Venture Concept No. 2

POD (Personal One-on-One Development) Schooling

Opportunity

• Children are required to get an education and attend school up until the age of 16, when they can legally choose to drop out. Not every child is thrilled about staying in school or learning when all they are being taught is how to take a test or when it is not something that they have not excelled at, they have just been floated through the grade levels. Private school may be the alternate option, but it is so much more expensive. The other option is homeschooling, but that will not work when parents have to work to support the family. There are also Charter schools, which also have high costs. Then there are programs like Florida Virtual School, however there it is lots of reading and homework with no lectures and no classroom-like feel.

• Just 28% of high- and medium- to low-income public school parents are completely satisfied with their child’s education. Thirty-four percent of elementary parents (grades K through five) are completely satisfied compared with 25% of middle school (grades six through eight) and 25% of high school (grades nine through 12) parents. Despite significant federal and state-level focus on education reform in the past decade and a half, public school parents are no more satisfied today than they were in 2001 with the quality of their own child's education. Children are our foundation and our future, if they cannot get what they need in order to be successful in the future then; I believe we fail as a country. The children deserved a high-quality education where they can thrive without parents having to break the bank trying to make it happen.

• The forces that allow this to occur is all the testing/teaching towards the test, politics, government education policies, and cost of going to a school whether it be the tuition for private schools or the high uniform costs and limited spaces for charter school. The combination of all these things creates a big window of opportunity that will be open until the need is fully satisfied.

• Customers are currently just using the options they have to try to best satisfy the need. I believe that if there were a better option, like my POD Schooling Venture, the customers would happily migrate towards it.

Innovation

POD Schooling or Personal One-on-One Development Schooling is a holographic schooling system. There are two models: the POD chamber and the POD chair & virtual glasses. There will also be a facility where the younger students, pre-k to 1^st grade, can be monitored while using the system. What this innovation does is bring the classroom to you and in a personalized way to maximize your learning and build a stronger educational foundation. There are many services that come with the system, like tutoring sessions, parent-teacher conferences, etc. Social activities are community based and if students want to participate in sports they still can. The financials are somewhat straightforward in this business model. Private donors will cover the expense and along with fundraisers and gala events, the only expense to the parent would be the POD system. We get most/all of our revenue through the purchase of the POD system and any extra tutoring sessions that are requested above the standard. The students are provided a set number of tutor hours per semester. The cost of the POD system is cut down dramatically through an adopt a student program where a donor pays for all or most of the cost for the POD chamber or POD chair & virtual glasses.

Venture Concept

• POD schooling allows a student to get a better quality of education for less than what it would cost to send the child to private schooling. Customers in my market are extremely sensitive to the quality of the service provided as well as price. Students get to interact with their teacher and fellow peers, learn, and all while saving on transportation.
• There are few (if any) competitors that I know of; there are no businesses of this type using this technology for the same purpose that I am.
• Price is important because I am targeting my concept towards middle- to low-income families. Location, distribution, and packaging do not play a huge part in defining my business concept. However, along with price customer support and customer service is a huge part of defining my business concept. It is built on those relationships I make. One of the main features POD Schooling is customer support. There will be detailed teacher comments for the parents so they can keep up with the student’s progress.
• Essentially, there are two parts to this business; there is the manufacturing part or product and the educational part, which is the service. The number of employees needed is undetermined. There are a lot of different roles, such as:
• Product Designer
• Engineering
• Marketing
• Analytics
• UI Designer
• Lead Developers
• Teachers
• Customer Support, etc.

The Three Minor Elements

My Most Important Resource

POD Schooling people (human capital) are my most important resource; whether it is my own support systems, my customers, the students or the teachers my relationship with them all is what can make or break my business. It is hard to copy a personal relationship with, like a fingerprint it is one of a kind.

What Is Next For My Venture?

There are many details I am not quite sure about when it comes to the technology that will be used for this venture. It is not something that is typically standard. I want maybe to look into to how the system can make university online learning more interactive while still keeping that flexibility. I do plan to expand the product to universities and businesses. Businesses can use my product for training classes and universities can use it to make online degree earning programs more interactive and easier access to campus resources like tutoring.

What Is Next For Me?

I plan to pursue this business idea in the future, but for now, it is just for the class. I do not have the extra time right now that it would take to get everything started, up, and running. Five years from now, I know for a fact this venture will not have launched. If I do decide to continue it within the next 5 to 10 years, I would probably be in the preliminary stages of getting the systems manufactured, looking into the curriculum setup, and running trials. Within the next decade, I want to have started my own business, mostly likely POD Schooling will not be the first business I start.

Summary of Feedback

I did not receive any feedback for my first venture concept from my classmates. However, I did let some people read it and they all stated that it was very through and detailed. From the “What’s Next” exercise, it was brought to my attention that the younger student may need someone to watch over them.

Therefore, in my second venture concept, I added a few details on what was next for the product and company. I also decided to include a facility were the younger students would go when they are doing their schooling.

 

Final Reflection

 

This class and this semester has been a lot of ups and downs for me. There were so many times I wanted to just quit. So many times I thought to myself maybe I am in the wrong major. I struggled with so many assignments and I missed a few also. The only assignments I did not dread were the ones that dealt with developing POD Schooling, like the venture concept or customer avatar.

What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? 

This whole class was a formative experience for me; it pushed me out of my comfort zone. That was difficult for me, which made the class difficult. 

What was your most joyous experience? 

Honestly, as much as I would hate to say it, I did not really have any joyous moments. I was excited to take this class in the beginning. However, this semester just turned out to be stressful for me. 

What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

I am most proud of completing the interviews I did for this class. I am somewhat of a shy person, so in the first few I was nervous especially because some of them were strangers. I am also most proud of just finishing the course because there were so many times I wanted to quit. 

Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

I see myself a little more as an entrepreneur now than I did before. Learning somewhat the process of what it takes is the reason why. As far as the entrepreneurial mindset, I do not think I have moved any closer to it. 

What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? 

If you are going to journey down the path of entrepreneurship, make sure it is something that you want to do. It is not an easy path and you really have to want it. 

What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? 

Look at this class as an opportunity to explore a business idea you have always wanted to peruse and that you are passionate about. That way you will take the class more serious and get more out it. 

What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?
Do not procrastinate and be true to yourself. You will not go wrong if you do those two things. 
 

Reading Reflection No. 3

The Art of Social Media by Guy Kawasaki

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The general theme of the book is to give tips and tricks that will help someone to get the most out of social media for their company. 

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

This book enhanced how important it is to know your audience and the ability to effectively utilize resources to create a successful business. And social media is one of those resources you can use to help make a business successful, if you use it right.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

Create a social media account and campaign for your venture/product that captures your audience in a unique way. This gives the students to get some hands on experience in developing a social media platform for a business. 

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

This whole book was full of ‘aha’ moments from all the interesting tips and ideas. I was surprised to see how easy it would be use social media like a pro with all the tips and ideas. 

Your Exit Strategy

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?

I intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire, hopefully either passing it down to one of my children or selling it to someone who has a passion for it as much as I do. 

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

I selected this particular exit because I want to stay with my business for as long as I can. Also because when I am no longer at my business, I want to make sure it is in good hands with someone who will keep the business going for as long as possible while also keeping it in line with the company’s core values and vision/mission. 

3) How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?

I do think my exit strategy has influenced other decisions I have made in my concept. For example, acquiring the best teachers and making sure the are well taken care of along with our students. Choosing to build a relationship with my teachers, my students, my staff shows a long term commitment to both them and my company/business. My exit strategy has forced me to expand my network and to network more than I have before.