Assignment 23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. Insider Knowledge: I am a long time soccer player and have experience playing the sport for as long as I can remember.

Valuable: I can relate and connect better with the management of said clubs.

Rare: Not very rare because there are plenty of other soccer players in the world.

Inimitable: Its a sport that anyone can play but my long time association with it gives me an advantage over possible competitors.

Non-substitutable: This cannot be easily replaced by other sports players because those ones are easier to play than soccer.

2. Location Relation: I am from South Florida and that is the main area that I will be targeting, this gives me a unique perspective into the market.

Valuable: This is extremely valuable because you have to know where to find these clubs and who to talk to and I know just that.

Rare: This is rarer than one might think. A lot of people who have the capacity to start this business are not from the region and thus, are not privy to the location information that I know.

Inimitable: The South Florida region is very complex and takes a while to get used to, especially because of the diversity of people living there. It is not somewhere that anyone can walk into.

Non-substitutable: If someone wanted to substitute me from this process, then they would have to find someone who has lived in the region for as long as I have and know the people I do.

3. Disciplined Worker: Anyone who was raised playing a sport knows that one of the fundamental things that it teaches you is discipline. This includes physical, mental and even social discipline because of the personalities whom you play with.

Valuable: I would say this is very valuable, especially to an entrepreneur seeking to start a business in a field which they have experience in.

Rare: In context to the business which I seek to establish, then this is pretty rare. Especially because of the people whom you have to work with and the difficulties that can arise from that..

Inimitable: Discipline can be imitated but not in the way which I have it. I do not take short-cuts and I value the process as a whole.

Non-substitutable: I don't see how you can substitute discipline for anything else, especially for an entrepreneur who is starting something new.

4. Information Search Skills: Whenever I research information I feel like I have a unique intuition that guides me towards what will benefit me the most. I say this because I conducted several research projects in high school that were well received.

Valuable: This is valuable because I can research my market and people of interest in order to be better prepared.

Rare: This is not rare but in the manner which I present it and when compared to the average person it can definitely be considered rare.

Inimitable: Researching is a skill that can be learned but not imitated. So if someone does not currently have it then it is fair to say that I have a head start.

Non-substitutable: One cannot substitute information search and results for just anything so I would have to say its not substitutable.

5. Open to Criticism: I can take criticism very well because I often remove myself and my emotions from my work. It is something which many people have praised me about.

Valuable: This is extremely valuable, especially in a business which you are likely to fail and get rejected.

Rare: I would say that this is actually rarer than most people would expect. A lot of people say they can take criticism but do so at the cost to their self-esteem or ego. I would not say that I am like that. 

Inimitable: I don't think this is something that is easily imitable. Some people just have softer personalities.

Non-substitutable: Its not substitutable in the normal sense but it can be replaced by a skill such as the willingness to learn, which I will cover next.

6. Willing to Learn: In each instance where I have experienced a major failure in my life, I have taken an introspective look into what I did that lead me down that path.

Valuable: Learning from your failures is a critical aspect of life, not just business.

Rare: This is very rare at all. Although not everyone is like this, I would say that a good portion of the population is willing to admit to their faults and try to improve.

Inimitable: Its something which some people might struggle with but it can be learned so its not inimitable.

Non-substitutable: I would not say that there are any good substitutes for the desire to learn.

7. Agreeable/Respectful Personality: I usually get along well with adults and superiors in general.

Rare: I would say that this is true for most people but perhaps not on the level that I do.

Inimitable: It is something that can easily be learned if you are just patient and respectful so it is definitely imitable.

Non-substitutable: That type of respect cannot be substituted with anything else because it shows that you are respectful to your elders.4

8. Community Focus: My primary motive when coming up with this idea is that I wanted to help give an opportunity to the kids in the type of community that I was raised in.

Valuable: I think this is extremely valuable because it shows that you are willing to elevate the people of the place where you came from and that you have not forgotten your roots.

Rare: This is not rare. It is actually very common for people who come out of lower income neighborhoods to seek out opportunities to help elevate them.

Inimitable: Thinking about your community and wanting to help the people from there is something that people should want to do, and something which I encourage. It is easily imitable.

Non-substitutable: There are no substitutes for kindness and the willingness to help others.

9. Social Capital: I played at a decent sized club and established fairly good relationships with management so they could connect me with other clubs.

Valuable: This expands my customer base and helps me network so it is very valuable.

Rare: Not everyone has those connections with management at a club so this is fairly rare.

Inimitable: Someone can't just walk into a club and start talking to management and immediately get acquainted and favored by them so it cannot be considered imitable.

Non-substitutable: You can't substitute real human connection with anything else.

10. Social Capital V.2: I know several former soccer players such as myself who have played in a variety of clubs and I could connect with them and their former teams.

Valuable: This is very valuable because it gives me access to a new customer base.

Rare: This is rare in the sense that soccer is not that popular of a sport in America so not everyone knows as many soccer players as I do.

Inimitable: Connecting with players of a unique sports is not easily mimicked and replicated.

Non-substitutable: Connections with so many people who you have something in common with cannot be substituted with virtually anything else.

Assignment 22A - Elevator Pitch No. 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0R28KrlK0A

I got a lot of positive feedback on my last pitch with the exception that I try to be clearer with the delivery of my pitch next time. The positive feedback revolved around the overall tone and confidence that I had while performing my speech.

Upon revision of my last pitch, I noticed that my delivery indeed could have been clearer. I do think this pitch is superior to the second one because I did this one earlier in the day and you can notice that in the lighting and my face looked more refreshing. The memorization of the pitch itself remained the same, but I would say that I felt more comfortable in front of the camera and did not rush as much. My energy levels could have been more consistent, but that is because I tried to put in more effort towards the delivery and enunciate my words as clearly as possible.

Assignment 20A - Growing Your Social Capital

1. Domain Expert: Matt Noah, Fargo Soccer Club President

• Matt started his own soccer club and runs a forum where he helps other people interested in starting their own clubs. He knows the explicit details of the requirements of running a club and specifically: how to manage expenses, establish relationships, and attain sponsors. He is also very informed on the process of joining a national affiliate and what that means in terms of of the competition and tournaments that the club can play in, as well as the sponsors that come with it. I believe his wholesale knowledge of the process adequately qualifies him as a "domain expert."
• I found his contact information while I was doing further research on the process of starting a club and what the national affiliate system actually is. I then reached out to him through email, and he was kind enough to reply and ask how he could help out. I then sent him a link to my Idea Napkin No. 2 so that he could look over and critic it, so that I may be able to further improve on it. 
• I think that establish a connection with Matt can be helpful in that he will be able to provide me with guidance in the process of contacting clubs and possible sponsors so that I can foster a relationship between the two. I also think that his breadth of knowledge on the subject will be useful if I ever run into issues or find myself unable to resolve a problem that arises during the process.

      2. Market Expert: Steve Arsenault, Managing Partner at South Florida Club Sport

• Mr. Arsenault is a Managing Partner at a soccer club which means he has an insiders knowledge of what it takes to run and sustain a club. Part of sustaining a club is attaining and maintaining sponsors and keeping a good relationship with them which is why I think he qualifies as a "market expert."
• I found Mr. Arsenault's contact information while I was researching soccer club sponsors in the South Florida region; and although he is not a sponsor, he does have expert knowledge in the field. I first emailed Mr. Arsenault but he was busy traveling with the team but he recommended that I contact his office with my questions. His staff was able to help me in his stead, and I can then further contact him if I have any more concerns.
• Establishing a relationship with Mr. Arsenault will be very beneficial towards my efforts to gain a better understanding of the sponsorship landscape of club soccer. Although it is a role that perhaps Matt could have fulfilled, I think it is important to perhaps have two people who could help me in that department.

      3. Industry Supplier: Dave Zighelboim

• Mr. Zighelboim works in the sales department at SoccerLocker, which is a store that sells soccer equipment and also sponsors certain teams. This is why he qualifies as an "industry supplier" and I am confident he can guide and perhaps teach me about the sponsorship process that clubs go through.
• I also found Mr. Zighelboim's contact information while research club soccer sponsors, except this time I actually found a company which sponsored certain clubs and I was able to gather his contact information through their site. I first contacted another member of the team which he is a part of but did not receive a response so then I messaged Mr. Zighelboim.
• As I said, by establishing a relationship with Mr. Zighelboim I can hopefully learn more about the sponsorship world of club soccer and how to successfully navigate its inner workings. Therefore, when I am working on my business later on, I will be better prepared for the challenges to come. Hopefully, I can also get the contacts of some of his fellow sponsors to help kickstart my business.

This experience worked out far better than I imagined, especially as it concerned the success rate of the people whom I contacted. I received a response from three out of the four people that I emailed and was able to get their feedback on my idea. This will give me more confidence as I move forward and try to network on my own at future networking events. My networking experiences of the past centered around events which were thrown with people there that I could simply go talk to. With this assignment, I had to locate the people myself so it was a bit more work and involved more autonomy.

Assignment 21A - Reading Reflection No.2

I read Carol Dweck's Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

• The book argues that there are two mindsets, the growth mindset which we should aspire to attain and the fixed mindset which anyone can change into a growth mindset. Dweck argues that those with the fixed mindset focus too much on achievement and are thus only satisfied by the outcome rather than the process. This means that people with fixed mindsets are only happy when they succeed while those with a growth mindset can be happy even in failure, for they can appreciate what they learn from their failures.
• The book essentially supports the entrepreneurial mindset of trying over and over again, and continually learning from your failures until you finally succeed. The only thing this book does differently is that it repeatedly states that you must also enjoy the process of failing and the learning that comes from it.
• I would design a course long activity that puts into practice the message of this book. The activity would involve getting students to pick up an activity that they enjoyed but ended up giving up on it because they kept failing at it or felt that they were not good enough. Of course this means practicing this activity again would be more casual than anything and it would involve recording yourself practicing this activity a couple of times a week. The activity could be playing a sport, learning to play an instrument, practicing your calligraphy, etc.
• My biggest "aha moment" came when Dweck said "praising children's intelligence harms their motivation and harms their performance." I think this is an accurate message and something which I did not realize affected me until very recently. Whenever I would fail at something new, I would always give up after the third or fourth try because I thought that it simply was not meant to be. This has cultivated a general apathetic feeling within me that has persisted all my life and which I am now trying to fix by being more persistent. Seeing it written out validates the inferences that I made about myself.

Assignment 17A - Elevator Pitch No. 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znNfzjLmjt0

Unfortunately I did not receive any feedback on my last pitch (lol). But using the advice from all the other pitch reviews that we did in class I was able to modify my own. This time, I made my pitch shorter and more concise. I also stood up and although this may seem counter-intuitive, I delivered less excitement but that is not to say it was monotone. I simply made it less excessive in order to focus at the heart of what I was suggesting.

Assignment 19A - Idea Napkin No. 2

• I am Coffy Louis and I'm from South Florida, and I have essentially been playing soccer all my life. Being from South Florida, a lot of the kids that I hung out with actually played soccer and I know that's something that can't be for everyone. The issues for a lot of us when it came to playing soccer were the expenses. There were kids who could afford them, and those who could not. I was one of the kids who could not afford traditional travel club expenses thus I was left playing for a minor club which had season fees around $90 not including transportation to games. I know the kind of developmental gap that this creates because at those lower level clubs, you do not receive any individually tailored training and the clubs themselves are run poorly; with coaches occasionally missing practice sessions because of their other responsibilities. 
• Now that I know that clubs are already organized under specific national affiliates, there is not much need for my original idea of organizing local clubs under regional and national sponsors. My business' focus would have to be to go through individual clubs and assess their sponsorship needs. I also think that there still exists a possibility of creating sponsored tournaments that cover travel costs and give the players exposure. These tournaments would not need to be between teams under the same national affiliates but they can be.
• My business would still focus on (but not be exclusive to) non-academy type clubs located in low-income neighborhoods, but I feel like there should be no median family income restrictions; rather the clubs should be evaluated on a case by case basis. This is where I would then have to do further research on the costs of memberships to only include those whose annual fees (membership only, i.e. not including travel expenses, etc.) fall under $300. The list of clubs would also have to be narrowed down to those without a major sponsor (i.e. Walmart, Dick's, etc.) and who's coaches work a job unrelated to that which they perform at the club.
• I think the club managers genuinely care about their players' financial security and I know that they would welcome any help to alleviate the burden. I also think that introducing new sponsors that they may not have been aware of, or sponsors which can help them collaborate with other clubs is not only good news financially; but it can also work for the clubs in terms of increasing their brand awareness and get their name out there.
• I think I am very good at analyzing situation that I have been in and figuring out why things worked out the way they did, and how I can work to ensure that the next time I'm in that situation, it works out differently and hopefully better. If I could actually start this business, I think it would give me the opportunity to work out problem solving methods in the real world where it actually matters. Combined with my experience and innate knowledge of club soccer, I feel like I can make a real difference.

I think that all the aspects of my business idea work well together because none of them can really exist or work without the existence and incorporation of the others. The success of my idea also hinges on my ability to work with people and get them to see my perspective on certain things and why I'm doing them. I know that is a part of every business and it is something that I feel like I still need to work on if I want to be successful.

I removed the requirement that the clubs be situated in lower-income neighborhoods because of feedback suggesting that club participation barriers should be removed for everyone as a whole. But I still focused on smaller clubs because that is where I can make the most impact. Another piece of feedback I received concerned travel fees, and I think if I were to lower club expenses significantly, then they would be able to cover travel costs.

Assignment 18A - Create a Customer Avatar

I imagine that my ideal customer is a late 30s, early 40s family man who started a soccer club as a way to organize his kids' and his friend's kids interest in soccer. He is very similar to a high school soccer coach with the exception that he is grounded in his current location because of his familial responsibilities. This will most likely be a Latino or White man with an intrinsic love for the game and extreme passion for his players. This man also works another job, perhaps as a teacher at a school or a middle income job in general. It is also highly likely that he is having marital troubles or is currently divorced. Either that or he has never been married and the relationships throughout his life have not worked because of his commitment issues. He drives a mid 2000s to early 2010s midsize sedan which he uses to carry equipment for his players. He is very emotionally involved in their lives and cares for their success beyond simply soccer. He works as the manager of the team but is also the coach, and he often talks with players who cannot always meet the financial commitments in time because he values their participation on the team.

My description of the customer avatar comes from the experiences that I have had with the different club coaches. I have not always been invested in my coaches' lives but I tried to recall the details to the best of my abilities in order to create an accurate avatar. I think it is hard for me to share anything with this avatar given its socioeconomic standing, but I would say that the innate passion for soccer and the desire to see the players succeed is something we both share. I think that works well with my interest in lower the membership costs or at least increasing the opportunities at the club.