Venture Concept No.1

   After so many assignments and thought put in to my business venture of "Pure Ag", it is quite simple to wrap it all up in to one whole summary, with aspects on opportunity, innovation, and venture concept. As far as my opportunity is concerned, I would consider it to include the group of people who are in search of a healthy lifestyle but do not want to spend so much money on purely produced and organic foods, and also do not have the time to invest in searching for the right types of foods for their bodies. With everyone's lives nowadays being so busy, it is always been so much easier for everyone to opt more for fast food options that don't take up so much of their time, effort, and money. I would say this market is defined largely within the people who are living in cities, because those are the people that generally tend to have the busiest lives, and also have an ample amount of unhealthy, fast food options available. I think that a large base of people who partake in healthy, organic grocery food shopping, reside in more suburban, slow-paced areas. They meet this need of theirs by basically sacrificing the price factor for the benefit of healthy eating for themselves and for their family. So, in totality, the folks living in the city and the suburbs both do desire a healthy eating lifestyle, but one group just does not have the time to invest in to it, and that is a huge portion of my opportunity, which I feel will always exist, as fast-paced city life will always exist for people.
    When it comes to speaking of the second important aspect of my business venture, innovation, I feel that the product I would plan on innovating would definitely satisfy my customer's needs to a large extent. The app that I plan on creating will allow customers to order their foods for delivery or pick-up at a close by store selling my foods. In addition to that, this app will include an array of actual people who are experts in the health and foods field, that will always be available to assist the users with tips on what kinds of foods to purchase, what amounts of it to eat each day, and also just any important concepts on living the healthy life that these customers desire. Basically, the user will be able message any one of the experts that are online with a question or some needed tips, kind of like a social media forum. In terms of how this app would make me money, it would come down to loyal and committed customers, as the app would have a free one week trial period, with costs coming in later on, as people decide to get memberships towards my stores.
      Now on to the last key element of my summary, which is my venture concept. My innovation will address the opportunity I presented through the form of information at ones fingertips. My app will solve the amount of time that people often think goes in to grocery shopping, especially for organic and purely made foods. I feel that customers would be attracted to the one week trial period and the helpfulness of the app will cause them to want to go through with the purchase and membership. I think that when it comes to my business idea and innovation, there are not many known competitors that offer all of the same things that I do. Other than grocery stores such as trader joe's and fresh market, there are no companies that also include an app that makes grocery shopping easier for the public. That is why I think that my potential customers would be willing to switch to "Pure Ag". Packaging and distribution plays a huge role in my business, simply because the app has a delivery option, and also because I am willing to sell my foods at various supermarkets, to increase customer purchase. I also feel that the kinds of employees that I will hire will play a big role in Pure Ag because they will be the ones selling the food, and also providing advice and information to our loyal customers. That is what will keep my business and product ongoing. I definitely think that the employees are the secret sauce of my company, because they call for that one-to-one connection with the customer, which you don't really see anywhere else.
    As I think of what is next for the venture, fitness is the first thing that comes to mind, because that is such a huge part of living the healthy lifestyle, and so I would love to incorporate that in to Pure Ag somehow. When it comes to what's next for me as an individual and entrepreneur, I just want to continue to expand whatever business venture I am working on, and use the utmost amount of creativity and passion in it.

Week 11 Reading Reflection

For this week's assigned reading, I was surprised to find out how important innovation is for so many companies, and how there is such a huge lack of it. One part of this reading that was confusing to me was the concepts on innovation strategies and innovation systems. I would probably ask the author to further explain those terms in more detail so I can understand the importance of each one of them. I would also ask the author what he would consider the greatest aspect of innovation. I do not think that the author was wrong about anything in this article

Amazon Whisperer

-The revenue drivers in my business concept will come through all of the loyal customers who go out and purchase my food products, along with the customers who order it online or call for delivery.
-The kind of product I believe should be next would be an app that tells customers what kinds of foods they should buy and how much of it that they should consume in order to completely live the healthy lifestyle they desire.
-This will definitely improve the user experience, simply because customers will have a known professional in health, that can give them useful tips and advice to achieve their healthy life. That way, the customer doesn't have to be playing a guessing game on what is good for their body and well-being.
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My health tracker is pretty much exactly what my app will be like, in that it offers information on ones weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc. The only difference is that my app will actually include a person in the health field that will offer advice to my customers and potential customers, on what foods to consume in order to benefit their health, and the similar statistics will show as the my health tracker app.
-The reviews on this app are pretty mixed, with some customers saying that it is too basic and does not allow one to input as much information as they would like. Other customers say that it is extremely easy to use.
-Some design changes that I would make to the app would probably just be adding a lot more features, like the amount of calories one should consume, or what specific foods are better for a certain individual.
-This product would make a good addition to my service because it will make grocery shopping and living healthy so much easier for my customers.

My Unfair Advantage

Resources:
1. A broad amount of options as places to sell my food- Thia is important because it creates much more business and exposure
2. Social media presence- This makes a difference, as the younger generation gets a lot more information on the company, as they are all in tune with social media
3. Food delivery options- This is extremely unique because everyone nowadays appreciates delivery, and also food delivery only occurs with unhealthy and fast food options
4. Less pricey products- This is rare because pretty much all organically producing fod companies contain products that are quite expensive for the average person to buy
5. All employees will be properly educated on food production- This makes a huge difference because the employees will have a lot of background knowledge to feed their customers with
6. We will always consider as much feedback as possible from customers and constantly improve our company based on it- This also makes a difference becuase the customer will feel like they have a say in the company's business and will be getting what they desire from the service
7. International appeal- This is very important and unique because similar companies only have national appeal and haven't explored the market worldwide
8. Tips on how much of what food to eat will be available for customers- This also is a very unique resource because it allows for a personal relationship with the customer
9. Discounts and promotions will be available to most loyal customers- This adds to the amount of loyal customers in the business and is not found a lot in other companies
10. Stores will also sell baby and animal foods that are produced naturally- This is very unique because people only consider adults when it comes to organically produced foods

I would say that my top resource is the last one on baby and animal foods being sold through my company, as that is rarely every considered in other companies that are producing their foods organically. This is especially important to me because it allows for a wider range of customers attracted to my company, and also benefits babies and animals.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

  For this week's assigned reading on chapter 11, the biggest surprise for me was the section on a financial glossary for the entrepreneur, and how all of that was set up. One part of the reading that was a little confusing to me was the concept on liabilities, and how that relates to the business world. If I were able to ask the author of this book two questions, I would probably ask him/her how they came up with the financial glossary for the entrepreneur because I am curious to know how he/she decided what to include there. I would also ask the author what he/she considers to be the most important type of fixed asset, because I feel like that would make me understand the concept a lot better. As far as identifying something that I think the author was wrong about, there isn't anything I would be able to point out in this chapter where I think I disagreed with them on.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

I was exceedingly pleased with the kind of positive feedback that I received on my previous elevator pitch. The only thing that was asked of me to change was that I look at the camera more and try to be more natural, and I think that was completely justified. There was no type of feedback that I thought was outright silly. So that is why I basically only tried to look at the camera more often and try to sound less nervous.

Week 9 Reading Reflection

  From this week's reading on chapter 10, I would say that the biggest surprise I encountered was the section on pricing in the social media age. This was surprising to me because I did not expect social media to have any sort of effect on the concept of pricing, at all, as I thought that these were two completely different and separate topics. One part of the reading that was confusing to me was the part on developing an information-gathering instrument, because I did not really understand what the author meant by the instrument aspect of it. That would be one of the two questions that I would then ask the author of this book. The other question would be about which type of marketing research he/she considers to be more important. I do not however, think that the author was wrong about anything in this reading.

My Secret Sauce

Five ways that I feel I have human capital that is truly unique:
-I've lived in different countries throughout my life and have also been fortunate enough to travel so much of the world from the age of 1, and in turn, learn about different cultures in the process.
-I also am extremely fond of animals and have a lot of experience working with them.
-I think that I'm also very open-minded and listen carefully to other people's opinions, to shape my own at times.
-Whenever I am faced with a challenge, I try to put my all in to overcoming it.
-I am also a very positive minded person, and always look at the glass half full, rather than half empty.

interview 1; I feel that the first interview was very good in mentioning my cultural knowledge and exposure to the world. I also took away the fact that my upbringing was very unique and varied, from others, such as my brother's.

interview 2; The second interview brought out my capital in dealing with animals. It was very specific in the kind of experience I have had working with animals.

interview 3; The third interview that I did talked more about my personality traits, such as my stubbornness, and also my willingness to help people. It also though, included similar aspects from the other two interviews.

interview 4; The fourth interview that I did was also based on my trait of helping others, but also included me as a kind hearted person. It also talked about my knowledge of different cultures.

interview 5; the fifth interview was very specific and unique in the wording it used. Although, it uses very similar points about me being good with animals, and also people.

When comparing how I see myself versus how others see me, I would say it is pretty much the same. I would definitely not disagree or want to change the way others spoke of me as I do think they are correct. 

Idea Napkin No. 2

    When it comes to my business concept, I feel that a huge aspect of it is definitely to describe me as a person. I am an animal sciences major here at UF, and hope to attend vet school after my undergrad. I have a lot of experience working with animals, and that is also what comprises a lot of my compassion in life. As a student in the college of agriculture and life sciences, I felt as if creating a business idea that includes both agriculture and animals would be perfect for me, as I am also very compassionate about the agriculture industry and the way meats are produced today. That is why I think that my company, "Pure Ag" will give customers the benefit of knowing that they are eating pure, organically produced food that is also not ridiculously harmful to farm animals. This type of business idea would definitely appeal to people like me, who want to eat natural foods with meats that are produced in the correct way. This is important because nowadays, every other food chain and brand does not take any pride in the way that they produce their meats, and just bring out low quality, unhealthy foods for their customers. I think that the aspect which will set me apart from other organically producing food companies would be the fact that mine would be open to selling its food in any store and not creating a whole separate store like Trader Joes or Whole Foods, for it. I also will aim at bringing much lower prices for my organically produced food, as compared to other organically and naturally producing food brands. I believe that this will be a key element in getting people to purchase my food. 

   Overall, when speaking of my business venture, I do feel that its aspects fit together quite well, with a little bit of room for improvement, of course. When it comes to the money related aspect, I have yet to figure out just how I would successfully produce higher quality foods at a low price. From the feedback that I received on my last napkin idea post, I truly figured out who supportive and in favor people are of this idea and topic in general. That proved to be quite motivating for me. I also liked how people shared their own experiences with the type of food that they choose to eat, and also how they are slowly getting in to this trend of organic foods. The really important feedback for me was definitely the money aspect of my business and how I should address that. In addition to that, the competition I will have was also good feedback for me to acknowledge.