Elevator Pitch V 3.0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oNhtPRrNOk

Reflecting on the first comment I received from my second pitch, one of the things that stood out to me was their statement that the variety of style and fabric options was very marketable and crucial to the success of my product.  Since this is one of the core differences between my product and competitors, it was very encouraging to hear this.  They also mentioned that having influencers use the seat covers in their cars could be a good way to market the product.  I think this is really smart and insightful since a lot of popular YouTubers have interesting cars that they share with their audiences.  Having my product in an aspirational position like that could make it a lot more appealing, especially to younger (18-30-year-old) audiences.

The second comment on my second pitch said that my second pitch was a great improvement over my first.  They mentioned that I emphasized the weaknesses in my first post and made the necessary improvements, which I completely agree with.

I didn't change anything with the content of my pitch for my third and final delivery.  Instead, I focused on my delivery and my presence in front of the camera.  I got the pitch completely memorized to the point where I was comfortable with it.  I focused on making good eye contact with the camera, making good use of gestures, and being enthusiastic about my idea.  I think this was easily my best pitch yet, and I'm happy with the improvements that I have made.

Growing Your Social Capital

Person #1: 

CARiD.  I couldn't find contact information for a particular individual at CARiD, but it is a website that sells automotive accessories including Rixxu seat covers, which are by far the most like the seat covers that I would like to make for my business idea.  CARiD has been in business since 2008 and sells a wide variety of automotive accessories.

This person is my domain expert since CARiD sells automotive parts and accessories, including padded seat covers. 

I searched "padded car seat covers" on Google, and looked among the various options available.  initially, my plan was to contact a competitor that is making the product similar to how well I would like to make it.  The Rixxu seat covers, which are being sold on the CARiD website, look excellent and only lack the ability to make unique, custom covers.  I tried to find the company on LinkedIn to no avail, and their website included no contact information.  I decided the next best thing would be to contact CARiD, and see if anyone from their website could provide feedback on my idea.

I sent an email to info@carid.com, explaining who I am, the nature of my assignment, and asking if anyone there would be able to provide feedback on my business idea, along with their name and job title.  I included a link to my blog post for assignment 8, "Solving the Problem" in the email.

I have yet to hear back from someone at CARiD, but the favor that they would be doing for me is providing feedback on my business idea.

Having someone from CARiD in my network would help me exploit my opportunity by giving me connections to an online retailer that could sell and distribute my padded seat covers.

Person #2:

Charlie Scott, owner of Car Seat Covers Direct and Car Mats NI.  He has owned and managed the company since March of 1986, and he is an entrepreneurship professional who graduated from the University of Kent.

He is my market expert since he has 34 years of experience producing and selling car seat covers, which is the same business that I am interested in.

I searched "car seat covers" on LinkedIn, and his company, Car Seat Covers Direct, was the first company that popped up for me.  I looked at the 9 employees listed and found the owner, Charlie Scott.  His profile contact info did not include his email, just the company website (http://www.carseatcoversdirect.com/).  I sent an email to the company address, info@carseatcoversdirect.com, asking if Charlie Scott could provide feedback on my idea.  The content of the message was similar to the email I sent to CARiD, and I once again included the link to my assignment 8 blog post and asked for feedback on my business idea.

I have yet to hear back from Charlie Scott or anyone else at Car Seat Covers Direct, but the favor that I requested in my email is feedback on my business idea.

Having Charlie Scott in my network would enhance my ability to exploit this opportunity because he could be a mentor to help me get my business up and running since he has owned and managed a successful car seat cover business for 34 years.

Person #3:

Chris Wimer, who is a sales executive/automotive business development at Moore and Giles.  Moore and Giles is a producer of fine leather goods, and Chris Wimer has been a sales executive at Moore and Giles for just over 3.5 years.

This person fills the supplier slot since Moore and Giles can provide both the high-end full-grain leather used to make my premium Napa leather seat covers, as well as top-grain leather which can be used to produce the seat covers made from standard automotive leather.

In order to find Chris, I first researched Napa leather, since I wanted to find a supplier for it specifically.  I found that it's actually a broad term used for any soft, smooth leather, but it lacks an exacting standard of classification.  What I did find though is that full-grain leather is the softest, most desirable and unaltered leather you can buy, so I then searched for full-grain leather suppliers.  Moore and Giles was the first supplier I found that actually offered authentic full-grain leather, so my next goal was to find the contact information of someone who worked there.  I decided to find the company's LinkedIn page, where I went through the list of employees they have on LinkedIn.  I then decided that Chris Wimer would be the best person to reach out to regarding my business idea since he does automotive business development at Moore and Giles.  He did not provide contact points on his LinkedIn, so I had to try and reach him via the contact for Moore and Giles.  They don't give out the company email on the website, but they do have an inquiry form that you can fill-out to get an email response from a representative.  So that is what I did, I filled out the form, mentioning that I was a student at UF who needed to get feedback on their business idea for their entrepreneurship class and that I would like the feedback to come from Chris Wimer if possible.  I specified that my idea involved making finely crafted, padded car seat covers using leather from a supplier like them as one of my material options.  

I have not yet heard back from Chris Wimer or anyone else at Moore and Giles, but the favor is requested in my email was feedback on my business idea.

Having Chris Wimer, or anyone else from Moore and Giles, in my network would enhance my ability to exploit the opportunity I'm pursuing by giving me connections to a reputable supplier of fine leather that could be used to produce my seat covers.

Reflection:

In future networking events, I will create a plan of action ahead of time.  This would involve looking at the list of people in attendance at the event, taking note of which ones I would like to meet with, writing down what I would like to gain from each meeting, and writing any specific questions I would like to ask.  I have not actually had any formal networking experiences in the past, so this was all new to me.  However, I think the main difference between this assignment and a formal networking experience is that at a networking event, the people you attempt to network with would expect to be approached.  With this assignment, none of the people I approached were expecting it, and I did not have anyone's direct contact info, so I had to work around it using their company's contact information.

Idea Napkin Number Two

Who I am: I am a senior mechanical engineering student who is passionate about cars, animals, travel, and food.  I am good at video games, public speaking, and racing go-karts.  Some of my more business-related skills include Microsoft Office, time management, and a strong work ethic.  I have survived 4 years of engineering curriculum, and I also interned for two summers at Fast Lane Travel, who takes customers on luxury Porsche driving tours through Europe.  I have also been to countless car shows where I get up-close with a wide variety of cars, which provides a lot of the design inspiration for my padded seat cover idea.  I aspire to finish my BS in mechanical engineering, then get my MBA and try to earn as much money as I can to afford my dream cars and travel.   If I were to start this business, I would try to grow it on the side until it became profitable, then devote all of my time to it with the end-goal of selling the company for at least several million dollars.

What I'm offering to customers: I am offering customers a way to make their car seats much more comfortable on long journeys while simultaneously making the seats more attractive.  The seat covers will be padded to provide additional comfort, while a selection of styles, colors, and materials will allow customers to customize their seat covers to suit their taste.

Who I'm offering this product to: My customers are automobile owners who drive for more than 2 hours at a time on a semi-regular basis.  They are mostly middle-class and do not have especially luxurious cars that would make long journeys more comfortable.  Some of them suffer from back pain or other preexisting conditions, which makes them more inclined to seek out a way to make their car seat more comfortable, like my padded seat covers.  They comprise a wide range of ages, from 18 years old and up.  They take pride in their car and want it to look good, they are individualistic, and they enjoy expressing themselves.

Why they care: They care because everyone wants to be comfortable in their car, and my target segment values their comfort enough to seek out a solution to their car seat's lack of comfort and pay for it.  This is especially true for my potential customers who have pre-existing health conditions, so a portion of my marketing would target them specifically.  They also care enough about the style of their car's interior to seek out a more attractive solution than the existing cushions and padded covers on the market.  They're also interested in having the option to create a unique seat cover that reflects their personal tastes.

My core competencies: My knowledge of automobiles, including the interior design and materials, is exceptional.  Also, I am good at planning and staying disciplined to achieve my goals, which will be very helpful for getting the business off the ground.  My experience interning at Fast Lane Travel allowed me to see how a small business is run, which would certainly serve me well starting my own business.
I definitely think that these elements work well together.  I understand the types of customers who would buy my product, and through the interviews I have conducted, I know what their needs are and how to tailor my product to satisfy them.  My personal attributes also fit well with the business idea, as I am in-tune with trends in the car industry which influence the design and material options for my seat cover both now and going forward.  The only thing that does not fit very well is my knowledge of how to make the seat covers, as I have no experience with sewing or producing fabric.

Feedback Memo: I received two comments on my first idea napkin.  The first comment made note of how my internship at Fast Lane Travel connects to my idea since both are in the automotive area.  Although the link between the custom seat covers and the Porsche driving trips isn't especially strong, it's still a good point, and I learned a lot about how a small business is run during that internship.  The first comment also mentioned that they could see my product doing very well on the market and even becoming trendy because everyone wants to be comfortable.  The second comment mentioned that my idea was creative and unique, which is exactly what I want people to think when they examine my product.  They related their experience driving to UF as an out of state student and how uncomfortable it gets for them.  The second comment also mentioned that it is a good idea to market it toward people with health conditions that make sitting in a car seat more uncomfortable.  The last thing they mentioned was that the customizability of my product is nice since many people like to express themselves through the way their car looks.

Based on the feedback I received, I added some things to my idea napkin, but I didn't have to delete anything and most of it is the same.  I have italicized my changes in the idea napkin above.  The changes focus on emphasizing the parts of my idea napkin that my peers thought were most valuable, but that I had not already focused on.  For one, I emphasized how my potential customers are individualistic people who care about how their car looks.  Then, I specified the desire of being comfortable in the car as a universal one, not just exclusive to my potential customers.  Next, I decided that more emphasis should be placed on the value of my product to people with back pain or other pre-existing conditions that make driving less comfortable.  The final change I made was explaining how my experience interning at Fast Lane Travel contributes to my core competencies.

Creating a Customer Avatar

Bradley is a 40-year-old real estate agent living in Fort Myers.  He has lived in Florida his whole life and he enjoys the warm climate.  He is middle-class but has aspirations to move further up the social ladder.  He spends many hours every week driving to the office and visiting listed properties with potential buyers.  He appreciates a good automobile, but is not a super into cars, so he drives a metallic gray Volkswagen Golf GTi with cloth seats and an automatic transmission.  While he enjoys driving on open roads, his back-pain problems make long drives uncomfortable.

Bradley is married without children, and his wife, Kristen, works as a nurse.  They have a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom home with a pool in a quaint suburban neighborhood.  They enjoy watching game shows, American Idol, and reruns of The Office together.  On weekends, Bradley enjoys getting together with his friends for a round of golf, fishing in the Gulf, or going to the local brewery to socialize and watch sports.  He also enjoys a spot of video games on his Xbox when he has time to kill.  He's not much of a reader, but he does subscribe to The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and DuPont registry to keep up with trends in the economy and the real estate market.  He is fiscally conservative but socially liberal, so he's a registered independent who supports political candidates that are reasonable, fairly moderate, and pro-business.  He is generally happy but looks forward to earning more so that he and Kristen can travel the world and have adventures like skiing, hiking, and white-water rafting.

I myself share some similarities with Bradley.  I also appreciate cars, although I'm much more into them than he is.  I also aspire to move up from the middle class so I can afford to go on trips and have amazing experiences.  We both enjoy The Office and playing Xbox, and we have similar political ideologies.  This is no coincidence, as my segment is very broad, so I decided that my prototypical customer should be someone in the segment somewhat similar to me since I myself want the product that I have developed in this course.

Elevator pitch V 2.0

https://youtu.be/Qr8iZ7VqqXY

I was pleasantly surprised by the feedback from my first elevator pitch.  I didn't feel very confident about my pitch, but the person who reviewed it said that she really enjoyed it, which was great.  What surprised me most was that they said my product was a major need in their life, and I always thought people would view it as a desirable luxury, though I'm glad that the demand for it may be even higher than I expected for some people.  I also thought their statement that "having many different styles and colors is a major plus" was very insightful because it confirmed my belief that some people would really appreciate a stylish and customizable padded seat cover over a boring and generic one.

Based on the feedback I received from my first post, I kept the content of my pitch the same.  The reason for this was that the person who left feedback on my pitch seemed to enjoy the content of my pitch, and did not make any suggestions to add or remove information.  What I did change though, even though it wasn't in my feedback, was that I decided to dress nicer, seeing as the other students dressed-up for their pitches.  I also decided to memorize my pitch so that my delivery was less robotic and I could be more dynamic with my gestures, facial expressions, and cadence.

What's Your Secret Sauce?

Interview playlist: https://soundcloud.com/jacob-jenkins-396991876/sets/interviews-for-assignment-16a

Part One: My unique human capital according to myself:

1. My knowledge of cars, especially high-end ones, is extensive, and I’m very passionate about them.  I can name almost any car’s make and model at a glance, and for cars that are cool/interesting/fast, I can also usually tell you the type of engine it has, its displacement, whether it’s naturally aspirated or boosted, its horsepower, 0-60 time, top speed, transmission, drivetrain layout, price, what its competitors are, and how compelling it is relative to its competitors.  I can even name cars with distinctive engine sound just by hearing them.  Relating to my passion for cars, I was able to qualify for Speech and Debate NCFL nationals with an original oratory on why cars are more than mere transportation, which leads me to my second unique trait…
2. My public speaking skills are strong and honed from my experiences in high school speech and debate.  I learned how to effectively present an argument in two years of Lincoln-Douglas debate, and I also memorized and presented a 10-minute original oratory in my senior year, which I got to nationals with.  These experiences allow me to be comfortable speaking in front of an audience, and I even learned how to work the room based on people’s reactions.
3. I learn very quickly and have a good memory.  This has helped me succeed in my classes without an obscene amount of studying time.
4. I’m good at seeing conflicts objectively.  In a disagreement, I can look at both sides, understand their arguments, and make logical decisions regarding the validity of the arguments.  This makes me good at resolving conflicts.
5. I’m an empathetic person, and I can easily relate to why most people feel the way that they do, provided they’re not completely insane.

Part Two: Summaries of each interview

Interview one: My little sister, Julianna: She said that my unique human capital is that while I’m very analytically intelligent, I am also empathetic, emotionally intelligent, caring, and I work well with others.  To her, this a rare combination of things.

Interview two: My mom: The unique traits she thought of for me are immense kindness, caring for other people and animals, patience, my problem-solving skills, my ability to understand how things work, my love and knowledge of automobiles, drawing, designing things, and painting.  She also mentioned that whenever I discover a new interest, I delve deeply into it and learn all about it.

Interview three: My best friend, Bryce: Bryce compared my human capital to my taste in cars.  He said that I strive for greatness and that I am the nicest and most passionate person he has ever met.  He went on to say that my burning passion for cars is what drives me to succeed and sets me apart from everyone else.

Interview four: My dad: My dad primarily focused on my integrity as part of my human capital.  He said that I stick to what I say and what I believe in and that I have high character.

Interview five: My cousin, Reid: Reid said that I am very energetic about everything that I am passionate about.  He also said that I’m very hardworking and that I love cars and animals.

I see myself as hardworking, passionate about what I believe in, intelligent, and caring.  Based on the interviews I conducted, the other people I know see me the same way, so there are not differences between how others assess me and how I assess myself.  I think my interviewees are correct about me, except for a couple of things my mom said, as I do not consider myself a good drawer or painter.  I would not change anything about my list from part one, although if I could add-on to that list, I would incorporate the traits that my interviewees mentioned.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior Part 2

Interview number one: Bryce, 19-year-old male:
When evaluating alternatives, Bryce seeks to find the best compromise between quality and price, but it depends on the type of product.  For a product that he plans to use for a long time, he is willing to pay a premium to get a well-made product that he can depend on.  For a product like my premium padded seat covers, he would first look for any options that would look good in his car.  Then, out of these options, he would choose the cheapest one that is still made of good materials and has good customer reviews.  Once he is ready to make the purchase, he would most likely pay the full amount with a credit card online.  He would prefer to buy the product from Amazon since he gets Prime shipping and 5% cash-back on his Prime card.  When evaluating the product post-purchase, the most important thing to him is that it works as advertised, and continues to do so.  If the product does not work well, he will return it if possible or write a bad review if not.  As long as the product does satisfy him, he will not regret the purchase.

Interview number two: Haley, 22-year-old female: When evaluating alternatives, Haley also said that she looks for the best balance between quality and price.  She has to be careful with her money since she is a full-time student, so she typically will not buy the most expensive option.  At the same time, she is wary of buying the cheapest option in case it fails or disappoints her because then she feels like her money was wasted and she would have been better off spending more to get a quality item.  With a product like mine, she would seek out the cheapest option that still has offers high enough quality for her to have peace of mind about the purchase.  Haley typically prefers to buy products online, mainly from Amazon since she is also a Prime member.  The exception is for something like clothes, where she likes to ensure that they fit properly by trying them on.  She also prefers to buy expensive items, like electronics, in person since she is afraid of them being damaged during transport.  For a product like mine, she would buy online since she can measure her seat to make sure they are the right size, and because she would like to take advantage of the customization options to create her own unique seat covers.  She regards a purchase as a good idea if she uses the product fairly often, and if its performance meets her expectations.  She regards a purchase as a bad idea if it ends up collecting dust, if it drains her bank account too low, or if it breaks/performs poorly.

Interview number three: Stephanie, 73-year-old female:  When evaluating alternatives, Stephanie typically tries to find the cheapest option, and she often waits for a product to go on-sale so that she gets the best deal possible.  When shopping, she sometimes purchases a product that she was not planning to buy because she sees a great deal on it.  With clothing, style matters, but with a product like mine, she would just go for the cheapest option.  She only likes to shop in stores, since she does not own a computer.  Not only that, but shopping is a fun pastime for her, and she often will invite her friends to go along with her.  She likes to buy a lot of gifts, and in that instance, she considers the purchase a good decision based on how the person she gave the gift to reacts, and how much she sees them using her gift.  For personal purchases, she usually considers her purchase a good decision as long as the product does what she needs.

In terms of alternative evaluation, this segments seeks out products that provide good quality at a low price.  During the purchase decision, some people in the segment shop online, while others look in-store.  All three people I interviewed would pay for their purchases in-full upfront.  For their post-purchase evaluation, the people in the segment primarily assess if the product performs as desired,