20A – Growing Your Social Capital

I decided to approach this assignment a little differently. My idea is based on an industry that operates mainly online. Therefore, I do not personally know anyone who is an expert that could offer wise advice. For this reason, I have decided that reaching out to three companies that most closely resemble my venture’s idea through their customer service e-mails is the best way to go.

I hope that by doing this, I can get some answers about their company’s success in a more personal way, rather than using search engines to find generic information online.

1)     The first company to reach out to is called “Ollie,” a relatively young fresh dog food company based in New York. They started out as a vision backed by Canaan Partners, a venture capital firm that along with a handful other partners were able to raise over $12 million to create Ollie. Ollie can be considered a domain expert in my industry. They are a successful and young company and they have extensive knowledge about providing fresh food to consumers.

I feed my dog Ollie and switching him to their food has created immense improvement in his health and eating habits. Knowing that Ollie is a young company and having the firsthand experience to know that their food is great in quality, I chose Ollie as a domain expert. The return expectation is knowledge from within the company that may be useful for my venture, and I think including them in my network will allow me access to the technical knowledge to provide better products and attempt a similar business model that works in the industry like it did for Ollie.

2)     The second company to reach out to is Purina because they are one of the dry food companies that maintain a large part of the market share in my industry. I was able to find information on the advertising techniques they use to maintain significant market share: https://www.purina.com/about-our-ads.

My exchange with Purina would again be through the e-mails available online which will allow me to contact a real person from their company. I think having the knowledge to reach potential consumers is greatly important when starting a venture, and this is knowledge that Purina is sure to have.

3)     Something I noticed from some of the competitors in the fresh dog food industry is that most of them promise to provide USDA approved meals. For this reason, one of the most important suppliers in my industry are meat suppliers of USDA approved meats. For this reason, the last company on my list is JBS, one of the largest meat providers in the United States, offering a large selection of quality meats specific to certain needs.

Finding the correct meat supplier is very important to my venture, so I hope that JBS will offer insights into what is most important to look for when looking for the right supplier and what the best deals are.

I believe this activity is great at being very targeted and specific. It reminds us that sometimes quality is better than quantity. Knowing many people in the industry can be great but knowing just three people that have so much knowledge and expertise can mean a huge difference.

17A Elevator pitch No. 2

https://youtu.be/v7g6c8a1rxs

This has probably been one of the most difficult assignments for me because I consider myself to be an introvert, and would much rather work behind the scenes. However, as an entrepreneur, getting on the spotlight is pretty much inevitable, so this was an opportunity to practice.

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

My customer avatar:

Animal lover/dog mom

Goes to the gym regularly and maintains a healthy diet

Runs every morning with their dog

Upper middle-class suburban millennial with small children

Democrat/progressive and loves Bernie Sanders

Actively involved in community events

Native to the city of Coral Springs/Margate/Parkland

Listens to pop music

Loves trying out new foods/recipes

Vegetarian

I relate in many ways to my customer avatar, which I don’t find to be a coincidence.  For example, I am an animal lover and I am health mindful. Because I am creating a product for which I personally find there is a need, it is only natural that I expect others who share my views/needs to also find this product appealing. I intend to target people with similar lifestyles as me, because these are the people I interact with the most on an everyday basis.

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

1.      A) I am tenacious and whenever I set my mind to something, I will work very hard to achieve it. I do not give up easily and I always persevere.

B) I am extremely organized, and I will always have a plan for the short and long term. I like to be prepared and foresee what is coming to act accordingly.

C) I always strive to follow through with my promises and make sure my decisions don’t have negative impact others.

D) I like to help people and am always available to others and their needs.

E) I know how to prioritize and use my time wisely to get things done. 

Interviews:

https://instaud.io/3mKg

https://instaud.io/3mKj

https://instaud.io/3mKm

https://instaud.io/3mLi

https://instaud.io/3mLj

Reflect on the differences:

It is quite interesting to hear people talk about you from their perspective. We do not hear about how others see us very often but this was an eye opening assignment that leads to the opportunity of some self-reflection. There are some things I never thought others saw in me so openly. 

However, I do believe others agree with most of the qualities I see in myself. 

The main quality, and one which I think is most important in the scope of this class and entrepreneurship is my tenacity and my ability to be level headed and hard working. 

Side note: two of the interviewees are my parents who are not native English speakers. 

15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

According to the American Kennel Club most people feed their dogs processed kibble or equally processed wet food. All commercial dog food contains at least the minimum nutrition a dog requires. However, not every dog is the same, and some may require nutrition specific to them.

A survey performed by Purina on 900 dog owners found that the most difficult part of pet ownership is choosing the right food. Many dog owners feel overwhelmed with the amount of choices available in shelves, and a majority are not 100% satisfied with the current food they are feeding their dog.

My segment consists of pet owners looking to purchase natural, healthy, and affordable fresh foods that meets their pets’ nutritional needs. Because most of my segment has tried various commercially available foods that have not worked for their pet, what they value most is quality ingredients and complete nutrition.

Brick-and-mortar remains the primary source of pet food, according to americanveterinarian.com. Therefore, we expect our segment to enjoy having a physical place available to shop for their pet’s food.

The most important post-purchase indicator of “rightness” is their pet’s reaction to the food. For example:

Did the pet seem bloated?

Is the pet happy and energetic?

Did it cause any unwanted intestinal effects?

What does the pet’s coat look like: shiny or dull?

What do blood work results look like when they receive checkups?

Does the food contain all the nutrition their pet needs?

I have interviewed three people close to me that would be potential customers in my segment. Based on the interviews and research, I have concluded that this is a segment that values quality over price. It is also a segment that prefers to go to a physical store for purchase rather than using an online platform, and it values post purchase decisions based on the well being of their pet.

14A – Halfway Reflection

Perseverance is one of the strongest attributes an entrepreneur must possess. When starting and maintaining an entrepreneurial venture, there will be obstacles along the way that will pose a threat to your end goal. After taking this course, you will gain a solid understanding of the role of perseverance and tenacity in the development of your venture. You will gain knowledge relating to famous entrepreneurs that persevered through difficult situations, and hopefully it will inspire you to do the same. 

I have felt like giving up multiple times when I'm working too much and my responsibilities become busy and hectic. I have to push myself to meet deadlines, study for exams, and have an healthy social  life. Although it can be difficult, persevering follows in the steps of having a positive attitude and seeing beyond an immediate threat or obstacle into the possibility of a more colorful outcome. In this sense, one must develop an understanding of failure as a success that gets you a step closer to your goal.

My three tips to a future student when it comes to fostering skills necessary for tenacity and developing a tenacious mindset are:

1) Make sure to seek guidance from people wiser and more experienced.

2) Look at every difficult situation or failure as a learning experience that gets you closer to a successful outcome. 

3) Don't get sidetracked easily, and follow through to the best of your ability. 

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

1) The Wright Brothers

a.      What surprised me the most about the brothers is their perseverance. I had briefly heard about the wright brothers in the past but reading about their perseverance amongst failure was very inspiring and surprising. Something that I also did not know, is that Wilbur Wright, one of the brothers, was considered an actual genius. His intellect played a big role in developing the mechanism needed to fly the plane. His genius combined with his brother’s mechanical ability fused together in a mix of perfect cooperation that led to the eventual invention of the airplane.

b.      What I admired most about them was their perseverance. They had an idea in mind and there was very little that could stop them. They knew the risk of dying was very eminent but not even that would stop them. Even after they had finished their invention successfully, the next step was selling it. They had to go through immense barriers to sell someone on the idea that human beings were meant to fly. This is especially interesting to me in the context of the present. Had the Wright Brothers given up and not created the airplane/glider, the world would be a completely different place.

c.      I think the Wright Brothers might’ve been a bit over the line obsessive over their feat into the air. Although this can also be considered their strongest attribute, it’s not something I would particularly admire.

d.      I think the main adversity the brothers faced was being successful in coming up with a glider that would work. They spent a very long time and it look various failed attempts to be successful.

2)     The entrepreneurs were inventive, intelligent, creative, and extremely tenacious.

3)     There were some technical aspects that were explained that I found a little confusing.

4)     I would ask them what motivates them and what they thought the world would be like 100 years from the time they invented the plane.

5)     I think both brothers understood the importance of hard work. While they had the capabilities such as intelligence and intuitiveness that would enable them to create something great, without hard work this would all mean very little. I agree with this opinion, I think hard work supersedes natural talent.