Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1.     Social media: I am very familiar with current trends and the ways to intrigue other users

·      Valuable- this is an essential tool in the modern technologically driven times

·      Rare- most people use social media, but only a handful know how to stand out

·      Inimitable- not the most inimitable, but very handy

·      Non-substitutable- marketing makes it a bit less non-substitutable, but still very important piece

2.     Social capital: I am in UF Greek life and involved in large on campus organizations

·      Valuable- knowing people and having a close proximity of friends helps spread idea

·      Rare- not everyone has access to such a common and powerful network

·      Inimitable- This resource can be replicated with other student organizations

·      Non-substitutable: Knowing people in sororities and fraternities and having those relationships cannot be substituted

3.     Marketing capabilities: Many of my friends work at a local start-up company hub known as The Selling Factory, and they specialize in marketing and sales for emerging products

·      Valuable- An affordable and friendly team of interns to help me grow my customer base quickly and efficiently

·      Rare- no other school in the country has this resource at such close proximity to college

·      Inimitable- can be replicated, but it takes time to build a Selling Factory with the right people

·      Non-substitutable- in this college town, the Selling Factory cannot be substituted

4.     Large network of friends in many large markets: I have a vast network of business minded friends across the country in New York, Houston, and Los Angeles that would rally support

·      Valuable- Many big markets to immediately penetrate and draw widespread interest

·      Rare- This is not unheard of, but knowing people in different places helps

·      Inimitable- I am not the only person who has friends in many places, and anyone can get on the phone and see if a New Yorker likes the product by looking at it online

·      Non-substitutable- knowing the opinions of different people with varying personalities can greatly help me decide if my ideas and resources are likable in a public setting

5.     Public speaking experience: I have spoken in front of my fraternity of over 160 people on numerous occasions

·      Valuable- being able to speak and represent what I believe in is crucial

·      Rare- some people get stage fright and cannot speak in front of a crowd

·      Inimitable- many people are good speakers, but I greatly enjoy drawing in a crowd and convincing them that my product and ideas are superior

·      Non-substitutable- this is a polished skill of mine that makes up for other areas that I am not as strong in

6.     Creative thinker

·      Valuable- trusting my ideas and my way of thinking is my most valuable asset

·      Rare- some people hire people to think for them, not everyone can be decisive and creative

·      Inimitable- There are many smart business people and there are certainly other creative thinkers

·      Non-substitutable- being able to save money by thinking and creating on your own would significantly help from a financial position

7.     Publicity- this is a groundbreaking idea that will be very popular amongst the impatient generation of millennials

·      Valuable- media is very valuable and is a quick way to spread the reverse microwave

·      Rare- new products don’t get a ton of publicity unless they completely shatter the traditional way of thinking, which I think the reverse microwave does

·      Inimitable- many people can attract media attention, but not everyone can sustain that type of coverage like I can

·      Non-substitutable- publicity and social media are increasingly merging into the same thing, especially with Twitter and Facebook

8.     Uniqueness of the idea: A reverse microwave has never been produced, and would revolutionize the way people consume food

·      Valuable- An idea to take scorching hot food and instantly reduce it to perfect eating temperature

·      Rare- this has never been done before

·      Inimitable- typically putting scorching hot food into the fridge to cool takes at least 5-10 minutes, and now it can be instant

·      Non-substitutable- if you have patience, this can be substituted by waiting for the fridge to cool your food

9.     Fundraising experience: As a supporter of Dance Marathon, I know how to convince people to donate to a worthy cause

·      Valuable- getting funding and donations to build and market my product will be important to making money

·      Rare- not so rare, because it involves asking other people for money

·      Inimitable- it can be replicated, but my style of going about fundraising will bring in a lot of financial assistance

·      Non-substitutable- this can be substituted by hiring a team of people to make donation and investing calls

10.  Social Capital- contacts within the market

·      Valuable- will be very helpful to have connections already in the market to combine ideas and assist with distribution

·      Rare- not completely rare, but a “foot in the door” helps

·      Inimitable- This will give me much more knowledge before I completely get in to this new market

·      Non-substitutable- this cannot be substituted because it gives you a step up on lesser known business owners.

After doing the VRIN analysis, I would say that the resource of being a creative thinker will help me the most. I believe in myself and my idea of the Reverse Microwave, and with all of my thoughts and methods to advertise and spread awareness of my product, I am confident that this natural born tool will take me very far!