Week Four

I remember from the video it mentioned the pivot. In another class that I am taking, we learned about this pivot as well. All successful startups have a zig zag course of how they got to where they are. The pivot is starting with one idea, seeing what works with that idea, and then changing to what fits with what works with that idea. Then from there you see what works with that idea and the things you've already learned, and then doing the same thing. Just because an idea sounds like a good idea, does not necessarily mean that it is a good idea. I remember reading an example about a website that connects you with other pet lovers. It sounds like a good idea, you could imagine that there are people that would be willing to use that site, but if everybody thinks that there is somebody that might use it but not them, then you end up with a big list of nobody and a another huge list of people that think it's probably a good idea for someone. The key is finding what works out of what you have and taking what you learned and changing course. We learned about the GEM model also. These relate extremely well. Gather, Enhance, Marketing. You gather your information, you enhance(pivot) and then market your new product. Lather rinse repeat. The more you do it the more perfectly into your market you will fit.

Also, for the $100 challenge, I bought $20 dollars of ties. I wasn’t sure of the condition they would come in. Most all the ties are stained and torn. The ties that aren’t ruined are just ugly ties. I’m not sure if I will be able to sell any of them. I think I might have to buy some more expensive product to actually have some sort of sellable inventory. I’m not sure if that is against the rules because of the starting $20 amount, but I really think I have unsellable inventory. I am thinking I will try to return them because on their website they mentioned that was a possibility.

Week Three

From the Harvard material, I was reminded of something I read in Good to Great. First who, then what. You pick your team of who is on the bus, then you give them the problem they need to solve. You need to find your team of creative thinkers that complement and work well together. The ride will not always be smooth, but it will end in a good result. The team seemed to me as the most important thing in  what we read about the creative process. Obviously it helps to give them a good environment that encourages their creativity and ability to ideate and come up with solutions.
For the $100 challenge I have brought my list of 20 down to 5 and think that I know what I will eventually pick. It is hard to choose based on a list of ideas that I think will work. Potentially one of the 20 I didn't pick could be a better choice, but I will not know because I chose a different route. I feel the list I came up with supports how I would best be able to accomplish the task of generating $100 of profit.

Week Two

This week we watched a video about Corey Bell. We also were supposed to come up with some ideas for this $100 challenge. In short the $100 challenge is where we start a business with $20 and try to make a profit of at least $100. One of our assignments this week was to write out a list of 20 ideas that we think might be possible to do where we are. I wrote out a lot of them. I could've written more, but I felt a lot of them were variations of the same thing, so I left those ones out. I feel that most of my ideas stem from doing something simple and telling people it is for a nonprofit organization just so that I can charge them more. That seems unfair and also not really filling the requirement of the assignment. I am trying to fix a problem. I know there are lots of problems, but it is hard to envision one that I can solve by myself and also with only $20. I may be able to get my wife to help. I don't know how fair that is either. I am excited and scared about this project. I hope I can find a good idea in the right spot to get the best out of this assignment.