Assignment 23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1.     Human capital: I have many connections through networking and family and friends that I could potentially work with to complete my venture start-up for creating a in-car Bluetooth capability that would allow access to your entire device while driving.

a.     Valuable: throughout my connections and network, many people would have to search and hire people (or complete strangers) to complete the tasks

b.     Rare: since I do have a trustworthy connection within my network, I would already have one-upped against competitors who would have to hire people and gain their trust

c.     Inimitable: Probably would not be that difficult to copy since many other individuals have created their own personal networks

d.     Non-substitutable: other resources could potentially offer the same benefit, but they would be specific to the brand of the device

2.     Financial capital: using my network to raise money and find financial capital to start my business would hopefully be relatively easy. I would also be able to put up money towards the use of research and development

a.     Valuable: since many people who want to create their own start-up have to go to banks to loan money to you, I would say that this is very valuable

b.     Rare: it is pretty rare for a start-up to use its own money

c.     Inimitable: again, many people find money by going to banks and presenting their ideas so that they are able to borrow money, so I believe it would be very hard to copy

d.     Non-substitutable: it would be very hard to find another resource that would provide the same benefit without having to go to a bank, or if you were to network and gain someone’s trust, that would take a lot of time and effort

3.     Competitors: current competitors that are in this market are restricting the users to what they are allowed to see on the digital displays when they are offering their Bluetooth services, and I want to change that and make drivers capable of driving completely “hands-free”

a.     Valuable: my offer would make the consumers extremely happy and they would prefer my product because it is extremely versatile and would work with any device, which is the opposite of current competitors in my market

b.     Rare: having competitors in today’s era is not rare at all, many large corporations still have competitors that they have to build against

c.     Inimitable: again, almost everyone in the technology market currently has a competitor so it would not be hard to copy. But, we would definitely need to use trademarks with our product

d.     Non-substitutable: many other resources can provide competitors to bring to the table, but there are currently only 2 other major competitors in my market

4.     Social capital: Contact with drivers: it is extremely easy to find people who drive, especially with my connection to the University of Florida since many people have cars

a.     Valuable: extremely valuable since I would not have to travel far to build an even larger social capital

b.     Rare: I would say that it’s not rare since millions of people drive every single day

c.     Inimitable: again, probably could be imitated since finding people who drive is extremely easy

d.     Non-substitutable: there probably would be other resources that would provide the same benefit but I could easily tailor my social capital to specific people

5.     Marketing: marketing at UF is extremely easy since we have Turlington to table to current staff and students, Little Hall to post flyers that will market our product, and many other resources to reach and market to people

a.     Valuable: this is extremely valuable since many entrepreneurs have to go out of their way to market, and I can easily interact with consumers on and off-campus

b.     Rare: I would say that it is rare since many people are forced to pay money so that they can market to consumers

c.     Inimitable: It would probably be very easy for other college students, like myself, to copy my marketing strategy. But, for someone who doesn’t have as easy access to marketing plans, they would probably be forced to pay someone to market their product.

d.     Non-substitutable: there are many other resources that could provide the same benefit but they would cost and abundant amount of money

6.     Publicity: anything having to do with technology is huge in today’s generation, so getting my idea and concept public would be extremely easy

a.     Valuable: extremely valuable since technology is such a buzz-word in our generation

b.     Rare: not super rare due to the many aspects of technology

c.     Inimitable: I would say that it would be somewhat difficult since many other topics might not have as much publicity as something relating to technology

d.     Non-substitutable: not many other resources can provide the same benefit as publicity with anything relating to technology

7.     Public speaking: I currently do not have enough background to promote my public speaking capabilities, but I am taking the public speaking course next semester, so this will benefit me and my entrepreneurial career in the long run

a.     Valuable: my current public speaking status does not have great value, but I hope that it will eventually with the use of my public speaking class

b.     Rare: I would say that not many people have experience in public speaking, so it would not be considered rare

c.     Inimitable: I’m sure other people are better at public speaking than myself, so it would be relatively easy for other people to copy

d.     Non-substitutable: one resource that could provide the same benefit would be to hire someone that excels at public speaking, but that would be very costly to my business

8.     Elevator Pitch: I have excellent experience with providing a great elevator pitch after continuous practice throughout this semester

a.     Valuable: extremely valuable since many individuals are still in the process of creating a great elevator pitch for their product

b.     Rare: not entirely rare, but many people still have issues with creating a great elevator pitch

c.     Inimitable: not very hard to copy, you just need to be comfortable with yourself and be confident in the product that you are giving an elevator pitch on

d.     Non-substitutable: many other resources can provide the same benefit, but I believe that I have perfected my elevator pitch with the use of practice and constructive criticism

9.     Consumer Knowledge: I believe that I am extremely knowledgeable in what current consumers are looking for

a.     Valuable: extremely, since many individuals have to do research to gain consumer knowledge

b.     Rare: not extremely rare, but most people do not know where to begin when they are thinking about what consumers demand

c.     Inimitable: this would be very easy to copy if you completed an abundant amount of research

d.     Non-substitutable: again, it would be easy to substitute if you took the time to complete research and studies on consumer’s needs

10.  Social/Networking Skills: I believe that I have great skills when it comes to finding people to talk to and creating a network for myself and my business

a.     Valuable: this is extremely valuable when you are trying to create a business as an entrepreneur and as you are working towards your goals in your business

b.     Rare: I wouldn’t necessarily determine this to be rare, but it does take a lot of practice, nerve, and determination when building your social and networking skills

c.     Inimitable: It would be relatively easy to copy, but it would take a very long time to build your network if you currently have no connections

d.     Non-substitutable: I do not think this is substitutable as everyone has different networking skills and people that they have connected to

I personally believe that my top resource is my networking/social skills. Many people find it difficult to start up a conversation with someone, and this is something I can do naturally. It would benefit the people that I find to collaborate with on my business idea and would eventually help me connect to even more consumers.