28A--Your Exit Strategy

The exit strategy I have decided to implement for my venture is to sell it off in around 5-10 years after its inception. The reason for this isn't because I believe the venture will do poorly or that it will begin to decline in that time, but more because I don't see myself making the venture a main part of my life in the foreseeable future. I would like to relieve myself of the responsibility in return for a nice return. Personally I don't feel as if my decision on this exit strategy has or will influence many decisions I make with my venture. I think that the slight influence it will have is just to perhaps not go all in with financial capital as I don't know how risky such actions would be.

27A--Reading Reflection No.3

In essence, the theme of How to Fail At Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams is that failure is a process that people tend to go through many times before striking success. A way I feel the book correlated to our learning in this course was that the book outlines the arguments that failure is something that should be thought of in a positive light as long as you learn from it. This is something Professor Pryor mentioned in lectures. An assignment I could make for this course that ties in with the book is to have students write down a list of some things they'd be willing to possibly fail at if it meant learning from the failure afterward. The biggest surprise I had reading this book was that Adams went through so many different occupations in his life before he finally became such a big success.

26A--Celebrating Failure

An instance in which I failed this past semester (on several occasions) was while playing pick-up soccer on campus. I was not used to the intensity at which people played soccer here as all the soccer I would play was casual with my friends back home. As a result, I was not playing very well and holding on to the ball for too long. This prompted me to play quicker and know what I want to do with the ball before I receive it. Personally I try my hardest to take failure with an optimistic view, and not let it bring me down. This class has taught me that failure is something that shouldn't be viewed as bad as long as you learn something from it. I'm almost certainly more likely to take risks now than I was prior to beginning this course.

24A--Venture Concept No.1

Opportunity
Who has the need: People who are hardcore soccer fans that have a need to view games through a convenient means.

Nature of the need: Many soccer fans pay for expensive channel subscriptions watch streams that are clunky and lag.

Streaming is becoming more popular than ever before and as such is an opportunity that is well worth being jumped on. On top of this, soccer is still the most viewed sport in the world.

Geographically they don't have to be anywhere specific besides a place that has Internet connection to stream matches. Demographically there's no preset for being a fan, however the demographic for streamers is typically 15-24 and male.

Customers right now are fulfilling this need by either purchasing channel subscriptions on TV or streaming on other services such as Reddit. Loyalty to whatever they use depends on its cost.

I think this is a rather large opportunity given the size of the soccer fan population and the exponentially rising popularity of streaming in today's society.

This item will also be around for as long as soccer is still a sport and people are still a fan of it and streaming is still a relevant means of viewing content. Since this is the case I feel that it is important to jump on the idea earl before others think the same thing.


Innovation

The streaming service I am providing is different from others. It is essentially a forum that will contain a wide array of different sub-forums for each soccer match that is going on that day. Viewers will visit a forum for the game they'd like to watch and stream it from the link provided by the streamer(s) in that forum. Creating an account for the website/app is free but revenue will be made through ads that appear on the site/app. Should users decide to, they can pay monthly $7.99 to get rid of ads and gain access to better quality streams.


Venture Concept
Customers would switch to my product because they want an affordable way to watch their soccer matches that is also easy to use. TV channel subscriptions are expensive to pay for and Internet streams on sites like Reddit are usually filled with malicious software and poor quality video. Since this is the case I don't think it would be too difficult to make them switch my service provides affordable easy viewing.

My competitors are TV channels that show soccer and streamers on the Internet streaming soccer matches. Weaknesses of Internet streams are that people may see them as no t worth the time as they are typically not great in quality and tend to give computers a hard time with loading and tend to have bugs. The main weakness of TV channel subscriptions is that people may think the large amount of money they need to cough up every month is not worth it.

Given that my product is not actually physical, there will be no packaging hassles to run into. The modes through which I will have my service are through a smart phone app and a website. This is exactly what defines my business concept because the very point behind it is that it is a streaming service.

I intend to hire a decent sized employment team that will be in charge of moderating the individual game forums. Profit gained from the business will go to further developing the service to be as efficient as possible.

The Three Minor Elements
Most important resource: My top resource in this venture is still going to be my knowledge and passion for the sport and more specifically my drive to make this sport a popular one in this country. 

What’s next for the venture: As this service grows in size the next opportunity I'd like to tackle is converting non-fans into super-fans. I want people that don't know about the sport to be experts after using my service to watch all the games they want. 

What’s next for me: In 5 years I'd like to be seen as a pioneer in not only sport streaming services, but also as a pioneer for soccer advocacy in the United States. I hope that I will be an important part of the history of the sport in the country. 

25A--What's Next?

Existing Market

I think that the next big thing coming in terms of streaming services like my own is making them to be seamless hubs of many diverse sources of information. Interviewee one has told me that we should be prepared to start the facilitation of sponsorship for streams or streamers. Interviewee two told us to be wary of the huge influx of potential streamers we could be getting. Interviewee three informed me that we should also be prepared to fight virus software or malicious computer content that streamers could attempt to plague viewers with. Funnily, all three interviewees told me that they feel consumers will really just be wanting to see an incredibly crisp way to stream; meaning ad-free, popup-free and quick streaming.

Based off of the information I received, the way I'd like to move forward with my venture is simply to keep my original vision in tact and continue to strive to give soccer fans the greatest possible game streaming service on the market. That means giving a hassle free means to viewing a wide array of matches across the globe.

New Market

The primary market I am targeting is hardcore soccer fans that watch the sport on a regular basis (several games a week). That being said, the new market I'd like to go after is people who are not big soccer fans or people who would like to get to know the sport.
I think that my service can create value to this market by providing them with easy access to get to learn a sport they don't know a whole lot about. One person I interviewed suggested I add stream moderators to each stream that can help explain different things about the matches being streamed that the viewer isn't very familiar with. The second interviewee said I should create forums for less knowledgeable fans and one for the experienced ones.

I learned that this market knows very well what I can do to help create the most value for them. I was rather surprised by the fact that they were so eager to learn about the sport and willing to do what it takes to do so. I think that this market certainly has the potential to be just as attractive as my initial one.

23--Unfair Advantage

1. My superior knowledge of the sport of soccer. This is very valuable to a business like mine considering it is based on the sport. There are knowledgeable people on the sport but it is not incredibly common. You cannot copy someone's knowledge, you must learn it yourself. You also cannot substitute knowledge of soccer with anything else because this is precisely what is valuable to the company.
2. I have a close friend who is well experienced with programming (for apps/websites). This is valuable as I don't need to search for someone to do this for me. It is fairly rare because not everyone knows a programmer as a good friend. However, it is certainly something that can be imitated. You can substitute having this friend with hiring a programmer but it will be more costly. 
3. I have the financial capital to startup the business. This is valuable because without the capital you can't really start anything. This isn't rare or inimitable but it is non-substitutable (you need the financial power to start no matter what).
4. My passion for making soccer big in America. This is incredibly valuable and also rather rare. However, it is certainly imitable. Also, you can substitute the reason behind your mission for something else. 
5. My ability to strive for things I'm passionate about. Not super rare and but definitely valuable. That being said, you can imitate this but you can't substitute it. 
6. I can motivate team members to work for a common goal. V- yes, R- no, I- no, N- yes.
7. I have a very strong support team. V-yes, R-no, I- yes, N- yes.
8. I can borrow financial capital from close ones if needed. V-yes, R-no, I-yes, N-no
9. There are many people I can seek out for good advice on an entrepreneurial venture. V-yes, R-yes, I-yes, N- no
10. I have an education from a credible university. V-no, R-yes, I-yes, N-yes

Valuable

Rare

Inimitable

Non-Substitutable

I think my top resource here is my knowledge for soccer. Other than the fact that it is non-substitutable, valuable, inimitable and also fairly rare; soccer knowledge will thoroughly help me tailor my service's experience to the customers liking as best as possible. 

Elevator Pitch 3

The feedback I received on my last pitch suggested I add some enthusiasm and spirit to my delivery, and as such, I tried my best to add that in this rendition of my elevator pitch. I can say with confidence that my pitch is far easier to recite now on this third attempt. I'm far more comfortable in  front of the camera and the overall quality of delivery has increased.

Assignment 21A--Reading Reflection No.2

In essence, the theme of Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter Drucker is that innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a different service. A way I feel the book correlated to our learning in this course was that the book outlines the arguments that entrepreneurs, by definition, shift resources from areas of low productivity and yield to areas of higher productivity and yield. This is something Professor Pryor mentioned in lectures. An assignment I could make for this course that ties in with the book is to have students write down a list of some of the riskiest things they've ever done, which is a reference to the book. The biggest surprise I had reading this book was that Drucker considers the word "innovation" as an economic term rather than a technical one.

Assignment 20--Growing Your Social Capital

1. Given that I want to work in the professional sports industry, Craig Schmitt is the domain expert I have chosen. I met Craig at a club meeting and I learned from there that his occupation at UF is to help students make connections in their respective fields. Since then I've met with him in person to discuss my future. What Craig has done for me is give me invaluable advice to get myself connected in my industry. He expects nothing in return as this is what he does for a living. Having him in my network will only help me network with more people.

2. The market expert I chose was Shelley Lyle, one of the managers for the UF Women's Soccer Team. Craig suggested to me that I email Shelley and so I did. Shelley told me she would try and get me an opportunity with the team. In return I would work to the fullest of my abilities. Having her in my network means I would have been able to get some experience before I get a job in the field.

3. The supplier I emailed was Vanessa Ramos, Operations manager at Miami FC. Mr. Craig Schmitt suggested I shoot her an email. I asked her information on things someone in her positions does on a daily basis at work and she did not expect anything in return. Having her in my network now means I have a professional in the pro soccer scene.

This experience will help me to be more confident in my approach regarding future networking events. Prior to these experiences I've written about I had never really networked with people for the intention of my furthering my career, so that's something different from my past experiences.

Assignment 19--Idea Napkin No.2

So, my name is Jake Mozo and I'm a second year Sport Management major here at UF. I have a huge passion in soccer and I have to say the majority of my talents stem from this area. I like to think I'm a good analyzer of the sport and I love to give opinions and talk about the sport. Aside from that I love video games and I'm pretty gross at FIFA. Regarding my business concept, should it take off I plan it being a big part of my life and in fact I plan on using quite often. I aspire to make soccer viewership an easy thing to do in this country.

What I am offering to the customer is still a website (also accessible through app) that serves as a hub for streams of all matches that go on daily. Individual forums will be created daily for every soccer match that is going on that day and streamers can feel free to post their game streams in those threads. Streams will only be obtained through legal methods (getting rights from television). This allows for consumers to have ease of access when looking for games to watch.

Given that the product comes in the form of a website and app, there is no true geographic segment that I will be specifically after. I am still predicting most of my customers would come from racially diverse areas of America and then Europe as well. Truly, the customers that I am targeting are more than just casual watchers of the sport and watch anywhere from 3-8 games a week

These consumers care because my service provides a clean and user friendly interface for accessing a wide array of soccer matches through internet streaming. It relieves users of pesky bugs and pop ups that they might face while streaming elsewhere. In other words, this is the easy, stress free means of watching all their favorite teams.

Being an enormous soccer fan, and someone who has vast experience in streaming soccer matches, I know exactly how a soccer fan would want a streaming hub to be like. On top of this, having extensive knowledge on the sport I know which matches I should be promoting each day.

Personally I feel that all of the information I made here go hand-in-hand with one another. Two points I took away from my feedback were that I could run into legal issues regarding TV rights and also that the service I am intending to provide is a relevant and necessary one. To address these points I made it clear that rights to these games will be obtained for streaming as well as emphasizing my strongest points from my first idea napkin.