Week 8 Reading Reflection

I think the most surprising thing in the reading this week was the part about venture capitalists. I was surprised about all the different thing concerning them from the ways they get venture capital to the several ways they evaluate new opportunities. I was confused when they were talking about promoting open data. I feel as though it didn't quite "fit" in the theme of the overall chapter and could've been explained better. If I could ask the author anything it would be why a lot of venture capitalist think they are going to get an above average return on their investments most of the time. I mean it can't be possible to always come out at a level they want.  As with other chapter that are just introducing factual information, it is hard to find the author wrong about anything, especially when I don't have the knowledge to identify parts he may have been on.

Halfway Reflection

The behavior you have to exhibit to keep up with the requirements of this course is that of discipline. You have to have the discipline to not just handle the coursework, which is plentiful, but you have to have the discipline to check Canvas everyday to make sure you've completed what you need to. Your work will need to completed before 9pm on the day it's due instead of 12am, so you're not going to want to wait till last minute.

I think that the only moment when I felt overwhelmed by this class would be sometime around the third week when I realized that every week there were several assignments due. It initially limited the study time I needed for other courses, but I learned use my time more efficiently and started planning time to study and time to complete assignments. After I got into a weekly trend the class became less stressful and I knew what to expect week after week.

The three tips I would give students for next semester is 1) Work in the mornings because this class has a lot of work and an early deadline, so waiting till last minute just doesn't work as well as it may with other classes. 2) Develop the discipline to check Canvas every day for assignments if you don't already because there are a lot of them and it can be easy to forget every once in a while. 3) Understand that this class is harder than you think, so be prepared to work more than you expect. Develop a daily routine that you can fit this class into and work ahead when you get the chance.

Week 7 Reading Reflection

I wouldn't say I was surprised by anything in this weeks reading but it was overall interesting. I especially liked the part that talked about segmentation in business. I just thought that was pretty informative. This chapter was pretty straight forward and I didn't really find anything too confusing this week. If I could ask the author anything, I would ask why he think senior management didn't trust segmentation when it was considered mathematically sound and helped others out. I don't think that the author was wrong about anything this week, but I could tell that there was much more to this subject and I would like to hear more specific explanations.

Elevator Pitch No. 2

What stood out that was important is that I clearly define what the product is for the clients and customers. One of the classmates that reviewed me doesn't golf and didn't understand what the product was clear enough. It's also a new product so many people familiar with the game may have also been confused. I didn't receive any wrong/silly feedback. The comments that had feedback were mostly constructive and helped a good amount.

What I changed based on my feedback was mainly my attire and my energy. I decided to dress a little more appropriately for a business speech. I decided against anything more than a dress shirt because having worked in the golf industry before I know that everyone from hourly employees to the top execs, that most of the time they wear more casual attire. I also found a place that I could record myself while standing. I believe this helped me present my pitch with a little more energy.

Week 6 Reading Reflection

I think that the part of the reading this week that surprised me the most was that the five forces model was so old. I'm mostly surprised that it's still considered relevant when it's about thirty years old. Nothing this chapter was too confusing. I did find the diagram of the five forces a little weird though. I just think there could've been an easier way to explain the concept. I think that I would ask the lecturer to explain more about why fast growing industries and profits don't go hand-in-hand. I'd also ask if he would change anything about the five forces model to make it a better reflection of this generation. I feel as though he was trying to squash assumptions about the market that many people make and was very blind to some things. For example, I definitely think that the buyer has bargaining power in this day and age with the ability to compare choices much more quickly.

Idea Napkin No.1

Me:
I am a driven individual with a good foresight and can make a plan and achieve my goals. I have many talents that can benefit me like financial skills, networking, critical thinking and the ability to make decisions when they need to be made. I have customer service and sales experience that will help me achieve my goals. I think that this is something that I can make a good amount of money off of in a few years time with hard work before the next trend comes out.

What I'm offering:
I would be offering a product that has yet to be largely recognized as a business opportunity by most golf courses in the world. I would be offering a service of distributing a product on a larger scale than is currently being done. The golf board is more efficient and easier to maintain than a normal golf cart.

Who am I offering it to:
I would be offering this product to golf courses. This product is great for anyone of all ages that golfs because it's a new piece of technology that will peak the interests of all golfers. That being said, the largest demographic will surely be the younger age groups. I think because of the interest that younger demographics take in new technology and their openness to it that they would really enjoy the use of the product.

Why they care:
I think that the courses would care about this because not only do the golf boards offer more efficiency to their company but they are low maintenance and help preserve their grass better than a cart does. Also, the golf board would be sure to bring in new customers especially in the younger demographic and that could be future business for years to come.

What are my competencies:
I'd say what sets me apart from everyone else would be my experience working in the golf industry and my passion for the game and improving the way it can be played. Something I have that no one else has is the network I already have built within a company that owns more than 50 courses in the United States and Canada.

I think that all the elements on my idea napkin work together perfectly for the opportunity that I described. I think that the weakest part of my idea would be that I would have to learn how to set up a business like the one described from nothing and the logistics would be tough to learn at first. Other than that I believe that everything would I laid out would be great for chasing down this venture.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

This week I think that the biggest surprise in the reading was how many people do business through online sites like eBay. I myself have used the site from time to time, but I never really thought of it like that. I guess a lot of people see it for what it is, an online marketplace to do business. The part of the chapter that confused me the most was the differences when it came to the different types of ownership. Some have obvious benefits over others for certain ventures, but with some of the similar ones it's much harder to see why you'd use one over the other. If I could ask the author anything for this chapter it would be "which of the pittfalls are the most common to run into when starting your own business?", then I would ask about the best way to avoid them from happening. This chapter is pretty much just a factual layout of everything that gets covered, so it's hard to find something to disagree with this week.

Elevator Pitch No.1

Here is my elevator pitch. As with other students it was difficult to find a place to prop up my laptop.

The opportunity I found was a way to increase the pace in which golfers play the game. It's a new piece of technology called a Golf Board that just hit the market and there are very few courses utilizing this new gear. My plan would be to become a distributor to local courses. So instead of inventing or creating something new, I would be taking advantage of an opportunity based on a need of locals and filling that need with an already existing product that they don't have access to.