What's Next

Existing Market

Step 1:

     The next expansion in my business will be to expand my app to be able to identify more than just celebrities. My app will now be able to identify brand logos, famous landmarks, and famous artwork. By being able to identify more, this will increase the amount of customers I have due to the multi-functionality the app can now provide.

Step 2:

Natalie

Kimberly

Winston

Step 3:

     The customers I interviewed gave me great feedback for how to further expand my company. Natalie told me that I should enable the app so that you can take a picture of someone's clothes and the app can identify what website those clothes can be purchased on. From personal experience, I have often been in the position where I love something one of my friends is wearing and they can't remember where they got it from. With this app, this problem will be solved. My app can help solve people's questions and increase business for other companies as well.

     For the future, I plan to start by just allowing my app to identify celebrities, then expand to landmarks, brand logos, and artwork, and then work up to identify apparel. I want to begin slow so that I can develop a solid customer basis and then grow from there.

New Market

Step 1:

     My target market is young adults who are interested in pop culture and keeping up with celebrities lives. As my new market, I decided to use middle aged adults who don't have an interest in pop culture.

Step 2:

     I think my app may be able to create value for middle aged adults who are not interested in pop culture by sparking their interest. Although these people may not particularly care about pop culture, due to my apps convenience I believe many of them would give my app a chance and potentially like it.

Step 3:

Nikki

Fred

Amelia

Step 4:

     I learned a lot from this new market. The three people I interviewed all said that they would be open to trying my app. Being open minded is all I can ask for, and once they try my app hopefully they like it and continue to use it.

     The people I interviewed said that they would be open to trying my app so that they could relate to their kids more and partake in more conversations with others about pop culture. I was not surprised by their responses and think they proved my assumptions to be true. While this market may not be as appealing as my existing market, I definitely find this market appealing and will try to pursue this segment as much as possible.

Week 12 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

     I was surprised to find that many entrepreneurs perceive a high cost associated with planning. Having a detailed and realistic plan is very important when starting a business. Therefore, I would assume that entrepreneur’s would see this as a priority and not care too much about the cost since it is absolutely necessary in starting your own business. Additionally, I would not think that coming up with a plan would cost that much money, I would just think it takes time.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

     I found the entrepreneurial strategy matrix to be a little confusing. Further details and explanation would help me understand the concept better.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

     a. Which fatal vision, number 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, do you believe to be the most detrimental?

          I would ask this question because it could help me avoid a crucial mistake in the future.

     b. Why do you think it is so hard to balance the entrepreneurial versus managerial?

          I would ask this question because I am curious and trust Kuratko’s opinion.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

     I do not believe the author was wrong about anything in this chapter.

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

Most people in today’s society are connected through social media. Either through their phones, watching TV, surfing the Internet, or viewing advertisements. In doing so, celebrities pop up frequently. Since there are so many celebrities these days, it is very difficult to keep up with their names and people tend to draw a blank. While the need to know celebrities names may be more important to people ranging from ages 10-30, middle-aged people care as well. It can drive anyone crazy, no matter the topic, when someone’s name is on the tip of their tongue but they simply cannot remember it.

Some of the forces or changes in the environment that are creating this opportunity are:

• ·      Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.)
• ·      More TV series (due to platforms such as Netflix)
• ·      Movies
• ·      Advertisements (in newspapers, commercials, billboards, etc.)

Customers are currently satisfying their need of knowing who is who by either asking the people around them or searching on Google. However, there is always room for improvement.

Innovation

My business, CelebMe, is an app that allows you to take a picture of a celebrity (either in person, off a TV screen, from an advertisement, etc.), upload that picture to the app, and the app will identify the name of the celebrity for you. Many people say can’t Google do this for me? While yes, you can try and think of things related to the celebrity and type them into Google, my app is much simpler. Lets say you don’t know anything about the celebrity. You happen to see their face and are curious what their name is; my app will have an answer for you while Google will not. On the app store there will be two versions of CelebMe. One version of CelebMe will cost $1.29 and advertisements will pop up every now and then. The second version of CelebMe will cost $3.99, and no advertisements will appear. This way, I make money off both options and allow my customers to choose their preferred version.

Venture Concept

CelebMe will solve the opportunity listed above by quickly providing people with answers. Many people these days are focused on convenience. My app can provide you the answer you have been thinking about for an hour, in one minute.

I believe customers would switch to my app from Google because my app is easier. Instead of having to type a bunch of key words into Google so that it can recognize whom you are talking about, you can just simply upload a picture to my app. Since convenience is currently such a high priority in society, I definitely think people will switch over.

I think my price point is very fair and that people will be willing to spend that amount of money. People spend $1.29 for songs and games all day, so I believe they will be willing to spend that same money on an app that can provide them answers quickly. From personal experience, and those I have interviewed, it can drive you crazy when you cannot think of someone’s name. Therefore, spending $1.29 on something that can quickly provide you the correct answer is definitely worth it.

In order to support my business, I will need a few staff members. I will need someone in charge of the finances, advertisements, marketing, and the coding of the app. Having strong employees in those four areas will aid my business in success.

Three Minor Elements

Most Important Resource:

            I believe my most important resource will be my technology team and coder. Without them, my app is just an idea. This team will make my app come to life and give me the ability to turn CelebMe into a real company. In order to make it difficult for people to copy my business, I will file for a patent on the technology. Therefore, I will at least have a period of time without many competitors. However, if the patent does not go through, hopefully by the time competing apps come out my app will already be successful so that it is the highest rated on the app store. Therefore, if someone types in my app, mine will be the first to pop up as opposed to my competitors. I know from personal experience, that I typically buy the first app that comes up from my search as that usually means it has the highest ratings.

What’s Next For The Venture:

            Next, I want to add more features to my app so that my customers can use the app for more than just identifying celebrities. I want my app to be able to recognize brand logos, famous landmarks, famous artwork, and more. This way, my app is even more convenient for more people and my market of customers can expand.

What’s Next For Me:

            In five years, I hope to have successfully programmed my app and launched my company. Although CelebMe will most likely be in the beginning phases, I hope to have a decent amount of purchases and downloads.

            As an entrepreneur, I simply hope to be successful. While I hope to be successful from this venture, if I am not that is okay too. I am determined to do whatever it takes to succeed regardless of what business or venture concept my success comes from.