24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity:

·       Pet owners see their canine companions as part of the family, always looking for ways to keep them healthy and happy. Many pet owners ascertain that a pet’s diet is a crucial part of their dog’s well-being but may find it difficult to choose the right food for their pet.

·       There are many dog food options currently on the market promising quality ingredients with wholesome nutrients. Most of these options are kibble. However, a controlled study in Belgium used data from 500 domestic dogs and concluded that “dogs fed a homemade diet, consisting of high-quality foods used from their owner’s meals versus dog fed an industrial, commercial pet food diet had a life expectancy of [3 years longer.]

·       There are very few options currently available for pet owners looking to feed their pet fresh food. The options that are available can be pricey and require going through an online platform to have the food sent to their homes.

·       Locally, there is a lack of options to purchase fresh dog food, so owners are faced with few options for purchasing.  

·       The forces that allow this to occur are the lack of knowledge on the positive effects fresh food diets offer to a dog’s health, as well as strong competition from established dog food companies that maintain a good part of the market share.

·       The current options dog owners choose to satisfy their need for fresh food is through companies like the Farmer’s Dog and Ollie, which offer fresh food delivered to their homes. Because there are few competitors in the fresh food market, there is a great deal of opportunity for a new venture. Many of these companies are relatively new, and therefore customers may not yet experience high levels of loyalty to them which will make it easier to take some of their market share.

Innovation:

·       I will sell fresh dog food containing veterinary approved levels of proteins and nutrients. The product will be sold locally in Coral Springs, FL. Our clients will come into a boutique style store which sells other pet products such as toys and treats and are able to customize their dog’s meal plan.

·       With the help of a team of animal nutritionists and veterinarians, we will use an algorithm that considers factors such as weight, size, and activity levels to customize each pet’s meal plan. The price of these meal plans is as low as $3/day for small dogs and $8/day for larger sized breeds. Owners will choose when they would like to pick up their orders and how much they would like to pick up so they can refrigerate/freeze the rest.  

·       Our store will be pet friendly. It will not only be a place where dog owners buy their pet’s food, but it will also be a fun place for their dogs to interact with others and play around.

Venture Concept:

·       Customers will switch to this product because they will see the value in choosing fresh food for their pet. Our advertising campaign will focus on educating potential customers on the benefits of changing their dog’s food. Our food will also attract pet owners of finicky dogs, or dogs with sensitive stomachs that require fresh food diets.

·       As stated previously, our main segment competitors are other fresh food companies. Their possible weakness is their young age and the fact that the fresh food option has not been there for very long.

·       Packaging: we will use reusable containers that pet owners will bring into the store to get refilled. This will cut the cost of disposable packaging and will position us as environmentally friendly in the mind of customers.

·       Price point: because we are providing a service that does not require shipping and handling, we are able to offer a lower price point than others.

·       Distribution: we offer the dog food locally, so we will not rely on 3^rd party shipping companies to handle our product at all.

·       Customer support: our clients will not have long wait times when they call us. We can provide support one on one without long holds.

·       Customer experience/location: our dog friendly facility will be unique and will make us stand out from competitors. Our customers can drive to our store and bring their dogs with them to share the experience with them.

·       Our business will be comprised of a small team offering customer service and assistance at the front desk. We will also hire less skilled labor to actually cook our food, which we will store in the back. The food will be cooked twice a week to keep up with demand and to ensure that it is fresh when it is leaving the store.

Our most important resource is our location. Competitors cannot duplicate this aspect of our business. If we position ourselves in a way where we attract local customers and achieve their loyalty, our competitors cannot easily mimic our design.

Our next venture is the production of cat food. Creating this food will use the same resources we have established, and it will be easier to grow with it.

I would want this venture to branch out to other cities in the U.S. It would be great to either franchise the idea or sell it so that others can mimic it.

22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3

https://youtu.be/6XscSMyzI4g

I prepared for this pitch by talking about the most important aspects of the product: cost, nutrition, freshness. I was too focused on memorizing a script before, but this time I just talked about my product as if I was explaining it to a potential customer.

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

1)     Scott Adams book How to Fail at Everything and Still Win Big focuses the story that led Adams through many failures but ultimately to success. He gives insights about how he used certain life mechanisms and paradigms to focus on maintaining a healthy body and mind while pursuing the journey into success.

2)     I think the book does a great job at talking about failure as a positive thing. Many times, we become blinded by our desire to be successful that we forget there is a journey to success that may be riddled with failures.

Adams provides specific examples of actions you can take to deal with these failures. For example, the one that grabbed my attention the most is where he talked about “building a system” rather than setting goals.

This connects to what we learned in class about tenacity, and how being persevering is a crucial part of being an entrepreneur.

3)     If I had to design an exercise for the class based on the book it would instruct students to create a system, they believe will lead them to success.

Systems, as opposed to goals, allow for plans to be readjusted. As Adam puts it: “If you do something every day, it’s a system. If you’re waiting to achieve it someday in the future, it’s a goal…. In business, making a million dollars is a goal, but being a serial entrepreneur is a system.”

The assignment would make students think about their everyday actions, and what they can implement to their daily routines that will bring them closer to success.  

4)     There is a quote by Adams that really stuck to me: “The most important form of selfishness involves spending time on your fitness, eating right, pursuing your career, and still spending quality time with your family and friends.”

Sometimes we forget about the most important things in life when we get too busy trying to succeed. But what Adams argues is that the things we think as hindrances such as eating healthy and exercising are the most important things we need to do. If we take care of ourselves, it puts us at a better place to succeed and pursue our desires.  

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

My name is Angelica and I am a fourth-year business student. I am a hard and committed worker. My idea is to create a local company that will offer fresh food to pet owners at an affordable price.

The product offering is fresh, refrigerated, and healthy foods. Customers can customize their pet’s meals based on their specific needs, and they can get the refrigerated food locally without having to go through an online supplier.

I am offering this product to anyone who owns a dog and is willing to pay a little more to get them better food than the one offered on the shelves of dry food aisles.

I believe most of the customers interested in the product care because their pets may not be doing very well on their current food and they are looking for a healthier alternative.

What sets us apart from others is that we offer the food locally without having to buy it online.

I think these elements fit together because they have the same goal in mind of producing quality fresh food for consumers. When you align your competencies to your goals, I think you can expect to have a good foundation. The goal is to be in line with consumers needs/wants, and by offering food that will make their pets healthier and happier we can achieve our goals.

Feedback- I broadened the target segment to anyone who owns a dog. In my feedback someone mentioned I should be more specific in what types of breeds I should target. I wouldn’t want dog owners of otherwise healthy dogs to feel like they cannot access our products because they are only for those who need it. Therefore instead of being specific in breeds, I broadened my segment.

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.