Final Reflection

 What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

• The good, the bad, & the in between: I remember at the beginning of the semester I was quite nervous for what was ahead. I wasn't really sure what to expect which made me a little more weary than normal. As the class progressed however, I became more confident with each post, and started to enjoy writing them and looking back at what my peers had to say. There were for sure times where it was noon thirty and I completely forgot to do our assignments, which is never fun, but it happens. Learning how to properly manage my time is something I've gained from taking this class. 

 At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

• I think the way I look at problems now is with much more optimism that there could be a better way, whereas before I would become deflated whenever I ran into an issue I thought was unsolvable. I wouldn't go as far to call myself a full blown entrepreneur, but I will say I feel much more confident in presenting my ideas to others.  

 What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

• I would say to properly manage your time, always set goals for yourself, and have a good time with it. It could be quite dreadful if it was a negative experience, but I think with the right attitude and outlook it was very enjoyable. Come up with something you could imagine yourself using and bragging about to all your friends, that was the way i made it enjoyable for myself, it also makes the assignments far better if you know and are passionate about what you're talking about. 
  
• I can't stress this enough, time management is key!

Venture Concept No. 2

1. Opportunity

• Who has the need?
• People that drink iced coffee. 
• Nature of the need?
• When the ice in your iced coffee melts before you finish the coffee, it results in a worse drink. The ice completely melts which waters down the remaining coffee and gives it a bitter taste, that I know customers are not a fan of. If you don't finish the coffee before the ice melts, then that results in a waste of money and a waste of the rest of your drink. 
• How are my customers currently satisfying this need?
• There are options to get light ice in your coffee, which I know some customers do, but that also results in a less cold drink. 
• How loyal are they to whatever it is they use now? 
• Not loyal, people are always looking for better ways to do things, especially when you waste money as a result of not finishing your watered down coffee. 
• How big is this opportunity? 
• I think the large market and existing customer base makes this a very big opportunity that customers would appreciate. 

2. Innovation

• What is it? They are an alternative to standard ice cubes. Coffee Cubes is a line of different flavored coffee and cream cubes. There is anything from dark roast coffee cubes, cream cubes, and even espresso shot cubes. 
• What it does? It slowly releases whatever you chose, whether that be coffee or cream and flavoring, back into your drink, which maximizes the amount of the drink you're actually getting and consuming. 
• How it works? Making them is simple, like you would any other ice cubes, coffee and cream are both freezer friendly products for up to 6 months. You would place your desired amount of cubes into your drink and allow it to slowly melt back into your cup. 
• What exactly am I selling and for how much? 
• I'm selling a bag of 12 cubes for $5.99. 

3. Venture Concept

• How will my innovation solve the opportunity I identified? 
• It completely takes the water out of the equation, which completely solves the problem. There would be no chance of your coffee turning bitter or bad, but only becoming more delicious. 
• Why will customers buy my innovation? 
• They will buy my coffee cubes because there is nothing else on the market there for them like coffee cubes would be. Coffee cubes would provide a solution to a problem that everyone has been ignoring and neglecting. 
• What are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product? 
• The customers need something that will solve the problem of melting ice, and the only solution other than water would clearly be more coffee and then follows with creams and flavorings. 
• How hard will it be to get them to switch? 
• I don't think it will be difficult to persuade them to switch, just getting them to try it once and then be hooked. 
• Who are the competitors?
• At the moment there are no other competitors on a wide scale, selling in grocery stores. I hope that coffee cubes would become a staple grocery item list and everyone would think to go buy them if they walked into a store because they were apart of their everyday routines. 
• What role does packaging, my price point, customer experience or the business location play in defining your business concept? 
• First off, packaging. I think the packaging could be a strong selling point and a good way to interact with the customers. The packaging needs to be something that grabs peoples attention and is clear to them exactly what they're picking up. I would also like the packaging to have some kind of clear message on it about the product and about the way it came to be. I would also like the packaging to be sustainable in some way, or be an avenue to where we can give back to maybe the places that the coffee is coming from and the people who are foraging for the beans. I think customer experience plays the next role and ties in with packaging. If the customer connects to the packaging and the message is is trying to get across, they are going to remember that experience they had while reading/purchasing it. This plays a very important role in customer experience because that moment where they take a second to appreciate or stop to read the story on the packaging they are creating a moment that they will hopefully remember the next time they come into the store. That positive moment will hopefully be a lasting memory for them and it will encourage them to repurchase. The price point I've set the coffee cubes at is very fair, for $5.99 you will get a bag of 12 cubes any flavor, coffee preference you like. The serving size for one drink, depending on how big is 1-2 cubes. The business location is semi-important but not a make or break. For business location I was thinking that places with warmer climates would be more ideal because people would be more inclined to have iced coffee rather than hot. Then I realized that people are going to drink what they want, when they want it, and if it was 20 degrees outside I would still be ordering iced coffee with a side of mittens. 

4. The Three Minor Elements 

• Venture's Secret Sauce: Most important Resource 
• The lack of competition and the lack of urgency that there is with my product. No one has given much that to it and if they have it's gone nowhere. Coffee cubes are not a standard at every coffee shop or even in everyone's coffee routine, however I think if they were exposed, they'd be converted. 
• What's Next for the Venture? 
• I think once we dive into coffee, meaning all different kinds of roasts: dark, medium, light, I think the next logical step would be creamer options. They could be both dairy and non-dairy, that way we are accommodating all creamer users. After that I think espresso shot cubes would be a great idea, for those that like their coffee extra caffeinated. 
• What's Next for You? 
• I want to keep experimenting with the different kinds of cubes you can make and the way they interact in your actual drink. I've been having so much fun with coffee that i want to explore every single avenue there is with coffee and all the different flavors as well. I love being in the kitchen and trying new things, that is what brings me the most relaxation but at the same time I love to be innovative. 

5. Summary of Feedback 

• I decided not to change much about my venture concept since I received such positive feedback on the first go around. I got feedback saying things like "you should have invented these a long time ago" and "I love this product", which made me feel confident in my venture concept. I also was asked questions like what demographic do you plan on targeting and how much will they probably cost? In my previous venture concept I touched on this briefly, however, I think it's smart to start off local and in a place I know well. I figured here in Florida where we live, we don't experience seasons as much as our other state friends, so a hotter demographic
  
  would be my first target for Coffee Cubes. On how much they cost, I decided on pricing them at $5.99 for a bag of 12 cubes. 

See Ya Later Alligator

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?

I feel like what makes the most sense for me is to stay in the business for a few years but to eventually sell it to a larger company in the future. I'm for sure a control freak, so at the beginning I would want to be in charge of absolutely everything. I want to feel proud in the product that I put out there for people and once I feel established enough is when I will loosen the reigns. 

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

It makes sense in my mind to become established with Coffee Cubes and develop a good reputation and once I have acquired that and a loyal fan base, then I would feel comfortable in selling my product to a larger scale company. I would absolutely have to sign some kind of contract saying that nothing about the ingredients or process is going to change and same goes for the packaging and price. 

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?

I don't think my exit strategy has influenced any other decisions in terms of Coffee Cubes, however I do see myself being more intrigued on starting something new once I sold off Coffee Cubes. I think that by going through this entire process I've learned good ways to identify things that should be better and identify good ways to go about doing so, that are unique. 

Reading Reflection No. 3

I chose to read "Shoe Dog" by Phil Knight the founder of Nike. 

• What surprised you the most?
• What surprised me the most was the fact that Phil Knight did this all on his own in the beginning and the first name given to Nike was Blue Ribbon. 
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
• I admire his determination, he was only in college when he went to Japan alone to pitch his idea for shoes to different businessmen and women. 
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
• Oh absolutely. Everyone back in America was telling him that he was crazy and that there was no opportunity in shoes. That's all Phil did however, and in a sense that's all he knew, which meant he knew how to make it better than anyone.

It was interesting to me how quickly Phil was trying to get this to all happen, because as we know starting a huge company is not an overnight occurrence. He had no idea how he was going to pay for the first batch of 1000 shoes and he said he didn't fret because he had faith. Out of this first experience, he said if he failed it would have brought along great knowledge, and he was okay with that because wisdom is an irreplaceable asset. 

Celebrating Failure

I'm very good at not being good at things, especially if I've never done it before. This semester is my last semester where I'm required to take a math class. I am not what you call a math wizard, nonetheless I'm in the class. This semester was supposed to be a breeze, compared to other work loads I've had in the past, however this math class has proved otherwise. The first exam I pulled up to take for this class left me in awe. There were a good majority of the questions that I just stared at for a really long time. I think I may have even laughed out loud during the exam at one of the questions that was just ridiculously hard. 

Well, it being the first exam gave me some leverage because I knew I had time to make a come back. I ended up getting a big fat F on the first exam, which is always fun and super motivating. I knew I was going to really have to put in the work with this math class if I was planning on succeeding. I've redoubled my efforts since the first exam and my exam average has gone up. I was extremely discouraged when I got that first grade back. I wanted to curl up and throw that stupid piece of paper away but I wasn't going to be a baby. I had to learn from my mistakes, get my life together, and ace that next math exam. 

My perspective on failure has always been positive, I never like to quit anything so there is rarely a time I can remember giving up. I think without failure, you would never improve and never strive for more. I've mastered not being embarrassed anymore when I don't do something right. I've realized it's far more embarrassing to sit back and accept your failure and not ask how to do it better, than it is to actually fail. 

What's Next?

Existing Market 

Step 1: Talk about what you think is what's next in terms of products and services for your venture.

I think that what is coming next is more flavors and variations of coffee cubes. I think the opportunities for coffee cubes are endless. 

Step 2: Interview three customers who are already part of the market you have identified, and ask them what they believe is next for a venture like yours. Describe to them your business, and simply ask "What should we be doing that we aren't planning to do?" 

Interviewee No. 1: This interviewee said that the idea to expand to more flavors and different kinds of roasts of coffee. They said that maybe expanding into other kinds of drinks, like tea cubes for iced tea. 

Interviewee No. 2: Interviewee said that they could also see the cubes expanding into other drinks as well, but they said that they thought the coffee idea was the strongest out of all of them because coffee is so popular. 

Step 3: Based on your own expectations and the feedback you received from customers, set a path for the future.

I could see coffee cubes being sold in grocery stores and becoming a staple grocery list item, but I could also see coffee cubes being implemented into large scale coffee shops and being sold that way as well. I think whichever path I take will be a positive experience and successful. 

New Market 


Based on the feedback I got from the interviewee's and the feedback I've been accumulating all throughout this process has helped me to expand my ideas into new markets. People love the coffee idea, but can see this idea spreading across a lot of different territory. People have given me tips on venturing into teas, juices and smoothies. Creating coffee cubes came almost natural to me because I had had such frustration with watered down coffee. I think that people share thus frustration with all their drinks that come along with ice. I think creating cubes that go with your drink to keep it fresher longer and better longer is something that can appeal to anyone. Rather than only focusing on the people that drink coffee, I can expand the realm into a larger audience and hopefully create cubes for more than just coffee drinkers. 

Venture Concept No. 1

1. Opportunity

• Who has the need?
• People that drink iced coffee. 
• Nature of the need?
• When the ice in your iced coffee melts before you finish the coffee, it results in a worse drink. The ice completely melts which waters down the remaining coffee and gives it a bitter taste, that I know customers are not a fan of. If you don't finish the coffee before the ice melts, then that results in a waste of money and a waste of the rest of your drink. 
• How are my customers currently satisfying this need?
• There are options to get light ice in your coffee, which I know some customers do, but that also results in a less cold drink. 
• How loyal are they to whatever it is they use now? 
• Not loyal, people are always looking for better ways to do things, especially when you waste money as a result of not finishing your watered down coffee. 
• How big is this opportunity? 
• I think the large market and existing customer base makes this a very big opportunity that customers would appreciate. 

2. Innovation

• What is it? They are an alternative to standard ice cubes. Coffee Cubes is a line of different flavored coffee and cream cubes. There is anything from dark roast coffee cubes, cream cubes, and even espresso shot cubes. 
• What it does? It slowly releases whatever you chose, whether that be coffee or cream and flavoring, back into your drink, which maximizes the amount of the drink you're actually getting and consuming. 
• How it works? Making them is simple, like you would any other ice cubes, coffee and cream are both freezer friendly products for up to 6 months. You would place your desired amount of cubes into your drink and allow it to slowly melt back into your cup. 
• What exactly am I selling and for how much? 
• I'm selling a bag of 12 cubes for $5.99. 

3. Venture Concept

• How will my innovation solve the opportunity I identified? 
• It completely takes the water out of the equation, which completely solves the problem. There would be no chance of your coffee turning bitter or bad, but only becoming more delicious. 
• Why will customers buy my innovation? 
• They will buy my coffee cubes because there is nothing else on the market there for them like coffee cubes would be. Coffee cubes would provide a solution to a problem that everyone has been ignoring and neglecting. 
• What are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product? 
• The customers need something that will solve the problem of melting ice, and the only solution other than water would clearly be more coffee and then follows with creams and flavorings. 
• How hard will it be to get them to switch? 
• I don't think it will be difficult to persuade them to switch, just getting them to try it once and then be hooked. 
• Who are the competitors?
• At the moment there are no other competitors on a wide scale, selling in grocery stores. I hope that coffee cubes would become a staple grocery item list and everyone would think to go buy them if they walked into a store because they were apart of their everyday routines. 
• What role does packaging, my price point, customer experience or the business location play in defining your business concept? 
• First off, packaging. I think the packaging could be a strong selling point and a good way to interact with the customers. The packaging needs to be something that grabs peoples attention and is clear to them exactly what they're picking up. I would also like the packaging to have some kind of clear message on it about the product and about the way it came to be. I would also like the packaging to be sustainable in some way, or be an avenue to where we can give back to maybe the places that the coffee is coming from and the people who are foraging for the beans. I think customer experience plays the next role and ties in with packaging. If the customer connects to the packaging and the message is is trying to get across, they are going to remember that experience they had while reading/purchasing it. This plays a very important role in customer experience because that moment where they take a second to appreciate or stop to read the story on the packaging they are creating a moment that they will hopefully remember the next time they come into the store. That positive moment will hopefully be a lasting memory for them and it will encourage them to repurchase. The price point I've set the coffee cubes at is very fair, for $5.99 you will get a bag of 12 cubes any flavor, coffee preference you like. The serving size for one drink, depending on how big is 1-2 cubes. The business location is semi-important but not a make or break. For business location I was thinking that places with warmer climates would be more ideal because people would be more inclined to have iced coffee rather than hot. Then I realized that people are going to drink what they want, when they want it, and if it was 20 degrees outside I would still be ordering iced coffee with a side of mittens. 

4. The Three Minor Elements 

• Venture's Secret Sauce: Most important Resource 
• The lack of competition and the lack of urgency that there is with my product. No one has given much that to it and if they have it's gone nowhere. Coffee cubes are not a standard at every coffee shop or even in everyone's coffee routine, however I think if they were exposed, they'd be converted. 
• What's Next for the Venture? 
• I think once we dive into coffee, meaning all different kinds of roasts: dark, medium, light, I think the next logical step would be creamer options. They could be both dairy and non-dairy, that way we are accommodating all creamer users. After that I think espresso shot cubes would be a great idea, for those that like their coffee extra caffeinated. 
• What's Next for You? 
• I want to keep experimenting with the different kinds of cubes you can make and the way they interact in your actual drink. I've been having so much fun with coffee that i want to explore every single avenue there is with coffee and all the different flavors as well. I love being in the kitchen and trying new things, that is what brings me the most relaxation but at the same time I love to be innovative.