30A - Final Reflection

1. After reading through all my posts, I truly re-experienced the highs and the lows of this course. I rewatched my elevator pitches and remember how I dreaded making them. I also remembered how I hated writing my venture concepts. To be honest, there really were not many highs in this whole blogging process.
2. I would say the elevator pitches stick out the most because it is something that we will all have to do at some point in our lives. In another class I was told everyone ends up in sales some way or another even without realizing. Elevator pitches would be especially useful for those case where you really need to sell anything, whether it be a product or yourself when you're applying to jobs. I really do not think I will remember any of these posts past the next year. This really is not as magical of a course as this post expects it to be. I really did not have any joy in any of these posts due to the unnecessary repetition. I am most proud about actually completing this course because it was a struggle to get through it.
3. I do not see myself anywhere closer to being an entrepreneur following this course. I never saw myself as an entrepreneur to begin with and never planned on being one. I did the assignments for the sake of the class but I do not actually plan on making the concepts proposed in this class a reality. I might have developed a slightly entrepreneurial mindset, if anything. I think because this was never my destined career choice to begin with I never was able to fully grasp and accept the mindset. 
4. Hopefully for students coming in the system might change. There is a lot of unnecessary repetition of assignments, which really benefit no one. I would say to those students always to do your cupcakes on a Sunday since the actual time is on noon on Mondays and can be really easy to miss. I would say do your assignments as early as possible in order for them not to cram on Friday. I cannot guarantee you will foster the mindset of an entrepreneur but for the sake of this course the best thing to do is literally pretend you want to be an entrepreneur so you are much more invested in your product. I found it was hard to write about my product because I was not that passionate about it. Create something you are very passionate about and the course will be much more easier. 

29A - Venture Concept 2

1.

Muslu Soccer Academy

Opportunity:

We started off this class by trying to identify unmet needs. One of the unmet needs I found was a need for a different system of youth soccer development and system. I found that the United States is severely behind the rest of the world when it comes to soccer development. This is one of the biggest nations in the world and also has people from all over the world living in it. Why is it that we cannot even compete against some of the smallest countries in the world like Morocco or Panama? I am looking to create an academy that is done in a European style and also offers scouting opportunities to send these kids to Europe at an earlier age rather than going in to college to play soccer. The need is for people who want to see their nation succeed in the world's biggest sport and to see that the youth get the proper training to bring them there. The nature of this need comes from the current youth development system and the fact that there is intercollegiate soccer, which hinders the development or players who can become professionals at age 16. The forces that are causing this opportunity to come in to fruition are that more and more American players are leaving the United States to join the youth clubs in Europe and are achieving success. Geographically, this market is for literally for anyone who want to come to Miami to develop there skills. Miami was chosen as a destination because of its international diversity and already established soccer culture. Demographically, this market serves males 8 to 18. By 13 you can have an idea if one has talent or not and by 18 if they are not a professional already they should look elsewhere. This is a huge opportunity that can change the sporting landscape of this nation. My window of opportunity is until 2024. That is when the United States are hosting the World Cup and it is a chance for hopefully my players and the American population to succeed and show that we can be a soccer power as well.

Innovation:

I would argue that my service is quite innovative. I am a person who has played for DC United's academy at a younger age and later on played for Besiktas' academy in Istanbul. I have a feeling for both the European style of soccer development and scouting as well as the American style. I do not think many people in the world have this experience. There are many Europeans who have brought their system here and failed just like the current American system. I am one of the first to have both experiences and as a result I can combine the two to hopefully get the best result. On top of the actual academy I am providing scouting opportunities for European clubs to see this kids due to my network. Because it is a startup, I cannot charge to high right off the bat. I would charge $40 a session to start of with. That will be one resource of income. Should I succeed in sending a kid overseas to a European team then I would charge 4% of the contract. I am not an agent but at the end of the day I did provide them with the scouts and awareness so I should get some money from their first contract. I kept it at 2% because at the end of the day I succeed if they succeed and if they succeed America succeeds.

Venture Concept:

My innovation would serve my opportunity very well. Who is good at soccer? European countries. Who is bad at soccer? The Unites States of America. European countries succeed in soccer because of their strong youth academies. They also have players becoming professionals at the age of 16-17. In the states people do not typically becomes professionals until they are 22-23 unless they move abroad. I will provide a European based system suited for Americans that will improve and develop their soccer skills at a much accelerated pace. I will also provide scouting opportunities so Americans can become professionals at a much younger age. This way Americans will have a chance to play and develop against the best except 5 years earlier than they normally would. So by the time they would have graduated college they will already be close to their peak and have much more experience. I bring a huge network of European and American coaches who are credible and will attract many clients. It is also not at an expensive rate, which widens the audience significantly. Soccer is the biggest sport in the world and it is time the most powerful nation in the world to compete with the rest of the world.

Three Minor Elements:

1. My unfair advantage would be my diverse expertise in the area. I played in both systems at high levels and as a result know what works and what does not. I can find the perfect combination to deliver a great product.
2. My next venture would hopefully to become an actual youth club. Currently it is an academy only. Once I have enough clients and talent I would like to turn it in to an actual competitive youth soccer club.
3. In 5 years I hope to see some of my players wearing the red, white, and blue for the 2024 World Cup. That would be a huge crowning achievement for my business. Hopefully around this time the world would have started taking notice of my development skills and maybe a professional team and national team would want to take me on in some sort of position.

2. Throughout this process I actually did not receive any negative or critical feedback on my venture concept. Only one student posted on my venture concept post and he only wrote about how he agreed with me on certain aspects. In terms of my whats next post, I received two comments which also were just agreeing with my ideas. I really did not have to change anything as a result.

3. I know this assignment wanted me to change something in my venture concept, but there really was no reason to. I did not receive any negative feedback on my ideas and so far have only heard positives. As a result, I did not actually learn anything from my feedback. Why should I change something that apparently has no problems? The only things I did change were some logistics with my concept. I now decided to bring the age down to 8, since that is the age most kids start youth sports. I also decided to take  4% of the youth players contract rather than 2 since it would allow me to become more profitable.

                         

28A - Your Exit Strategy

1. I intend to continue developing and staying with my product until retirement. The only way I would leave it would be if I were offered a professional head coaching position with an actual soccer team. I would never intend to sell it unless I had to and was still guaranteed a position within the company. I would not keep it in the family either and I would just pass it down to whoever is next best qualified to run the job.
2. I chose this exit strategy due to my passion for the company. I would never want to leave it and even if I did I would want to be involved. I want to help others become successful and develop their skills. I said I would only leave if offered a head coaching job with a professional team because then I would be able to continue my passion but on an even more professional level, which indirectly would raise the awareness of my previous service as well.
3. Since my exit strategy is quite vague as it is dependent on me getting offered a job, I would say that the exit strategy really did not influence any part of my decisions during this process. It is not a set in stone exit strategy and relies on outside factors, which is why I cannot really plan for it.

27A - Reading Reflection 3

1. I read How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams for this assignment. I would say the general theme of the book is how win big after failing your goals. The book is a memoir of the author and how he failed multiple times, but in the end would go on to win big. Through anecdotes Adams shares his story on how he stayed motivated and happy despite having a large number of failures during his life.
2. I believe this book connects with our class and entrepreneurship especially this week. This week one of the themes was celebrating failure. Entrepreneurs are also known to not always succeed the first time with their products. Entrepreneurs have to consistent redo and revise their products due to failures they experience. This is why I think this book connects great with the class and entrepreneurship in general.
3. If I were to design an exercise for the class based off the book I read, it would definitely have something to do with failure. The exercise would a simple trial and error exercise. I would create a competition where students would need to sell me on an idea. If I am sold, they win; if not, they have to find out what failed and try to sell me on their idea again.
4. I would say the biggest 'aha' moment I had while reading this book was that goals typically have inherent flaws. Instead you should build a system rather than focusing on achieving your goals. This was interesting to me as I was typically taught that everything starts with a goal and is goal-driven in life.

26A - Celebrating Failure

1. The time I felt like I failed this pass semester was when I was not able nearly go to the gym as much as I liked. I had made it my new years resolution to make an effort to go to the gym more and have a healthier lifestyle, but I really have not satisfied that resolution at all. I have work and class, which keeps me busy until the evening and by that point I just want to go home and do either homework or be lazy.
2. The main thing I learned from this experience is that I need to be more disciplined with my schedule. It is just an extra hour of my time, which I definitely can spare. I learned that I need to stick to my promises and not just say empty words. I also learned that I really need to find the motivation to actually get to me the gym.
3. I would say that I am a guy who really does not take failure well. I have a tendency to be hard on myself and consistently focus on why I failed rather than coming up with solutions and staying positive. I also happen to be someone who learns best from failure as a result. Because I tend to think about and analyze my failure so a longer period of time, I usually end up changing what I failed in and never fail again in the same thing. This class really is not as inspirational as the post instructions suggest. It did not really teach me anything about failure. I just wrote posts.

25A - What's Next?

Existing Market

What is next for my product in the existing market is to expand and evaluate. The main way I will know my product is a success is not  by mere financial numbers but by performance and success of the athletes themselves. After interviewing my three people, I found that they believe I should possibly start a housing option for my academy, which I never planned on doing before.

In terms of growing my existing market, I believe that including a housing option may really help in the growth. People have made suggestions about housing options as comments on my blog before even though I never considered it at the time. However, after hearing about it from my interviews as well I believe I should include this in my future. This would grow my existing market by being a means of housing for locals who have the talent but maybe do not have the best home life.

New Market

A new market I would target would be a sports apparel business. I would target this market as I could use a lot of brand merchandise and soccer equipment to not only sell but use during practices. I have very minimal competition on my concept, which is already an attraction to the sports apparel business. I also can possibly become a power soccer school similar to IMG Academy with football and Montverde with basketball. Sports apparel brand supply these schools an sponsor them and a result lead to better awareness. I can supply brands like Nike and Adidas with the next star for their shoe deal, which will definitely create value for them.

I learned quite a bit about this new market. Nothing really surprised me about this new market. Most of my assumptions were correct, which is why I was not really surprised at all. I would not say this market is any less than my existing market as they are two completely different markets with two functions.

24A - Venture Concept 1

Muslu Soccer Academy

Opportunity:

We started off this class by trying to identify unmet needs. One of the unmet needs I found was a need for a different system of youth soccer development and system. I found that the United States is severely behind the rest of the world when it comes to soccer development. This is one of the biggest nations in the world and also has people from all over the world living in it. Why is it that we cannot even compete against some of the smallest countries in the world like Morocco or Panama? I am looking to create an academy that is done in a European style and also offers scouting opportunities to send these kids to Europe at an earlier age rather than going in to college to play soccer. The need is for people who want to see their nation succeed in the world's biggest sport and to see that the youth get the proper training to bring them there. The nature of this need comes from the current youth development system and the fact that there is intercollegiate soccer, which hinders the development or players who can become professionals at age 16. The forces that are causing this opportunity to come in to fruition are that more and more American players are leaving the United States to join the youth clubs in Europe and are achieving success. Geographically, this market is for literally for anyone who want to come to Miami to develop there skills. Miami was chosen as a destination because of its international diversity and already established soccer culture. Demographically, this market serves males 13 to 18. By 13 you can have an idea if one has talent or not and by 18 if they are not a professional already they should look elsewhere. This is a huge opportunity that can change the sporting landscape of this nation. My window of opportunity is until 2024. That is when the United States are hosting the World Cup and it is a chance for hopefully my players and the American population to succeed and show that we can be a soccer power as well.

Innovation:

I would argue that my service is quite innovative. I am a person who has played for DC United's academy at a younger age and later on played for Besiktas' academy in Istanbul. I have a feeling for both the European style of soccer development and scouting as well as the American style. I do not think many people in the world have this experience. There are many Europeans who have brought their system here and failed just like the current American system. I am one of the first to have both experiences and as a result I can combine the two to hopefully get the best result. On top of the actual academy I am providing scouting opportunities for European clubs to see this kids due to my network. Because it is a startup, I cannot charge to high right off the bat. I would charge $40 a session to start of with. That will be one resource of income. Should I succeed in sending a kid overseas to a European team then I would charge 2% of the contract. I am not an agent but at the end of the day I did provide them with the scouts and awareness so I should get some money from their first contract. I kept it at 2% because at the end of the day I succeed if they succeed and if they succeed America succeeds.

Venture Concept:

My innovation would serve my opportunity very well. Who is good at soccer? European countries. Who is bad at soccer? The Unites States of America. European countries succeed in soccer because of their strong youth academies. They also have players becoming professionals at the age of 16-17. In the states people do not typically becomes professionals until they are 22-23 unless they move abroad. I will provide a European based system suited for Americans that will improve and develop their soccer skills at a much accelerated pace. I will also provide scouting opportunities so Americans can become professionals at a much younger age. This way Americans will have a chance to play and develop against the best except 5 years earlier than they normally would. So by the time they would have graduated college they will already be close to their peak and have much more experience. I bring a huge network of European and American coaches who are credible and will attract many clients. It is also not at an expensive rate, which widens the audience significantly. Soccer is the biggest sport in the world and it is time the most powerful nation in the world to compete with the rest of the world.

Three Minor Elements:

1. My unfair advantage would be my diverse expertise in the area. I played in both systems at high levels and as a result know what works and what does not. I can find the perfect combination to deliver a great product.
2. My next venture would hopefully to become an actual youth club. Currently it is an academy only. Once I have enough clients and talent I would like to turn it in to an actual competitive youth soccer club.
3. In 5 years I hope to see some of my players wearing the red, white, and blue for the 2024 World Cup. That would be a huge crowning achievement for my business. Hopefully around this time the world would have started taking notice of my development skills and maybe a professional team and national team would want to take me on in some sort of position.

23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. Network
• Valuable: For a product like mine, a network is what draws in the prospects. Getting future soccer prospects as clients leads to more profit. As a result, a network is arguably the most valuable thing to this service.
• Rare: For my service, having the right network is rare. Not everyone can coach, scout, or develop any prospect.
• Inimitable: It is not if people actually try to expand their network. In this small industry it can be hard.
• Non-substitutable: This network can only be substitutable by other qualified people. However, this network is especially necessary for my service, which is why I cannot substitute them.
2. My Diverse Expertise
• Valuable: I would say so, as I have experienced both sides of a similar product, and as a result have the knowledge to combine each strength from both programs.
• Rare: It is rare to have someone who has played at high levels for both a European soccer system and American soccer system.
• Inimitable: Unless you have the talent or if your family moves abroad then this would be inimitable.
• Non-substitutable: My diverse experience is the driving concept for my service and as a result it is non-substitutable.
3. Public Speaking
• Valuable: It is very valuable as you will need to sell the concept to clients and also actively manage staff.
• Rare: I would not say it is too rare and it depends on the person.
• Inimitable: Many people are good public speakers or can learn to be good public speakers.
• Non-substitutable: It is non-substitutable as everything in service is very verbally and vocally driven.
4. Investors
• Valuable: They are very valuable as they provide strong external support.
• Rare: Investors can be rare especially for startups.
• Inimitable: They are not inimitable as you can look for financial support elsewhere.
• Non-substitutable: It is substitutable as they only provide financial support.
5. Marketing
• Valuable: It is very valuable as it will get the product's name out there.
• Rare: No, marketing is not rare.
• Inimitable: In a technology driven age, marketing is very easy to imitate.
• Non-substitutable: There is no substitution for marketing and it is necessary.
6. Human Capital
• Valuable: A strong human capital is valuable for any sort of business. A company like mine needs devoted workers with strong personalities.
• Rare: It is not rare.
• Inimitable: It is easy to imitate.
• Non-substitutable: It is non-substitutable.
7. Social Capital
• Valuable: It is very valuable as I need strong connections throughout the city of my business. This would help spread my product through word-of-mouth.
• Rare: It is rare to have a strong social capital in startup businesses.
• Inimitable: It is easy to imitate.
• Non-substitutable: It is non-substitutable as my product can keep growing with a strong social capital.
8. Financial Capital
• Valuable: This is very valuable as I would need the right amount of financial assets for my product to grow and succeed.
• Rare: It is rare for startups to have a strong financial capital to begin with.
• Inimitable: It would be hard to consistently imitate.
• Non-substitutable: It is absolutely non-substitutable as financial assets are what will drive this product to reaching new heights.
9. Myself
• Valuable: I am very valuable for this product as it is my vision and mission for this service to succeed. I provide many different capabilities and all the resources listed above, which is why I am valuable.
• Rare: It is rare for other companies to have me since I am with this company.
• Inimitable: There are no other Arman Muslu's in the world that act like me or look like me so it is inimitable.
• Non-substitutable: I am the boss and owner so I am non-substitutable.
10. Market Share
• Valuable: Minimal competition so I would have a large share of the market.
• Rare: It is rare to own a large chunk of the market.
• Inimitable: It is inimitable.
• Non-substitutable: If I am still making a large amount of money and not consistently losing clients to upcoming competition then it can be non-substitutable; otherwise it cannot.

After conducting my VRIN analysis, I found that my network is my strongest resource. It is tremendously valuable for the success and growth of my product. It is also very rare to have a network like mine in the United States for this product. The fact that no one can really imitate it and the fact that it is a huge necessity for the success of my product show that my network is my strongest resource.