Final Reflection

I remember first starting the class. When I first started my business concept I didn't know exactly how my idea was going to play out. I knew that their was a potential for a business, but I didn't understand if it was actually a feasible idea. It wasn't until the testing the hypothesis assignment that my idea truly began to take form.

The experiences that I remember the most are the interviews with the experts. Being able to talk about my idea to people in the industry I felt was very helpful. Also hearing their insight gave me plenty of great ideas about how to potentially grow my business.

I do think of myself as a entrepreneur now. In my mind an entrepreneur is someone who strives to make their goals realities, and that is what I try to do. Having an entrepreneurial mindset can help you in all facets of your life, so I am very glad that I have begun the process of developing one.

I would recommend to future students that they listen to the feedback of their peers. You will always look at your own idea through rose colored lenses, and it sometimes take someone else to tell you when you're wrong. In order to succeed in this class you need to master punctuality and can't fall behind on your assignments.

Venture Concept 2

Marijuana is about to become a very big opportunity. As legalization becomes more and more prominent, in some degree, the popularity of the plant will continue to grow. The customer base is so large and spreads over all different types of demographics and geographic locations. Customers are currently satisfying their needs for cannabis with black market alternatives. This is satisfactory for now, but is still potentially very dangerous. That means that the opportunity for a safe, respected, cannabis company is very viable.

The feedback that I received from my first venture concept was overall positive. My reviewers seemed to agree that their is a potentially large opportunity in cannabis, and admire my foresight into this currently non-existent market. The idea is original and very progressive, especially because it is such a controversial topic. The negative feedback I got is because the issue of legalization is still very controversial. If marijuana does not get legalized to the extent to which I am predicting, than my idea is not feasible at all.

I have not changed my idea in regards to its functionality, but I do have a newfound appreciation for the controversy the idea brings. I have been operating under the assumption that legalization was a forgone conclusion and that is not the case. This will cause me to significantly delay my business if legalizing doesn't occur as imminently as I thought.

Exit Strategy

My plan for this business is to take the competitive advantage I have gained by becoming the first cannabis delivery service, and running with it for as long as I can. Eventually, competitors will catch up and my advantage will be gone. When that time comes, I will continue to operate the business based on potential revenue. However, if revenue starts to decline I will then sell the business, for a profit on initial investment, but potentially before it grows to its full potential.

I selected this strategy because it is not worth the operating costs, especially due to the enormously high taxes, to run a dispensary without a competitive advantage. I would operate the business for a long as its makes fiscal sense, but sell it off when that begins to falter.

I think the exit strategy is completely related to my product innovation of door to door dispensaries, with a gratuity system. This would give me a competitive advantage initially. Unfortunately, this competitive advantage won't last long, and that will significantly limit the business' growth opportunity.

Reading Reflection 3

For my final reading I chose Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashly Vance. I chose this book because I already had some general knowledge about Mr. Musk, so I did not find any of this information surprising per se, but rather informative. Musk is one of the most admirable people alive today, so their is nothing that I don't admire about him. I do admire Musk's ability to take risks and deal with failure by using it as a learning tool. When SpaceX first started it failed to successfully launch it rockets, yet over the past years has been almost entirely successful. In a similar story when Tesla launched its pilot vehicle, the roadster, it was deemed a failure after a couple of unsuccessful years. Now, with the success of the model S Tesla has decided to re-release the roadster and everyone assumes its going to be successful. Musk's best competency is his ability for foresight. I thought this was a very simple read, and did not find anything confusing about it. If I could ask Musk two questions the first one would be, "Do you think that humans will colonize Mars in your lifetime?" Musk has made it one of his goals to ensure this so I wonder if he truly thinks its possible. The second question would be, "What's next for Tesla?" After the potential re-releasing the roadster and its affordable sedan Tesla will be in practically every facet of the car market. I wonder where they go from there. Musk definitely values hard work as much as any CEO and it is evident is his projects.

Celebrating Failure

This past semester has been one filled with a failures to some degree, yet none have been too overwhelming. My biggest failure has been my inability to take advantage of extra credit opportunities in both management and sports marketing. My grades in the class themselves are good, yet they would be a lot better if I had just taken advantage of the easy opportunities in front of me. It is this lack of ambition that is going to cost me my best possible grade in the respective classes, and that is unfortunate.

What I learned is to always take advantage of opportunities that are given to you, especially those that will help you in the long run. You should never be complacent with what you have, because you can always strive to improve.

The most important thing about failure is that you can't let it get to you. You have to acknowledge your mistakes and learn from them. By accepting the fact that you failed, you can better yourself in the future by ensuring that you don't make the same mistake again.

What's Next

Existing Market: The next step is waiting for marijuana legalization to become the normality amongst states, or even possibly nationwide. When this becomes a reality that is when this business can actually come into play and truly thrive. Upon interviewing three more people, the general consensus is that this is a great concept. However, that is all that it is at this stage, a concept.
In the future, the concept of delivery will only grow. As online shopping closes more and more walk-in stores, people will continue to want things delivered straight to their door. That is why this concept will thrive immediately when it comes into action.

New Market: A completely different market would be to become a registered cannabis farmer, and therefore someone who supplies products to dispensaries wholesale. By becoming the original supplier the numbers become much greater in terms of quantity, but the margins shrink because of the wholesale prices and large amount of suppliers. After interviewing two more people, the idea is much less well received. To talk about becoming a marijuana farmer is almost absurd without any experience and the amount of suppliers being as large as it is. That is why this new market is not nearly as attractive as the existing market.

Venture Concept

            As marijuana becomes legalized nationwide the opportunity will continue to grow. It is a medical plant that has a plethora of benefits and is only increasing in its popularity for daily use. Medically; there are all different types of people who could benefit from marijuana use. It can be used to remedy issues such as insomnia, anorexia, and anxiety. The nature of these needs stem from issues that are already plaguing our society. And since the market is continuously growing, and the demographic is already the most diverse group in America, the window of opportunity for cannabis is being swung wide open and is going to stay that way.

            Dispensaries are already becoming common place in America and marijuana legalization for recreational purposes will only continue to popularize them. The innovation part of this idea is the door to door delivery service, with a gratuity option for your delivery driver. By providing the dispensary option for customers at home, it opens a whole new window of opportunity. Needless to say, that all cannabis that is delivered for medical purposes will be delivered pro-bono and can be ordered beforehand and on a certain schedule. However, for recreational customers, a driver will arrive at your house upon request with a briefcase full of different cannabis products. This case will consist of the most popular in-store options and will have a menu available online so the customer can think about what they want. However, by bringing all different types of products it will allow the driver to become a salesman, and in turn lead to customers purchasing more products. The gratuity would be on top of the selling price and go directly to the driver. Each product will vary in THC and CBD levels as well, in order to satisfy the different needs of potential customers.

            By taking control of a potential future market the delivery dispensary will become extremely popular. This innovation could begin with a test market right now, even before legalization, by allowing medical patients to place order for their prescriptions and have them delivered for free. If it becomes a more frequently used alternative to driving to the dispensary themselves, especially if the patient is terminally ill, it will prove that a recreational cannabis delivery service is more than feasible. The unique part is paying delivery drivers less than minimum wage in order to integrate a gratuity system. By saying that the drivers will receive more money from tips, it would save the business a lot of money. Also, the driver’s salesmanship will become a lot more important as they have the potential to earn a lot of money from each sale. Customers will prefer this because everyone loves ordering things directly to their home, cannabis will be no exception. I believe that the idea would get so popular that people would only go to the dispensary themselves if they are making extremely large purchases. There are no direct competitors right now for this service, however other dispensaries would follow suit if this method proves successful.