Final Reflection

I went back and looked at all my work and I have to say that I could not be more proud of how much I have gotten done this semester. I never thought I would put so much effort into something that honestly does not interest me so much. I started out with a simple idea of not liking alarm clocks and it developed into something so much more. The things that stood out to me the most were my elevator pitches. I did my first one very seriously and the second not so much since the first one came out so great. Funniest thing is that one day two girls came up to me and told me they had seen my second elevator pitch and thought it was hilarious. I honestly could have never guessed that would happen. I do not think that I have become more of an entrepreneur over this semester. I cannot really tell you the exact reason for that it is just that I have always had the right mindset and this class did not enhance it much. I do recommend this class to people because it is a good class to take. The assignments are time consuming but they have a purpose and if you do them right you really get something good out of it. I gotta say if you are going to take this class make sure you set up a schedule and look at the assignments at least a week in advance since some of them will actually take that long to complete. Other than that just enjoy the ride!

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity:

This opportunity exists because people are now becoming more aware of what is harmful to them. Alarm clocks startle you awake and that is not good for your heart and it is not a pleasant way to start your day. This is a huge window of opportunity because most people do not even realize that there is a need for a substitute product. The window will not be open forever as someone other than me will come along and create a device that makes my product and alarm clocks obsolete. My product applies to nearly everyone, but I see that there might be a problem in convincing people to switch from their reliable alarm clocks to my method.

Innovation:

My product is innovative because it is one of a kind. It is a small pad that slides underneath your mattress. It is controlled through an application on your phone and runs on wireless battery. You simply slide it under your bed and open the application. You can then use the application to set up a specific time in which you want to wake up and adjust the strength of the vibration. After the vibrations go off and you are awake you can then turn off the alarm through the application. I still have to work out my production costs, but I would estimate to sell this product for $50.

Venture concept:

The competitors that I have in this market are old fashioned alarm clocks and smart watches. It is going to be hard to make people try my product instead of relying on alarm clocks. This is something that I have to figure out still but I believe when people try my product they will never want to go back.


I received an overall good feedback from my peers. One person did make me see that although I do not have anyone else creating a product similar to mine, I still have to worry about not being able to get people to switch over to my product and leave alarm clocks behind.

What I decided to change is how aggressive I plan to attack the old concept of alarms. If I am able to make people see that this product is obsolete than they will automatically turn to my product as a substitute. 

Your Exit Strategy

I do not plan on running this business of the rest of my life. It is just not something that I see my self doing. I also do not plan on passing the business down to my children. I do not want to work my whole life on something I do not even know if my children will want to continue. I would sell the business and enjoy the money I receive from it. Hopefully enough where with a few good investments I do not have to work an extra day of my life. I chose this because I never received any inheritance from my parents, and I believe it has made me more independent and stronger. I want my children to be the same way. I do not think this choice influence my strategy in building the business.

Reading Reflection No. 3

For this assignment I read about Andrew Carnegie. The man is an entrepreneur if I have ever seen one. He started out working as a telegrapher which is someone who works receiving telegraphs and translates the Morse code into English or any language that the code intended. He then invested his money into railroads. This produced a decent amount of money for Carnegie and it goes to show that even at a young age he knew it was better to invest his money rather than spend it.  He later began selling bonds for corporation in England which gave him enough capital to then opened his own steel company which he called Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Steel Company. This is what made him his fortune after J.P. Morgan bought that company for around three million dollars. Carnegie used this money for the good of society. He is known as one of the biggest philanthropists in history. He donated close to ninety percent of his wealth to charitable organizations and universities.

Celebrating Failure

I am currently studying to be an actuary. Most people do not know what that is exactly, but a short description is that they measure risk. To pursue this career, you are required to take various exams that “certify” that you know a certain amount of information on various topics. I first attempted to take my exam in August of last year. Unfortunately, I did not prepare well and failed to pass the exam by just a few points. When I picked a date to retake the exam last semester, as we got closer to the date, I realized I had three exams back to back and a trip scheduled which made it impossible for me to take the exam. Now I am studying again and will be taking the exam next Wednesday. I am prepared.

Failure is essential in life. That is why I do not believe in participation trophies. They take away from failure and failure is what makes success so sweet. If you have never failed (which no one can say they have not) you will never appreciate success as much. I embrace failure. It makes you stronger in whatever aspect you failed in. This class has not changed my mind on failing and I doubt it will.

What's Next?

Old Market:

I interviewed some people that are in my main market, college students. I showed them my venture concept and they loved it. They agree with all my plans and cannot wait to see how it turns out.  I will be moving forward with my plans and asked them if I was missing something. Their response was to speed up my plan. They think that if I came up with this idea there is definitely someone else that has done the same and I should try to be the firsts.

New Market:

My new market did not go so well. I interviewed to retired friends of my dad and asked them what they thought of my venture concept. They thought it was a good idea, but they would not be interested in the product. You see they do not have a need for an alarm clock since they no longer need to wake up early for work. They said if they ever have to use one, they do not mind since it is such a rare occasion for them.

Venture Concept No. 1 (Wake Pad)

Opportunity:

This opportunity exists because people are now becoming more aware of what is harmful to them. Alarm clocks startle you awake and that is not good for your heart and it is not a pleasant way to start your day. This is a huge window of opportunity because most people do not even realize that there is a need for a substitute product. The window will not be open forever as someone other than me will come along and create a device that makes my product and alarm clocks obsolete. My product applies to nearly everyone, but I see that there might be a problem in convincing people to switch from their reliable alarm clocks to my method.

Innovation:

My product is innovative because it is one of a kind. It is a small pad that slides underneath your mattress. It is controlled through an application on your phone and runs on wireless battery. You simply slide it under your bed and open the application. You can then use the application to set up a specific time in which you want to wake up and adjust the strength of the vibration. After the vibrations go off and you are awake you can then turn off the alarm through the application. I still have to work out my production costs, but I would estimate to sell this product for $50.

Venture concept:

There are no competitors in this market. The only thing I am competing with is the idea of alarm clocks. I need to show people that they do not work as well as we want them to and that there is a better way.