24 - Venture Concept No. 1

The requirements for the written description Word file does not open or work, so I found some difficulty in understanding exactly what is supposed to be included. I have done my best to fulfill this assignment without access to the requirements.

MetalliStraw was founded on the basis of environmentalism and seeking to solve the global issues of today regarding pollution. Based on research and data analysis, our team identified that one of the largest and widely unaddressed pollutants in the globe is plastic straw and its related waste. Our team realized that there was a great need around the planet for an alternative to plastic straws, to begin ending some of the problems of plastic pollution.

Deciding to manufacture a better straw was the first step in creating our current product. We did market research to see how this need for an alternative to a plastic straw was being filled. We found that many people cared about this issue of pollution but felt there was no way they could get around plastic straw use, which is in almost every restaurant and more. Some people said they chose to not use straws, but this means there need is left unfilled, and plastic straws still have no alternative that could decrease their demand. Many people also mentioned that they had made attempts to switch to cardboard straws that are recyclable and create less waste. However, generally people were dissatisfied with the quality of them and how cardboard straws tend to become saturated and useless over time. This made it clear to our team that there needed to be an alternative to plastic straws that could at least work as well as plastic straws, if not better. This is when we decided to work with metal straws, but we still wanted to differentiate.

While other metal straws have existed, few have the mission and intent on saving the environment, with data to back it up. Our decision to closely tie our mission to our product has kept the concept of environmentalism and saving the oceans on the forefront of product design and marketing. Every MetalliStraw comes with a booklet full of our research, data, and information explaining specifically how our products contributes to the decline of plastic waste and actively contributes to environmentalism.

We also noticed that while other companies had produced metal straws, none had sought to create the best, most simple product possible that could be a real alternative to plastic straws. Many companies had not considered their product post-purchase. We wanted to ensure that even after purchase, our straw continued to be utilized and appreciated, and our clients wouldn’t switch back to plastic. To prevent this post-purchase dissonance, we began to focus on the physical use of the straw and its weaknesses and advantages. Based on consumer purchasing habits, our team decided on a straw diameter that is most popular and ideal. Further we realized a reappearing theme among most reusable straws; they were simply too difficult to wash. Many customers found after a few uses, they could never return it to its original cleanliness. Our team decided to pursue materials that would be machine washable, thereby taking the cleaning process out of the consumers’ hands. Further we investigated what materials and metals would make the best straw. We identified alloys that would be more difficult for food and drink to adhere to. Now we have developed a straw that is completely dish washer safe and generally is less likely to become as dirty and uncleanable in the first place.

At MettaliStraw, our team decided that we wanted our product to be the consumer’s final solution and fulfill their need indefinitely. To achieve this, we added our lifetime warranty. Every MettaliStraw purchased comes with its own lifetime warranty, assuring that anything that could happen to the straw would be covered and replaced at no charge. Generally, we don’t expect our straws to need replacement, but we don’t want a bend or any other issue causing our clients to return to plastic straws and effectively damaging the environment. The lifetime warranty ensures customers will have loyalty with our company, and effectively help our brand, name and image grow.

 MetalliStraw is heavily reliant and appreciative of its investors. Upon our founding, we sought partnerships and relationships with people and other businesses that share our passion for the environment. Our investors are supportive of our mission and believe our company is on the forefront of solving a major environmental issue. Our capital structure is currently solely provided by equity and investment from these partners. Our team never wanted to finance around debt and values the relationships in our network more than any bank loan. We believe to go about solving global problems like pollution, it is best to develop a web of individuals passionate towards a solution rather than working on our own with loan financing.

What sets MetalliStraw apart is our mission and our people. We have never sought to develop a product to profit from. Instead we have focused on covering costs and expanding our role and mission. The employees within our company were originally attracted to us due to our message and mission, and we reaffirm this mentality through a complex corporate culture. While it may have many nuances, our culture revolves around what is best for the future health of our planet. Our employees are familiarized with our mission and how we serve to achieve it, creating a similar consensus throughout the company that is somewhat unique. Every employee is responsible for knowing their role within MetalliStraw and how they personally are contributing to cleaning our environment and decreasing our global reliance on plastic straws.

23 - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

Resources:

• Low production costs - Compared to a high sale price, low costs create more profit and value, not necessarily rare, is inimitable for other companies if the seek to cut costs, with more capital resource substitutes can be analyzed and further cost reduction can be pursued.
• Mission - MetalliStraw's mission to save the environment adds value by making the brand more likable, it is somewhat rare for a company to value it's environmentalist efforts over profit, it is imitable for other companies to focus on this mission but at the sacrifice of profit, our mission cannot be substituted.
• Human Capital - The employees at our company are dedicated and add value to our product, not all companies have a cohesive workforce that shares the company culture making it more rare, this can be mimicked by companies investing in culture and training, there is little substitute for the passionate employees.
• Social Capital - Our social capital adds value to our company, I would not call it rare, it could be replicated, there are many substitutes to our social capital.
• Financial Capital - Our finances are steady to keep our business afloat, our profits and revenues size are not all entirely rare, other companies could match our financial capital with debt financing or investment, the substitute to our finances would be taking on more debt.
• Global need - As the world turns more towards environmentalism our product becomes more valuable, this feature is rare as other companies cannot simply generate global need, it must already exist, there is no substitute for this.
• Unique product - Being unique adds value to the product, there is currently no fully metal straw that is completely machine washable making it rare, it could be replicated by companies thus a patent is needed, substitutes exist but do not serve the purpose of environmentalism.
• Mass Production - A relatively simple product can be mass produced fairly easy, this is rare as it requires infrastructure, companies could imitate this feature by investing in factories and cost-reduction, a substitute may be outsourcing production.
• Network - Our relationships with other businesses, restaurants, and suppliers adds value, it is unique to have the specific relationships we have, other companies have to put in great effort to create these relationships, there is no substitute for our network.
• Warranty - Our lifetime warranty adds valuable, this is rare as few products today have lifetime warranties, companies can mimic this feature but would cost them a lot, a substitute for our warranty could be improved customer service.

I think our mission is our most important feature and drives our success. By focusing on the mission of improving the situation of the environment, rather than trying to make a random product for profit, we ensure we provide the best service related to our goals.

22 - Elevator Pitch No. 3

1)

2) My peers reminded me to not include my name, and also recommended I speak with more conviction.

3) I took their advice and dropped my name from the entire pitch, focusing solely on the product. I also tried to make the introduction jump more and appeal to consumers' emotions. I also tried to differentiation my product/company from competition by making it more about the mission than just the product.

21 - Reading Reflection No. 2

Inbound Marketing - Peter Drucker

1) The book revolved around the theme of inbound marketing, a strategy and approach to marketing that focuses on the cyclical nature of attracting customers, providing service or product, and bringing those customers and more back.

2) The book reintroduced many concepts discussed in ENT3003, sometimes with different names or terminology. One element of marketing the book focused on, that is similar to this class, is the importance of developing relationships. Having a firm well-cared for relationship with a client has a great chance of retaining that client.

3) If I had to design an assignment for this class I would choose a blog post that relates to our individual products. Understanding how the inbound marketing mindset can be applied to your product could help students understand that cyclical process with their clients.

4) My most surprising moment was realizing how widely used this inbound strategy is used today. I have recently finished HubSpot's Inbound Marketing course, and I found it interesting noticing the parallels between Drucker's teachings and a more modern take on inbound marketing.

20 - Growing Your Social Capital

Domain Expert

Evan Gehler is currently a salesperson for specialty appliances. While his product has a much larger scale than mine, he often works directly with restaurants or similar food-based businesses. I met Mr. Gehler through my parents, who I asked if they would recommend anyone for this blog post. I emailed Mr. Gehler to contact him. Mr. Gehler gave me a lot of insight in how to approach these large businesses and in return I offered my help or future career should he ever need help. Having Mr. Gehler in my network is extremely valuable, since he can offer personal experience with working in a similar industry as well as help me meet contacts.

Market Expert

Brenda Medrano is currently an assistant manager at Bahama Breeze. Bahama Breeze is an ideal example of a business my product could be introduced to. Brenda is actually a close friend that I have known for sometime. I texted her asking if we could discuss this assignment and she was more than willing. She explained how ordering and equipment works within a restaurant setting, and gave me insight to how much waste is created from plastic straws just within her restaurant. I told her about my potential product, and she agreed that it could be a great success in a restaurant setting like Bahama Breeze. Having this person in my network is valuable because, as the entrepreneur of the product, I have less direct communication with consumers, and Brenda is able to bridge that gap by connecting me to the patrons of Bahama Breeze. She could also be a future client or representative if I were to approach Bahama Breeze about my business.

Supplier

Ryan Morley is a mechanical engineering graduate, whose passion is solid works. His day-to-day consists of building specialty parts to supply other businesses. I used to be roommates with Ryan, randomly matched through UF. I called Ryan to see if he was available to discuss my product and assignment. As someone who builds specialty parts daily, he looked at my product from a very different viewpoint. He gave me insight as to how easy or complicated it could be to physically create my product and mass produce it. Ryan is a valuable person to have in my network because one day I may need a solid works supplier to produce my Metalli-Straw, and he may be the perfect option.

19 - Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You:
My name is Steven Perdue, and I am currently about to graduate with a bachelor's degree in Food and Resource Economics. As a proud resident of Florida, I have always felt that environmentalism and eco-conservation is of utmost importance.

2) What are you offering to customers?
The Metalli-Straw. The first fully metal, reusable straw that is easily washable. As well my product will come with a cleaning brush as well as a information booklet that explains how my product contributes to eliminating plastic waste in an understandable and statistically driven manner.

3) Who are you offering it to?
On a large scale, I would like to have everyone own a Metalli-Straw. As far as regular consumers, I would target younger markets, typically college students, that generally are passionate about helping the environment. I would also like to work with businesses, specifically restaurants, about replacing their current straw supplier with Metalli-Straw.

4) Why do they care?
Consumers will care because this offers them a simple way to contribute to saving the planet and oceans, and with the booklet actually explains how they personally are helping. Restaurants have the opportunity to replace plastic straws that must be reordered often with a reusable permanent alternative. The switch to my product can also make companies look better to consumers by being more active in sustainability.

5) What are your core competencies?
The reusable or recyclable straw is not a new concept, but it is yet to be popularized. Cardboard alternatives simply don't last, and many reusable hard plastic straws are difficult to clean or break easily. The Metalli-Straw serves to improve the traditional plastic straw by eliminating waste, reducing consumer issues with cleaning, and making it a permanent solution, rather than a momentary one.


After reading my peers critiques of my first idea napkin, I realized I needed to be more detailed and specific in some areas. I tried to focus greater on attributes and benefits of my product, and what makes it unique. One peer recommended that I consider businesses and restaurants as a target market, and I couldn't agree more. I completely forgot about other businesses having potential for my product. For this second idea napkin, I tried to discuss the potential restaurants have for the my product.

18 - Create a Customer Avatar

While I would hope my product could apply to anyone and everyone, since saving the environment should be important to everyone, I understand that a target consumer must be identified more specifically.

My ideal customer is a young (college-age) woman who enjoys spending time in places like Starbucks. This avatar likes to eat out, and orders drinks that often includes straws. The avatar is typically eco-conscious, so they ideally would drive a Prius (or similar electric car), and white seems to be the most popular Prius color. This avatar would likely not have kids, and be more willing to spend money on non-necessities. This avatar's favorite politicians are usually more liberal, as they care about environmental issues.

I would definitely have some in common with the created avatar. I chose the product "MetalliStraw" because I am eco-conscious and concerned about the future of the environment. While I do not currently drive an electric car, it is certainly something I would like to in the future. I also own a white car, which may subconsciously why I chose the avatar to have a white car. I am generally more liberal as well, which aligns with my interest in protecting and cleaning up the planet.