ENT3003 - Elizabeth Fullwood

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3 Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s by Ray Kroc 1) You read about an entrepreneur: A) What surprised you the most? I was surprised how old Mr. Kroc was when he began his McDonald’s career. Over half his life was over; he was 52! It provides hope for me moving forward because I will be 40 soon and feel that I have left my career on hold to follow my military hubby around the world. B) What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? What I most admired about Mr. Kroc was he never took no for an answer. He always stuck by his beliefs. For instance when they finally went public, he would not budge on the stock offering of $22.50. He knew that McDonald’s was worth it. He faced a lot of push back, however he was right. The stock soared, making them rich. C) What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? What I least admired about the Mr. Kroc was probably his wives. He had 3 wives and it seemed that although he did provide for each of them, he kind of...

30A – Final Reflection               http://www.theequitykicker.com/2015/11/06/startup-ups-and-downs-friday-fun/ The most formative experience for me in ENT3003 were the lectures. I took detailed notes so I could “hopefully” score a full point on the cupcakes. I thought Dr. Pryor did an awesome job teaching. It was interesting to see how what I’ve learned in other classes came together. The experience that I’ll remember years later is the repetitive pitches. I realized that practice really does help with a pitch and I even used those skills I developed to nail a job interview! I got the job! J  My most joyous moment was conducting the research for my business venture and discovering potential weaknesses of my competitor. I became so invested in my venture plan, that I truly got excited lol.  The experience I am most proud of myself for accomplishing would be taking the steps to interview people that actually “played” in my business ...

29A – Venture Concept No. 2 1) Opportunity: “An estimated 22 million Americans suffer from Sleep Apnea.” [1] The majority of patients that treat their Sleep Apnea use a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) device.                                                                       Figure 1 [2] My target customer would be males aged 49+ as statistics show that males at that age have a large increase in diagnosis. Figure 2 [3] This market is defined geographically and demographically: Within the male population, I would specifically focus on military retirees. They receive Tricare benefits which authorizes pay for CPAP resupplies (2 masks and hoses) every 6 months. This would ensure constant need and customer acquisition. Geographically, I would target areas that were close to where Veter...

28A – Your Exit Strategy 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 plan on staying with CPAP Hygiene for several decades and then retire. It would be nice to hire one of my children to eventually be the CEO and I could sit on the board and chime in when needed. However, if by some strange reason in 5 years my business was worth billions… PEACE I’m out lol. 2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy? I want to feel like I accomplished something in my life. Having a successful business for several decades and being able to have your child take it over is awesome! I would feel like I was leaving my baby with my baby lol. Isn’t owning your own business an American dream? I’d love to check that off my bucket list. 3) How do you thin...

26A – Celebrating Failure 1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time. I have failed at telling people no. I have a hard time telling people no when they ask for favors. I am overwhelmed as it is with school, work and life, yet I still take on extra stuff because I like to help people and I feel bad if I don’t. This has happened many times this semester. It has been from little things like someone asking help with their Firestick, to buying something for them while I’m trying to travel Europe and forget worries. 2) Tell us what you learned from it. I have learned that the couple times that I did put my foot down and said no, I really didn’t feel too bad. I actually felt kind of proud of myself for finally saying no to someone. I also learned that helping people all the time hinders them...

25A – What’s Next? What I Think Is Next: After successfully launching my service oriented business, my next step is to begin developing my product innovation. I will use the service business to pay for the product innovation. The product will be a CPAP cleaning device that customers can put in their washing machine or dishwasher. It will sanitize and also remove dirt, oils and makeup. Existing Market Interviews: 1) Mr. White – CPAP User 2) Mrs. Ostrander – Wife of CPAP User 3) Mr. Lopez – CPAP User Reflection: My interviewees were very intrigued about my current service idea, and were very curious about my product that I am going to be tinkering with. They all had a different thought about moving forward with my product after having a service business in place. Mr. White thinks that the CPAP cleaning service is a unique idea. When I brought up working on a product that customers would be able to purchase and use themselves, he smiled. He thought that was a great idea. He had not ...

22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3 https://youtu.be/ksnfdL2pQ6A Reflection from No. 2: I think what stood out to me as important was that everyone mentioned that they liked my energy in this pitch. What surprised me the most was no one mentioned the dirty mask that seemed to be such a high request from my first pitch. The feedback that surprised me the most was that they seemed to think this pitch was better than my first one. I still like my first one better; guess we shall see how this one fares. I think it was insightful to get feedback on how I incorporated my work. One peer said that it established credibility, which made me feel successful in my goal. What I changed: I felt more comfortable with this pitch. I was able to jump right into it and my nerves weren’t all over the place. I tried to keep my energy up and incorporate various tones. I focused on my opening hook and ensured that I nailed it without any stutter. I wore a lab coat from my Sleep clinic to incorporate...

24A – Venture Concept No. 1 1) Opportunity: “An estimated 22 million Americans suffer from Sleep Apnea.”[1] The majority of patients that treat their Sleep Apnea use a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) device.                                                                      Figure 1[2] My target customer would be males aged 49+ as statistics show that males at that age have a large increase in diagnosis. Figure 2[3] This market is defined geographically and demographically: Within the male population, I would specifically focus on military retirees. They receive Tricare benefits which authorizes pay for CPAP resupplies (2 masks and hoses) every 6 months. This would ensure constant need and customer acquisition. Geographically, I would target areas that were close to where Vetera...

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage For my reference: Inimitable means - so good or unusual as to be impossible to copy; unique. Non-substitutable means – when no other resource or capability can be utilized as an equivalent. 1) Cultural Experiences: As an Army spouse, I have been stationed in 4 different countries outside of the United States. These unique cultural experiences are beneficial to a global market. - Valuable: Yes, as my target market is military and the U.S. military is culturally diverse. - Rare: Maybe, it is possible that someone else has lived in various countries. - Inimitable: Maybe, but not the exact cultural experiences that I have had. - Non-substitutable: Maybe, not the actual experiences - only could substitute by studying cultures 2) Military Experience: My targeted market is retired or close to being retired military personnel. Military trusts other military, i.e. “Band of Brothers, Battle Buddies.” - Valuable: Yes, military prefers to support fellow milit...

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2 For my second reading assignment, I chose How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams. 1) What was the general theme or argument of the book? The general theme of this book was all about teaching techniques on how to live life and attempt to be successful. Scott Adams, the Dilbert artist, attempts to prove why “goals are bad” and “systems are good.” He describes his life in detail and constantly repeats himself. He highlights a billion of his failures throughout the book. 2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003? The one connection that I had with the book that enhanced what I have learned in ENT3003 is how he talks about presenting yourself to others. Your tone, a good handshake and looking someone in their eyes is very important. Especially with first impressions. I also like how he related his failures as opportunities to achieve success. This ...

20A – Growing Your Social Capital Domain Expert: 1) Who they are and what their background is. Dr. Rodgers, Sleep Disorders Clinic Physician at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. 2) How is this person a “domain expert”: He diagnosis and treats people with Sleep Apnea. He helps the patient choose which method is most beneficial to treat the Sleep Apnea, whether it is via CPAP machine, MAD device, or Sleep bump / Noodle. 3) How I found and contacted this person: I am lucky enough to work for the Landstuhl Sleep Disorders Clinic. 4) Nature of Exchange: What they did for me, what is the return expectation: I explained to him my service idea, as well as my product idea. He answered questions I had referencing patient’s frustration with cleaning CPAP masks. He was very informative and really thought this service was brilliant and would be in high demand. 5) How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity: He would agree that the majority of people believe that clea...

19A – Second Shot at Idea Napkin No. 2 1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life? I am a caring individual who has a huge heart. I am talented at solving problems and finding creative ways to find solutions. I am skilled in effective communication, which has been enhanced with my cultural experiences around the world. My aspirations are to be a leader that motivates a team to accomplish an organization’s goals. Regarding my business concept, I believe that my service would encompass all my talents, skills and experiences. It would satisfy my aspiration of being a leader and helping others. 2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). My CPAP Hygiene Service offers a solution to CPAP users that w...

17A - Elevator Pitch No. 2 1) The Pitch: Hook: How long would you go without changing your underwear? A day? 2 Days? A week? When are they DIRTY? This predicament is what 22 million Americans that have Sleep Apnea face when deciding how often to clean their CPAP masks. Hello from Landstuhl Germany Sleep CLINIC! Problem: CPAP USERS masks collect oils, dirt and germs and if not cleaned properly can lead to respiratory issues, skin breakouts or other health issues (Show Clean vs. Dirty Masks) It’s a nuisance to have to clean the masks. There is currently an expensive machine on the market but it only sterilizes the masks. It does NOT remove the dirt and oils! Solution: My solution is a CPAP cleaning service that is convenient and most importantly saves you time! We have our mobile hygiene mask cleaning service that will conveniently go straight to your door, we have a CPAP Hygiene facility for drop offs, and growing in popularity is our PREPAID mail subscription ser...

18A – Create a Customer Avatar   What kind of hobbies does your customer have? What kind of car do they tend to drive? (What color is it?) What TV shows do they watch? Do they have children? Are any of them adopted? What are their favorite books, and who are their favorite politicians? How old are they? How old do they feel? And so on. The richer the detail, the better.  The market I would try to target would be military retirees. Service members get an additional 50% disability rating if they have Sleep Apnea. Thus, just about every Service Member wants to be tested to try to get the rating. If they are diagnosed, they must show the VA compliance reports. This means they will be using the CPAP masks and in targeting this demographic, I am ensured that every three months they will receive a new supply of masks. This is beneficial, because I know that they will always have an extra mask on hand while the other is being cleaned. My customers are retired and or on their w...

16A – What’s Your Secret Sauce? Know Thyself 1) Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique. What is it about you, exactly, that makes you different? Write this up in a detailed list. A) Experience: I have worked at three military hospitals in 3 different clinic settings: Emergency Room, MRI Department and Sleep Clinic. Working in the Sleep Clinic under four Providers, has provided me with an insight to Sleep Apnea and other disorders. B) Communicator: I have lived in Japan, Italy, Germany and the United States. I understand the importance of communication. I know that there are different ways of communicating, depending on cultures. C) Creative: I am known for coming up with the craziest ideas for solving issues that people are like wow that’s brilliant! For example: I have military coins and didn’t want to spend $30 on a coin holder for my office. I grabbed a gold binder clip, stuck the coin in it and propped it up and boom I have a coin ...

15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2 Evaluating How Your Customers Evaluate Stuff Choosing a segment: For this assignment, I chose a segment of experienced CPAP users aged 60 and older, that have used a CPAP machine for a minimum of 2 years and find that cleaning their CPAP masks is a nuisance. Questions: Alternative Evaluation – How Customers Pick: 1) If you were looking into a CPAP mask cleaning service, what would be most important to you? Please rank the order from highest importance to lowest importance. A) Location B) Speed C) Cost D) Convenience E) Ease of Use F) Time G) Availability H) Quality I) Communication 2) What benefits would you like to see in an ideal CPAP cleaning service? How/where do they buy? 3) Would you sign up for a CPAP mask cleaning service over the internet, by phone or in person?  4) If you were interested in a CPAP mask cleaning service, would you be more interested in paying a subscription based service or paying individually fo...