1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?
- I was surprised to see that the author made a line of direct correlation between the misalignment of the innovation strategy of a company with an "innovation strategy," limiting the overall capacity to innovate.
2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
- None of the reading was confusing, just interesting. This was an easy read.
3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?
- Why is it that senior leaders should be the responsible party for the innovation strategy?
- I would like a deeper explanation and differentiation between "routine" innovation and "disruptive" innovation and how each is useful in business practices.
4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?
- I might disagree with one of the concluding statements that claims only senior leaders can/should take initiative in developing the best innovation strategy for the company; I feel like ultimately, they should be driving the operation, but often times the best information and feedback comes from the bottom of the heap.
- Describe the revenue drivers you currently include in your business concept for this class. Revenue drivers are the different ways you make money.
- Green study space, social venue, sustainable options, healthy & unique foods/drinks, zero carbon footprint
- Describe what kind of product offering you believe should be next. What's the next thing your customers want?
- The next phase of the project would be to implement a combination of a product and a service focused on making sustainability possible to incorporate at home as well; this would come in the form of A-line vertical gardening structures (they have already been prototyped) that can be purchased
- Describe how this "next" thing will enhance your existing product/service offering. Does it improve the user experience, does it increase customer switching costs, does it foster customer loyalty, etc.?
- These A-line structures are self-irrigating and have three times the growing capacity of traditional horizontal gardening. This would be a way for customers to create their own paradise at home,
- Go to Amazon and try to find a product that is similar to the one you want to offer next. Describe the product. Include a picture of the product.
- Obviously, my initial entrepreneurship idea (the sustainable cafe) is not available on Amazon, but my next product offering, the vertical gardening structures already exist, yet are not as advanced as the prototype that I have developed.
- What are the customer reviews for the product? What, exactly, do customers not like about the product? What do they like about it?
- There is a variety of different products on the market that aim to make vertical gardening possible. According to the reviews of these products, they generally had great reviews but included criticism stating that the planters were not sturdy, they were difficult to put together, or that they did not fit as many plants as they appeared to fit.
- Describe what design/usability changes you'd make to the product.
- My product would come in two versions; one would be an A-line structure designed to fit against walls and along long, flat spaces (irrigation system included). The other design would be a column planter with a spiral planting design and irrigation system that coiled from the top of the system to the bottom of the system, designed for corners and small, rectangular spaces.
- Describe why you think this product would make a good addition to your current product/service offering.
- Currently, my sustainability cafe would be founded on the idea of making the world a greener place by creating a green space, but the key of sustainability is making it a viable possibility for everybody. This is not possible without both being the example and teaching others how to do the same. I like to refer to the quote, "if you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime". The same goes for sustainable living. The key is reverse-engineering our lifestyles to consider our own intrinsic well being as well as those around us.
My resources:
- Experience in Sustainability-
- Valuable: my exposure to international sustainability provides great platform/information
- Rare: at my age, few people have done research in other countries/have gotten "out of the box"
- Inimitable: self explanatory; my life experience is unique to me & cannot be replicated
- Non-substitutable: this cannot be substituted, but can be complemented with other people with expertise in this area
- Contacts/Social Capital with experience in sustainability (TOP RESOURCE)-
- *Valuable: most important piece of the business. as the people in any business hold the most value and undoubtedly determine its ultimate success
- Rare: I have many contacts with extensive expertise in the area of sustainability who are interested in seeing this project to fruition for their own personal gain as well as mine
- Inimitable: social capital is a compilation of unique experiences that together, create a successful working atmosphere
- Non-Substitutable: the individuals that I have in mind for this project are essential and specific and cannot be replaced by skills or technology
- Social Interest/Attention-
- Valuable: no business is successful without the interest of customers
- Rare: it can be difficult to attract new customers when all kinds of new businesses are constantly popping up
- Inimitable: this is not necessarily inimitable because each business builds its own customer basis, although our customers would ideally be non-substitutable
- Non-Substitutable: the cafe would aim to maintain our distinct interest from our customers and investors; these kinds of ideas typically attract very eccentric people and we would encourage this
- Potential Capital-
- Valuable: start-up companies often struggle in finding financial capital to fund their business ventures; I already have several offers for financial support if I choose to go through with this project
- Rare: at this stage, offers for funding is not common
- Inimitable: this would be imitable if other companies also had the same interest; this is unique to us
- Non-Substitutable: again, this could be substituted by other funds, but finding that interest elsewhere is another task
- Location-
- Valuable: Gainesville is full of students, is a hotspot for innovation, and has showed general interest in sustainability
- Rare: finding a location where all of these things are possible & opportunities combine with good timing in a great location is difficult
- Inimitable: Gainesville is Gainesville; there's no other way of putting it
- Non-Substitutable: finding a great location in Gainesville might be a bit of a challenge initially, but that would become known for the physical positioning as well as the services the cafe has to offer
- Interested Market Segment-
- Valuable: New businesses typically have to hunt for customers; having customers who are waiting for your services to be provided is an awesome asset for a beginning business
- Rare: customers convincing other customers based on principle to give their business to a company/start-up=rare
- Inimitable: the excitement produced by the cafe serves as motivation to move on and create more interest as the project matures
- Non-Substitutable: this interest is non-substitutable, but can definitely be compounded upon to find a larger customer basis
