Celebrating Failure

In high school I was on the track team. I was a great runner--I was in awesome shape in terms of my stamina and speed and ran short distance sprints. When I got to college, varsity track was obviously a thing of the past. I still went for runs from time to time, but it was nothing compared to my old ways.

Now, here I am a junior in college and I have completely lost my skillz!! I used to run a mile in about 6 minutes. Now, I usually do it around 9. This summer, I made it my goal to get back down below 7 minutes. It has been MUCH harder than I anticipated. It definitely falls under the category of "multiple failures."

Though I still haven't brought my time down to what it used to be, each failure has made me a better runner. Every time I ran, I knocked off a couple seconds. So even though I technically failed, I improved. Each failure was (is) one step closer to my ultimate goal.

This is representative of other "failures" in life. I learned that they may seem like failures in the moment, but they are only bringing us closer to the ultimate success. We either learn from them or they make us stronger.

Failure is hard. I personally get very frustrated when I fail. But I know that being successful is a million times more satisfying when it was hard to get there. Succeeding on the first try isn't nearly as rewarding!

What's Next

Existing Market:

Next will be an ongoing service. This will allow the company to make more money because it would be subscription based rather than just a single payment. We would monitor a customer's online presence for them. Whenever something is posted of them by a friend that it inappropriate, offensive or controversial, we would run it by the client and then remove it for them. This way the client's pages would stay in tip-top shape at all times.

During my interviews, I received a lot of encouragement about my idea. Many said they would consider subscribing to the service as an ongoing service. That way, they would never have to worry about inappropriate things of themselves online. Something that stood out particularly (which I mentioned in my Venture Concept post) was an idea to pitch to Facebook and make my service an option upon making a Facebook profile.

I think that in the future of my company would involve more subscriptions rather than one time "clean-ups." This would be more profitable for the company. Also, I would love to get into the idea of potentially making it an option when signing up for different social media sites. (That is definitely a long shot but would be AWESOME.) I would eventually sell the company to help fund my next idea!

New Market:

This was really difficult for me to come up with. Because my service is pretty specific, I'm not sure who else I can really market my service to. Currently, I am selling to anyone who has a social media platform that needs to be cleaned up, anyone who wants their Google search to show important, positive things about them, or people who want their online presence to be monitored by me. I suppose the only radically different market than people who have social media are... people who don't have social media yet.

I can't exactly provide my service to this different market, but I can change up the service to fit them. I can make it a kind of "online presence education" thing. Teach about tips and tricks on keeping your online profiles and searches in shape. Also, I would then be able to sell the subscription to those who are just then making an online profile for the first time. Interviewees for this were my little brother and his 3 friends... they are all 10 years old and the ONLY people I could find within my circle that didn't already have some form of social media already. These interviews were kinda difficult considering they are children and don't really know how social media works. This enforced that my idea about an educational service would actually be a pretty good idea because the kids can learn about the importance of online presence from us.

After reviewing my findings, this market seems to be just as promising as my other market! Because of how prominent social media is in today's society, kids are creating profiles younger and younger. Teaching about the importance of your online image would be extremely beneficial for children. There are already countless programs that focus on cyberbullying and internet safety, but not really any regarding how important it is to keep your online presence in shape for your future.

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity:
Those who have the unmet need of my service are people who are currently seeking employment, applying to college, a grad program, or a promotion. Because of this nature, the general age group of my potential customers is 18-25ish. The reason these people are my potential customers are because this is generally the time where there are the most inappropriate photos/posts/memes/etc. on people's social media pages. These things can prevent people from getting the job or getting accepted into school. More and more of our society is becoming online-oriented, which is why our online presence is more important now than ever. Geographically. I'd say this need is mostly focused in the United States. Currently, people have to go through all of their social media platforms themselves to clear out things they don't want their future boss to see. In terms of Google, there is nothing they can do to change what shows up on the first page. Because of this, it is a very big opportunity. This opportunity will be available as long as social media outlets are checked before people get hired! There are also people who LOSE their jobs because of things that have been found on their social media pages from years back.

Innovation:
My service, which I've unofficially named iCleanup, will essentially "clean-up" the customer's online presence. These days, many people do not get hired because of inappropriate content on their social media profiles. iCleanup would manage the customer's various social media platforms, deleting and clearing out anything that could potentially ward off employers (or anyone that could inflict consequence due to online content). Another service we'd provide is perfecting the customer's Google search. With the usage of SEO's (search engine optimization), we could reorganize what shows up on the "top" or "first" page of Google when the customer's name is searched. That way the customer's LinkedIn, portfolio, blog, etc., would show up first rather than a Facebook page or an old MySpace account. The service would also help with going "all the way back" on our various social media accounts to ensure that everything is work-friendly. In terms of payment, there would be a "one time fee" for an overall cleanup. We will also offer a subscription style service where we will constantly monitor a clients personal pages and Google presence.That way, if anything comes up on radar of a negative post about a client, we can have it removed or hidden immediately. This would keep customers longer than just the one time social media cleanup. 


Venture Concept:
Everything comes together here. My innovation will satisfy the need of the opportunity because the target market will no longer have to worry about their online presence preventing them from getting and keeping their job. It will help those who already have a job because they also will not have to worry about something of their past being dug up and getting them in trouble. For those who have things that don't paint them in an attractive light pop-up on Google, the service will help them in an even better way because now things that will help them get the job will show up first. Our subscribed clients will forever have their social media platforms perfect!

Three Minor Elements: 
Secret sauce: close family friend who is an extremely successful venture capitalist
What's next?: maybe teaming up with Facebook so that it could be a subscription option upon making a profile
What's next for me?: If this venture launched and was very successful, I would sell it and move on to something new!

Elevator Pitch No. 3

I didn't receive any feedback about changes, mostly just encouragement. People liked my passion for my idea, so I tried to let that shine through a little more. I kinda think these can be a little cheesy, so I held back a little bit last time. But this time I just completely embraced the cheesiness! Enjoy :)

The pitch: https://youtu.be/QyqU7ReB1sA

Amazon Whisperer

My revenue drivers:
My business idea is a service that "cleans up" ones online presence. If there are any inappropriate photos, posts, videos, memes, etc, on ANY social media networking site, my company clears those things out. We would charge per social media site that needs to be cleaned up. Also, another big revenue driver is our "Google search" clean up service. This involves search engine optimization and is more complicated than just clearing out a social media page. This involves us working through Google so that when a clients name is searched, their LinkedIn, Blog, Portfolio, etc will show up "first" and the old Myspace page or photos you can't take down show up on the next page of Google.

What's next?
Next will be an ongoing service. This will allow the company to make more money because it would be subscription based rather than just a single payment. We would monitor a customer's online presence for them. Whenever something is posted of them by a friend that it inappropriate, offensive or controversial, we would run it by the client and then remove it for them. This way the client's pages would stay in tip-top shape at all times.

There is nothing on Amazon that resembles my service.
What I did find were many books about how to keep your online presence up to date. This differs from my service because we actually do it for the customer, not just tell them how.
This product would NOT be good for my business because it basically teaches the customers how to not need us :)
There are already companies that you can hire to make your pages on Google show up higher on the list, but mine combines with clearing out the bad.

My Unfair Advantage

My resources:

1. This class. This class is valuable because it teaches me all about the world of entrepreneurship and the skills necessary to be a successful entrepreneur. It is rare in the fact that it is held at the University of Florida. There are other places you can take an entrepreneurship class, but only one ENT3003 at UF!

2. My age. My venture is pretty much directed towards college-age people who are searching for jobs. It is so helpful that my age is representative of my target customers because it will be easier for me to understand my market. 

3. My friends. My friends are all people that could use my service. Because they fall under that category, it is an advantage for me to use them as test-customers. Also, they are great to interview about ideas because they are the kind of people that would be using the service--so I get honest answers.

4. My planning skills. I am an excellent planner. I am extremely organized and that is absolutely an advantage to me. Many people put things off until the last minute, but I am generally a go-getter and get things done right away. This puts me ahead of those who are less organized because they are more likely to fall behind. 

5. My dad. My dad works in financial services, wealth management specifically, so he has a plethora of advice regarding being successful financially. Though he works with private clients, he still understands what a business needs to do to stay on top. His advice is invaluable and only mine!

6. My high school. My high school experience was very unique. I attended a small, all girls, catholic school. This is an advantage because the girls I graduated with are all very supportive of one another. There is a bond that we still share and a uniform desire for our fellow classmates to be successful. That being said, I basically have 150 girls who would help me get my venture off the ground. Free marketing and customers, basically!

7. My sorority. Ditto^

8. My location. Though I don't think this is really THAT important considering my venture is an online service, being in New York is pretty nice for business. You never know when you may need the help of another company, or to utilize some of your network. New York is great for that. It is full of people who are striving to be successful as well. It will certainly keep me motivated. 

9. My competitive edge. I am extremely competitive. I realize that is not a unique trait because many people are, but it absolutely is an advantage in terms of getting my company ahead!

TOP RESOURCE: 10. My good family friend, Bill Gurley. Mr. Gurley is a venture capitalist who works for a firm called Benchmark Capital. He has been on the investment teams in many different successful start-ups. Namely, Uber, Snapchat, Instagram, and StitchFix. He is an excellent resource to have. I can call upon him for advice about starting my company. (I actually wrote quite a bit about him in my first blog post for this class--he was the person who introduced me into the world of entrepreneurship). 

Reading Reflection No. 2

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams

1. The general theme/argument of this book was a very humorous collection of lessons about life and success. Scott Adams tells many stories about his personal professional career (he is most famous for his creation of "Dilbert" comics) and what he has learned through them. It covers a plethora of different topics about life and I truly enjoyed every part of the book!

2. This book connected to ENT3003 in many ways. One way that I noticed first was the way Adams stressed the importance of knowing the right people. A huge part of success is keeping a strong network and utilizing it in your career. This can be reflected in our class with our social capital exercise. Another thing that connects is the topic of recognizing your own talents and how to use them to your advantage. A part I particularly loved is that of "positive attitude is not optional" and its true--it is necessary for success!

3. If I had to design an exercise for this class based on the book, it would be an exercise in which we map out our "goals vs. systems." Adams explains the difference as: goals are what you want to happen, systems are how you get there. For example, a goal is wanting to lose 10 pounds where a system is working out daily. He explains that goal oriented people are constantly chasing their goals and then when they reach them they feel out of place and then look for another goal. People who are system oriented are happy with each day completing the system. I like this outlook and I think it would be a great idea to make an exercise where we right down our different systems that we want to take up in our lives to improve them and help us accomplish what we would like to accomplish.

4. A big surprise to me was Adams outlook on passion. Many people would say "follow your dreams," "follow your passion," or "don't let anyone tell you you can't do something--" but that simply isn't realistic. We constantly hear that if we follow our dreams and our passions that we will become successful, when in the real world, it is usually the other way around. If we follow opportunity, we will find that success will come easily and that when we see the good things that our opportunity has brought us and the people it serves, the passion will follow.

Idea Napkin No. 2

1. Me
My name is Sarah Gies. I am from Rye, New York and currently a third year student studying Finance at the University of Florida. I hope to one day enter the financial services industry with a role in wealth management--preferably at a small, private firm. I have developed strong leadership skills through the various leadership positions I have held throughout my life. I also have strong interpersonal skills and am very organized and analytical when it comes to problem solving. I think that these skills will equip me well in terms of translating the wavering financial markets to helping people with their own personal assets. As for this class' venture, I think that it could play a role of helping me with my sales skills. A commenter wrote that my skills in organization and strategy will set me up for success in this specific venture! 

2. What am I offering to customers?
My service, which I've unofficially named iCleanup, will essentially "clean-up" the customer's online presence. These days, many people do not get hired because of inappropriate content on their social media profiles. iCleanup would manage the customer's various social media platforms, deleting and clearing out anything that could potentially ward off employers (or anyone that could inflict consequence due to online content). Another service we'd provide is perfecting the customer's Google search. With the usage of SEO's (search engine optimization), we could reorganize what shows up on the "top" or "first" page of Google when the customer's name is searched. That way the customer's LinkedIn, portfolio, blog, etc., would show up first rather than a Facebook page or an old MySpace account. One commenter suggested it is one of those ideas that you don't know how much you needed it until you have it. 

3. Who am I offering it to?
My target market would mainly be college students and post-grads who are seeking jobs and internships. This is generally the age-frame where people are applying for careers and it is also the age-frame where we would find the most incriminating content online (i.e. drinking photos, sharing inappropriate or offensive memes and posts, etc.). Through my interviews, I also found that students applying to college would also benefit from this service as colleges are now searching social media platforms before accepting new students. Another segment to target would be those who already have an established career, but would like a set of eyes on their name online. We would provide a service to them that notifies them when new content including their name appears on Google, and promptly hide anything that would harm their reputation.

4. Why do they care?
What you say online is much more dangerous than what you say to someone in person. Pictures are worth a thousand words. Every day you could hear a new story about someone getting fired or not getting the job because of an offensive Tweet from 2 years ago that they forgot about. Online presence is so important these days. I think everyone would benefit from this service. One comment agreed with the fact that this need is becoming more and more prevalent. She used the term "erase their past" when referring to what my customers would look for. She also mentioned that it will create better retention to what people think.  

5. What are my core competencies?
There are a couple companies out there that will help you look good on Google. But no companies have offered a service to clean out your social media platforms for you. There are many self-help guides on how to do this yourself, but some people don't have the time or patience to search through their social media from the START. This is the main thing that sets iCleanup apart from the competitors... we do everything, not just one service.

Even after reading the comments and doing this again, I think that my five aspects on this "napkin" fit together quite well. If there is an aspect that needs work, it is the part of customer retention. Once the online presence is cleaned up, I need a way to keep customers using the service. I thought of a subscription, that would allow people to pay monthly/yearly for constant online monitoring. This way, if anyone posts anything inappropriate/embarrassing/incriminating, we would remove it or notify the customer before anyone of importance could see it. I'm still figuring out how that part would work! 

Feedback memo:
>"people looking to erase their past" secures that my business idea is valid in the commenter's eyes, too.
>"online presence is becoming more important" also confirms that my business idea has a market available due to the demand for a pristine online image. 

>"I feel like its one of those things that you don't realize you need until you have it" this showed me that some people would consider my service a need. BUT it also indicated that I may need to work on my sales pitch because if people do not realize they need it until they have it then it will need some serious selling!

>"your skills in strategy and organization will set you up for success with this idea" great compliment! I'm glad she agreed. Organization is one of my strongest qualities and I truly agree that it will help me with this specific venture and anything else that I pursue in life.

>"agree that my five elements fit together almost perfectly" key word: almost! Nothing will ever be perfect. But I am glad that she agreed with me in the sense that they are pretty close to being a great plan! 

These comments helped confirm my original post, which is why I barely changed anything--just added on more to the original. They agreed with me on just about everything, and added some nice comments on why they thought my venture was a good idea and that my skills will help me with it. I appreciate their comments!

My Secret Sauce

1. Five ways my human capital is unique:

     - I am a natural leader. Not only do I find myself in organized leadership roles, but within my friends and family I am looked upon as a leader as well.

     - I have a great balance between a creative and analytical brain. I am quite artistic but my favorite subjects involve math and problem solving. 

     - I am very good at working with individuals. I can easily read each person that I am working with and can figure out the best way I can work with that person. Everybody is different, and recognizing qualities and styles of each person I work with helps me excel in what I want to accomplish.

     - I am super friendly. I can go up and talk to anyone and strike up a conversation. I love meeting new people and will always take the initiative to meet new friends. I could go to a party alone!

     - I am trustworthy. Maybe it is my friendly manner combined with my ability to connect with people easily, but I find myself in many situations in which others are confiding in me. I think that I make people feel comfortable which allows them to trust in me and ask me for advice. 

2. Interviews: 

I conducted these interviews by asking each person to give me one adjective that describes a way that makes me different and why.

First, organized. This person explained that my borderline freakish organization is a main thing that I have to my advantage. They knew all about my planner and how I keep track of every little date and things I need to do. This helps me because I rarely forget assignments and obligations.

Second, intuitive. This person described me as instinctive, oftentimes making the right decision when there is not much information available. He explained that using the reasoning based off how I feel generally gives me the correct answer. 

Third, artistic. I loved this one. Many people don't know about my artistic side because I don't really talk about it or show many people. I think it is assumed because I am a finance major that I am not into art, but I am! She explained that it puts me apart from my other business-majored peers and that ti is something I should try and bring up more.

Fourth, confident. This interviewee explained the importance of confidence in everything that we do. From the classes that we take, to interviews, to our careers and even in our relationships, being confident is key. I was very flattered when my friend told me that she thought of me when she thought of a confident person.

Fifth, self-starter. This came to a surprise to me but I think is great in terms of this class! This interviewee explained that she admired my ability to begin work or projects on my own. She said that I really know how to take initiative and get done what I need to get done. 

3. Comparisons

I think the main difference is that when reflecting on myself, I came up with more qualities in terms of my personality and friendships, rather than skills. I was shocked when I heard the word "organized" that I had not thought of it for myself. I would say that is one of my best qualities in terms of human capital and I can't believe I didn't think of it for myself. Another difference was that I think the interviewees were much nicer to me than I was on myself. It took me some time to come up with my human capital but it didn't take the people I interviewed very long at all. This shows that we need to be easier on ourselves and get our skills down pat and utilize them! I think if I were to go back and make a new list after doing the interviews, I would stress the artistic side more. I think it is pretty cool that I can pursue a career in financial services but also have this creative, artistic side to me. That definitely sets me apart and makes me unique I think. 

My Customer's Avatar

This assignment was rather simple for me because I have actually thought up a pretty specific mental image of my customer already. My customers will mainly range high school-grad school aged people/anyone filling out applications. But my EXACT mental image of my customer is a 21 year old girl graduating college. She is in the midst of applying for jobs and is concerned with all the photos on Facebook of her at Fat Daddy's with a drink in her hand. She was likely in a sorority, went out a couple times a week and took a lot of Instagram photos. She drives a white Accord that her parents bought her for her 16th birthday. She got really good grades and will likely get the jobs she is applying for-- she just seriously needs to update her online image from college party girl to business professional. Her favorite shows are Grey's Anatomy and the Batchelor. She loves going to Starbucks in between her business classes. Some would call her "basic" ;). 

I have many things in common with my avatar, but many differences as well. One difference being the fact that I don't need the service myself! I based the mental image of my customer off of many of the girls I know and am friends with.

I think I would be able to become obsessed with my customer's because I already know just about everything about them!