28 Your Exit Strategy

My exit strategy is definitely to sell my product to another company down the line. One of my industry experts was the CEO of an LED bike light company. He said that he would love to integrate my chirp technology into the housing for the lights. So already I have a buyer. My strategy would be to first build out the actual product and essentially have a proof concept and test it in the market to show that there is demand for a couple years and then sell the business to the LED bike light company. If I were to just sell the idea to another company it would not be worth nearly as much as a fully fleshed out product with a defined and actively aware market.
My exit strategy has definitely changed how I view the product. At first, I viewed it as its own stand-alone device that I sold to consumers but now that I see the potential for integration with other bike equipment I can shift my focus to being a B to B business. This drastic change of markets is drastic but necessary as selling in bulk to businesses allows me to have a steady and assured income.

27 Reading Reflection 3

I read The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson

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

The general argument of the book that in order for a business to succeed in this era of rapidly advancing technology and interconnected culture a business must sell many products to a broad market. This is a stark contrast to the conventional approach of having a business start out as a niche product and then branching out towards other products and markets. An example of this is Apple. At first, they were only a computer company, then they added the iPhone and then the IPad and then started selling variations of each one along with the computers that they had always been making. 

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

To me, the book actually conflicted with much of what we have learned in class. Professor Pryor basically preaches that we must focus our efforts on one product and a very specific market. In that way, the book actually challenged what I was learning in class. 

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

The exercise would involve having the person completely flip their focused business strategy to a broad market strategy and then come up with products to fulfill those markets. 

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?

My biggest surprise was that the book did challenge what we were learning in class. Of course, the book did focus mostly on much larger businesses, not small self-owned startup like what we are creating in class. I still stand strong however on my dig a mile deep not a mile wide approach to building a business. That means to focus on a niche market and product and build your identity around that and then start branching out instead of spreading yourself thin at the beginning. If there is no depth then business is sure to fail.

26 Celebrating Failure

Fortunately, I have not had any major failures this semester. The only failure I can really think of was that I had forgotten to do one of the first cupcakes. I had woken up late and went about my Monday morning routine more hurriedly than normal. I got out of bed, ate breakfast, and was out the door and on my bike heading to campus. It did not occur to me until after my noon class was over that I had forgotten to do the cupcake. I usually do it on Mondays soon after waking up. I remembered about the cupcake once I was walking to Heavner to watch Professor Pryor's lecture.

From this experience, I learned that I had to set an actual schedule for the cupcakes and get them done over the weekend. I realized that leaving it up to my groggy Monday morning brain was perhaps not the greatest idea I have had. 

Failures like those are hard because I know they could have been avoided. Luckily by learning from that failure, I am sure to not make the same mistake again. I have always been more on the cautious side so I'm not sure I am more likely to take risks than before. I still like to heavily outweigh the pros and cons of a situation before going along with it. 

25 - What's Next

Existing Market

The next step in my venture is creating more safety products for bikers.

The people I talked to were a group of students and they suggested that I make an app that integrated with Chirp device and let them turn it on from there and change the different predetermined setting so they could choose how many chirps to use. Some just wanted a steady stream feature so they could use it like a normal dog whistle for their dogs. The other person I interviewed wanted an app that uses the phone's own speakers to make the noise. I believe that my next steps based on this feedback are definitely to have some kind of smartphone integration. I really resonated with the idea that my first interview produced.

New Market

The other market that I can target is bike safety equipment manufacturers that are looking for ways to differentiate themselves from the competition. 

I can create value for them by adding another function to their product with the integration of my device. 

I talked to the people that I added to my social capital in the growing your social capital post. What surprised me the most was how on board they seemed to be. Tom Carroll, the CEO of NiteRider was telling me that they are constantly trying to find new features to their lights and how they can only upgrade the LED diode so many times. They believe that adding my device would add a great functionality that is line with the intention of the product; to provide a safe and pleasant ride for the customer. They would want to implement it to their current products as the "elite safety model" for retail customers. This market is much more attractive than selling to the consumers because these are assured sales to businesses that will be buying in bulk. There is less risk on my part and I also don't have to worry about dealing with packaging and distribution to consumers. 

Venture Concept

Chirp

The opportunity for my product is that bikers don't have an efficient, and successful way of alerting people in front of them to move out of the way. This is especially true for pedestrians or people driving in cars. The car drivers and pedestrians usually don't look out for bikers and this can be a major hazard to those bikers. The most difficult ones to alert when you are a biker are pedestrians that have their headphones while listening to music or those that are very distracted on their phones or in conversation. Cars also fall into that list as it is difficult to hear anything going on outside of a car. A biker just cannot yell loud enough for some of the examples listed above to move out of the way or not cross the street. Many bikers also don't want to yell at the pedestrians to either not draw attention to themselves or because they feel they might be rude. There is just no discreet way of alerting these pedestrians and cars to move out of the way or at least be on the lookout for you.

The forces in the environment that created this opportunity are the ignorance of pedestrians and the more predominant use of bicycles. The market for a product like this would be areas that have a big biking population. For example, a city like Seattle is well known for having many bikers. Other areas with high biking populations are college campuses as many students cannot afford cars and opt for using a bike to get around. The demographics I am targeting are college students and young professionals that use bikes often. These potential customers are currently satisfying this need by just yelling to other all the time to get out of the way. They are not extremely loyal as all they are doing is yelling. There was never a transaction. This opportunity affects basically every single biker owner therefore, this is a major opportunity. This window of opportunity will last as long as people use a bike and there is no better way of alerting people by screaming while on a bike.

The innovation is a small device that will change biking and alerts in general forever. It is a high-frequency noise, much like a dog whistle. This noise would not be at the same frequency as a dog whistle or else no one would be able to hear it. It would be high frequency but not necessarily loud. The noise would be highly directional and only be audible if you are within a 45-degree cone in front of the device. It would be rectangular. The size would be about four inches long by 2 inches wide by half an inch thick. It would encase a small yet powerful speaker as well as a battery that is powered with micro-USB. The device on its own could be sold for about 20 dollars. For the unit as a whole with a charging cable and a quick start guide.

The product would be called Chirp and would send a quick burst of noise that can be determined by the three settings on the device. It can do a series of chirps, it can send a single chirp, or it can just keep chirping until you press a button to stop. People will pick up my product because it is of great benefit to their safety. It should not be difficult to get them to switch. My competitors would be bicycle bells and rings. Their weakness is that they are very annoying and loud. My goal is to integrate my device into bike lights and bicycle helmets. That way it is sure revenue and I would not need to worry about retail distribution. All I need to do is distribute it to the bike light and helmet makers.

My most important resource is the fact that my device is discreet and it is an actual need. Needs outweigh the importance of a want almost everytime.

The next new product would be implementing this on a larger scale for cars. In the next five years, I see the company being a staple for bikes. I want that when people buy a bike they also buy my Chirp along with lights and a helmet. In the next decade, I hope to have sold my idea to a company and be using the money from that to fund the next great idea that I come up with down the line.

23 - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

My Resources

• Financial Capital
• I currently have a decent amount of financial capital saved up thanks to my Bright Futures scholarship. Many people have this.
• I can also ask for capital from my family as I know they would be willing to help at the very beginning. Many people have this.
• Social Capital
• Tom Carroll from NiteRider who makes lights for surfers and bikers. He already contains plenty of experience in my industry. Is unique and has the ability for a future partnership
• J. Lucas Elrath is an expert in my market. He has worked for several years as a project manager overseeing testing, benchmarking, and hazard testing of bicycles and bike equipment. is unique and somewhat substitutable.
• A supplier in Taiwan that can manufacture the product for me. Can be substitutable.
• Human Capital
• I don't have any employees so all the Human Capital currently comes from me. I currently bring the business knowledge that I have gained from my classes.
• I have experience working in start-up businesses as an intern.
• Capabilities
• The device is small and can be integrated into bike lights. Very unique and must first form a relationship with a partner.
• The device could also be installed into a bike helmet to emphasize safety. Very unique and must first form a relationship with a partner.
• The product has the possibility of saving a person from injury. This is unique in the way that it prevents accidents.

My top resource is in my social capital. My connection with Tom Carroll is vital to the success of my business. I can already foresee an integration of my device into his products that would work seamlessly and allow both of us to have an advantage on the entire bike safety market.

Elevator Pitch # 3

Elevator Pitch 3

The feedback on the previous elevator pitch was very positive. It was encouraging to know that my pitch had improved from the first time.
This time the only major change that I made was to quicken the pace a little bit as I think that my speech pace was too slow before and did not keep the audience as engaged. I definitely felt more comfortable in front of the camera and only needed two takes to get it right this time.

Reading Reflection #2

For my second reading, I chose How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams

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

The Main argument of the book is that life is not set in stone. There is no direct path for anyone in life. Everyone's path to success is paved with many stones that are formed and shaped from failure.

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

In the class, we have talked about product Ideas and about the importance of being able to pivot your idea. This book helped emphasize the importance of pivoting. During the process of developing my own product, I have discovered new markets and use cases that I had not intended at the beginning of the course and could actually end up being more effective than my original strategy. All of the little failures and miss steps help shape my product to be the best that it can be. 

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

The exercise that I would design based on this book would involve being given a set of scenarios. Each of those scenarios involves failures and the objective is to make the failure a positive in a creative way. 

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?

The part of the book that really resonated with me was how Scott Adams (the author) explained that the path to success isn't just one of the multiple random goals. Rather it is a system of flexible and connected goals that allow for change but also keep the company/person on track with short-term goals that help achieve the overarching main goal. 

19 - Idea Napkin 2

1. I am a second generation immigrant and have been raised by a family defined by hard work and devotion to its success. I aspire to lead my family further and set the standard for my cousins and siblings. I have experience with entrepreneurship as both sides of my family have their own businesses that I have spent time working in. This business would be at the forefront of my life and I would be solely focused on making it succeed. 
2. What am I offering customers? I am offering my customers convenience and safety. They will no longer need to struggle and stop their favorite activity because of ignorant pedestrians.
3. Who am I offering it to? I am offering it to customers that don't have patience, are fairly athletic, and are safety conscious. The product is not exclusive to bikers. It can be used by runners and skateboarders too.
4. Why do they care? My customers will care because they all have the same mutual hatred of pedestrians that don't move out of the way and can put you in harm's way as you try to avoid hitting them.
5. What are my core competencies? What sets me apart from everyone else is that there currently isn't another product on the market that does what mine does. There are bike horns and bells but they don't work when people have headphones on which is the majority of pedestrians nowadays. 

          I believe that my elements fit together. My hardworking nature is going to help develop the product and enable it to succeed. My potential customers definitely have this issue. All of their needs that I am fulfilling definitely do match up with why they care for it. The product allows them to exercise outdoors safely. Because the product is about safety and improving the quality of life of the potential customers, I believe that the 3 middle elements tie in nicely without any outliers. The core competency of my product is the reason that my customers would buy it in the first place so that ties in with the other elements as well. 

Feedback Memo: 

         The main things that I took away from the feedback was my Idea napkin had many related parts that really help glue everything together. The other main feedback that I took was that long-boarders are also part of my potential buyers. I revised my Idea napkin with this feedback by adding more variety to my potential customers.

20- Growing Your Social Capital

1

The industry expert that I contacted is Tom Carroll. He is the founder and CEO of NiteRider. He started the company by accident in 1996. He was an avid surfer that wanted to be able to surf at night when the waves were best. His solution was to create a small, light, waterproof, and portable light. He realized not too long after that the light would also be a great help to cyclists looking for alternatives to the weak lights they had been using. I discovered him while I was researching the market for my product. I initiated our correspondence after calling the office number that he had on the Facebook page. My conversation was about what he thought about my product. I hope to exploit this relationship with an integration of my technology into his bike lights.

The market expert that I contacted is J. Lucas Elrath. He has worked for several years as a project manager overseeing testing, benchmarking, and hazard testing of bicycles and bike equipment. I found this person by looking up on google for people with a set of skills. I initiated contact with him through the email he had on his website. I mainly asked him about what the chances were that a product like mine could survive in the market. He told me it was a good idea that has potential, but he would need a pitch before he could say anything more definite.  By having a market expert like him he can tell me how to best position my product to yield the most success.

I found a supplier for my industry but was unable to contact the head of the company. It is a speaker driver manufacturer in Taipei, Taiwan. They make all different kinds and sizes of speakers. I would use exploit this relationship to see if they could make me a small high frequency focused speaker.

This experience will definitely change how I approach networking events in the future. Like was said in class, you can’t just start handing out business cards to everyone. You need to form the relationship first. That will be the thing that I focus on from here on out.