28A Your Exit Strategy

My exit strategy is most likely to sell out after five years. Considering that I can sell my intellectual property of updating application terminals in Publix, I would most likely choose this option because I can not imagine this venture becoming a seriously sought after opportunity. This venture has definitely taught me that becoming an entrepreneur is not for everyone and not every idea is as easy to turn profitable as I initially thought. I also learned that the best resource is human capital because it is the hardest to replicate in another company.

27A Reading Reflection 3

The Wright Brothers, David McCullough

What surprised me the most about this book was that the Wright brothers pursued their dream of creating the first flying mechanism for over a decade, imagining myself pursuing one goal for ten years would be astounding. The Wright brothers were admirable in their dedication, setting such a longterm goal aside and achieving it is something that not a lot of people can say they have done. What I least admired was that the Wright brothers put their social lives on hold for the most part when it came to achieving their goals and I think it would have been nicer to hear they managed to keep up successful relationships with people while in the pursuit of creating airplanes. They definitely ran into obstacles such as Wilbur's accident that left him inattentive to continue school which was considered destiny for them because it gave them time to work on planes. Both of the brothers were very smart and intuitive, they never looked at an end goal as unattainable and I really agree with that mindset. One part of the book that confused me was the medias denial of the idea that "man should fly", which I can not believe was the populations mindset at the time. I would ask the Wright brothers if the decade long venture was excruciatingly slow or fast? I would also ask them how they felt after being denied by the US government and the media? I would ask these specific questions because I would imagine ten years is a long time and I want to know how it felt from their perspective. The Wright brothers opinion of hard work would most likely be a positive one because they seem very driven by the adventure of chasing something.

26A Celebrating Failure

My biggest failure of the semester was definitely the business plan assignment that we had to conduct for this class. My original plan was so clear in my head and I envisioned everything falling into place, from the original plan of working with Publix management and innovating the hiring process to changing corporate regulations. When I began interviewing and actually putting everything into action I noticed how my idea was not easily feasible because changing regulatory laws is not common and also Publix could file a lawsuit against my company which made me feel immense pressure to cancel everything. Once I got to the elevator pitch assignment, I was embarrassed to present my idea because I knew deep down it was not going to be successful. Although I pushed through and after each assignment I began altering my business plan more and more into something that was feasible and regardless of the negative comments I was getting from some interviewees, I pushed through and feel my business plan now of simply updating the hiring applications with customizable surveys can be implemented with more companies and is a safer business.

I learned that it does not matter how clear something is in your head, unless you implement your goals, you will not know if success or failure is imminent.

Failure is hard, makes us think that we are inadequate and can definitely influence self-esteem, but the best way to tackle failure is not by trying to reduce it, but by reducing the affect it has on you. This entrepreneurship course definitely made me more optimistic to try new things, because our business plan was my biggest failure and I want to make up for it in the future and succeed.

25A Whats Next?

Existing Market:

      This company is meant to insure part time jobs go into the right hands, especially when it comes to financially unstable college students. The people I interviewed all said one similar thing, and that was they were glad someone recognized this issue. The amount of times I have been told that someone perfectly applicable for a job, was denied is very hurtful to me and drives me further to push this company in a positive direction.
     Growing our existing market is dependent on how well our start up is. The regulatory issue that lies within our business can be the downfall of the company considering that Publix could retract from helping insure jobs in the right hands, although this issue is not pertinent at the moment. Although everything is going well considering the team I have built and the need that is being met for college students. Many interviewees are telling me how necessary this business is and that gives me hope.

New Market:

     The biggest takeaway from interviewing new people was that everyone was supportive. I understand my business is not perfect but having such positivity behind the company really gives me hope. I talked to a girl that I pitched my idea to in class and she told me her own experience with a job interview and she mentioned how Publix never even called her back and she is yet to find work, and student loans become so much more tempting at that point. I want to provide this opportunity for people that deserve a chance and the support I have received is really motivational.
     One assumption that was proven to be true is that if mentioning that Publix hires unfairly regardless of the equal opportunity employer act could ruin this business, so I need to definitely change some aspects of my business in order to not offend, but positively create change. My new market is to simply innovate on current job applications, in order to distinguish one applicant from another, because at the moment job applications are not specific enough to make a clear decision on who should be hired, it is almost a random pick to see who gets a call back.

24A Venture Concept 1

Opportunity: My customer base is struggling to find work, the issue behind that struggle lies in their schedule, timing, and needs they possess that keep them from finding a suitable job that they are comfortable with. Publix supermarkets as well as many other retailers and consumer businesses in Gainesville can offer the solution to the customers unmet needs, but the problem lies in the communication between viable applicant and organization they apply for. My business opportunity is supposed to clear the communication channel between business and applicant, the forces behind this opportunity is that more and more people, especially college students need jobs more than ever, and are very healthy, young and applicable to work, but cannot seem to get a call back. This market is found all throughout America, because of the change in the type of people entering college with almost no financial support, and this opportunity is meant for young, busy students, and people in general that need that chance to find a good job. Currently, there is no solution to this problem, customers are currently using outdated applications that do not possess thorough questions and this process is clearly unstable and ends up in hires of unsuitable applicants. The size of how potential this opportunity is, can be questioned. Most people that do not get hired for a job, do not see the person that did get tired, a lot of the time, from my experiences, the person hired was chosen incorrectly and ends up either leaving, or not enjoying their job, but a young college student would be grateful to be in their position. There is potential for success, but that lies on regulation changes with many companies, especially Publix’s hiring process. This window of opportunity is only expected to grow, as young people go out into the real world, with not the strongest financial backing and realize how important a job can be.

Innovation: My business is selling a product and a refined service. For example, Publix uses an outdated method of applying, through a terminal that has not been updated since 2006 and by asking applicants simple questions that are not open ended, so choosing a new employee is almost a random pick because you cannot distinguish one applicants strengths to another’s and my business is reinventing the application process so employers can see their potential hires strengths and weaknesses before they are even hired. Updated terminals are a huge aspect of my businesses. The service being offered is pushing for many companies’ corporate divisions to give college students more opportunities and to change regulatory laws, especially in college towns such as Gainesville to allow more young applicants to be hired. The new terminals and extensive outreach to corporate companies is set to increase more jobs, put those jobs in the right hands, through refined application processes and giving applicants call backs at the very least. Funding for this project will be through fundraising, online, in person and all through the city of Gainesville, this campaign can get recognition as a way of increasing the employment rate throughout Gainesville. Costs for the Research and Development as well creating new applications will be funded privately at first but once fundraising and Go-Fund-Me is up and running, having more money on hand will be easier to work with than our initial investments in the company.

Venture Concept: This product is aimed to help the Gainesville community, I feel that this issue is not discussed enough and switching to our team will be a beneficial service to Gainesville, especially because no one else is considering this opportunity. From my research, this topic is not getting genuine attention, let alone enough to suffice competition. My business consists of a team that develops the new applications, marketing employees and guidance from me and a few others that have long-term experience with employability at many different chains. Paying off these employees will begin through the money invested and eventually the fundraising profit will be taken into account.

Final Points: Our advantage in this company is my experience with Publix, being a previous employee and all the inside information, I have received from the company. As well as the previous employees that are on my team that are going to benefit the organization, having that insider information is really going to be our difference maker.

What’s next for the company? To move our business from Gainesville to more populated cities

What’s next for me? To see this business through, change some unfair laws when it comes to how businesses handle new employees and push this company as far as it can go. My vision is to make an unfair world fair, although that dream is unachievable as a whole, I can assist in giving more college students job.

23A Your Ventures Unfair Advantage

Resources that I possess and the Value, Rare, Inimitable and Non-Substitutable characterizes behind our business plan to reinvent the Publix application process:

1.  Experienced Leader (Me) I am a previous Publix employee leading a team to hire applicable people, my knowledge of Publix corporate is extensive and that is hard to find.

2.  Experienced help from past and current Publix employees. Can assist in making our case for wrong hiring’s, there is no evidence like physical proof such as an employee that hates their coworkers.

3.  Inside intel on the hiring process for many companies and stores. This information is non-substitutable, the information gathered is from insider intelligence and it is valuable in helping us reach our end goal.

4.  Fundraising money. The money made from our Go Fund Me is usable, made honestly and irreplaceable.

5.  Angel Investors from my family. My family assisted me financially and I am not expected to pay it back anytime soon, so free money is always resourceful

6.  Connections to Publix Corporate. I have friends in Publix corporate branches that can help make our case, and nothing is substitutable to the direct source of Publix and grocery chain knowledge.

7.  Many employees on our team. Team is hardworking, and a positive culture to create more jobs is already created.

8.  Physical capabilities to reinvent application process. We have a strong team that has access to Publix application terminals that can reinvent them and make a more thorough application and survey.

9.  Technological advancements to innovate application process. The Publix terminals are outdated, and need work and our team has 3 computer science majors dedicated and find it a useful skill to create online applications

10.               Dedicated fundraising team. Our fundraising team is needed to help us make as much quick money as possible in order to fund the technology. And the marketing skills of our team is unmatched.

Culture: Hoping to invent a positive culture with a powerful mission statement that is dedicated to getting more applicable people hired and working!

Most resourceful Asset: Fundraising team is a strong asset to our business because they are not only dedicated but tech savvy and great speakers and have strongly benefited our companies’ mission. It is hard to find a good team let alone one with a strong organizational culture.

21A Reading Reflection 2

1. I read How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams. The main argument/theme Adams was portraying is that you can not rely on guides or steps to success, it comes from watching others and making mistakes, alternatively watching others can reduce the amount of mistakes you do make.

2. The biggest takeaway from Adams book is that it is okay to fail. When we first began the create a business assignment, I told myself that everything has to go perfect and my business has to be a success. Over time I came to find out that it was not very successful and I ultimately failed in a lot of aspects, but I did not let it stop me from attempting to fix those mistakes, and that is the biggest takeaway from the book.

3. Adams book talks about how having a lot of basic skills and knowledge in random things can play to your benefit. An assignment I would design for this class is to make a list of all the random skills you have and try to create a business based on some of the skills you have that would make the skills an asset to your success.

4. The biggest Aha moment was Adams stating that passion is irrelevant and success is all about personal energy. I found this statement to be true all the time. Personally, when I have a test coming up soon I always find energy to make myself study, and that is something that I need to take into all aspects of life, if I can find energy within myself to do it, then it is worth doing.