My Exit Strategy

It's quite difficult to be thinking of an exit strategy when I'm still thinking of a way to get this venture started.  How I exit largely depends on many factors that are unforeseen.  However, if my application Athlete Finder is successful, then I see no reason why I wouldn't just grow old like Conan here and rake in the profits.  Ideally, I would hire a team that is constantly trying to update that app, making it more relevant as time goes on, and just oversee any big decisions.  If the app is doing well and continues to do well, then I grow old and eventually would probably sign it over to my future kids.  If the app is slowly going downhill, then I sell it off.  Like I said, how I exit largely depends on information I don't have yet, so it's difficult for me to give a concrete exit strategy.  This exit strategy hasn't influenced any decisions I have made while exploring this venture, and I imagine this is because I haven't even thought about it until this assignment.

Making It Real

Resume

Celebrating Failure

I've recently started playing golf and it's a very hard game.  So I continually fail at that every time I hop on the green.  I always fall short of what I want to do, whether it's hitting over what I expect to, or slicing the ball into the woods on my first drive.  This is expected though, because it's a learning experience.  You try, fail, adapt, try again, and gradually get better.  When I slice a ball, I say "Okay, what causes the ball the slice?, figure it out, fix it, see if it works, and so on.  Failure has never been emotionally draining to me.  I've never taken it bad, because I know it's completely nonsensical to be 100% successful in everything you do the first time you do it.  This class didn't really challenge my perception of failure at all.  I learned a lot, for sure, but my perception of failure being a positive thing, a learning experience, has remained the same.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

The only critique I had on my elevator pitch was more of a suggestion, and that was instead of making my app about finding other golfers to play with, it has now been updated to include many popular sports.  It was also suggested I explain more about how the app works, so I attempted to do that as well.

My Unfair Advantage

1) Creative
V: Valuable in the sense that I can make my app different and interesting, while also being familiar and relatable to the users.  I come from a family of musicians and I myself compose on a daily basis.  Granted, creating music is different from creating an app for athletes to find other athletes, but the same inherent ability to think outside the box is still there.
I: Creativity can be copied in a sense.  It's called plagiarism, copyright infringement, etc.
R: Somewhat rare.  Some people are creative, and some aren't.
N: No substitute for being creative.

2) I know a guy
V: This is very valuable.  I have a couple friends that are familiar with app designing, which is precisely what my service is.
I: Can be copied if you know the same guy, I suppose.
R: I don't really know if this is rare or not.  You either know the right people, or don't.
N: I don't think there is any substitute for knowing the right people. Networking is everything.

3) Education

V: There is value in being educated. There better be, this degree is expensive.
I: This can be copied.  Many people go to college.
R: Not that rare.  40% of Americans are college graduates.
N: There is a substitute: self-education. 

4) Determined

V: Very valuable. Instilled during my time in the Marines. Don't stop until the job is done.
I: Can't copy determination exactly, but it can be easily confused and conflated with motivation.
R: Somewhat rare.  I see people quit on a lot of things too quickly.
N: No substitute for embracing the grind and doing what needs to be done via sheer will.

5) Cultured

V: I have lived in 10 different countries. Valuable in regards to international user compatibility.
I: You can't copy an understanding of the cultures and customs of a region.
R: Somewhat rare. Many apps are region specific.
N: There is no substitute for having a high sense of cultural awareness and perspective.

6) Computer/Technology savvy

V: Very valuable, considering my service is an app for Apple and Android devices.
I: This can't be copied, but learned. Although, I've spent my whole life around games, computers, and electronics so this is second-nature to me.
R: Somewhat rare, maybe.  I know plenty of people that still don't know how to drag files to their desktop, or even copy and paste.  Seriously.  Cntrl+C Cntrl+V.
N: The only substitute for this is if you have a partner going into the business that can handle all the techno stuff.  But if your idea is an app, you should be familiar computers, phones, internet, etc.

7) Original Idea?
V: I put the question mark because while there is no app on the market like mine, it can be said that no idea is truly original any more.  Originality can sometimes be valuable.  But original does not always mean good.
I: The idea can be copied.  Heck, I sort of got this idea from Tinder.  Just replace the local singles with athletes, and you have a new app.
R: If every idea is based upon someone else's idea, I'm not entirely sure how rare it is.
N: Your idea can't be substituted because that's what your business adventure is based on.  Without it, you couldn't move forward.  Unless, of course, you substitute it with a new idea entirely.

8) Financial Capital

V: Very valuable.  I have a grandfather that loves helping family that want to help themselves.  If I pitched him this idea and he thought it could be successful, he would fund it in a heartbeat.  I wonder how many great services or products never made it to the market because the entrepreneur didn't have the resources to get it started.
I: You can't copy money... I mean you can, but then the FBI would come after you.
R: Somewhat rare.  Everyone has money troubles in some form or another.
N: No substitute for access to financial resources.

9) Work well under stress

V: Extremely valuable.
I: It would be difficult to copy this behavior. You could, however, grow accustomed to it.
R: I think this is somewhat rare.  I witness too often people buckling under pressure.
N: I don't think there is a substitute for working well when s*** is hitting the fan.

10) Social Support

V: I have a family of very smart people: doctors, physicists, writers, etc. Sometimes just having smart people offer advice and support can be very valuable.
I: I suppose you could hire a group of advisors from various backgrounds, but there is no personal commitment there like there is with a family.
R: Who knows, every family is different.
N: Each individual is unique and offers their own unique perspective, so this isn't substitutable to me.


I think the most important resource I have is my grandfather's financial support.  So many great ideas can't even get out there because the originator doesn't have the funds to get it going.  I mean, I can be educated, cultured, and work well under stress all I want, but if I don't have the funds to kick-start this idea into motion, it simply isn't going to happen.

Amazon Whisperer

Since I'm offering a service instead of a product, this exercise will be difficult to complete (as Dr. Pryor himself noted), but I will attempt it nonetheless.  The current revenue drivers for my Athlete Finder phone app are ads, like they are for most apps.  If the customer doesn't want ads and desires more use from the app, they can pay a small monthly fee which is another revenue driver.  As far as the "next" thing my customers want, again, this hard to answer because I'm not actually providing a tangible product to begin with.  The only thing I can think of to enhance the service is to continually improve the app, poll customers, read reviews, add services, and constantly update the app making it continually relevant.  Since I can't go to Amazon and pick out a similar product, the best I can come up with is to find a similar app.  If I had to pick one, I would say Tinder.  Tinder is typically used to find local singles, but the idea is essentially the same with my app.  You select your sport, browse profiles of other athletes or weekend warriors, and if both people indicate a desire to play a game of golf, tennis, basketball, etc., then a text window pops up and you can talk about meeting up to play ball.  This app is essentially Tinder, except for athletes.  But this comparison goes off the exercise a little bit, because I can't exactly align Tinder with my existing business.  As expected, it was difficult to answer some of the questions because what I'm selling is a service and not a product.

Reading Reflection No. 2

The book I read was The Art of Social Media - Power Tips for Power Users by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick.  The book is pretty straight forward, and describes how someone can use social media to their advantage when it comes to networking, promoting, business, and the like.  I didn't find it all THAT insightful if I'm being honest, but that's probably because I'm very social media and computer savvy.  And before I took this class, I knew with high confidence that if you want to succeed in business you need to network, and right now social media is quite obviously the easiest way to do that.  It almost reads like a DUMMIES book, because it seems like it's for people who aren't familiar with social media.  Just like in this class, the book also talks about how you can use social media to gain insight into what customers want.  Different social media outlets allow you to test ideas in a certain area, demographic, etc., and see how people respond.  It's similar to what we do in class, except in the class we actually physically go out and talk to people.  If I had to design an exercise for this class that relates to the book and the power of social media in general, I'd say that in addition to the ideas that we've been formulating and pitching all semester, we also have to create a Facebook page in order to try to get our idea out there.  To make it fun, whoever's page gets the most "likes" can get 3 extra credit points, or something like that.  There weren't really any "aha" moments per say, because this isn't really a typical book.  It was more general tips and advice than anything, a lot of which I already knew or were things that as soon as you read it you go "oh, well yeah, that makes sense".  A lot of what I know or have learned already came a lot from trial and error, actually.  A few years ago I started YouTube channel that combines comedy and fitness.  It took many videos before we realized a few things, what worked and what didn't as far as promoting content.  That process could have been more fluid though if I had read this book ahead of time.  Even for people already familiar with social media, it's always good to reinforce good ideas and the book contains many.  One in particular that I learned a long time ago was to state your point clearly, and nothing else.  Filler words and unnecessary jabber just detracts from the focus of your rhetoric, your product, your idea, etc., which isn't a good thing.  Keeps things short and sweet. 

Idea Napkin No. 2

*Items in bold are edits to the original.  Instead of the purpose of the app being to connect golfers, now the app connects athletes in any desired sport.  Changes are reflected below.*

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'm Kyle Harris. I'm personable, determined, possess leadership qualities, and am good at reading people. I'm good at making processes more efficient, troubleshooting, and problem-solving. I have lived in many different countries all over the world, so I've learned a lot from different peoples and cultures. I'm aspiring to launch an application that connects golfers with other golfers. This business, hopefully, would help me connect with other golfers, help others connect with other golfers, and I'd be making money from it. 


2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

Many athletes have the unmet need of wanting to play a particular sport and not having anyone they know to play with. Instead of playing with some random person you know nothing about, I'm offering an application that allows you to select a desired sport, displays information about other athletes in the area such as skill level, places they frequently play, and character traits and behaviors. This will increase one's pool of friends that play your sport, and now your chances of finding someone to play with that you actually like increases. 


3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common? 

Athletes, or anyone who just wants to play a particular sport, whether recreational or competitive. I really don't know how to give much more detail than that. Literally, anyone who plays sports and owns a smart phone can benefit from this application. 


4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

Well, the app is free but if they want to use more features or use unlimited services, they'd have to pay a fee. This is what is commonly referred to as "freemium". The people I've talked to are typically people just starting out with sports. They enthusiastically want to play their sport, but don't know many other athletes and they are not comfortable enough to play with randoms due to a potential embarrassing skill difference. But this is just not for beginners. For instance, if a female tennis player wants to play with other female tennis players, this app can help. Or senior bowlers find other senior bowlers.  People will also care because sports isn't just for fun, but for networking. The more people you know, the better. 


5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

To both questions: this idea. I have an idea that no one else has implemented yet: an application-based social network of athletes. 

If I had to evaluate these concepts myself and do a little introspection, I see some bad and good in this. The good is that the idea is original and have received lots of positive feedback from it, and I truly am a hard worker that could try to get this off the ground. But that's not good enough on its own. I have no idea on how to create an application, and I have no idea how to market it. I would need to do some recruiting to make this happen.

I'm supposed to summarize five main points I received from the feedback from the original idea napkin, but I don't have five.  I only have one, but it is the only constant critique I have received while I've been promoting this idea.  I think I have heard "why not include other sports too?" many, many times.  It's a fair point, and while people keep telling me golf might be too narrow of a market, I've just been worried that if I include all sports perhaps that is too wide of a market?  Regardless, I implemented the feedback into this idea napkin quite easily.  For the most part, I just took out the words "golf" and "golfers" and replaced them with "sports" and "athletes".

My Customer's Avatar

My idea is an app called ParPal.  My customers need two things: a desire to play golf, and the ability to use a smart phone.  If someone meets those two criteria, then they are a potential customer.  I get the idea of creating a specific customer avatar, but golf doesn't cater to a specific person.  Anyone can play.  It doesn't matter what they watch on TV, whether they have kids, or what the color of their car is.  If I had to get absolutely specific, I would say those newer to golf would benefit the most from the app, that way they can expand their pool of friends to play golf with.  They'll have to be fluent with technology, so my customer avatar would be someone young/middle-aged since most seniors I know have trouble keeping up with technology (my grandpa still doesn't know how to text).  Also, if you're new to golf, chances are you'll be bad.  You'll also be frustrated a lot.  So I think this avatar sums those qualities up nicely: a youngish new golfer that gets easily frustrated since golf is hard...which I can totally relate to.

Elevator Pitch No. 2

I didn't find any of the feedback I received as either surprising or silly,  In fact, I actually expected it. When I posted the first video I was in a rush and said to myself "I didn't speak up or speak confidently", so I wasn't surprised at all when that was the major critique I received form others.  So I made it a point to speak up in this one.