My Exit Strategy

I plan on either licensing the idea or making a quick exit after it has become worth several million in a few years.  I get bored with things if I do them for too long so I would rather sell the firm for a huge profit and look at investing into another firm that has already started or coming up with something else of my own.  I would consider remaining around for consulting services for the people who buy it from me.  I would also like to negotiate a royalties into the contract so I remain to make an income from the idea.  I don't think my exit strategy has changed much about what I would do for the concept.  I would still make it the best I can so that it will be worth as much as possible.

Making it Real

Here is my resume that includes founding my venture.


Link to my resume

Celebrating Failure

Something that I have failed at this semester, and quite often, is when I am hydrodipping for my company.  It requires a lot of work and no matter how many times you have done it, you can still mess it up.  When you have so many different chemicals mixing and specs that need to be just right, it is easy to mess up.  It is also very frustrating because you have to sandblast whatever you are working on again and start over.  So you basically just wasted the time you had already spent on it.  But, I have learned to be patient and keep trying because I will get it right eventually even if I mess it up once or twice.  

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

One of the most annoying and uncomfortable things is when I wake up hot and sweaty in the middle of the night.  I have learned that a lot of other people experience this too.  Some people can’t afford to keep their A/C at 68 degrees and others have issues of other people not being comfortable with the air so cold.  But when you get under all your sheets at night your body warmth can make it very hot and you end up waking up sweating.  This isn’t necessarily limited to certain geographic locations, but it definitely is more of an issue in the south with the hotter exterior temperatures.  Right now there are some gel products on the market that help to keep the mattress cool but they don’t always work great and a lot of people aren’t happy with them.  I believe this opens the door for a big opportunity to design the right type of mattress to fight the issue of becoming too hot while you sleep.  This opportunity will be open until the competitors can come up with something better than the gel mattress.

Innovation

My product is a mattress that incorporates venting channels throughout the mattress with cooling fans underneath to allow the circulation of air under your sheets.  Most people sleep with the fan in their room on, and while this does help circulate the air and keep it cool, it doesn’t solve the problem of the warm air stuck underneath our sheets from our body temperature.  We sleep better while we are fully covered with sheets because it provides a sense of security and it more comfortable.  So the solution is to simply allow channels throughout the mattress, underneath the top pillow sheet, to give a cooling sensation so the mattress doesn’t heat up so much.  One of the biggest types of mattresses this is a problem in, is memory foam.  Due to the density of the mattress, it holds heat extremely well.  And we hate giving up memory foam because it is so comfortable.  These mattresses would sell competitively at 300-600 dollars. 

Venture Concept

The mattress will solve customers’ problems by allowing the air underneath their sheets to circulate and also keep the mattress cool. Customers will switch when they learn that there is finally a good solution to their problem.  Everyone cares about how good they sleep and no one wants to wake up or get a bad night’s sleep from being too hot.  Other mattress companies are the competitors and they have the gel product but nothing similar to this.  Packaging doesn’t really effect this much because of what it is.  What would help are good displays showing how the mattress works and what exactly it does.  I would have a manufacturing facility with probably 10-20 employees on the floor with the manufacturing process and another 10 senior employees working on sales and distribution. 

1.       I could patent the mattress and make competitors unable to duplicate it.

2.       A pillow that has cooling vents with gel inside would be a good next step.

3.       I would either like to license it to a big mattress company after I patent it or be the CEO and run the company.  

Amazon Whisperer

1.  The revenue drivers of my business concept are the sales of the mattresses.
2. The next product that I imagine offering is a self-cooling pillow.
3. This will go along nicely with sales and I could even discount the pillows with the purchase of a mattress.  I believe it would improve the customers experience and brand loyalty with one brand offering everything.
4.   The product that I found is a gel mat that stays cool and you can put it inside your pillow case.
5.   It has about 1400 reviews with 4 and a half stars.  They like that it keeps their pillow cooler.
6.  I want the gel to be in the pillow instead of a mat that goes on it.  
7.   This would go perfectly with a mattress that cools itself.

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My Unfair Advantage

1.  Having a friend that already works in the industry, Chris Noel.

• This is valuable in the fact that he already knows the industry and what it needs.  He also has contacts for sales and distribution already established.  This is somewhat rare to already know someone in the industry but their are plenty others with that advantage.  It can be copied with different people.  He can be substituted for someone else.

2.  Personal experiences pushing me to create the best possible product and giving me first hand knowledge of what's needed.

• This is very valuable.  This is not rare at all, it can be inimitable and can be substituted. 

3.  Already owning a business which gives me the experience needed to know how to start a new one.

• This is valuable.  It isn't very rare but there are still a lot of people who don't own businesses so it makes starting a new one a lot harder.  This is inimitable and can be substituted.

4.  Financial backing to accomplish goals.

• This is very valuable because without it you can't succeed.  It is somewhat rare but plenty of others also have backing.  This is inimitable and can be substituted.

5.  Excellent computer skills.

• Computer skills are necessary nowadays to be able to run a business successfully.  It is not all that rare in my generation.  This is inimitable and can be substituted.

6.  A friend that owns a networking and search engine optimization company, Adam Smith.

• This is valuable because it helps with acquiring a larger market of people.  This is pretty rare to have someone like that as a personal contact.  It can be imitated with putting up capital for someone to be able to do the same things.  He can be substituted for someone else. 

7.  The original idea for this product.

• Valuable because without it I wouldn't have anything.  Rare because clearly no one else has it.  It can't be imitated or substituted.  

8.  Perseverance to follow through with ideas.

• Very valuable.  Somewhat rare.  This is inimitable and can be substituted.

9.  An education from UF.

• Very valuable.  Not very rare.  This is inimitable and can be substituted.

10.  Friends and family who support me.

• Very valuable.  Not very rare.  This is inimitable and can be substituted.

I would say that Chris Noel is my top resource because he can help me with getting directly into the industry with my first products.  

Reading Reflection No. 2

 How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Scott Adams

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

The general idea of the book is Adam talking about the good and bad of his career.  However, most of the stuff is bad regarding his corporate office job.  His main strategy is to invite failure in, embrace it, and then pick its pocket.  He said that something that he has been doing his whole life.  He went from failing at his office job, his restaurants, his inventions and his investments, to making a success out of his comic strip.

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

The main idea behind the book, and behind ENT 3003 in my opinion, is perseverance.  It is easy to give up but it is hard to keep on going and eventually turn your failures into a success.

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

It would involve some exercises that were impossible to complete, but the failures of them led to the understanding of the next exercise.  

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?

One of the things that stood out to me was his statement that "goals are for losers."  This took me off guard a little because we have basically been told our whole lifes that we are supposed to have goals.

Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

I am Chris Parrish, a senior at UF.  My talents are seeing opportunities and finding ways to make something out of them.  I currently own my own business which specializes in customs coatings on firearms and the manufacturing of firearms.  We also to retail sales. This has given me a great deal of experience with all of the things that it actually takes to run a business from taxes and accounting to quality services and customer satisfaction.  My aspirations for the project in this class is for everyone to know what the product I am creating is and have the opportunity to get a mattress that cools itself.  It would play a major role in my life because I would be involved with every aspect of the business.

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs).

My product is a mattress that has vent channels and it sends cool air through them to the side of the mattress that you are sleeping on.  So instead of your mattress heating up and making you too hot at night, you will sleep comfortably under your sheets. 

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

I believe my product works for almost everyone.  The majority of people get hot at night while they sleep so there is a pretty broad market. There will probably be more buyers in the southern United States simply because of how much hotter it is for more of the year.

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

They care because they will be able to get a better nights rest instead of waking up from being hot.  It will also save them money because they won't have to turn the air down so far in their house to be able to get the same good night's sleep.

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

I have the willingness to take the risk to create a business which is what I believe holds a lot of people back.

I believe that all of these elements fit together and that I have the ability to create a successful business out of this if I did it in the real world.

My Customer's Avatar

I believe that my prototypical customer consists of a wide range of people.  Everyone sleeps on a mattress so it just comes down to who cares more about spending money to get a good nights rest.  I think that males are the ones who are more willing to spend money to accomplish something like that.  Also, someone who is more active and middle aged is more likely to not sleep as well or have back issues from being active.  So the person I created in my mind fits the picture below.  As far as their political views and what car they drive, I would honestly be biased and say they are republicans who drive trucks.  But that's just because that fits me.  Really and truly I have such a wide range of customers that they will all share all kinds of different views.  

My Secret Sauce

I am out of town on vacation and unfortunately unable to do the interviews in front of a camera.  However, I was able to make phone calls and still do the interviews so I will post the summary.

1)
A.  I believe I am more of a risk taker than most people which is something that is needed for an entrepreneur.
B.  I think I am a very logical thinker which helps me to solve problems and think about things in ways that a lot of people don't.
C.  I have been creating my own little businesses and trying to sell things ever since I was little.  I remember getting in trouble in 5th grade for making and selling stress balls at school out of balloons and sand.  I was selling them for a dollar each and got in trouble when one busted in class.
D.  I can easily ignore what people say so it helps with not getting offended very easily and causing issues in relationships.
E.  I have determination to make things work even when it is difficult.

2)
AJ Moser
He thinks I am very smart and somewhat arrogant.  But the arrogance is also from me being confident in my abilities.  He said I am able to run my business successfully and make money so he understand how I can act extra confident sometimes.

Chris Noel
He said that I always have good ideas and answers to problems.  Every time he has pitched an idea to me I have been able to give him constructive criticism for it.

Kristiian Serena
He said that I am a good salesman.  I am always buying and selling something and making money. Also that I like working for myself so I can think on my own and not be controlled by someone.

Devyn West
She said that I am smart and come off as cocky sometimes.  Also, that I like being in control because I always want to drive everywhere and do everything myself instead of letting others do it.

My Mom
She thinks that I am confident and independent.  She has watched me with my businesses and knows that I spend a lot of time working and trying to make things work well.

3)
I pretty much agree with what everyone said.  I definitely like doing things myself if I want them done right because I don't trust others to do it right.  I wouldn't make any corrections to my original list.  I think everyone described me pretty accurately.