My Venture's Unfair Advantage

Assignment 23A - My Venture's Unfair Advantage

My resources:

1.     Human Capital: Experience as an athlete. As an athlete I have been focused on my sport but also had to balance parts of my life.

-       Valuable: This is very valuable as it has taught me skills that apply to the real world such as discipline, organization, time management, and focus, which I can apply to this venture.

-       Rare: There are many athletes out there so this is available to others, however, it is slightly rare as I have competed for both my country and as a collegiate athlete.

-       Inimitable: These skills can be developed through many different pathways but are each slightly individual to the person and unique, so can be imitated to a point.

-       Non-substitutable: These skills are needed in a business and do not necessarily need to come from an athlete so can be substituted by someone else with this skill set.

2.     Human Capital: Experience of being International and traveling.

-       Valuable: This is valuable as I have been able to travel and witness how other countries conduct restaurant services and their uniqueness.

-       Rare: Other people can travel to places to see how they deal with wait times in restaurants so this is not rare. However, I grew up in New Zealand so have a lot of insight about how restaurants work there, which is rarer.

-       Inimitable: this can be imitated as if someone else travels they can see how

-       Non-substitutable: This cannot really be substituted as if you have not seen or experienced these other options, then you cannot really understand how they work and apply it in a business.

3.     Social capital: Connection with other athletes and the athletic world: I have a constant flow of communication and feedback with athletes.

-       Valuable: This is very valuable as athletes are a big section of my market being in a university town for a Division 1 school. They are also constantly pushed for time and looking for the best options, so being able to communicate with them allows me to develop my ideas to the highest effectiveness.

-       Rare: It is rare for a person to have this many connections to the athletic world as I can communicate with current athletes, former athletes, coaches, nutritionists, trainers, etc.

-       Inimitable: People can try forming relationships with athletes, but being an athlete myself for over 10 years gives me a unique advantage and way to communicate on the same level.

-       Non-substitutable: Feedback is always needed in a venture therefore, this can be substituted for communication with other students, however, there are rarely people who are as focused on food and pushed for time as athletes.

4.     Social capital and technology capability: Connection and access to people that started the company Phlex. They are former swimmers, whom I’ve trained with. They are developing an app for their company which could assist my venture.

-       Valuable: This is very valuable as I have access to communicate with people starting up their own company but also information about how to create an app and all the details that are required with this.

-       Rare: It is not that rare to have access to a start up business. However, my unique relationship with these people benefits my business.

-       Inimitable: Their unique experiences contribute a certain perspective which cannot be copied, but the basic information could be gathered from other sources.

-       Non-substitutable: This critical information is non-substitutable in my venture but can be pursued in a different manner.

5.     Human Capital: Being a part of my target market.

-       Valuable: This is valuable as my experiences mean I can relate to customers.

-       Rare: There are many people in my market so it is not rare. There are also many businesses whose founders were part of their own market.

-       Inimitable: Experience is something that cannot be copied completely as each individual person is different, but the general understanding and relatable nature to customers of being part of this market can be imitated.

-       Non-substitutable: If the market is considered students at UF, then any student at UF could be considered to have this human capital.

6.     Social capital: Access to an Entrepreneur. My father has successfully started two companies and continues to run one now. I can constantly communicate my ideas with him.

-       Valuable: this is extremely valuable as I can constantly communicate my ideas with him and get his feedback and experience advice.

-       Rare: This is not rare in the sense that people can communicate and get advice from entrepreneurs.

-       Inimitable: This can be imitated by connections to other entrepreneurs, but not completely as my father’s unique experiences provide unique insight and my connection with him cannot be copied.

-       Non-substitutable: A connection to an entrepreneur can not be substituted due to the valuable advice that can be gained.

7.     Physical: Home to work from. This is a tangible resource that saves money.

-       Valuable: This is valuable as it saves money from working in a store front, and this venture is very internet based. However, if the venture expands, a store front may be necessary.

-       Rare: This is not rare as everybody has homes they could work from.

-       Inimitable: This can be copied at other businesses.

-       Non-substitutable: This is substitutable, as people with more money could use a different area to work from.

8.     Human capital: Reputation built up from my background of moving overseas by myself to pursue my goals as well as being hard working and able to manage school, swimming, and social life.

-       Valuable: This is valuable as it translates to being able to manage different parts of a business.

-       Rare: Other people can be seen as hard working and being able to balance life.

-       Inimitable: A reputation with each characteristic is hard to copy completely as it is built up over time with the individual.

-       Non-substitutable: A reputation for being hardworking and balanced is not substitutable, however, it could stem from a different background.

9.     Human Capital: Experience with apps. I have used various applications over the years and followed their development.

-       Valuable: This is valuable as my business is focused on an app.

-       Rare: This is not rare as nearly everybody with a mobile device has experience using applications.

-       Inimitable: This can be copied as anyone that uses a mobile device can gain this experience. The unique experience will make the development of the app different.

-       Non-substitutable: This is non-substitutable as this knowledge is needed for the business. However, someone else could be hired to assist with this.

10.  Public speaking experience. I took a public speaking class at UF, in which I had to make speeches but also learnt information about listening and delivering ideas.

-       Valuable: The knowledge and information I learnt in this class is valuable and applicable to any situation.

-       Rare: This is not rare, as many people at UF take these types of courses.

-       Inimitable: My experience and what I took away from this class cannot be copied but other speech classes can teach the same information I learnt and this can be applied elsewhere.

-       Non-substitutable: This knowledge is non-substitutable in a business due to the listening and communication skills required.

Top resource:

After writing a list of 10 resources that I already posses, my top resource is my social capital and technology capability from my relationship with the people who started Phlex. I need to know about technology and the processes of an entrepreneur endeavor and this provides me with people who have first hand experience. After speaking to Luke for my Social Capital assignment, it was clear that he could provide me with a lot of insight into creating a business. My unique relationship with them means that I can acquire this information readily and this satisfies each of the VRIN due to the uniqueness of the situation. Therefore, makes this my top resource.