Final Reflection

Well readers, this is it. My last post on this Blogger. It's been real, it's been fun, but I wouldn't say it's been real fun. I will try to sum up my thoughts on this class as eloquently as I am able to. Stay Golden ENT3003.


1) The Read-Through

  Wow, what a ride that was. I seemed to enjoy Elevator pitches the most. I remember absolutely hating anything that contained the instructions "make sure to include videos of your recordings". I mean, I still do. A lot of those assignments were veritable garbage, and I opted out of a few. Perhaps they would have helped me in some capacity, but at that present time I was too stubborn to try. My writing style in the last few posts amuses me, I know I am suited well for the business world by the sheer amount of jargon and pseudo intelligent BS I am able to whip up.


2) Remember the Experiences

  I think the Venture Concept was actually the most 'formative' experience. You really had to tie in many different aspects to develop a complete idea of your project. It was important to realize how many elements you have to be cognizant of at the same time. Will I remember all of this for years to come? Lol, probably not I already forgot a lot of what we did. Silly as it may seem, I really was happy when I spotted people that obviously did not put any effort into their posts and I then just obliterated them in my comments. It's the little things. Ultimately, I'm proud of myself for completing all of these assignments.


3) The Mindset

  We've done a lot to build the idea that entrepreneurship comes from within. Which I believe is important; attitude is a major key. At the end of all this I do feel slightly closer to realizing my goals as an entrepreneur. This course has mostly been in the categories of basic technical knowledge and self-actualization, but I've seen improvement in myself for both of those. I have made noticeable strides, however I know I am still not near where I need to be yet. The time will come though.


4) Imparting Wisdom

  If I could leave someone with one recommendation for this class, it would be to learn how to identify all your bad habits of laziness, apathy, and stubbornness and just suck it up and do it. There's no secret, this class is actually incredibly simple. You jus have to do the assignments and motivate yourself if you want to get anything meaningful out of it. JUST DO IT. Force yourself to do every assignment one day ahead of deadline, and just build that habit. It'll do you a world of good in the real world too.

TAKE A LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND MAKE THE CHANGES YOU WISH TO SEE. IT"S YOUR LIFE, LIVE IT BY YOUR DEFINITIONS. #ENTREPRENEURMINDSET2016

Weekly Reading Reflection #15

Time has truly spread it's wings and flown, flown by in a blur as we come to the end of our weekly reading reflections. I breathe a sigh, of relief or sadness, I myself cant tell which. Nevertheless, it on this beautiful day that I will examine the HBR article Business Basics at the Base of The Pyramid by the accomplished Vikram Akula.


  What stood out the most to me was the setting. Normally we hear of these business tales being told from behind a glass desk in a lofty corporate office. No, this time it's from the impoverished slum villages of India, where a humanitarian for-profit firm (wow you don't hear that too often)  called SKS Microfinance offers fractionally-priced insurance and loans to farmers and villagers. These loans usually don't even exceed 200$ but due to thought-out price structure and the sheer scope of the business, Akula manages a 250 Mil operation. Crazy.


  What confused me is how this business actually looks like on paper and in practice. I get the idea, it's just hard to believe it actually works so well. How was Akula able to wrangle such substantial investment so quickly?

My two questions:

"what did your transactions look like during Year 1 of the business?"

"Is microfinance really a viable method for changing systematic poverty?"


  Do I think this guy is wrong about anything in this article? How the hell would I know, I didn't even know what microfinance was until this week.

Elevator Pitch #4

For this final elevator pitch, I really changed very little. I again tried to shorten it to make more impact with a concise time period. I did my best to explain the design and procedure with as much clarity as possible. Thanks everyone for checking out my blog, it's truly been a time and a half here at Posted By Anthony. I'd like to thank my parents, friends, the academy, Kent Fuchs, my boys down at 15 frat row, and my cat, Zelda. Couldn't have done it without you. Stay classy gainesville.

Venture Concept Numba 2

Opportunity: Who and Where?

Age:

·    Teen/Young Adult- By far the most important market. This demographic already holds the biggest share of users in current music streaming services. This group looks towards music technology for social purposes and to stay on top of the newest trends

·     Middle Age Working Professionals- this group (defined from age 30-50) is in need of audio tools for the workplace. Between meetings and presentations, these people need efficiency and no-nonsense solutions to boost productivity.

Location:

·     Internationally- Since my innovation is centered around audio and music; there are no national barriers to its permeance. 

·     Socio-Economic sectors- Globally, the biggest opportunity lies within areas of higher disposable income. This demographic is able to pick and choose to purchase supplemental equipment such as mine. 

  The need for this product is both for personal enjoyment and professional use. There is much complaint about the limitations of current Bluetooth and music sharing technologies. For professional use there is nothing to test against. Services like spotify, Pandora, and SONOS have set the precedent, but have room for higher collaboration between a share-happy generation. This window of opportunity is open for decades with ability for adaptability.

Innovation

  My product concept is JukeBaux Audio Organizer. The system is comprised of a Bluetooth receiver plug that you input to speakers and amplifiers. It creates a channel for up to 10 of you and your friends mobile devices to connect to the Plug/Speaker simultaneously. Control of these channels comes from the mobile App. The underlying idea is to reduce the frustrations stemming for connection/reconnecting devices, switching outputs, adjusting equipment, waiting for audio to load, and manage all of that on one easy system. For users interested in controlling music for parties or road trips there will be a simple, well-designed interface to cue songs- a timer will prevent users from skipping songs until the first person’s choice has finished playing, collaborate with nearby friends to build playlists in real-time, and “favorite” and keep track/artist info from songs you have enjoyed. For users in professional environments, the device will work mostly the same, but allow individuals to upload audio cues for performances and presentations. Users will use the app like a remote to cue audio when needed then the next speaker can press cue and start their presentation- without any adjustments or awkward technical difficulties. 

  The system will come priced at $100 USD and any customers wishing to connect to Jukebaux but have not purchased the full system will make a $0.99 App purchase. In-App advertising is an idea, but no official word yet.

Venture Concept

My product is developed to be utilized for all events, personal or professional. Those wishing to make parties, socials, road trips, etc. more enjoyable and comfortable for all attending will use Jukebaux to collaborate on making universally accepted song choices and playlists. Those wishing to have business presentations and other professional events run more smoothly and effectively will use Jukebaux to program all necessary audio cues so that the event can progress from speaker to speaker without delay or difficulty. Consumers in this generation place very high importance on sharing ideas and getting fast, easy results. My product would be a new innovation and something that could set a standard. Other products exist to create Bluetooth signals for speakers and to build playlists but not in combination like JukeBaux. 

 In the future, Jukebaux will have headquarters located in California and pride itself on creative marketing and excellent customer service. We hope to run several promotions involving concerts from prominent artists and contests involving user submitted playlists. Operations will include software development, manufacturing, and customer service, but all of these departments will be small and cohesive. I would like to create a free-flowing, good vibe company culture like Google or Twitter.

Secret Sauce

Besides my product’s inherent innovation, I have a few things that give me a competitive edge. The most important of these is the willingness to go to any lengths to achieve what I really want; some may call this perseverance, I call it life. What this looks like in a real life scenario is my unwillingness to settle for anything less than what I placed my goal is, I have no qualms about making calls, arguing, finding loopholes, etc. for anything I need to get. 

What’s next for Jukebaux?

There are three things that we at Jukebaux see happening in the near future

1.   Integration from new product into mainstream service

2.   Research ways to get the older generation involved

3.   Work out any bugs with the app

What’s next for me? 

  The road of the entrepreneur isn’t easy, it isn’t even just difficult. Scientists theorize that the process of building a successful startup could actually reach levels of hella difficulty bordering on challenging AF. That said, I drafted two realistic goals, one for 5 years and one for 10 years from now.

In 5 years….

  I will have created a working prototype of both the device and app, and done concept testing. The biggest challenge I see is the act of physically making a working device with proper app design. The first models will then be given to family and friends. Gauging interest after that, I will start the legal and proper business processes of working out deals for retail and online sales. By the end of the 5 years, I will have a small working base of employees to help with the app programming and manufacturing.

In 10 years…

  This company will be functioning at a great level and recognized as a formidable business. We will have started planning for new ventures but haven’t gotten anything 100% yet. Headquarters in CA with warehouses and smaller bases throughout the southeast. I also have lots of consulting and speaking opportunities at large colleges (go gators) and expos due to our success. We have worked out some unforeseen flaws and our product is fine-tuned. 

  All in all, writing this venture concept has cemented what I do know, and has forced me to think critically about things I hadn’t even considered. I have realized new challenges that I would face with actually developing this product as well as new solutions. Typing this out has turned a dream into something getting a little bit closer to a reality. 

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After reviewing the feedback on my latest posts I made a few changes to my venture concept. I noticed that a few people had a hard time understanding how the product will actually work so I put it in simpler terms and really spelled it out for them. I appreciated the comments on the uniqueness and marketability of jukebaux and continue to think of ways to further refine this idea. From comments on exit strategy, I re-thought of where I, realistically, see myself in the next few years. Thank you all for your feedback, it's been real ENT3003. 

V Short Interview with Entrepreneur

  In this sequel to my first interview with entrepreneur Mike DeQuattro, I found the questions I asked and vibe around the conversation very different. In that first talk, I asked three questions: "what does the status of Entrepreneur mean to you?" "What do you wish you had learned formally in school before setting out on this venture?" and "what do you think I should strive to take away from this class?" All of these very broad, and open to a lot of good, introductory knowledge into this world. After what I've learned in this class though, I see that interview as very basic, and would ask more comprehensive question now.



  I have not been able to take any trips home in the past couple weeks, but I managed to have a good facetime/phone interview with Mr. DeQuattro this weekend. As mentioned, the questions this time were more specific.

Actual Q/A portion transcription typed as spoken

" What methods of raising venture capital did you employ?"
  The way I did it was not quite as formal as I'm sure you've read about. Myself and my friend and business partner used our savings as well as me taking out a loan. This was a considerably risky move, but I believe that life is too short and too situational to have let that stop me. Once we were established, however, we started hearing back from several groups in the community that offered small sponsorship deals. In my situation, I don't really deal with investors per say, but the process is very similar. I've outlined my business model to countless people and had to outline all the factors like competition, lead time, short/long term objectives, marketing plans, valuation, etc. etc. And from there, if someone believes that we could have a mutually beneficial relationship we will continue the conversation.

"If anything, what did you hire consultants for when examining your business plans?"

  Heh, so I did bring in consultants for a number of facets of my business, but in my case they happened to be old friends who happened to be in the respective industries. This included my marketing manager and a financial planner friend. You may think that its best to do everything in house, and its definitely possible, but when you hire professionals you are essentially saving 3x more than you would without them. For example, when looking over my accounting statements, I was told that a few expenses didn't line up and were costing me about 100$ a month unnecessarily, and that was just within one day of meetings.

"What were some examples of failures you overcame?"

  I cant deny that there were quite a few. One that stands out to me as the biggest lesson I learned wasn't technical by any means, but more of a failure in my thinking process. I came into it waiting for opportunity instead of creating it myself. I think I set myself back time wise a good measure doing that. What I learned though, was the more important part. In business...In life, you have to make the first move. It's the difference between just existing and living.



  I feel that I've made some degree of progress in my understanding of technical terms. and in business oriented critical thinking. I still have a ways to go until I feel truly confident however. In this second interview, it was much less intimidating and way more comfortable talking to him. I had a better idea of what he was talking about now, and we were able to have a better discussion.

Celebrating Failure

Similar to my celebrity crush and pseudo-father Drake, I'm the furthest thing from perfect (like everyone i know)


  Despite my failures, I am always schemin and plotting on the low. Always trying to improve the ratio between success and failure. Ive encountered a few recent failures, something I'm not proud of but can use to ignite the path to triumph. The important thing is to bounce back from this- to become a Phoenix of failure if you will; reborn from the ashes and becoming something powerful and beautiful. Today, I'd like to share my most recent failure, one that happened not in the classroom but on the basketball court.

   Full court. 5 on 5. The score that we all updated mentally had just become 20-16. The score seemed close but in reality the difference couldn't be greater. I felt I had failed multiple times. I had missed easy shots, turned over the ball carelessly, and in one incident threw up a 3 that fell about 2 feet short of the rim. This was strange because usually I am a decent athlete, but on this night lacked focus and vision. Every play I tried, but could not seem to make anything work. It wasn't my body that was failing me, it was my mind. I got stuck in the rut of self doubt, and didn't have fortitude to pull myself out.

  I learned a lot from this game. I should never take ability or odds for granted. Study, play, teach, lead like you still have to prove yourself (which you do). Stay hungry, and use failure as a stepping stone to success. After that game, I spent hours shooting, doing drills and practicing. Next game went so much smoother, the only thing smoother was my game winning mid range J.

 Failure is the inability to meet an established goal. This is true in almost any setting or aspect of life. Work, relationships, school, personally and externally. One thing I like about myself is my general indifference to failure. Yea, I obviously don't want it to happen, but if it does I don't cry about it or freak out. I just know another way of NOT to do something (shoutout Edison and the lightbulb). This class has shown me that failure can be a tool. It's just a part of business. Not something you necessarily want to repeat, but something that is invaluable to finding true success.

Weekly Reading Reflections #luckynumber13

Opinions on Chapter 14: Valuation of Entrepreneurial Ventures from Kuratko's Entrepreneurship



The main thing that stood out to me was the myriad of variables that factor in to the valuation of your business venture. There are so many ways to look at it and explain how much your venture is worth, and depending on who computes it; it could be drastically different.

I get how the book explained P/E and Term Sheets, but these two things seem more complicated then how it was drafted. I still am not sure how to properly prepare and use LOI's but I can do my own independent studying i suppose.

Questions:

"Is this a procedure mostly handled internally or do most businesses prefer to hire consultants?"

"How much is Cengage valued at?"

Eh as far as I know the author is correct on his terms and methods described.

Exit Strategy

  My basic exit plan would be to build up a successful company and retire gracefully after 10-15 years. I would want to expand our brand into other projects as well to position ourselves as a competitive leader in the industry. This would provide me and my loved ones with substantial comfort for the rest of our lives, and the chance for my children to learn and try their own ventures.


  This plan was decided upon by our board of directors because it has the most benefits. We won't have to worry about the legal process of switching hands or for that matter have to worry about the extreme long-term longevity of our business.

  It hasn't influenced anything besides how I would plan budgeting and creative concept. Budgeting would be allocated with extra concern towards quick initiation and acquisition. The future of the company is a long-term goal, but in order to get there we must look to the short-term, the here and now, the present.

What's Next?

Existing Market (College Age, Young Professionals)


Besides the current version of Jukebaux, I believe that a partial integration of certain Music sharing attributes (pandora radio, spotify similar artists) is the next thing for me.

Based on this feedback, it seems I need to examine my pricing structure and make sure I can differentiate my product better. Not so much the physical properties but the brand positioning. I think that making everything easy to use and intuitive is one of the more important things. I cant just add small elements of other services, I have to dominate the field in one or two aspects and just have the rest there for function.

New Market (Senior Citizens, Retired)



My venture concept would be able to give the elderly a platform to listen and share the music they love in an age where traditional methods (CD, records, etc.) are becoming obsolete.

file:///Users/anthonydavila-stirling/Music/iTunes/iTunes%20Media/Music/Unknown%20Artist/Unknown%20Album/Audio%20ENT3003Audiointerview1/3.amr%20(AAC%20audio).m4a

file:///Users/anthonydavila-stirling/Music/iTunes/iTunes%20Media/Music/Unknown%20Artist/Unknown%20Album/Audio%20ENT3003Audiointerview2/3.amr%20(AAC%20audio).m4a

file:///Users/anthonydavila-stirling/Music/iTunes/iTunes%20Media/Music/Unknown%20Artist/Unknown%20Album/Audio%20ENT3003Audiointerview3/3.amr%20(AAC%20audio).m4a

The elderly still love music and are losing their tradition methods of listening to it (cassette, records, CD's) As I learned from my interviews, this demographic would love something that made listening to music easy, but were worried that they might not be able to keep up with the technology necessary. This market is not as attractive due to the extra measures needed to accommodate them. The market is large if not larger though, so we would have to weight out the benefit/risk factors.

Weekly Reading Reflections

Behold: the 12th installment of weekly reading reflections. Kuratko's Entrepreneurship. You know the drill.

1. What surprised me was learning how many entrepreneurs forego strategic planning due to time or other restraints. For people who have studied and planned to make their start up succeed you would think this would be the last thing to be compromised.

2. I thought the section on strategic positioning could have used better illustration and explanation.

3. "how saturated (if at all) is the market for strategic consulting for small business?"

   "If money and time are the issues when developing these strategies, what should the most efficient resource management procedure be?"

4. I have no quarrel with Kuratko's content this week.