would be okay while the company is still starting out, but eventually a physical presence in stores would become a requirement.

8) Approval from veterinarian groups so members will prescribe our products: This is valuable because with this approval, veterinarians will be able to prescribe our medicines to patients, increasing the number of customers we can reach as well as the manner through which we can reach them. This resource is rarer than most, if only because these groups are not obligated to approve a product in the same way the FDA is if it undergoes their rigorous tests, which could make it hard to get our foot in the door for the endorsement in the first place. This resource is probably the hardest to copy for the same reasons it is hard to obtain. While there are not really any substitutes other than approaching veterinarians directly, a move that pharmaceutical reps do all the time, the approval of these groups is not absolutely necessary to success.

9) Advertising beyond word of mouth, both online and off: This is valuable because online and offline advertising will allow the company to increase public awareness of its products, leading to increased sales. This resource is not rare since it really only entails finding advertisers to run the ads and advertising firms or designers to create them. Although the resource itself is easy for competitors to copy, it would be legally challenging for them to copy it in any way that would hurt the brand. The only real alternatives to this resource are either advertising solely online or offline, or not advertising at all. The former would be difficult, but could eventually be made to work, the latter would sink the company altogether.

10) Funding to acquire the above resources: This is valuable because there is no way that one person could acquire all of the above resource to make a company such as this work. Funding for cannabis enterprises is not particularly rare nowadays, it would really only be a matter of creating a good pitch and getting our foot in the door with somebody who would be willing to fund the endeavor. Once again, this resource is only as inimitable as the number of investors there actually are. There is no substitute for starting funds, this is the most necessary resource, full stop.

My top resource: I think that of all of these, the top resource would be FDA approval of my products. Not only will this resource serve to legitimize my products and my brand, it will also help to facilitate other resources like funding, approval from veterinary organizations, willingness of pharmacies to stock the product, and the willingness of young professionals to come work for my company. Without this resource, my product would most likely be consigned to the shelves of homeopathy shops, not the place for it to be by any means.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

1) The Pitch: See above.

2) The Feedback: The main feedback I received on my previous elevator pitch was that I should try and be more enthusiastic. I recognize that this is exceptionally important because if I, the creator, am not enthusiastic about my own product, nobody else will be either! Comments on my last pitch also noted how my breaking things down numerically really helped in my organization of the pitch. I also received positive comments regarding my three letters bit that I did at the beginning.

3) The Changes: The main changes I made were all personal, really. I tried to be more enthusiastic during my filming of the elevator pitch, moving my arms about more and inflecting more as well in my speech. Things such as the numerical breakdown of the information I conveyed as well as the three letters bit were both aspects of the last pitch that went over well, so I brought those back in this one. I also felt more comfortable with my pitch as well, needing to reference my notes less and having a better idea of how my pitch should flow. There were certain aspects of my last pitch that also felt too lengthy, so I cut them down quite a bit to just the bare minimum needed to get the point across.

Reading Reflection No. 2

Book Title: Makers - The New Industrial Revolution

1) The general theme that Chris Anderson tackles in Makers is the idea that there are numerous different technological and economic innovations taking hold today that can bring manufacturing, which has largely been outsourced from the developed, service-based economies of the world to those less developed countries that can provide much cheaper labor, though often at the expense of the laborers themselves. These developments include things such as 3-D printing, the rise of coding as a major source of complexity in the manufacturing of different products, and the use of the internet to bring people with similar entrepreneurial interests together.

2) This book had numerous different connections to ENT, and overall it really added to the experience of the class. The main connection between Makers and ENT is that all of the industries and technologies that Anderson points out as being ones that can bring back manufacturing are all rapidly rising industries, not ones that have titanic corporations already dominating the playing field. All of these areas are ones in which savvy entrepreneurs could make inroads and form startups. The skills we have learned so far in this class are ones that would make us more than capable of doing so in these or any other industry.

3) If I were to design an exercise based on this book, it would focus on existing technologies, industries, and business practices and comparing them with rising industries that could in theory take their place and create a better product or better working conditions for workers. For instance, a student might choose the current practice of outsourcing tech jobs abroad to countries such as India. There are a number of different avenues through which a student could approach this scenario, but here they might look at the rise of the internet and self-instruction in coding which could bring these jobs back to the United States and right into people's homes. Other possible practices they could possibly examine include the use of sweatshop labor, slave labor really, in the assembly of many of the products that we use in our day-to-day lives.

4) My biggest "aha" moment with this book was when Anderson discussed the "democratization of entrepreneurship", where he pointed out that the large number of small, independent factories around the world make it much more feasible for entrepreneurs to retain a hold of their IPs and still create prototypes and the like because these factories will make these products in smaller batches than a corporate factory would, without the steep price. This was an "aha" moment for me because I realized that this is a growing practice in an industry that is very dear to me, tabletop gaming! The rise of Kickstarter and these independent factories makes it very easy for board game and role playing game creators to raise funds independently of a large company such as Hasbro, and then get their products created in small batches overseas. Although this can often result in limited runs of some products, the extent to which these entrepreneurs and creators retain control of their ideas, especially in an industry that is notorious for not being the most profitable, makes it well worth it.

Idea Napkin No. 2

1) Me: I am a political science and history double-major, with an innovation minor, in my third year at UF. I consider my primary talents to be my work ethic and my people skills. Within these two talents there are numerous aspects, with much of my work ethic being characterized by a level head under pressure and when subjected to guidelines, an eye for methodical research and fact-finding, and a great capacity for connecting with others and making them feel comfortable among my people skills. Most of my skills and experiences lie in the realm of political campaigns, specifically local campaigns that I participated in as a canvasser back home in Tallahassee. I also have some experience in business and innovation from my involvement in the Catalyst contest that all Innovation Academy students participate in during their freshman year. My aspirations primarily lie in the realm of diplomacy and social activism, particularly with regards to combating Islamophobia in the United States and abroad, hence my current study of Arabic. As for my business aspirations, I mainly just want to create a product and service which makes things easier and less painful for pet owners and their pets. If I were to start this business I do not see it playing a particularly significant role in my life. I would most likely hand off management of the business to somebody with more of a mind for management and entrepreneurship so that I could focus my time and funds on the issues that I am passionate about.

2) What I'm offering to customers: My business idea is both a product and a service. The product is a line of CBD-based medications aimed at household pets, primarily dogs and cats, which seek to treat all manner of illnesses and symptoms, ranging from minor aches and pains to epilepsy. The service would be an online and in-person pharmacy that would make these products available to pet-owners across the country, in both cities and rural areas.

3) Who I am offering it to: My product is aimed at pet-owners of all kinds, but specifically the owners of the most common household pets: dogs and cats. Within this demographic, my product does not tend towards any one age demographic, though it does tend towards those who may be more open-minded about the use of a cannabis byproduct to treat their animals.

4) Why do they care: Customers care about my product because they care about their pets, it's as simple as that. For most pet-owners, their pets are members of their family, and this fact is made even more apparent when one looks at how much money is in the veterinary industry. Pet-owners are willing to shell out thousands of dollars to keep their pets happy, healthy, and comfortable, so offering a product that does all of those at a fraction of the cost and with minimal side-effects compared to traditional medicines is certainly something pet owners will care about.

5) My core competencies: My core competencies lie in my people skills, specifically in connecting to people on a personal level beyond what they are used to outside of their family and friends. Everybody who knows me knows that I am compassionate and empathetic, and that these qualities make me a good source of advice for all manner of personal issues. Selling a product to somebody is little more than just giving them some strongly opinionated advice, and so I think these skills make me an exceptional salesperson.

I think overall the various facets of my skills and abilities fit together quite well in the context of my business idea. Although my core competencies and background lie mostly outside of the focus of my business idea, which is veterinary medicine, I think that these competencies make my good at connecting to customers on a personal and emotional level, which would increase my capacity to bring in new customers. If anything, I think the odd factor out in all of this is the business idea itself. Despite this, I think as a whole my business ideas and competencies function well together.

Feedback memo: I did not really receive any substantive feedback regarding my previous idea napkin, so I turned to some of my other posts to look for things to add onto my idea napkin. One of these aspects was from my secret sauce, in which the people I interviewed pointed out some aspects of my abilities and skills that I had not noticed previously, such as my eye for research, but which I thought fit in quite well to my idea napkin. The other area in which I changed things was in my examination of how the various aspects of my competencies and business idea fit together. The secret sauce post made me realize that my competencies and my business idea fit together much better than I previously thought, and I changed my idea napkin to reflect this.

Elevator Pitch No. 2

1) The pitch: see above

2) A reflection on feedback from the last pitch: Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, I was not able to get my first pitch post before the deadline, but I will list some of my own self-reflections on the video. The biggest reflection for me was that I needed to get the video done long before the deadline to account for any technical difficulties. I also felt that I should have done more to get better lighting for my video, as well as look more professional than I did in the first video. The most important thing to the overall quality of the video was to write up a better script than I did for the first one.

3) What I changed based on my feedback: The biggest thing I changed in this second elevator pitch was to get it done long before the deadline. I also took my time and wrote out a detailed script that I was able to refer to while speaking to remember my major talking points and the general flow of the pitch. To solve the issues with the presentation, I had a friend of mine film for me and we chose a location that has lots of natural lighting. I also made sure to dress to impress, like I would were I to deliver an actual elevator pitch.

Create a Customer Avatar

1) Describing my customer avatar: The prototypical customer for my product and service is a woman, roughly middle-aged, somewhere between her mid-thirties and mid-fifties. She is married, but it may be her or her partner's second marriage, and said partner may be a bit older than her. She has multiple children, most if not all of whom are young adults and no longer live at home. She is young in spirit, as is her partner, and they frequently go out to see live music together or do other, similar activities. She has numerous pets, ranging from the ordinary such as cats and dogs to more unusual animals such as rats, a bird, or reptiles. She is a liberal and a Democrat, despite her age she keeps up with and supports current social movements. She works in the education or healthcare fields. She doesn't read as much as she wants to, having a lot of different tasks to do around the house. She enjoys classic rock and pop music.

2) What do I have in common with the avatar?: Although I differ from the avatar in most discernible ways, especially when it comes to demographics such as age, there are a couple of key similarities. One is the enjoyment of live music, with another being that they are a Democrat. The most significant to my product, however, is that the avatar and I are both pet owners and like animals. I do not think that this is a coincidence. We tend to gravitate towards and are influenced by the people around us, and since I interviewed family members and friends throughout the past few assignments, it makes sense that my views and theirs would be similar. Some of them may have influenced my own, while others may be around me in the first place because I appreciate our shared values and enjoy associating and interacting with them.

What's Your Secret Sauce?

1) I think five ways in which I have human capital that is truly unique are:

• Empathy: I think I am a very empathetic person, and this empathy makes it easy to connect with other people and understand their needs and where those needs come from, something that is very useful in a field such as entrepreneurship.
• Ability to interact with strangers: I have extensive experience interacting with complete strangers from numerous political campaigns I have worked on, and I think this is a quality that is not only useful but also rare. As social media has grown more prevalent, it has also made our circles of relationships more insular and less direct: the ability to hold a conversation with a complete stranger and try to sell them on something face-to-face is a skill that has suffered from this.
• Trustworthiness: I feel that I am a very trustworthy person, and others see this as well. Because of this trustworthiness, I am often the person that my friends come to for advice on all manner of issues, such as relationships or academics. This trustworthiness also translates quite well into entrepreneurship, when you think about it trying to sell something to somebody is really just giving them incredibly biased advice.
• Work ethic: I think I have a strong work ethic, especially when it comes to my job and academics. One of the most frequent complements I have received at work is how much of a hard worker I am, and I think this translates into many other areas of my life as well. Although I may put off the work I need to do until the last possible day, once I get on it I work hard and turn out an excellent product.
• Functioning under pressure and stress: I think above all I am excellent at functioning in high-pressure and high-stress situations. This most frequently comes out when I am working on a deadline for a class assignment, in which case I become laser-focused and remain calm and composed despite the impending deadline. This quality also makes me quite good at thinking on my feet as well, I am very adaptable when it comes to work in those kinda of situations.

2) The following interviews with my three best friends, my girlfriend, and my mom tell what they think are the qualities and skills that set me apart, the human capital that makes me different:

• Interview with my friend Jack: https://soundcloud.com/elery-ostertag/jackentinterview?in=elery-ostertag/sets/ent-interviews

Jack primarily focused on my well-thought out approach to things, and the methodical manner in which I research topics that interest me. He also pointed out that I keep very well updated on issues and events that are important to me and the world.

• Interview with my friend Alex: https://soundcloud.com/elery-ostertag/alexentinterview?in=elery-ostertag/sets/ent-interviews

Alex emphasized my emotional intelligence. He said I have a way of making people feel special and welcome through a combination of my sense of humor and my attention to the individual.

• Interview with my friend Kyleigh: https://soundcloud.com/elery-ostertag/kyleighentinterview?in=elery-ostertag/sets/ent-interviews

Kyleigh pointed out my research abilities and the knowledge and well-researched approach I bring to things. She also noted my emotional intelligence and comfort around people as well.

• Interview with my mom: https://soundcloud.com/elery-ostertag/momentinterview?in=elery-ostertag/sets/ent-interviews

My mom pointed out my empathy and emotional intelligence as well. She also pointed out my logical approach to many things and my analytical abilities, especially regarding politics and the like.

• Interview with my grandmother: https://soundcloud.com/elery-ostertag/oohmamaentinterview?in=elery-ostertag/sets/ent-interviews

My grandmother emphasized my compassion and the like, something that others have also pointed out. She noted that this makes me quite adept at interacting with others in a meaningful way. She also pointed out that I am unwavering in my morals.

3) I generally tend to see myself as an industrious person who, despite some issues with procrastination, can be relied upon to put quality effort into any project and turn out a good end product. I think these attributes of mine are also bolstered by my abilities in interacting with other people, particularly with strangers. From the above five interviews, I found that, while the interviewees pointed to these qualities as well on occasion, their focus was on other qualities. My five interviewees were all quite consistent in bringing up my curiosity and thirst for knowledge, as well as the breadth of my acquired knowledge and how I bring it into conversation and work. The other main aspect of myself that the interviewees focused on was my emotional intelligence, the friends and family whom I interviewed were consistent in their opinion that I am not only good at talking to people, but good at making them feel at ease, important, and comfortable, with my sense of humor playing a large part in this. The primary difference in how I view myself versus how my friends and family view me comes primarily in the different aspects of my qualities that they pick up on. When looking at my list and their interviews, both suggest I am charismatic and easy to talk to, as well as having an innate drive to accomplish things. What these qualities are used for is the difference however, with my drive often fueling my research into topics that interest me and my ease of talking to people being expressed as emotional intelligence. I think these differences come primarily from the fact that I am viewing my own qualities from the viewpoint of the "giver", so to speak, whereas my family and friends are on the receiving end of these qualities. I know I am good at talking to people, but the aspects of what make me good at that come out more to the people who I talk to, with the same going for my work ethic and curiosity about the world and my interests. I definitely think that my interviewees are correct in their assessments of me, perhaps even more than I was in my assessments of myself. I think the aspects of my personality and traits that they picked out are more specific and accurate than some of those I put for myself, which is what leads me to think they were more right than I am. I think I also have a tendency to understate my own qualities when describing myself, but in their interviews they did not feel the need to hold back in their praise. If I were going to change my list I would definitely be more specific in reference to my various qualities. Instead of just talking about my work ethic and my skill at talking to people, particularly strangers, I would point out the areas in which I put my work ethic to use, such as research, which is definitely a boon in any sort of entrepreneurship situation, and in talking about my people-skills I would specifically focus on my emotional intelligence and the advice and deep conversations I have with people, which could also serve me well in entrepreneurship situations.