The End of Our Journey & The Beginning of Your Journey

1. I think I had a really good experience this semester  in regards to developing my business idea. It definitely required a lot of analytical thinking that required me to apply my business background to developing my business, but it made me have a lot of confidence in my capabilities as a young businesswoman!
2. I think my most formative experience was definitely my elevator pitch. I am a very visual person and seeing me pitch my business was a great experience for me to have and gave me the confidence to carry into the business world and beyond!
3. I definitely see myself as an entrepreneur! In the beginning of the semester I felt as if I was not the right person to develop my own business, but now I have the confidence that I need to potentially open my own business one day.
4. I would definitely recommend to take it seriously. If I would have  began the semester writing about a business I did not actually care about, I would not have been able to do all of these assignments!

Venture Concept No.2

Opportunity

o   The forces: I believe that there is a growing opportunity for insurance companies to capitalize on societal trends while encouraging society to become healthier through monetary motivations. I think that with capitalism being the dominant driving force in America, there is room for insurance companies to adapt to recent trends and make money.

o   The market is filled with individuals, ranging from people that want to join the fitness community, individuals that are physically active already, or people that want to be encouraged to live healthier lifestyles through monetary gains.

·      Innovation

o   My business idea is incrementally innovative, as it would serve to improve the strategies of already existing insurance companies.

·      Venture Concept:

o   I do not believe that there are any competitors in this market, which is why I believe this idea could be so successful. Additionally, I think customers would be interested in switching to this product because it could save them money. The only issue I might run into as a company is encouraging individuals to opt-into these programs at their respective insurance companies and making them aware that this product exists. I would organize a business of 10 individuals to start up my project, with emphasis on a sales and program development team in order to stabilize the business at first.

·      Three elements:

o   Customer Service: Individuals will be able to access our company 24/7 to file any problems they may have for us to improve and work on their systems.

o   Design team: Developers will cater each business design plan to the format that they desire.

o   Sales team: I want our sales team to be extremely friendly and accommodating in order to build a trusting relationship with our clients.

·      What’s Next:

o   I think what is next for my business is to open up physical gyms with a network of doctors and insurance company consultants present in nearby areas or within the same facility.

·      For me:

o   For me, I hope to sell my business to a potential buyer to finance my children’s future and to enjoy my life with my husband gives!

·      Feedback:

o   I did not do the last venture concept assignment, so I did not receive any feedback yet.

·      How I’ll adapt

o   I will adapt my Venture Concept according to the comments I receive on this assignment.

Your Exit Strategy

1. Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?
1. I think my exit strategy would definitely firstly to be to sell my business for a large return. While I think my business is a great idea, I think it would be really great to be able to sell the business to another company that wants to buy my software and then reinvest the money I make into other business ideas or to finance my children's futures with less risk of the business crashing.
2. Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?
1. I have selected this exit strategy because, while I am willing to invest in a business and take risks in order to be profitable, i would have to worry about my family first and make sure they have a successful future that I can finance for them. That is why I would like to be able to sell my business to finance their futures and ensure they can live a comfortable life.
3. How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?
1. I do not think that my exit strategy has influenced my other decisions because I have honestly not thought about it much until now. But, now reflecting, I would definitely want to spend less time and money investing in assets like large offices or an extensive staff because these investments would not be necessary in a few years when I sell my business.

Reading Reflection No. 3

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

I decided to read How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams,
which is written in order to teach others how to effectively take care of themselves in
order to find a lot of success after many failures.He encourages his readers to be selfish
with their time and to spend time being active and pursuing a career.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning
in ENT 3003?

I think the book definitely enhanced what I learned in ENT3003. I think that this class
made me really stressed about all of the possibilities that could happen when starting
your own business, but this book taught me how to prioritize my health and happiness
while pursuing my dreams. I think this book reinforced the need to develop who you are
outside of your business goals.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would
that exercise involve?

I would develop an exercise that forced students to focus on their personal goals in the
future that were not business related that they wanted to develop. For example, I would
write about how I would want to continue to be physically active, I wanted to meet someone
and start a family and buy a new house.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words,
what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

I think my biggest surprise was definitely regarding goal setting. He said that one problem
with goal setting is that they tend to be far in the future, so it is difficult to put in work today
for a goal that seems so far away. He encourages his readers to not set a deadline for their
goals and to accomplish them as the time is right.

Let's fail, a lot!

1. This semester I failed at this semester was definitely keeping on top of my school and not letting myself fall behind. I generally fail to fall between a happy medium of being extremely social and going out a lot with friends, or locking myself in the library for fifteen hours a day and barely seeing sunlight. It is something I struggle with a lot and would really like to improve before I enter the real world as an adult, especially because I will not have as much time to maintain friendships as I do now.
2. From this experience, I learned that I need to manage my time-management skills and become better at existing in the middle. I think I do not exist in the middle because, depending on what mood I am in, what makes me happy differs from month to month or day to day. I think I have found out about myself a lot in the process.
3. I think failure is hard, but it is a necessary part of life. All of the times I have failed or completely messed something up, I have been able to look back on and realize it was for the best or for the sake of my development in the future. I see everything as a learning curve, and I have learned to embrace life's challenges as they are.

What's next?

• Existing Market
  • The insurance market in America is extremely present and has the potential to experience a lot of growth if there were ways to make it cheaper for customers to obtain. I think there could be insurance programs in the works that are being created to capitalize on newer market trends, but they have not been accomplished yet.
  • After speaking to three people about what is next  for my company, they said that the next step is definitely working with gyms to create programs that cross-check enrollment in these types of insurance programs and to offer those individuals enrolled in these programs in special activities or get special rates on their gym membership.
  • I believe it makes the most sense for my company to take the initiative to create this type of business idea in order to capitalize on the market while I can patent my product and before others enter the market. I would need to begin developing my product and figure out how to build a database that can be shared with other individuals. I would also need to work with developers to figure out how we would be able to tailor this product to be uniquely built for every customer we track. After we have successfully exploited this idea, we can work on creating business relationships with gyms and building programs that offer unique benefits for individuals enrolled in this program with their insurance companies.
  
  
  New Market
  • I think a very different idea I could implement would be to create my own insurance company that offers benefits like lower costs if our customers exercise in our company gyms, which would basically implement gyms and healthcare all into one.
  • I think this could create value for people in the market because it would put more of their health-related activities under one umbrella of products. My company could build gyms with offices inside of it and hire doctors and personal trainers to work with in order to create an all-inclusive treatment.
  • The two people I interviewed about this product thought that this would be a good idea, but it would be extremely cost-intensive and may turn away those who do not feel comfortable having their insurance companies so invested in their  lives, since they are privatized and profit based.
  • I think this business venture is less attractive because it requires so much cost and so much time to develop. Additionally, it would require so many people to blindly follow my business  in order for it to even stay afloat or accomplish what it needs to. I definitely think that this idea, in theory, is very attractive, but it seems like it would be too invasive of a business venture for it to be successful.

Venture Concept

Opportunity

• There is an opportunity that exists within the insurance market to modernize these archaic models of insurance. There also exists the opportunity to capitalize on recent trends in the industry, such as physical fitness becoming a more popular trend in modern society. Potential customers are insurance companies that are looking to increase their cost prediction effectiveness and also increase their profits.
• I believe this market is defined within America given the current structure of our healthcare system. Americans have a choice of insurance company, if not already provided by employers. The possible consumer base is very large, as most Americans are insured by healthcare providers. I believe the window of opportunity for this product will be long-term, given the structure of the American healthcare system, but there are threats to its longevity with some individuals calling for government-owned healthcare.

Innovation

• I believe my product is incrementally innovative, as it is just a mere improvement on existing insurance companies structures/policies. My business idea is to basically form a database, that can be tailored to the different requirements of different insurance companies, in order to record the physical activities of those that opt into this program, in order for them to more accurately predict costs associated with an individual and to give them higher deductibles if they are more physically active.

Venture Concept

• I believe that customers would switch to this product because insurance companies need to modernize and capitalize on recent trends in society in order to gain more traction. Additionally, I believe that insurance companies would enjoy this program mostly for improving how they can predict the costs associated with an individual in order to make more money,
• The competitors do not exist currently. No one offers a product like this.
• Customer support and distribution play the biggest role in my business. Being able to accommodate every business and tailor my invention to different database requirements is vital to my success.
• In order to support my business, I would have at least 10 employees to control customer support, marketing, salesforce, and computer developers. I believe salespeople would have the most vital role in the business, as they will be the source of our income.

My most important resource:

• I believe my most important resource will be the fact that this business idea has not been created yet. I have the opportunity to capture the market before it even exists.

What’s next for the venture?

• I think the next idea for the venture would be to partner with gyms to give discounted gym rates for being in an insurance-partnered program. My idea could be compared to a silver sneakers, but for younger people and not completely free.

What’s next for me?

• In five years  after I launch my idea, I want to still be managing my company and have great working relationships with insurance companies in order to take my product to new heights.

Elevator Pitch #3

I received a lot of positive feedback on my last video about how my energy levels were very engaging
and that I did a good job informing the audience about my business idea. I did receive feedback that
I need to make it clearer that my business idea is an opt-in concept, and that insurance companies
will NOT be tracking the physical activity of every individual within their program without their consent.
Individuals must ask their provider if they can opt in to the program and from there, they will have their
physical activity monitored to be used by insurance companies to give them higher deductibles or more
accurately predict costs associated with that individual. I really believe my business idea is extremely
unique and allows insurance companies to become more dynamic, modern organizations instead of
archaic, boring things that every adult has to suffer to pay for without having much control over how
much they pay to their insurance providers.

Bringing In A Second Opinion

1. The argument of the book I chose, The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users by Guy Kawasaki argued how vital it is to adapt a great social media strategy in this day and age in order to succeed in this era. Additionally, it assists users in deciding which social media platforms and strategy would be best for their business and how to properly implement these strategies.  
2. I believe that this enhanced what I am learning in ENT3003 because I believe this class has geared my focus on creating my business, establishing what it will do, and focusing on the employees/resources I will need throughout this creation. But, it failed to put an extreme focus on social media presence, which is so vital to creating a successful business.
3. If  I had to design an exercise for the book that  I read, I would make students create a specific social media campaign for their business idea. I would probably make them create a “fake” Twitter/Instagram account and release images/tweets pertaining to their business and how they want to be portrayed. I would possibly also make them create a video commercial.
4. I think my biggest “aha” moment when reading the book was that different businesses need different social media strategies. For example, my business focuses on physical activities and partnering with insurance companies, so my social media presence would need to be targeted on being very informative and fact-dense in order to have people know about our program. Additionally, I think I would have to pay for advertisements on Twitter/ Instagram to attract customers to my profile. On the other hand, a bakery or some sort of cafe business would have to post pictures of their food or create special social media promotions.

Growing Your Social Capital

Software Engineer Expert:

1. Who they are, what their background is:
1. Kristen, a software engineer graduate from Stevens Institute of Technology.

2. How this person is a “domain expert”:
1. She has vast experiences assisting in building different databases for large technology companies, including Citibank

3. How I found and contacted this person:
1. Kristen is a long time friend of mine.

4. Nature of Exchange: What they did for me, what is the return expectation:
1. Kristen assisted me in tailoring my software program to the specific databases of the insurance companies in order to ease access and implement effectively. In return, she will receive compensation.

5. How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity:
1. Without Kristen, and with only knowing simple coding and understanding of databases, my project idea would completely fail. I need a software engineer in order to successfully build, implement, and tailor my products for different companies.

Computer Science/ Coding Expert:

1. Who they are, what their background is:
1. Cynthia, a computer science graduate from the University of Florida.
2. How this person is a “domain expert”:
1. She has vast experiences assisting in composing coding projects for school, as well as experience working for Goldman Sachs on their robotics and coding team.
3. How I found and contacted this person:
1. Cynthia is a long time friend of mine.
4. Nature of Exchange: What they did for me, what is the return expectation:
1. Cynthia assisted me in coding my project and taking all of my ideas and composing it into a tangible item. She built my system entirely based on certain restrictions and safety measures I requested
5. How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity:
1. Cynthia single handedly built my computer system for me and allowed my project idea to come to life. In exchange, Cynthia will receive a percentage of all company income.

Consulting/Project Management Expert:

1. Who they are, what their background is:
1. Chris, a graduate of Finance from Fairfield University.
2. How this person is a “domain expert”:
1. He has had an internship with KPMG and has vast experience in the consulting industry. He has been on many client calls where he has had to assist in developing the project goals of a certain project and relaying information to developers in order for them to build the system according to the proper requirements.
3. How I found and contacted this person:
1. Chris is someone I met during career fair.
4. Nature of Exchange: What they did for me, what is the return expectation:
1. Chris built client relationships and allowed my product to be used by more clients and reach a larger audience. He was essential in making sure our company was profitable. In return, Chris gets a salary.
5. How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity:
1. Chris was able to develop client relationships and exploit opportunities for our business to grow. Additionally, he was able to convey necessary information to our clients. He is a great notetaker and helps our developers build systems according to the company’s internal structure.

Reflect: This experience requires me to narrow down the types of people I need in order to succeed in my business. It requires me to mentally invest in my “human capital” and brainstorm what I need before fully investing myself and my money into my business idea.  This will definitely affect the way I network in the future because it makes me realize that I need to value networking with individuals that I need for my business, rather than just making casual business connections.

Idea Napkin #2

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

My name is Meghan Wren and I am a third-year student pursuing a Bachelors in Finance at the University of Florida. I have a background in financial management, auditing, sales and project management through various employment experiences. Additionally,  I am a very focused, motivated worker and see all things through to their entirety. I aspire to manage my own company or, if that does not work out, then to work at a hedge fund doing portfolio management for high net worth clients. I see this business playing a large role in my life, as it would allow me to combine my knowledge and background in finance with healthcare and technology.

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs).

I am offering a exercise tracking service for insurance companies to purchase the software from me for. I want to build a program that tracks the activity levels of potential or current insurance clients that want to opt into this program in order for them to get a higher deductible on their insurance if they are more active and are less of a health risk.

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

The demographic of my customers is definitely a younger, physically fit individual that just got off their family insurance plan a couple of years/months ago and is looking to find a way to stay motivated to go to the gym while saving money on this new cost that they have to deal with.

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe it’s valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service.

I think that insurance companies will want to buy my product because it will allow them to more effectively predict which customers are going to be of greater or less risk according to their levels of physical activity. Low physical activity is a source of multiple diseases, and if insurance companies were to know which individuals were at a lower chance of developing these diseases, then they can allocate less money to those individuals.

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you
have that nobody else has?

I do not think this product has been invented at all, which puts me at a large competitive  advantage and an opportunity to capture the market through patents and create a sizable income over many years.

Feedback memo:
Two key points that I received was that I needed to make my company more of an opt-in program, rather than a device that insurance companies use amongst all of its clients to track their activity. I made this adjustment in my idea napkin because I definitely agreed with the critique that it would be an invasion of privacy if insurance companies installed this on a company-wide scale. Additionally, I received feedback that instead of targeting a group of individuals that do not exercise in order to incentivize them to exercise, that I should target an audience that is already extremely active because they are the most likely to opt into my product.

Elevator Pitch #2

Reflection of feedback: I got great feedback on my video and all of my commenters said that I was

really engaging with the audience, which I tried to continue to be in this version of my pitch.

Additionally, I was told I had a very linear thought process and tried to utilize that strategy again and

build my ideas off of each other progressively so it made the most sense for my viewers.

What I changed in my pitch: This time I did my pitch, I tried to be more visually engaging to the

audience and monitor the inflections in my voice in order to increase their attention. Additionally, I

spoke about my ideal audience, which I did not do before. I believe by focusing on what I can offer to

the client more than what I can offer to businesses, the audience would be more inclined to listen to

my idea.