Reading Reflection No. 3

Cognitive Surplus, Clay Shirky

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

The general idea of the book is that with the advent and rise of the influential sphere of the Internet, people are spending more time collaborating online with each other and creating a plethora of collaboration spaces that weren't even remotely available before the current technological advancements. This collaboration can lead to a genuine change in society, which is the focus of the book.

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

Dr. Pryor has proven throughout the entire class that collaboration and feedback and communication is key in entrepreneurship. Although this book focuses on a bigger picture than a single startup company, the startup can still use the cognitive surplus - now more than ever, through the various forms of social media, entrepreneurs can advertise and introduce their venture and receive literally immediate feedback from markets all around the world. Where a businessperson used to have to buy a list of phone numbers from a third party company and spend the time to call each number, hoping to survey 1 out of 15 people that even picked up, not only can the survey time now be expedited through mass emails but potential customers can find the business online and approach the business themselves, instead of the other way around.

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

I would design an experiment type of exercise. In the author's chapter on Opportunity, he references the Ultimatum game and the difference between what behavioral economics predicts will happen and what actually happens. I would change the game to fit entrepreneurship, and have students propose partnerships, business-to-business deals, or deals between the service and the customer and have other students respond. I am sure that the class would emphasize the point that we are likely to create fair trades with each other rather than trades that heavily benefit us and put the other party at a disadvantage, and that we are likely to not accept unfair deals even though we still might be gaining something.

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?

Honestly, my biggest "surprises" from the book was that a) it was not about the same term of cognitive surplus that we use in cognitive research (we use it in terms of how much cognitive resources an individual has at their disposal, and this can be tested) and b) that Myspace was not in fact the first social media site. Who knew? It was a site called SixDegrees. But...no one remembers that website nor even used it, that I know of, so I will still reference Myspace as the first successful social media site.

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity:

There is an opportunity in the college-student market for fresh, home-cooked, low-priced meals delivered weekly. The environment changes this opportunity as college becomes more and more rigorous and students have less and less time to take care of their personal health. Also, student loans are quickly becoming commonplace, allowing more students to attend college while staying conscious of their increasing debt – meaning they spend time outside of classes at part-time jobs and are not keen to spend a lot of money on food. My belief is that this need is not separated geographically, as college kids across the nation likely fit into the same market. I also believe, from interviews, that females tend to be more prepared to cook for themselves while in school, though they may still not have time to. Customers currently satisfy this need by sacrificing either their health, their bank accounts, or their time – eating fast food, eating expensive but healthy meals out, or spending about 1-1.5 hours cooking for themselves every day. I believe that this opportunity is a big one, and if I can time it right and advertise well, I could gain a lot of customers in a short time. I also believe that this window of opportunity will not only be open for a long time, but it will continue to grow as college evolves and more kids attend university and higher education becomes the new high school diploma.

Innovation:

My innovation is an adaptation of an existing product/service scheme. Currently, weekly meals are sold for $10-20 per meal and are advertised as purely organic, or as paleo, or as fitting a very specific macronutrient breakdown. College students don’t need nor want such intricate meals, all they need is pre-made food that won’t poison them and that won’t break their banks. I am offering low-priced meals that could have come out of their parent’s kitchen. I am offering two different-sized types of meals, ones around 400-500 calories and ones around 700-900 calories, based on the interest from different people. The more meals bought, the cheaper they will be, but for single meals the smaller ones will be priced at $4 and the larger meals at $5. I am offering 7 mall meals for $25 or 7 large meals for $30.

Venture Concept:

My innovation will address the opportunity I found in the college student market. College students need good food for cheap, and very convenient. I will supply them with that food and with delivery service, so that students can focus more on their homework and classwork. Customers will want to switch to my product because there is currently no product that meets all of their health, time, and monetary needs all at once, and my product/service offers this. There are no direct competitors, but all of the convenient restaurants in Gainesville, like Chipotle and Moe’s, could take customers away on a daily basis. My pricing defines my business concept, as well as customer experience. The customer must love the food and the low price in order for the business to work. I would probably employ 2 employees, one to do the advertising and recruiting and customer support and one to assist with the cooking and to deliver the meals and collect the money.

Minor Details:

My most important resource, as defined in my “Unfair Advantage” post, is my cooking capability. I have a certain style of cooking that is my own, and I am good at what I cook. Others are also good cooks, but maybe they do not choose to combine the same ingredients I do for the certain taste I enjoy.

Next for my venture, I would want to expand my offerings to offer breakfasts and desserts, if the market demanded them.

As for myself, I’d want to be a small business owner with a larger employee base, so that I might have 2 days off a week….as if entrepreneurs get days off. I’d probably stay in Gainesville with 4 employees, while having a base of 5 employees in Tallahassee creating meals for students at FSU.

Feedback:

I got some great feedback on my first venture concept post. One student mentioned that I would have plenty of customers...but only if the my cooking style matched the tastebuds of enough people. Another student suggested that I create a brochure showcasing all of the meal options so that the customer can pick their meals.

What I would change about my venture concept:

Before I would launch each new recipe, I would head to turlington with samples of the meal and very short surveys. I'd ask passing students to try the food and fill out the survey. The questionnaire would probably include questions asking if they liked the food, if they would eat a whole meal of it, and what should be added or removed.

After thinking about it, I don't think I would actually let the customers individually pick their meals, at least at the start of the business when I have less than 10 customers and no employees. The reason I can do it so cheaply is because I can cook in bulk, so essentially all of my customers would need to eat the same meals as each other each week. I would have a set of meals I'd be cooking, and students can agree to buy them or not. Of course, I would receive feedback from customers on their favorite meals and which meals they don't enjoy, and I would try to make the most people happy the most often.

*Google image, not my meals*

Final Reflection

1. I started out this course with high hopes for myself and excited about the course. About 3 weeks in was my lowest point in the class, when I realized that I had overloaded myself this summer and that I did not have the time necessary to work 2 jobs, take a 4 credit class requiring conducting interviews, and keep up my hobbies. I then calmed down and came to terms with my grade and allowed myself to stress less by receiving a lower grade in this course, which i am still at peace with. I did have a couple moments of dread - when reading reflection 2 was due in 3 days and I had yet to read a book, and when 2 out of the 3 Saturday assignments were interview-based.
2. The assignment I will remember most was the one for which I had to interview the 5 people closest to me and discover what vibe I gave off to people. It told me a lot about how I act differently towards different people, that I view myself more negatively than others view me, and that I have a couple characteristics that are more defining than I had thought they were. If I had done the 3 elevator pitches, I would likely be most proud of myself for the final one and for how I had improved since the first.
3. I see myself as an entrepreneur more because I started and ran my own business for Spring semester than because of this class - and that is completely my fault. If I had put time into this class, I definitely would have felt more entrepreneurial and more involved in my venture concept. I did appreciate, since I did all of the written assignments, that this class really helped my learn how to develop my business into a better and more detailed plan. Also, the feedback from other students made me feel like I was collaborating on my concept which was a lot of fun and very useful.
4. I would recommend to future students that they make sure that they make time for this class. It is a time-consuming course and I really did not look into what was required of me before add/drop ended. I wish I had, because I would have adjusted my schedule and probably not committed to my second job this summer if I had known what I was getting into. If students dedicate time to this class and complete all of the assignments, I'm sure that it would be a ton of fun.