Final Reflection

What sticks out to me the most as a formative experience is getting all of the many, many interviews necessary to do the assignments in the class each week. I really thought it would be a lot easier to find this many people, but I was ultimately wrong. What I’ve taken away is that in order to really get an idea of how people will accept your business idea, you need to do a lot of work and actually talk to them. A lot of them. My proudest accomplishment during this class was hearing from professionals in areas that I would need to work with in the development of my product that it was a good idea and had a lot of real world potential.

I guess I feel like I have more skills in entrepreneurship because I’ve put them to use in this class, but I don’t really see myself as much more of an entrepreneur than I did at the beginning.

One recommendation I’d make to the students venturing onto this path would be to prepare yourself for all kinds of questions from interviewees, both negative and positive, when putting your idea out there. You want to seem like you know what you’re talking about…even if you don’t. It’s all about confidence and preparation. To perform best in this course, just do the assignments early in the week, so you don’t have to worry about scrambling to find people to interview last minute.

Venture Concept No. 2

There are millions of people who use water as an environment for leisure, work, and play by using boats, jet-skis, and other water treading machines daily. However, these activities we partake in have extremely detrimental effects on the life below the water’s surface, and these issues we create for the life in bodies of water have gone unchecked for too long. Therefore, the opportunity I’ve discovered is a way to help marine animals of all kinds stay out of danger when people decide to use their habitats for personal gain without thinking of the repercussions they may be causing.

I'm hoping that those who use water as a place for activity will feel inclined to take simple measures to make their habits less impactful on marine species, which is why I’ve come up with the product that I have. It is cheap, easy to manufacture, requires no set up or building after purchasing, and is expected to last a long while and do its job well. Most likely, people who both use boats/other motorized water equipment and are environmentally conscious will be inclined to use my product, as it will prove to be the most economically feasible and structurally innovative design on the market once the venture process has gone full swing.

The market I am trying to break into has a lot of room for growth and development, as not a lot of products have been introduced to combat the issue of injuring marine animals while on the water that have been both affordable and effective. Currently, the best option out there are caged metal ring motor covers, which, while they protect the motor blades from coming into contact with animals, are expensive, not overly eco-friendly, and can still catch smaller animals and debris inside, either hurting those smaller species and/or breaking the boat motor.

To go more in depth, my product is essentially a cling fit cover to protect each individual blade on a propeller, made with durable material, with a soft buffer on the inside. This way, if the blade comes in contact with an animal, its strike will not be as harsh or injurious, and will lessen the impact on that animal. Each blade will have an individual sleeve, and the sleeves will connect in the middle so they remain on the propeller as it moves through the water. The idea is to lessen the sharpness of the blades without altering the water dynamics of the propeller itself, still allowing the watercraft to cruise along at normal speeds, and protecting the marine life that may come into contact with it. I will be selling the propeller cover by individual sleeve, so that propellers with all different numbers of blades can be accounted for. They will all come with the necessary connectors to attach in the middle. I’m assuming that each sleeve will run no more than $10, as the materials needed to manufacture are not overly expensive, and there is little engineering needed in the making process.

I believe that, while my innovation won’t entirely eradicate the issue of harming marine animals when using boats on the water, it will help not only lessen the intensity of the issue, but also bring awareness to the problem itself. It is a great way to bring light to the situation when many people may not be completely aware that it exists. I also believe that, being it is so much more affordable than the current “solutions” on the market — caged propeller protectors that run anywhere from $200-$300 — it will reach the far ends of the bell curve of customers that may have not taken safety measures to save marine animals because they could not afford to. It is such an easy concept that I’m surprised hasn’t been put on the market already by a different entrepreneur with a mind for saving animals. I am extremely passionate about the underlying issue behind this product and am therefore extremely invested in the success of it.

I think the most important resource to me in this venture process is the low cost and ease of manufacturing this product. With a lot of new products on the market, they include a multitude of technological components that require a lot of skilled assembly before they can be used by consumers, not only jacking up the price, but also subjecting consumers to technical difficulties with the product. My product is not fancy in any way — it is just practical and makes sense. In the next steps in my venture process, I am planning on making accurate prototypes and testing them to see if my idea actually holds up in the real world. It is easy to assume that it will all work out when simply talking about it, but for this product to be successful, it obviously has to work and do the job that it’s promising to do. Therefore, this is a crucial next step for me to take as I continue forward. I am hoping that my product will materialize into something great that consumers will really want to invest in. Myself and my product stand for a great cause that needs to be brought more into the public eye, and I believe that once people recognize that, it will be extremely successful. “Help the animals” is always an appealing campaign as it is, because consumers can’t help but sympathize with cute pictures of manatees and dolphins with boat strikes on their backs. So, when I’m offering a solution that can be so easily implemented into the everyday lives of people who use water for any sort of activity, I believe it will really be a hit. I am excited to keep going in this process and really see where my idea goes from here. I have already received a lot of positive feedback from potential customers, which is a great sign. I’m excited to take steps to really help save marine animals, as I am so passionate about the issue.

________________________________________________________________________________

The feedback I received from my previous concept was all relatively positive, except for a few helpful tips on how to explain my product better so people can understand it without an illustration (although now I always try to include an illustration). 

People mostly said they really enjoyed how passionate I am about the cause behind my product, and that it reflected through my assignments and explanations of my venture concept. I also got helpful feedback that it was hard to visualize my physical product without some sort of illustration of it, so I either need to include that or change my description so that it paints a better visual picture. 

Since the first venture concept form that we filled out, I have changed the way I describe my product so the idea is easier to grasp.

My Exit Strategy

As my exit strategy, I plan to do it within the next few years once the business has had enough time to test out its success. Honestly, I do not plan on pursuing this business as a career, but I am willing to hold onto it past this class to see if it could gain any real world traction. However, After a few years, I will most likely just add it to my list of great experiences and move on. While I’m passionate about the cause, I’m not overly keen on going into business as a career field. Plus, I could possibly pawn off the idea to someone more qualified and better at manufacturing, marketing, and selling merchandise. I would need al lot more experience to actually pursue this long term, and a lot more of a desire to. Regardless, I am appreciative that I’ve been able to learn about the venture process so in-depth, as I believe all skills are useful skills, and will be used in small and large increments throughout my lifetime.

I think that my exit strategy has influenced my diminished desire to really succeed with this venture process, as I don’t feel I will be taking it in any given direction once my college career is over, and therefore I haven’t put nearly as much effort into these steps as I could have, if I decided to move along with my product and overall idea. However, on the bright side, it has influenced how I identify opportunities, and has helped me to see that there are a lot of important steps that lead into being successful in all important aspects of life, and carefully navigating each and every step of this venture process has helped me to look at big decisions or tasks differently, and really break them down and analyze them in smaller, more feasible pieces.

Reading Reflection No. 3

In the book “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman, the idea of cognitive biases and the dichotomy between two modes of thought, slow and fast, is studied and broken down. Kahneman dissects the difference between these two “systems” of thought, and why each of them is important in their own way. There is “fast” thinking, which is automatic, frequent, emotionally charged, and often unconscious thought. I immediately thought of this as instinctual decision making, similar to “trusting your gut”. On the contrary, “slow” thinking requires more of an effort, it is more infrequent, logical, and consciously done. This would be the process of anticipating something, as you are thinking about it before it happens. The book describes how even with the same inputs, these two thought processes will arrive at different results. It is very interesting to listen to the reasoning behind human decisions based on research.

I think the book connected to what we’re learning in this class in its emphasis on putting thought into things and making our actions intentional. As an exercise for the class based on this book, I would suggest giving a set of hypothetical scenarios, and having students report on which ones they came to immediate, intuitive conclusions, and on which ones they had to sit and think about their answer to. Then, they could reflect on why they believe the conclusions they came to within seconds occurred as “fast” thought evoking scenarios, and vice versa regarding the “slow” thinking conclusions they came to. It would be helpful to the student so they can better understand their chronological processes of thought.

Celebrating Failure

This semester, I definitely failed at a lot of things, both big and small. There were tiny failures, like forgetting to do my cupcakes week after week (oops), and bigger ones, like needing to drop organic chemistry because my grade was so low (double oops). 

I have learned that I need to learn how to organize my time and priorities better than I’ve been doing thus far. Clearly, I was not together enough to remember to do the weekly cupcakes in this class by noon on Monday, and I wasn’t dedicated enough to organic chem to diligently study the material each and every day. Now, I know that I 1. Need to set reminders on my phone to do the cupcake assignments, and 2. Need to prioritize certain classes and studying their material over taking naps or TV breaks. It has been a hard pill to swallow studying my you-know-what off for a class that I don’t particularly care about, and still failing the exams (talking about orgo). In order not to feel like an idiot and a total failure, I had to realize my strengths at some point, and understand that chemistry is just not one of them. And that’s okay! There are still ways I can end up having a fulfilling career and life without needing to take the organic chemistry sequence.

I take failure very seriously, and am often too hard on myself about it. Even when I fail at the smallest thing, it conflates in my mind and blows the situation out of proportion. It also causes me to forget about all the small and big victories that I’ve had, to negate the failures. All in all, I am still moving in the forward direction, even if there are small steps backward here and there. It is important to understand that failing doesn’t make you a failure — because even through it we’re learning to be better as people and understand ourselves more. 

Venture Concept No. 1- My Boat Propeller Cover

That there are millions of people who use water as an environment for leisure, work, and play by using boats, jet-skis, and other water treading machines daily. However, these activities we partake in have extremely detrimental effects on the life below the water’s surface, and these issues we create for the life in bodies of water have gone unchecked for too long. Therefore, the opportunity I’ve discovered is a way to help marine animals of all kinds stay out of danger when people decide to use their habitats for personal gain without thinking of the repercussions they may be causing.

I'm hoping that those who use water as a place for activity will feel inclined to take simple measures to make their habits less impactful on marine species, which is why I’ve come up with the product that I have. It is cheap, easy to manufacture, requires no set up or building after purchasing, and is expected to last a long while and do its job well. Most likely, people who both use boats/other motorized water equipment and are environmentally conscious will be inclined to use my product, as it will prove to be the most economically feasible and structurally innovative design on the market once the venture process has gone full swing.

The market I am trying to break into has a lot of room for growth and development, as not a lot of products have been introduced to combat the issue of injuring marine animals while on the water that have been both affordable and effective. Currently, the best option out there are caged metal ring motor covers, which, while they protect the motor blades from coming into contact with animals, are expensive, not overly eco-friendly, and can still catch smaller animals and debris inside, either hurting those smaller species and/or breaking the boat motor.

To go more in depth, my product is essentially a cling fit cover to protect each individual blade on a propeller, made with durable material, with a soft buffer on the inside. This way, if the blade comes in contact with an animal, its strike will not be as harsh or injurious, and will lessen the impact on that animal. Each blade will have an individual sleeve, and the sleeves will connect in the middle so they remain on the propeller as it moves through the water. The idea is to lessen the sharpness of the blades without altering the water dynamics of the propeller itself, still allowing the watercraft to cruise along at normal speeds, and protecting the marine life that may come into contact with it. I will be selling the propeller cover by individual sleeve, so that propellers with all different numbers of blades can be accounted for. They will all come with the necessary connectors to attach in the middle. I’m assuming that each sleeve will run no more than $10, as the materials needed to manufacture are not overly expensive, and there is little engineering needed in the making process.

I believe that, while my innovation won’t entirely eradicate the issue of harming marine animals when using boats on the water, it will help not only lessen the intensity of the issue, but also bring awareness to the problem itself. It is a great way to bring light to the situation when many people may not be completely aware that it exists. I also believe that, being it is so much more affordable than the current “solutions” on the market — caged propeller protectors that run anywhere from $200-$300 — it will reach the far ends of the bell curve of customers that may have not taken safety measures to save marine animals because they could not afford to. It is such an easy concept that I’m surprised hasn’t been put on the market already by a different entrepreneur with a mind for saving animals. I am extremely passionate about the underlying issue behind this product and am therefore extremely invested in the success of it.

I think the most important resource to me in this venture process is the low cost and ease of manufacturing this product. With a lot of new products on the market, they include a multitude of technological components that require a lot of skilled assembly before they can be used by consumers, not only jacking up the price, but also subjecting consumers to technical difficulties with the product. My product is not fancy in any way — it is just practical and makes sense. In the next steps in my venture process, I am planning on making accurate prototypes and testing them to see if my idea actually holds up in the real world. It is easy to assume that it will all work out when simply talking about it, but for this product to be successful, it obviously has to work and do the job that it’s promising to do. Therefore, this is a crucial next step for me to take as I continue forward. I am hoping that my product will materialize into something great that consumers will really want to invest in. Myself and my product stand for a great cause that needs to be brought more into the public eye, and I believe that once people recognize that, it will be extremely successful. “Help the animals” is always an appealing campaign as it is, because consumers can’t help but sympathize with cute pictures of manatees and dolphins with boat strikes on their backs. So, when I’m offering a solution that can be so easily implemented into the everyday lives of people who use water for any sort of activity, I believe it will really be a hit. I am excited to keep going in this process and really see where my idea goes from here. I have already received a lot of positive feedback from potential customers, which is a great sign. I’m excited to take steps to really help save marine animals, as I am so passionate about the issue.

What's next?

Existing Market

I believe that what’s next in my venture is to actually attempt to manufacture the product and run it through durability tests to make sure that the design is sound and won’t cause problems. After interviewing customers already part of the market I’m looking to move into, they agreed that I should test the safety and ability of my product before I start to market it. Moving from here, I want to work on making prototypes with the same or similar materials that the real product would contain and test them by making impact with different materials that would represent the skin of an animal in the water, to see how it holds up.

New Market

I’m planning on targeting people who don’t own boats or other water sport apparatus, as they would virtually have no interest in my product.

I honestly don’t think my concept would be able to create value for these people, unless they were hesitant to partake in activity on water in other people’s crafts because of harming the safety of animals. I suppose a way to bring them in would be to target those who do touristy things like glass bottom boat rides and renting jetskis, and tell them that my product could give them peace of mind while taking part in these activities.

I interviewed people from this market, and they think that the idea is good but should be marketed as saving more than just marine animals- I also need to put emphasis on the environmental and economical benefits my product can have. With the already existing caged ring motor protectors, they decay, rust, and fall apart in the water, leaving harmful debris floating around, and also don’t last long if not taken care of properly. Additionally, these can cost hundreds of dollars to replace. However, my product has no external apparatus that would disintegrate into the water, and is so cheap and easy to manufacture that if it breaks, it is an easy investment to buy another one.

I think I was able to draw a lot from this new market and learned to emphasize a lot more of the economic and business aspect of it, rather than the humanitarian one. I was correct in assuming that the people I interviewed wouldn’t have a large personal investment in the cause behind the product, and I don’t assume that these same people would be buying it. However, I gained some valuable and objective insight from them regardless.