Thursday, November 15, 2018

Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. Financial security to take advantage of this venture

Value - This venture is going to require a significant investment upfront to be able to take advantage of it. I have created a significant amount of financial capital over the past few years that could be used for this venture.
Rarity - For this venture, financial capital isn't rare when it comes to developing this feature. The costs can vary but software development and significant costs go hand-in-hand.
Imitability - My venture can be easily imitated by others in the market. However, it is usually done by well-known and financially secure companies.
Non-substitutability - Without financial capital to develop the feature, it will be nearly impossible to substitute it for something else.

2. Networking abilities allow me to find others that can help me with this venture

Value - Networking will be important for me when it comes to taking advantage of this venture because I will need assistance in the development process.
Rarity - While networking isn't a rarity, networking with the right people can be partially rare when it comes to taking advantage of this capital.
Imitability - Networking with the right people for this venture can be easily imitated.
Non-substitutability - This venture will require me to network with others. It cannot be supplemented or substituted.

3. Previous sales experience to pitch this venture to a client

Value - Development of the venture will only be half the battle when it comes to making this a reality. It is extremely valuable to be able to properly pitch this to the client that I'm targeting for the venture.
Rarity - Sales experience isn't a rare capital to possess as a lot of people have worked in sales before.
Imitability - This resource can be easily imitated by others with the proper experience.
Non-substitutability - Substituting this resource for something else is possible, but it will be extremely challenging to do so.

4. Dedicated and extremely high work ethic to this venture

Value - The value of this resource to the venture is extremely important for its success because when I show dedication to a project, nothing can prevent me from completing it.
Rarity - My work ethic and dedication are rare to find in others as it is unique to me alone in the world.
Imitability - It will be extremely tough to imitate my work ethic and dedication by others.
Non-substitutability - It will be impossible to substitute this resource in my venture's unfair advantage.

5. My ability to keep going despite failing or running into 'speedbumps' in the development process

Value - This resource will be valuable because the development process is going to be a road full of speed bumps and failures that can make it tough to stick it out in the end.
Rarity - I think this resource is somewhat rare in the sense that not everyone is the same when they encounter failure and some are still able to keep going while others will fold.
Imitability - This resource can be imitated by others in the same field as the venture.
Non-substitutability - This resource can't be substituted as it is a requirement to make mistakes and keep going despite the 'speed bumps' in the development process.

6. Ability to adapt to the development process and listen to feedback

Value - This resource will be important in the long-run of this venture because it will help with understanding the limitations of the software and how we can make it better for the consumer.
Rarity - I think this resource can be rare in some fields because some people lack listening skills in some form when working on projects and understanding feedback from consumers.
Imitability - This resource can be imitated by others but it will depend on the person/organization that does.
Non-substitutability - This resource is crucial to the success of the venture so it cannot be substituted by another.

7. A professional relationship formed with consumer open door to new clients

Value - This will be important in the long run after the development process to expand the software to others around the country that could be in demand of it.
Rarity - This can be rare as it is difficult to already have the established relationship, but the consumer to spread awareness about your venture others in the market.
Imitability - Others will be imitating this resource once they get their foot in the door with consumers.
Non-substitutability - Other relationships could be substituted of this resource like personal ones that could also help with opening the door to more consumers.

8. Time and flexibility to be able to develop the venture

Value - This will be important during the development process because it will take a lot of time to sit down and work through developing the feature. I have a lot of 'down time' and a flexible schedule that I could spend on the development cycle.
Rarity - As a college student, it is rare to have a lot of downtimes to be able to work on side projects outside of school. However, it isn't rare for entrepreneurs that are actively working on projects like this for a living.
Imitability - This resource will be easy for others to imitate in the professional industry.
Non-substitutability - Time and flexibility will be required for this venture so it won't be possible to substitute them for another resource.

9. Ability to avoid 'feature creep' during the development process

Value - This resource is highly-valuable because this can be a huge issue for developers when they are working on projects. I am able to make sure that I avoid falling into this trap into a development loop.
Rarity - This resource isn't rare when it comes to similar ventures as it is an important mindset you need to keep when developing software.
Imitability - This resource can be imitated by others in the industry.
Non-substitutability - This resource shouldn't be substituted with another resource because 'feature creep' is an important attribute to avoid when developing software.

10. Ability to work with others as a team on the development process

Value - This is important for my venture because working as a team on it will increase the chances of success for the venture in the end.
Rarity - It isn't rare to find people working as a team on software projects in the professional industry as they are almost always done by a team of engineers.
Imitability - This resource can easily be imitated by others that are working on similar ventures to mine.
Non-substitutability - This resource can be substituted by working alone on the venture and developing the venture myself.

Conclusion

I think the most important resource for me when it comes to taking advantage of this venture is number six because the development process will be a long and tedious process that will require the team to keep going despite running into speedbumps that could hamper the project in the end. I had a hard time selecting which resource was the most important, but I ultimately settled on this one because I believe it is the tipping point for all of them. Without it, I believe the project would fail before it was able to get started.

3 comments:

  1. Sean,

    When reading your ten assets/aspects that help to give you an unfair advantage, I tried to guess myself which one you would choose as your most important.

    I predicted that you were going to choose number 1 (financial security to take advantage of this venture). However, I now see that that is not your most important asset because other people also have that. And without number six, you would likely just lose your financial capital/investments.

    I now agree that number six certainly is your most important resource.

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  2. Sean,
    The ten aspects that you have mentioned above are all great resources and can be a huge benefit for your product in the future. Financial security is always an essential component to getting one's business off the ground and running. Also, the ability to work with others and develop as a team is a great resource to have. Communication and collaboration are essential tools that can influence your organizational culture. Great post!

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  3. Reading your ten aspects as to why your venture would hold an unfair advantage was great! I enjoyed the formatting of how you listed each resource with an individual VRIN analysis in detail; while reading through your list, I compared these assets to those on my own list and actually realized we had a majority of these resources in common. This allows us to see many ventures are presented with similar opportunities, but perspective and individuality is what takes a venture to the next level. Good luck!

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