Final Reflection - 30A

1) Recall

This semester was full of a lot of things for me as a transfer student. I faced a lot of new challenges and changes that were pretty rough at the beginning, but I ended up getting accomplished to the level of exigence of UF. For this class I learned a lot of valuable stuff about entrepreneurship that I had always been interested in, I really liked the lectures and the overall concepts of motivation, resource allocation and all the elements that entrepreneurs need to take into account. I had a lot of fun going around my business idea of the bagged iced-cocktails and basically building it up from scratch and thinking about everything, I really liked that process even though the assignments of talking to people where a little bit hard and awkward at the beginning, but I got used to it and learned a lot of stuff that added a lot of value to my human capital.

2) Most formative experience

I think the most formative experience I had this semester in the class was everything about the venture concept, and it is the thing that I am most proud of. In the beginning, this idea to me sounded a little bit weird, but after working on it and developing it, it ended up being something with a lot of potential. I feel happy to know that if I wanted to start my business of the bagged iced-cocktails I actually could, as I know that I need and I have developed a pretty complete venture concept that has a lot of important material on it. This is something that makes me really proud and happy as I always wanted to know how this works and what do you need to know in order to be an entrepreneur.

3) Entrepreneurial mindset

Through the course of the semester, each assignment helped to foster my entrepreneurial mindset and fulfill my knowledge with a lot of valuable information that I know for sure will be pretty useful in my future. I feel know that I have the entrepreneurial mindset, as I have developed my alertness and feel more capable of taking risks in a responsible way at the moment of starting a project. Now I feel that I see more opportunities for business than when I started the class. Now I see how needs or simple bugs can actually be exploited and how small ideas can lead you into big things.

4) Recommendation

I would basically encourage every student to take this class as I believe that it basically opens your eyes to what real entrepreneurship is about, about the hard work behind small businesses, the hours and the effort behind. For students taking this class, I would recommend being open to learning from this valuable experience, watch the lectures to do well on the cupcakes but also to take advantage of the information given, because this class covers a lot of things that you do not usually see on other management, marketing or finance classes. This class would really help you learn about what real business and entrepreneurship are about. Just take your time to do the assignments, watch the lectures, read the books as they are really interesting and you'll be good to go.

Venture Concept No. 2 - 29A

GATOR BOLI

Opportunity:

For starters, I see the Gator Boli as an innovative, refreshing and cool way of consuming alcohol. In terms of potential customers, I will be targeting the segment of college students in the Gainesville area, which is certainly broad as the majority of the population of the town is really young because of the constant flow of students attending Santa Fe College and the University of Florida.

·      The forces in the environment creating this opportunity are the social context of students (usually outgoing, motivated to be social, make friends, party and drink), the lack of different alternatives for drinking (the usual beer, vodka, etc.) and the impact of seltzers with alcohol such as Truly and White Claw that are becoming more popular among young people, which let know that people want to change the way they drink alcohol.

·      The Gainesville area is composed mostly by young people, as students from different parts of the state of Florida come to Santa Fe College and the University of Florida for college. Also there is a lot of diversity, which is something characteristic form the state of Florida in general, so there is basically people from different races (mostly African Americans, Caucasians and Hispanics) and a good amount of international students.

·      This opportunity is certainly big as this is the moment when people is starting to look for something new and gaining interest in new ways of drinking, and this is reflected in the broad and successful impact that Truly and White Claw are having right now.

·      In my opinion, this window is not going to be opened for a long time, as many other big companies are noticing the change in people’s tastes and working towards creating new products that feed customer’s needs. Then the competition will be fierce, and it would be more difficult to enter the market than it is right now.

Innovation:

·      I define my product as innovative because I am bringing the concept of the Latin American “Boli” to the United States and mixing it with alcohol in order to create a product that appeals attractively for the young population who consumes alcohol here in Gainesville.

·      The factor of the weather here in Florida makes a good opportunity to offer my product in the hot season of the year, especially on events that are massive as tailgates during football seasons, bagged iced-cocktails will be uniquely refreshing and just perfect for the moment of enjoying a drink in a great environment.

·      The fact that the “Boli” is a foreign concept that has not been introduced here in the United States could create a certain interest to people to try the product, also the Hispanic population will recognize it and be motivated to buy.

·      The cost of making this is really cheap. As the packaging is really simple, it does not take a lot of time or people to make the product and other equipment different than a fridge. Helping to offer a product at a low price.

Venture Concept:

·      The customers would be motivated to buy this product because of its low price and the amount of alcohol you can get for such a low price, also because it would be refreshing, have a really good taste and fun to drink.

·      The main competitors here might be White Claw and Truly, and as they are really mainstream right now, it might be really hard to hit the market and make an impact, it could take time and it must be necessary to create good customer relationships.

·      In order to compete I would charge between 2.00 – 2.50 $ per “Boli” as the packaging is really cheap because I can get it from Colombia (10,000 bags might cost around 8 $), the alcohol is the expensive part as a shot from a bottle of Bacardi, for example, is around 60 cents (17 shots per bottle of 10.50$). In my opinion, this would be my main competitive advantage. I believe this would be my competitive advantage.

·      I would take customer service as the most important part, for this, I would create an Instagram where I would take orders and offer delivery of the product (for some charge) or offer the opportunity of picking up the product. I could offer some small coolers with 10 – 15 “Bolis” and charge a good attractive price for the product mix.

·      For the organization of the venture, I would lead the operations and at the beginning I would work on making and delivering the product, if demand rises I could think of hiring maybe 2 or 3 people for specifically preparing the product, and other 2 or 3 for delivery, and I would pitch in if it is necessary. It all depends on the demand for the product.

Description:

1.     I believe that the bagged iced cocktails have a lot of potential right now, as people is starting to change their tastes and are more opened to try new thing. My product's secret sauce can be defined as being a great alternative for drinking that is refreshing, innovative, and really cheap. It is basically a cocktail for 2.00$.

2.     If the product succeeds, the next opportunity I would tackle would be bottled cocktails, as they are similar to my product, and might go better in some situations where “Bolis” are not the fit.

3.     In the future, I would have a lead, profitable brand in the alcohol industry (focused on prepared drinks), and I would like to have my products being sold all over America, helping people to enjoy several moments without having to worry about the money so much. Also, I would like to sponsor the Gators as I would be a proud UF alumnus. I also think that if the product makes it big, I might consider selling and try to invest in another industry, as I am a person who likes new challenges and would be willing to try and make it in another industry with a higher growth rate.
d

• Part 2 and 3 (Venture Concept No. 2)

I believe that I did a really nice job in my first venture concept and I did not really find a lot of stuff to change from it as it was pretty much complete. Also from the feedback I got, I noticed that this opportunity is actually really big and that I did a really good job working around this idea and coming up with a venture concept that covers a lot of the main concerns and points of my business. I did not get any recommendations about changes in my venture concept as all the feedback I received was positive. The only thing I changed was in the end, hypothetically thinking about a massive success, how I might be willing to sell in order to invest in another industry with a higher growth rate, as I am a person who likes challenges and would be willing to take a shot.

Your Exit Strategy - 28A

1) Exit Strategy:

I think that for this business that I have in mind (bagged-iced cocktails) I would exit according to the results that I got in terms of profitability and brand growth. Scenario 1, my business does good, has decent profits but it does not go beyond being great, I would plan on selling it in like 5 - 7 years. Scenario 2, the business is an absolute success in terms of profits and brand exposure and becomes a leader in the market. In this case, I would not like to sell it, and I could dedicate my life to it.

2) Why: 

I think the most realistic scenario is number 1, and it is not that I am pessimistic or have low expectations, it is that I want to accomplish more, travel, live a good life, and with school and a business that is really hard. Also it's important to take into account that the competition is fierce and growing in that industry is really hard. The business could be something really good for my experience, and as I am young and have more dreams and aspirations, I could use my savings from that business and the money of the sell to invest in a property, stocks, or maybe another business. I think it could be really good for me and I would be really happy with the decision.

3) Does it represent a change in the concept?

I think that I did not really thought with a complete sense of reality about my business and maybe I should focus my concept on a shorter range of time where I could sell earlier, as that is the most optimal plan for me right now in this point of my life.

Reading Reflection No. 3 - 27A

Book chosen: Innovation and Entrepreneurship - Peter Drucker

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

This book basically goes around defining the concept of entrepreneurship as creating new things and keep thinking about way in which we can improve our own lives but also the ones of the others around us. Also, the book talks a lot about innovation, how it can be systematic, social or even a game changer in the way we live our lives. In addition, the author makes huge emphasis on risk and how should we always consider it before starting an enterprise or project, and if we do not have boundaries and be reckless with the risks, it would most likely lead to failure.

2) How does the book connect with the class?

I think that the book connects perfectly with the class because we have discussed a lot of this main topics of entrepreneurship, so they are like a complement for one another. I think that we cover in class the most important elements and take a much broader view, the book makes a lot of emphasis in some key points as innovation, management and risk.

3) Exercise for the class

What I would do for the class might be going around the author's (Peter Drucker) 7 sources of Innovation, that basically say that innovation is: Unexpected, Incongruent, Entails Process, is based on the Industry or Market Structure, influenced by Demographics and a Source of Knowledge.

4) Most important thing I learned

The most important thing about this book is that it teaches that entrepreneurship is not something simple or something you are born with, it depends of a lot of factors and is influenced by society, politics and all our surroundings, and that if we want to be entrepreneurs we have to work hard and not take it as something easy. I also liked how he talks about innovation and how it basically changes the world and the lives of all of us, how we depend of them and how they become essential for us.

Celebreting Failure - 26A

As an international student, it is really difficult to get hired by a company in the United States, basically because the great majority (almost all of them) do not give sponsorships because of the political situation right now. This semester I faced failure during Heavener Career Week, where I talked to a lot of companies, day by day, and basically got rejected by every single one. It is really sad to go and want to give your best and only hear "sorry, we do not give sponsorships" and not even get one email. Failure made me feel really frustrated and also made me reconsider my career and give up my aspirations. However, I have never been the person who easily gives up, and I believe that even though failing made me feel certainly bad, it also motivated me to keep trying and look for other alternatives. After that I got some advise and started looking for some opportunities that fit me better and a lot of people do not pursue, also I started doing some research and reading more about career readiness in order to have a better resume and try to get a job on specific companies that suit my interests and might hire me.

Failure is something that shows you that you are actually working for what you want, and making mistakes and getting down is actually part of our journey. Sometimes failure shows us opportunities and makes us look through some windows we did not consider. This can actually help us to be better and achieve our goals, or even maybe better goals. All of us have failed in something, and we are going to keep failing through our whole lives, we just have to get up, learn from our mistakes and do better. From this class I have learned that failure is something really common, not only in business but in life. A lot of entrepreneurs where rejected and failed several times, they would not have accomplished what they did if they just gave up. There is strength and motivation in failing, we just have to be patient, try harder each time and use that favor learn more.

What's Next? - 25A

Existing Market:

When going around my existing market, I find a lot of interest from prospective customers. Using the last post as a guideline I asked some students about my product, what would they think, like or suggest. I got a lot of feedback that I already knew, but also I heard a lot about the price. Prospective customers had a really positive reaction about the low price of the product and said that it was it strongest point when comparing it to other products that are related. Also they found really interesting the concept of the "Boli" and how practical it would be in the summer-fall. By talking to students I realized that this had more future than I expected because of the price, I believe that it could became a really popular product in Gainesville first, the I would like to target other cities with a good amount of young people over the state, and if it is possible and the project succeeds, I could target other cities outside of the state, or even create other lines of products for other occasions or times of the year.

New Market:

For the new market, I talked to some adults outside campus. I explained the Venture Concept and I received also positive feedback about the idea itself, they basically said it was a smart idea and that it could make a big impact. However, none of my interviewees said they could fit in the customer segment. They said that the price would capture young people attention, but adults have more money and do not really worry about paying for a beer or cocktail somewhere. Also, they do not go out as students do because they have jobs, family and more responsibilities. They can enjoy a beer, but as one said, adults are not "bagged iced cocktail guys". I do not see a lot of future in this segment of the market.

My expectations where really accurate because I did not think that adults would be really interested on my products as it is more for young people and I want to focus it in that segment. Adults do not care about my product because it just does not fit, I would have to improve the quality and basically create another product for their specific needs. I would like to keep focusing on college students and young people because they really find value on my idea.

Venture Concept No. 1 - 24A

GATOR BOLI

Opportunity:

For starters, I see the Gator Boli as an innovative, refreshing and cool way of consuming alcohol. In terms of potential customers, I will be targeting the segment of college students in the Gainesville area, which is certainly broad as the majority of the population of the town is really young because of the constant flow of students attending Santa Fe College and the University of Florida.

·      The forces in the environment creating this opportunity are the social context of students (usually outgoing, motivated to be social, make friends, party and drink), the lack of different alternatives for drinking (the usual beer, vodka, etc.) and the impact of seltzers with alcohol such as Truly and White Claw that are becoming more popular among young people, which let know that people want to change the way they drink alcohol.

·      The Gainesville area is composed mostly by young people, as students from different parts of the state of Florida come to Santa Fe College and the University of Florida for college. Also there is a lot of diversity, which is something characteristic form the state of Florida in general, so there is basically people from different races (mostly African Americans, Caucasians and Hispanics) and a good amount of international students.

·      This opportunity is certainly big as this is the moment when people is starting to look for something new and gaining interest in new ways of drinking, and this is reflected in the broad and successful impact that Truly and White Claw are having right now.

·      In my opinion, this window is not going to be opened for a long time, as many other big companies are noticing the change in people’s tastes and working towards creating new products that feed customer’s needs. Then the competition will be fierce, and it would be more difficult to enter the market than it is right now.

Innovation:

·      I define my product as innovative because I am bringing the concept of the Latin American “Boli” to the United States and mixing it with alcohol in order to create a product that appeals attractive for the young population who consumes alcohol here in Gainesville.

·      The factor of the weather here in Florida makes a good opportunity to offer my product in the hot season of the year, especially on events that are massive as tailgates during football seasons, bagged iced-cocktails will be uniquely refreshing and just perfect for the moment of enjoying a drink in a great environment.

·      The fact that the “Boli” is a foreign concept that has not been introduced here in the United States could create certain interest to people to try the product, also the Hispanic population will recognize it and be motivated to buy.

·      The cost of making thus is really cheap as the packaging is really simple, does not take a lot of time or people to make the product and other equipment different than a fridge. Helping to offer a product with a low price.

Venture Concept:

·      The customers would be motivated to buy this product because of its low price and the amount of alcohol you can get for such a low price, also because it would be refreshing, have a really good taste and fun to drink.

·      The main competitors here might be White Claw and Truly, and as they are really mainstream right now, it might be really hard to hit the market and make an impact, it could take time and it must be necessary to create good customer relationships.

·      In order to compete I would charge between 2.00 – 2.50 $ per “Boli” as the packaging is really cheap because I can get it from Colombia (10,000 bags might cost around 8 $), the alcohol is the expensive part as a shot from a bottle of Bacardi for example is around 60 cents (17 shots per bottle of 10.50$). In my opinion this would be my main competitive advantage. In my opinion this would be my competitive advantage.

·      I would take customer service as the most important part, for this I would create an Instagram where I would take orders and offer delivery of the product (for some charge) or offer the opportunity of picking up the product. I could offer some small coolers with 10 – 15 “Bolis” and charge a good attractive price for the product mix.

·      For the organization of the venture, I would lead the operations and at the beginning I would work on making and delivering the product, if demand rises I could think of hiring maybe 2 or 3 people for specifically preparing the product, and other 2 or 3 for delivery, and I would pitch in if it is necessary. It all depends on the demand of the product.

Description:

1.     I believe that the bagged iced cocktails have a lot of potential right know, as people is starting to change their tastes and are more opened to try new thing. My products secret sauce can be defined as being a great alternative for drinking that is refreshing, innovative, and really cheap. It is basically a cocktail for 2.00$.

2.     If the product succeeds, next opportunity I would tackle would be bottled cocktails, as they are similar to my product, and might go better in some situations where “Bolis” are not the fit.

3.     In the future, I would have a lead, profitable brand in the alcohol industry (focused on prepared drinks), and I would like to have my products being sold all over America, helping people to enjoy several moments without having to worry about the money so much. Also I would like to sponsor the Gators as I would be a proud UF alumni.