Week 8 Reading Reflection

Week 8 Reading Reflection:

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? I was surprised to learn how much of an impact recessions have on the lending market. I didn’t realize how sensitive Banks were when giving out loans.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. I felt that the portion of text explaining the Investor Roadshow was confusing. For some reason it is listed at the 4^th step in going Public. If the chapter is all about funding shouldn’t’ finding investors be the 2^nd step? Also shouldn’t a company seek out its major investors before it decides to go Public?

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why? What type of credit is needed to make large business loans over 25,000. Can you land a large business loan with a good business plan alone?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How? Honestly there was nothing the Author said this week that I particularly disagree with. 

Half-Way Reflection

Half-Way Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a skill. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? Confidence is key! This course is all about getting out their and taking risks! It is not easy putting your idea's out there. By sharing your ideas with others you get important feedback. I kept a tenacious spirit by realizing that every interview i did would improve my people skills. 

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this? During the third round of interviews I almost felt like giving up. My target group was unwilling to have themselves recorded talking about their alcohol consumption. Fortunately the professor changed the ruling on videos and I was able to interview customers anonymously. That change is what really pulled me through. 

3) Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ? The first is stay positive. Even though someone might not like your idea take their opinion with a grain of salt. They might not be in your target group. Second tip is to check your assignment deadlines every day. Their are a lot of assignments in this course each with their own deadline. I missed a few deadlines and lost easy points because I didn't check every day the first month. The third tip is to never give up. Even if you have to change your business vision never give up. Every day is filled with new oportunities. Someday you will find the perfect fit for you. Good Luck!

The Twenty Percent

The Twenty Percent 

The Snapshotr: A Mixologist's best friend.

For my interview I decided to contact Mr. Andrew Levin founder of Snapshotr. We talked a bit about his company and how it has grown. I explained to him how the Pareto Principle works when targeting customers. The idea that 20% of a companies customers produce 80% of it's revenue runs true, After a quick chat he explained to me that his target group was college kids. Next I found 3 potential customers in that target group and asked them each about their thoughts on having a two chamber shot glass. Does it fit their needs? We'll see!

Daniel 23: I met Daniel of University near Heavener. I explained to him the concept. He said he would definitely invest in such a product. He also thought it would be a great idea to target Fraternities here at UF. 

Shelby 22: Shelby is in my Management class. I asked her about the idea of a two cylinder shot glass. She was interested ,but said she would prefer to buy one that was made of glass for the current price. When I mentioned that the product could be introduced to Greek life she agreed. She thought it was a cool innovative idea ,but it didn't quite meet her need because it wasn't made of glass. 

Chris 23: I met Chris at the Salty Dog Saloon. I told Chris about the idea and he thought it was great. He is studying nutrition. He said that it added a fun element to drinking and that it was a great concept. He felt that college students would definitely love to have one in their apartments.

Overall I think Andrew's target group was spot on. Its a great concept and I think it could really flourish here in UF. There is a large group of his target Demographic here in Gainesville. I look forward to helping him expand his already successful business here in the Swamp. Check his site out!

http://www.thesnapshotr.com/ 

Reading Reflection Week 7

Week 7 Reading Reflection: Rediscovering Market Segregation.

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? I didn’t expect the article to be so heavily focused on advertising. I knew that advertising helped appeal to certain segments ,but I did not understand that it is used for segmentation.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. The Section concerning which customers drove profits confused me. The example they used was banks segmenting their customers based on the managers they worked with. How can you segment a group by the employees you already matched them with.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why? At what point should a company or a startup create a marketing department. What kind of surveying is most effective for segmentation?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How? They used mens razor blades as an example. The Author said that men prefer just what gives the closed shave. I disagree. I don’t necessarily want the closest shave but I want a razor that is quick and easy and doesn’t cut my skin. 

Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day! Don't forget the wine!!

Interviewing Customers No. 3

Interviewing Customers #3:

This weeks Interviews consisted of honest feedback from individuals on my idea. 

I wrote a 1 paragraph note card outlining my project. 

Wine for Thought:

Can you Remember the last time you bought a bottle of wine? Did you look to see where it was from?  Even if your'e not a wine expert would you be willing to give French wine a try? The Euro is down compared to the American dollar making European wines cheaper to buy and import. Would you like to see a more diverse wine list at your go to restaurant? I plan on importing French wine to restaurants here in Florida. Do you think it would be a good idea? Thanks for your honest feedback!

I decided to wait outside a wine store on archer (ABC liquors). After starting up conversation with a couple individuals i got some interesting feedback.
1) The first lady i met was named Rachel, she was very nice but when i asked if i could film the interview she was reluctant. She explained that alcohol was a sensitive subject for her work reputation and she preferred to stay anonymous. Rachel was 37 years old explained to me about the difference in wine selection here in Gainesville compared to her hometown in New Jersey.  She said that it was a great idea but that there was a lack of high class Italian restaurants in Gainesville.
(after my first interview I realized that most would feel uncomfortable being filmed outside a liquor store; to get honest feedback i needed the interviewees to feel comfortable.)
2) Jefferey and Lucy are in their 40's. They explained to me that they rarely drink wine but on this special occasion they were going to buy champagne. I asked them what kind and they said the real stuff. I was excited to hear that someone was buying real champagne. They explained that when they do buy wine it's usually at the supermarket and under 12 dollars. They explained that they would buy nicer wines to bring  over to friend houses. This gave me the idea that i could incorporate some sort of wine gifting service into my venture.
3) Ricky was 48. After reading my notecard he explained that although he doesn't often drink wine he would rather buy American. I noticed this in some of my other interviews. There is a significant portion of people who would rather buy a Californian wine because its made domestically.
4)The 5th person i talked to was Henry who was 32. He was impressed by the idea and suggested selling the wine in ABC liquors. He said he would buy the french wine if it was under 20 dollars. He was actually going in to buy wine for a date with his girlfriend. He also said that when he gets wine at restaurants he only gets by the glass.

My main takeaways from these interviews was that I should possibly incorporate some sort of holiday themed gift basket sets. I also realized that i could try to sell my wines to liquor stores. It was a great experience. Happy Valentines Day!

Week 6 Reading Reflection

Week 6 Reading Reflection: The Five Competitive Forces that shape Strategy.

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? I was sad to see that wine and brandy are under the national return percentage of 15%. I would have liked to see that percentage higher considering it is the Industry I want to get in to.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. I feel like the Author could have numbered the Forces Better. The different forces are scattered throughout the text and are hard to find.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why? I would ask the author how we can learn more about specific industries. Can we really trust what major companies tell us? What’s to stop companies controlling a certain Industry to make false claims about how competitive their market is or what substitutes might exist.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How? I disagree with the idea that eliminating competition is risky. It is not risky when you could be the one who is eliminated. In the words of Ricky Bobby , “If you’re not first your last.”. ;)

Idea Napkin No.1

Idea Napkin!!

Idea Napkin!

1) You. Idea Napkin!!

I’m Brandon von Unruh. I was born and raised in South Florida. I lived in our beautiful state until 2009 when I decided to move to Europe. I learned French while living abroad and got to try all sorts of different foods and beverages from around the world. I grew to adore French wine and in my travels I visited Wineries in the west and south coasts of France. I see myself using the winery connections I have made abroad to start my venture into wine importation here in Florida.

2) What are you offering to customers? 

I am offering high quality wines at a fair prices. When you drink a French wine you are drinking a piece of history. The wines I will be selling have been in operation for centuries. My wines will have low environmental impact with tastes that get even better with age. I’m offering a quality product in a market over saturated with impure cheap wine.

3) Who are you offering it to? 

I want to start in small restaurants and eventually expand to franchise groups. My target area was originally South Florida.

4) Why do they care? 

Now that the economy is starting to move again people will invest in quality products. It’s time to restock the wine cellar. I want to give the average restaurant goer the chance to purchase a French wine. My hope is that they will take the leap and discover that when it comes to wine France knows best.     

5) What are your core competencies? 

I have traveled the world and I have studied different cultural gaps that exist in the Marketplace. I am an American and a European dual citizen which means I can work and trade within the United States and the European Union. I am bilingual which gives me an edge when dealing with French speaking countries and the United States. 

Interviewing Customers No. 2

The Idea: Importing a variety of French wine to Florida. 

1) Fine tune your opportunity. You began with an idea of what an opportunity might be. After your first round of interviews, what do you think, now? 

After my last interviewees I have realized that my Targer Group needs to be older students. I found that the Juniors/Seniors I interviewed were more likely to drink wine. 

2) Fine tune the "who." Did you talk to the right customers last time? What did you do differently this time? How did you adjust your conceptualization of who your customers are?

This go around I am interviewing customers at a Super Bowl Party. This will give me a good mix of different age groups. My prior interviews were soley students in their 20's. 

3) Tweaking your interview questions. You might need to ask different kinds of questions to get at a fuller, richer idea of what your opportunity is. What kind of changes did you make?

I have added the question, "How old are you" to get a better idea of generational trends. 

5) Tell us what you learned about the opportunity. You now have 10 interviews under your belt. What do you think about your opportunity now that's different from where you started?  

I hope to get a fuller picture of everyones specific wine tastes and not just students. 

6) Tell us what you learned about interviewing customers. You're practically an expert on interviewing customers. Please write three tips that you'd like to offer students in this class next semester about interviewing customers.

I think the key is to catch people outside of events. This is how I did week one interviews. After the Super Bowl party is over I will edit the videos and add them to the post. Cheers!

Week 5 Reading Reflection

1)    What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

I was surprised in the reading that they use such a large dollar amount for your average start up. They used 100,000 dollars as a normal startup cost and talked about how it could be much more. I felt that the average entrepreneur spends about 10,000 for their initial startup.

2)    Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

I did not understand where they got their info for Internal and External Problems experienced by entrepreneurs. I would think that those very depending on the venture.

3)    If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

How often does the start-up phase reach the post-startup phase? How often do ideas not pan out in the long-term.

4)    Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

The author insists that the Target Market has to be large. It really depends on what kind of product you are selling. Many Luxury products have small target groups but are still cost effective. 

Elevator Pitch Number 1

Cloudvon Imports is born!

I have found that there is a growing need for new wine! As our economy is rebounding more students are consuming wine instead of cheap beer. Currently the market is saturated with California wines and it is hard to find European wines in the area. After visiting wineries in France I came to the realization that French wines can be sold at competitive prices here in America. Hope you like my pitch!