ENT3003 - Elizabeth Fullwood

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...

14A – Halfway Reflection Tenacity & Paying It Forward 1) Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? In ENT3003, it is extremely important that you keep track of due dates. I always double check to make sure my assignments were submitted. I also try to look ahead at the next assignments. If you take this course seriously, you will learn a lot. This requires you to begin working on the next assignment quick. I have found that looking for interviewees can be challenging. Also, begin reading the required books as soon as you begin class. I did, and found myself finishing right before the reading summary was due. 2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to thi...

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1 Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike 1) You read about an entrepreneur: A) What surprised you the most? I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. I couldn’t believe all that Mr. Knight had experienced throughout the years. This book made me laugh, cry and learn. I was very surprised how a waffle iron ended up being such a huge part of their innovation. B) What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? I admire Mr. Knight’s determination and perseverance on never giving up. I admire his gonads, he did a few things that I was like OH MY GOD! 1) Having a spy working in the Japanese company and 2) Opening up a suitcase that was not his and taking the docs! C) What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? This is a hard question because I sincerely loved the entire book. I guess if I had to answer this question it would be the fact that he did not answer his employee’s letters. He kind of left communication one sided. He talked about how he wou...

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1 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. Interview Questions: Need Awareness: 1) What time of day do you clean your CPAP mask? 2) Specifically, where do you clean your CPAP mask? 3) How often do you feel the need to clean your CPAP mask? 4) What makes you realize that it is time to clean your CPAP mask? 5) At what point does your mask become intolerable and you must clean it? Information Search: 6) When you become aware of the need to clean your CPAP mask, what is the very first thing you do to find a solution to your problem? 7) Do you look for any sources of information on an easier way to clean your mask? 8) Have you searched Google or any other engine for a solution to cleaning your mask? 9) If you were to search Google, what te...