23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1.     Student Contact: Since I am a student at the University of Florida, I have the ability to contact and talk to students all through UF’s campus.

·      Valuable: This is very valuable. I will be able to talk to students and get direct feedback. I will be able to build relationships that will help my business succeed.

·      Rare: This is not rare at all. There are thousands of students alone at UF.

·      Inimitable: It would not be hard for others to get in contact with students. They are everywhere.

·      Non-Substitutable: Yes – I will be marketing to students first, as they are the ones who will mainly use my app. So I need contact with them directly and talking to people who aren’t students won’t work.

2.     Lack of competitors: There is only one product out there that’s similar to mine and it doesn’t work and is extremely unreliable.

·      Valuable: This is very valuable. I will be able to stand out because I will have a reliable and working app.

·      Rare: Yes. There are so many competitors out there for other businesses and ideas. The fact that I don’t have any is a good thing and doesn’t happen often.

·      Inimitable: My product is unique as of right now because of not having any real competitors, but it would be really easy for someone to simple copy my idea and do it themselves.

·      Non-Substitutable: In my opinion, nothing can substitute having a lack of competitors. You either have competition or you don’t.

3.     Management Experience: I have worked at Sun Country Gymnastics for 2 years and have helped manage the optional and compulsorily programs.

·      Valuable: Yes. This experience will help me manage my business and make sure everything works and in running smoothly. It will give me a leg up compared to people that have no prior experience.

·      Rare: No. There are a lot of people that may have experience with managing a team or organization.

·      Inimitable: this would be pretty easy for others to copy or get ahold of. There are plenty of resources and people that could help them gain management experience.

·      Non-Substitutable: In my opinion, nothing can substitute knowing how to manage a team or organization.

4.     Good financial standings: Making an app is pretty cheap compared to other business startups.

·      Valuable: Yes. This will give me the opportunity to hire more people to help me and will be able to afford all of the costs without going in debt.

·      Rare: Can be. Some people will have the money to pursue their business and idea, while other wont.

·      Inimitable: People won’t be able to copy this. Having good financial standings depends on the person and has nothing to do with stealing ideas or plans.

·      Non-Substitutable: No. Nothing can substitute having a good financial standing.

5.     Public speaking experience: I have taken public speaking classes and a play-by-play class at UF. Both of these classes required me to get up in front of a group of people give speeches/talk without a script and on the fly.

·      Valuable: Yes. I have become more comfortable talking in front of people and to large audiences.

·      Rare: Not really. Many people/students are required to take public speaking classes nowadays and it’s a lot more common for people to be good at speaking in front of people.

·      Inimitable: This could be imitated. But I feel like I have so much knowledge and passion for it that I am on a different level.

·      Non-Substitutable: In my opinion, nothing can substitute being able to speak well in front of others.

6.     UF student with access to Linda.com: I recently learned about this site. I found out you can get certified to code for an app when you simple go to the site and follow the instructions.

·      Valuable: Yes! It’s a great way to get my app up and running. It’s also super easy and cheap this way.

·      Rare: Yes. It is rare because only UF students have access to the site. Although UF is huge with tons of students, I still believe that it is something special to have access to and is rare.

·      Inimitable: This could be imitated by others. There are other resources out there for people to create an app through. But nothing will be exactly like Linda.com.

·      Non-Substitutable: No. People can easily use other sites to create their app.

7.     Good communication skills: I am able to communicate in an effect manor and am not afraid to ask questions or tell people what needs to be done.

·      Valuable: Yes. Communication is key nowadays and so is building relationships. People can’t build relationships if they don’t have good communication skills.

·      Rare: No. A lot of people are effectively able to communicate.

·      Inimitable: Others could definitely copy someone’s good communication skills. They could use your ideas and communicate with their employees like you do yours.

·      Non-Substitutable: Nothing can substitute good communication skills.

8.     Experience with entrepreneur: My father is an entrepreneur and has started his own furniture company. He has taught me that no matter how hard things get, you never give up. He will be able to help me get my app up and running and will encourage me along the way.

·      Valuable: Yes. I will have someone who has been through starting his own business and will motive me every day.

·      Rare: I think so. I could go and talk to a handful of entrepreneurs, but no one knows me better than my dad and I think having him help me through getting my app up and running is rare.

·      Inimitable: The relationship I have with my dad cannot be imitated. My dad and I’s relationships is like no one else’s.

·      Non-Substitutable: It could be. Another entrepreneur could provide the same resource.

9.     Passion for my new app: I am so passionate about creating this new app and getting people an app that is reliable.

·      Valuable: Yes. Having passion is extremely valuable and will make me work harder than ever to get the app up and running.

·      Rare: No. I feel like a lot of people have passion for their new ideas.

·      Inimitable: It would be really hard for others to copy how passionate I am about this app.

·      Non-Substitutable: Nothing can substitute the passion I have for creating this new app.

10.  RTS bus system user: I actually use the bus system on a daily basis and take it to and from campus.

·      Valuable: Yes. I know first-hand what is wrong with the current app. I know everything that needs to be fixed because I have experienced all the problems for myself.

·      Rare: No. There are a lot of people that ride the RTS bus system and who use the app. However, it could be rare if these people don’t live in Gainesville and don’t get to use it first-hand.

·      Inimitable: It would be hard for others to simple copy me and use the bus system if they don’t live in Gainesville. If they do, they would easily be able to use the app and the RTS bus system.

·      Non-Substitutable: Nothing can substitute being an actual RTS bus system user. I know all the problems and people can trust that I will fix them, because I too need a reliable app.

Top Resource:

After doing the VRIN analysis for each of my resources, I believe that the fact that my app only has one competitor is my best resources. Although it was hard to choose just one resources, I think this one works good in all areas. I feel like this resource is more important to my venture than all of the other resources because it will give me the best chance at succeeding. I will be able to take over the market way easier than if I had a lot of competition. If my app works like it should, it will be reliable and extremely accurate. My new app will take over as the app to use for the RTS bus system. Not having competition is valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable.