ENT3003 Class Blog

23A - YOUR VENTURE'S UNFAIR ADVANTAGE My business: a website that connects potential private investors with technology startups to facilitate investing Social capital: personal connections to technology startups I spent last summer working for a technology startup accelerator, and made developed personal relationships with 8 technology startups in need of startup funding. Valuable : Extremely valuable. I have personal connections to my target market, and therefore I can tailor my service directly to their issues. I have experienced their struggles first hand. Additionally, I have potential customers for when my product goes live. Rare : Quite rare. Many people know entrepreneurs, but I have a very specific niche of customers, that I happen to know personally. Imitable : Somewhat difficult to copy by others. They can try to go out and meet this type of entrepreneur or connect on LinkedIn, but it takes time to develop trust and connections. Non-substitutable...

Link: https://youtu.be/bwigStYD3AM Reflection: This is my first elevator pitch I've done for this course, so I do not have my peers feedback to reflect upon.

Ray Kroc's Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's 1) What was the general theme or argument of the book? Kroc's main message in "Grinding it Out" emphasizes tenacity and problem solving. The book highlights several of his prior business ventures before McDonalds-- most notability his paper cup business. His sales skills, coupled with his tenacious attitude and desire for solving problems allowed him to be successful in that venture, as well as with McDonalds. 2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003? Knowing your audience: When Kroc found the Multimixer, he immediately knew there was an opportunity because of his related work with paper cups. By using his networking skills, he saw potential in selling the mixers to Mcdonalds-- and applied his knowledge of selling paper cups in his pitch to the two brothers. His experience in selling to restaurants allowed him to develop a dialogue for ...

Idea :  I want to connect technology entrepreneurs with private investors to help fund their business ideas. Last summer, while working for a technology accelerator program, I learned that top issue most entrepreneurs struggle with is adequate funding. These technology startups, like many, have brilliant, lucrative ideas, but do not have the necessary funding, and struggle connect with potential investors. With my website, I want to connect entrepreneurs to private investors to speed up the investment search. In short, entrepreneurs and investors would set up profiles, entrepreneurs would post a synopsis of their project, and from there, investors could contact with them if interested. I believe my site would allow entrepreneurs to find funding more quickly, which in turn give them more time to focus on other issues. About me : My name is Andreanna Hardy, and I'm a second year general business major with an interest in marketing and entrepreneurship.  Last summer, I wo...

My customer lives in Cleveland, OH, and is looking to start a technology her own technology company. While working as a SalesForce saleswoman for the past 20+ years, she understands business software and the software industry; she is ready to move on and start her own company. Cleveland, while still trying to develop and diversify their economic identity, decides they are going to try to make their city a technology hub, much like Silicon Valley. Media headlines report that investors and Angel Funders are interested in funding local technology startups. Jill is interested in talking to potential investors, but doesn’t know where to start. She has many connections in the industry, and many are on board with her idea, but are conservative with their investment dollars. Frustrated, she wishes she had a list of people who she could contact that were ready to invest in early phases of her software company. She is a 50 year old, suburban woman who spends almost every waking minu...

Coco Chanel: What surprised you the most? In the introduction, Lisa Chaney provides Coco's view on money and material items: "money adds to the decorative pleasures of life, but it is  not  life". I admire her opinion, and was even a little surprised. I would have thought that she praised money more highly-- seeing that she built a glamorous, couture empire from the ground up and her brand symbolizes expensive, refined culture and beauty. However, despite her success, she remained humble and human. What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? Coco Chanel's tenacious attitude is most admirable. Her upbringing of abject poverty never hindered her from overcoming obstacles, and even fueled her stubborn mindset. She cunningly used her early struggles to develop the necessary entrepreneur mindset and become one of the most influential names in luxury, aesthetics, and culture. What about the entrepreneur did you  least  admire? Her embarrassment about her ...

1)  Tenaciousness is a competency.  What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course?  Splitting the workload up, and assigning myself weekly due dates While assignments has their own due dates, the lectures do not. I try to watch a couple lectures per day, and try to finish them by Thursday. Friday's I dedicate to blog posts, using the past week's lecture information Remaining consistent, and doing a little each day Cramming rarely works, so I try to do a little bit each day to stay on top of the work This method helps from becoming burned out from the class Starting with the end in mind. I check what the week's assignments will be, and then watch the lectures. This allows me to curtail my mindset and lecture notes around what my blog posts. 2)  Tenaciousness is also about attitude.  Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like y...