28A - 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?

 When I initially started this idea of the scannable menu I had intended to come up with my own app. However, I realized how hard it might be to get another food tracking app to be successful in the fitness industry. Instead, I decided that I would like to sell the idea of the scannable menu to a established company like MyFitnessPal and hopefully get a return.

2)    Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

 I selected this strategy because I wasn’t sure how to go about making an app or even sure if I wanted to take the time to market my very own app. I figured the easiest way to exit was to offer the idea to another company to run with.

3)    How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?

 My exit strategy influenced the work I was willing to put into the opportunity. I knew the opportunity I wanted to go after because it was an unmet need for myself. However, I knew I didn’t want the pressure of having to market my own app so it actually influenced the decision to want to partner with MyFitnessPal.

27A - Reading Reflection No.3

1.     What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The theme of the book was trying to teach you ways to be successful. The author talks about ways in which he failed and how his failures ultimately led to his success. Some of the ways to be successful he talks about is using systems not goals to get to where you want to be, managing your energy (knowing what activities and the time of day your energy is at its highest), diet and exercise, and learning a little about many things instead of specializing in one.

2.     How did the book in your opinion connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

In class and the book the author talked about failing (getting fired, getting patents, starting businesses), but learning something from each failure to come up with his “x-factor.” In this class, sometimes we didn’t get the most positive interviews with people we chose to interview. Instead of dwelling on the bad we need to figure out how to make the problem better and creating our niche.  

3.     If you had to design an exercise for this class based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

I would do an activity maybe on mindfulness. The author talks about looking at habits of some of the most successful people. I know when I thought about this, I would say most successful people wake up early. However, he also talked about knowing yourself and when YOU have the most energy to do something. Therefore, I would have everyone track how they feel throughout the day so they can figure out what time they are most likely to get the most work done.

4.What was your biggest surprise or ‘aha’ moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

I’m not really sure what I expected to take out of this book but my favorite parts of the book that caused me to take a second look at how I work and study at home were my aha moments. He talks about never working where you relax and surrounding yourself around people that inspire you and being inspired by them. Since my husband and I have both been working from home, sometimes he is off when I have to work and I notice that my energy often associates with his. If he is off, and watching TV in the next room over, I too want to watch TV and not work. Its been a hard balance but learning and understand this has helped me come up with a better strategy when working while he is off.

26A- Celebrating Failure

26A- Celebrating Failure

1.     A time I failed in this class was just recently. I did not complete assignment 20A – Growing Your Social Capital. I was feeling overwhelmed with the assignment and anxious about contacting professionals about a startup that I don’t necessarily have intentions of starting myself. Therefore, I let time and anxiety get the best of me and did not complete the assignment.

2.     I learned that if you are feeling overwhelmed, ask for help. Also, don’t feel intimidated in this class. The worst outcome that could happen by contacting these professionals would be they weren’t interested in speaking or they wouldn’t answer back an email.

3.     Failure is very hard. I don’t handle failure well. Emotionally, it makes me even more anxious than I would have been if I had just done the assignment. This class has taught me as an entrepreneur you have to be willing to accept no many times, but obviously it doesn’t mean you failed. I am not a person who loves to take risks, but if I had to do assignment 20A again, I would do it.

25A - What's Next?

25A – What’s Next?

Existing Market

1.     I think expanding my market to people who suffer from food allergens would be a good next step for my service.

2.     I got a few different responses back for what my business should do next. One of the answers was to make sure that the scannable menu is even marketed to chains that sell sweets. An example they gave was having a day where they want a donut or some ice cream. It is something they would like to track in their MyFitnessPal app easily as well. Without getting to involved in jargon, she explained that many people have a higher calorie intake that can handle a donut or three without ruining their day. Another person added that while its convenient to be able to scan the menu item directly, what if someone wanted to custom the meal. (I.E. Add broccoli substitute instead of French fries), would they have the flexibility to do this. This was a great point and something I would need to try and add on as another app feature.

3.     I am glad I had these interviews because I believe something that I can/would incorporate in the app is the ability to customize the option to calculate for substitutes. I think in order to keep a competitive advantage before other competitors try and jump in would be to do this, so this would need to be added now. Down the line I think expanding my market to reach customers that have food allergens would be smart.

I would offer a scanning tool through the app where you can scan grocery items and the restaurant menu to detect ingredients that you may have an allergen to.

New Market

1.     My new market is anyone 40+ who don’t normally track their food.

2.     I think its important as people get older to try and stay healthy for themselves and their families. Being healthy has many benefits. It keeps them out of the hospital ( lower or fewer medical bills) and gives them longevity. I think tracking their food would just give them the ability to be mindful to be healthy.

3.     I interviewed my parents for this one. My mom always “diets” but never really sticks to it. She is a nurse and is always running around at work. She said if a restaurant offers a scannable menu on their takeout menu that might make it easier to track while she’s at work. She just explained it would have to be very fast and easy for her to navigate through the app to stick with it. My dad on the other hand, wasn’t very interested at all. He has had colon cancer and knows what it is like to not be in good health. However, he said when he eats out its to enjoy his food, not to be health conscious. According to him, there is nothing in the app that would make him want to track his food.

4.     I can’t say I am surprised that a radically different market was not a fan of my app idea. My dad saw no benefit to him because he had no interest in tracking his food. My mom’s answers surprised me a little bit when thinking about including a barcode on even takeout menus. My new market is not as attractive as my existing market, and I wouldn’t switch it or really try to appeal to the different age market or try and convince people who are not interested in tracking food to track now.

24A - Venture Concept

24A - Venture Concept

Opportunity

There is an opportunity that exists in the restaurant industry. The FDA and the younger generation have pushed for healthy options, convenience, and transparency in their food nutrition when eating out. With the use of food tracking applications, more people are tracking their calories and are interested in what is in their food at restaurants. People using these apps often have the flexibility to eat out at restaurants, but not without taking many steps to be able to do so to track their calorie intake when dining at a restaurant. Customers currently either do not eat out to avoid “cheating” on their diet, or look up nutrition information on the restaurant website before going in to dine to make sure the restaurant provides a meal that will fit into their calorie intake. There is opportunity for restaurants to cater better to these customers and create customer loyalty by being transparent. I believe the opportunity is large because the window of opportunity is always open. Consumers are almost always on a diet for some future event (summer break, spring break, weddings, anniversaries, graduation photos), therefore, there is always a market. The market for restaurants would be any restaurant that the FDA requires to list their calories next to meals already (this would be any restaurant with over 20 menu items).

Innovation

The product/service I would provide is a scannable menu that is compatible with the MyFitnessPal app. The product is an opportunity for restaurant businesses as well as consumers. The scannable menu would be marketed to chain restaurants. The restaurant would redo menus to include small QR codes (or barcode) next to each menu item. The price market to include QR codes is unknown at this stage of the product but would be dependent on the number of menu items offered. The cost is expected to be comparable to changing out menus every time a new menu item needs to be offered. From the consumer standpoint, they would be receiving the convenience of scanning the menu item instead of needing to input calorie counts manually. They would also be also share the convenience of not needing to search the restaurant website for nutrition information. All the information will be provided inside of the MyFitnessPal app. Once a customer chooses a menu item they will open their MyFitnessPal app, and scan the QR code on the menu. The app will list the menu item name, the calorie amount, protein, carbohydrates, fats, and all allergy information. Once the customer reviews the information, they will press a confirmation button and the meal will be added to your daily calorie intake. I think a reasonable price range would be $10 per month to be able to access the convenient tool. This price is comparable to apps that offer a similar feature, and is actually on the lower end to charge for a convenient fitness app.

Venture Concept

Customers with strict dietary needs often do not eat out at all or have a select few restaurants that they choose to eat at because they are familiar with what goes into their food and the calorie content. My concept of the scannable menu paired with the top food tracking app will allow those customers convenience when dining out and they can rest assured that they do not have to give up on their diet just because they are eating out. My concept is also valuable to restaurants as consumers shift to wanting more healthy choices and want to see transparency in restaurant menus nutrition. Scannable menu shows customers they care about customer experience and convenience. I chose to pair the scannable menu with MyFitnessPal because it is the top food tracking app. This decision was based off of customer ease in not needing to transfer apps. Therefore, I think customers will feel comfortable in knowing they can continue to be loyal to the app. Customers who do not already use MyFitnessPal, may make the switch to it due to the convenience the scannable menu will offer. The competition has not yet been created. Current fitness applications offer the ability to scan grocery store items to easily upload their nutrition, but there is not fitness app that allows that compatibility in restaurants. I believe the competition would arise after the app is put out as competitors will then try and compete in offering a better, improved upon solution.

Three Minor Elements

I believe the advantage my business concept will have is the partnership I plan to have in chain restaurants and the top food tracking app. Chain restaurants (Applebys, BJ’s Brewery, Chilis, etc.) and MyFitnessPal are already very successful branding names. Partnering with them will be an advantage.

The next step for the venture will probably target people who suffer from food allergens. Instead of depending on a waiter to tell you if an allergen is in an item, you will be able to see all ingredients that go into food choices to double check that your item does not contain your allergen.

It is not my intention to stay involved long term with this service. I would want to sell it to MyFitnessPal. I came up with this idea because I was one of the customers who is affected by it on a daily basis when I go out to eat.

23A - What Makes You Special

23A – What Makes You Special

1.     Originality

Value-  Yes, originality fosters growth in a business.

Rare- Yes, it’s rare to see originality in a service/product.

Imitable- Yes, I think people strive to come up with original ideas.

Non-substitutable-  I think when you have something original, people want to copy it or try and improve on it.

2.     Customer Relation

Value- Very valuable. Part of providing service is to find a way to connect with customers and I believe this product will open up businesses to a new market.

Rare- Its rare because its needed for a service/product to be successful and if it wasn’t rare, every company would be successful.

Inimitable- Yes, companies should want to imitate customer relation.

Non-substitutable – No, this is not substitutable.

3.     Innovation

Value- Yes, innovation is always a sought-after quality.

Rare- Yes, innovation is rare.

Inimitable- Yes, it can be copied or give another person the ability to improve upon the current product.

Non-substitutable – No, not substitutable, you have to be able to keep improving on your product through innovation.

4.     Outsourcing

Value- Yes its valuable. You are able to bring in more expertise.

Rare- No, not rare.

Inimitable- Yes but may not be as good of an outsource.

Non-substitutable – Yes, its substitutable. You don’t need to outsource to be successful.

5.     Passion

Value- I do think passion can go quite a ways, however I’m not sure how valuable it is.

Rare- No, not rare.

Inimitable- Yes inimitable.

Non-substitutable – No, people can argue that money is more important than passion when beginning a startup.

6.     Specialty Knowledge

Value- Very valuable, people like to know that you are an expert at what you are trying to sell

Rare- Can be a niche depending what your specialty knowledge is in.

Inimitable- Yes, someone can learn and become an expert.

Non-substitutable – I don’t think it is substitutable because you have to know the struggles of a market before you can decide if its marketable.

7.     Tenacity

Value- I think it’s a commendable attribute to have, but I’m not sure if an investor would see it as valuable.

Rare- I do think tenacity is somewhat rare. If it wasn’t, everyone would have it, right?

Inimitable- Yes, it can be imitated.

Non-substitutable – Yes, there are other qualities that are sought after.

8.     Affordability

Value- Extremely valuable.

Rare-Somewhat. I think it challenges competitors to compete with your value.

Inimitable- Yes.

Non-substitutable- No, I think affordability is one of the top aspects from a consumers standpoint.

9.     Attention to Detail

Value- Valuable to fix smaller issues in applications

Rare – Not rare

Inimitable – I think it’s a skill you either have or you have to train yourself to be better at it.

Non-substitutable – No, other skills would be desired over this.

10.  Brand Partnership

Value- Yes, big brand partnerships can be very valuable to a smaller company or startup.

Rare- I do believe this can be rare for a startup company.

Inimitable- Yes, others can partner with an app as well.

Non-substitutable – No, I think this attribute can take a startup far.

I think the potential of a brand partnership would be my most valuable resource. The ability to be able to attach myself to a large successful app like MyFitnessPal or be used in major chain restaurants would open other doors and broaden my social capital.

22A- Elevator Pitch 3

22A – Elevator Pitch 3

1) https://youtu.be/MuaAo5mzhXs

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. 

I received some excellent feedback from classmates this time around. Millie suggested I use a story as my attention grabber and Macy just mentioned to speak up to exude more confidence in my pitch.

3) What did you change, based on the feedback?

I changed my entire introduction, hopefully it was the right decision and just tried to listen to the advice to speak louder.

21A- Reading Reflection 2

DONE 21A – Reading Reflection 2

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book? The theme of the book is mindset. The author, Carol Dweck, teaches about two mindsets, fixed and growth. She explains the difference between the two and how to overcome a fixed mindset and the benefits that you can add to your life by having a growth mindset.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003? Entrepreneurship is about taking risks and believing in yourself enough to believe in your product/service. You must be willing to learn what you don’t know and be brave enough to be critical of yourself and fix your mindset. This book showed me in what ways I have a fixed mindset and how I should be thinking to take in more opportunities.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve? I would do a memory exercise. I would begin by asking the class who thinks they can learn the entire periodic table in order in 5 classes? Then based off of the people who raise their hands I would explain what a fixed and growth mindset are. There is a memory technique that I have learned that I would teach the class so everyone would feel confident that in 5 classes they would know the periodic table.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations? I was honestly getting kind of stressed out reading this book because as I was reading I was noticing how much of a fixed mindset that I have. What I kept learning as I read on is a fixed mindset doesn’t have to be forever. You have the power to change it, it just takes practice and self-awareness. My aha moment was when I learned that you can have both a fixed and growth mindset. I am more confident in some things than others so I realized I can have both mindsets.

17A - Elevator Pitch 2

1.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnNsj5H7QGM&feature=youtu.be

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. 

The feedback I received on my first elevator pitch was positive. I have two classmates that aren’t specifically familiar with tracking their food and they mentioned I did a good job at explaining the process.

3) What did you change, based on the feedback?

I only changed the opening of my pitch, I'm still looking for a really good attention grab.I did try and deliver it better. I think I was focusing too much on not stumbling on the first pitch so I lacked movement and emotion, so this time I tried to be more present.

19A - Idea Napkin 2

19A – Idea Napkin No.2

1.     You. I wear many hats. I am a wife, mother, student, United States Airman, and avid weightlifter. The many hats that I wear contribute to many of my talents and skills. Some of my skills include time management, being self-disciplined, and leadership/followership and never giving up. If I were to start my business concept, I would want to be actively involved. I have been tracking my food for years now and would like to make the process easier for the food tracking community. I would also like to educate large chain restaurants on the opportunity that exists for them with a scannable menu. I think I would be an extremely dedicated individual in making this one of the best food tracking apps available.

2.     What are you offering to customer? Every person is looking to make something easier in their life or save time. The scannable menu is built to cut down the time it takes to track your meals and allows you to be more present with your friends and family while also making it easier to stick to your diet. Since chain restaurants are also a potential customer for the menu I am offering them a new way to connect to the health conscious customer which in turn may create a new market for them.

3.     Who are you offering it to? Demographic: In 2017, 43% of people who regularly use food tracking apps are between the ages of 18 and 45. I would like to focus on this demographic because they already know the hassle that can come with eating out and needing to track your food.Also, food chains that are already required by the FDA to provide calories on their menus (any restaurant with over 20 items on their menus).  Psychographic: People who find health a priority. People wanting to prevent weight gain or loss. People training for a sport with a strict caloric need.

      Also, I want to market to large chain restaurants like Chilis, Red Robin, Appleby’s, etc. who have already taken steps forward in making their menus offer healthier food options.

4.     Why do they care? Customers who regularly track their food will find this useful because it cuts down the time and manual work they must do to stay on track. It’s another tool to help them be successful in tracking. It can be used as an upgraded version of MyFitnessPal for $10.  

      Millennials and Gen Z are demanding healthier food and restaurants are responding to that by creating more health conscious menu items. Having a scannable menu will show their customers they care by being more transparent about their food and possibly opening a larger market.

5.     Core competencies After researching the information for competitors in this area, there are none. This would be a new concept. Many food tracking apps already offer the ability to scan the barcode of a grocery store item and this happens to be one of the best upgrades in food tracking apps. I would like that same ease to also be available when eating out.

I believe the 5 elements do fit together. The weakest part of the business concept is figuring out what costs will be endured by the restaurants. I think conducting interviews with restaurant managers may help me understand what type of costs they endure when updating a menu and what a good price point would be for the menu.

Two main points that I took out of my feedback was I needed to find a way to market my idea to the restaurants and think more on how I intend to do this. Another point was I need to start thinking about what my app will look like to the customer. I needed to start to develop my own ideas into what a “perfect food tracking app” will look like and how it will differ from others. I was able to incorporate ways I intend to market better to restaurants to purchase scannable menus.

18A - Customer Avatar

18A – Customer Avatar

                                              

My ideal customer will be between 20-39 years of age. Women are slightly more often to use a food tracking app than men, so I built my customer avatar to represent a woman. I see my customer driving a mid-size car and their hobby includes working out 4-5 times a week. They have busy schedules but make themselves a priority and enjoy reading books on self-improvement. If my customer has children, I can see them having 1-2 children.

The customer avatar is based off of myself and my experiences and some statistical data. I have everything in common with my avatar and I believe the reason is because the problem I identified started off as a problem that I would have liked to improve for myself. When I did more research, I found out that my age group was the ideal market for my product.