My Venture's Unfair Advantage
Resources
1. Human capital: Human capital refers to the personality traits and skills of people who work for a business. I believe my education in entomology and my experience in an urban entomology lab make me qualified to make a bed bug lure. Since I have worked directly with bed bugs, I know what attracts these bugs and what can be used as a lure. I do not believe this resource can be easily copied because acquiring this human capital would require a similar background.
2. Social capital: I have met pest control company employees while working at my lab. I interviewed two of these people while doing assignments for this class. Having these connections is important because I know people who I can consult for advice if necessary. In the future, I could possibly partner with one of these smaller companies. I do not believe this resource can be easily copied because forming connections takes time and effort. Also, I met these people through work.
3. Financial capital: Although I do not have much financial capital, the materials needed to make this product are inexpensive. This is definitely the weakest of my resources because I do not have enough money to start a business and do not know where to attain funding or a loan.
4. Longevity: This product lasts for a relatively long time. The only part of the product that needs to be replaced is the sticky trap; however, the actual lure can last as long as the average lifetime. Although longevity can be imitated, most insect traps or lures are designed to work for a short period of time.
5. Affordable: This product is affordable. This device only consists of a sticky trap, a plastic container, and a water heater. The water heater would only be composed of copper wires and a resistor. These materials are all inexpensive, which would make the complete product affordable. I want the product to be affordable because this product mostly appeals to low-income families, college students, and people who live in apartment complexes.
6. Universal: Bed bugs are found throughout the world. Therefore, this product could be marketed throughout the world. I do not believe this resource is easy to copy because it is difficult to create products that appeal to people throughout multiple countries.
7. Priority: People consider their physical and mental health a priority. Having bed bugs results in itchy bumps or rashes, and these insects may cause people to feel anxious. Having a monitor that continuously traps and lures bed bugs will give people peace of mind. If this trap does catch bed bugs, this will give the user an early warning. The user will have time to contact a pest control company before a complete infestation occurs.
8. Low-maintenance: This trap does not need to be put together or set up. This trap does also not contain harsh chemicals that require warning labels or application directions. The user only has to plug the outlet into a wall.
9. Rapid results: This trap should begin capturing bed bugs immediately if these bugs are present. Someone staying in a hotel room can plug in this device and know whether or not bed bugs are present within an hour.
10. Subtle: People may not want visitors to know that they are monitoring for bed bugs. This device is meant to be placed underneath the bed, out of sight.
Top Resource
Although I have focused on how affordable this product is to use in the past, I believe my top resource is priority (#7). People are willing to buy products that better their physical and mental health.
1. Human capital: Human capital refers to the personality traits and skills of people who work for a business. I believe my education in entomology and my experience in an urban entomology lab make me qualified to make a bed bug lure. Since I have worked directly with bed bugs, I know what attracts these bugs and what can be used as a lure. I do not believe this resource can be easily copied because acquiring this human capital would require a similar background.
2. Social capital: I have met pest control company employees while working at my lab. I interviewed two of these people while doing assignments for this class. Having these connections is important because I know people who I can consult for advice if necessary. In the future, I could possibly partner with one of these smaller companies. I do not believe this resource can be easily copied because forming connections takes time and effort. Also, I met these people through work.
3. Financial capital: Although I do not have much financial capital, the materials needed to make this product are inexpensive. This is definitely the weakest of my resources because I do not have enough money to start a business and do not know where to attain funding or a loan.
4. Longevity: This product lasts for a relatively long time. The only part of the product that needs to be replaced is the sticky trap; however, the actual lure can last as long as the average lifetime. Although longevity can be imitated, most insect traps or lures are designed to work for a short period of time.
5. Affordable: This product is affordable. This device only consists of a sticky trap, a plastic container, and a water heater. The water heater would only be composed of copper wires and a resistor. These materials are all inexpensive, which would make the complete product affordable. I want the product to be affordable because this product mostly appeals to low-income families, college students, and people who live in apartment complexes.
6. Universal: Bed bugs are found throughout the world. Therefore, this product could be marketed throughout the world. I do not believe this resource is easy to copy because it is difficult to create products that appeal to people throughout multiple countries.
7. Priority: People consider their physical and mental health a priority. Having bed bugs results in itchy bumps or rashes, and these insects may cause people to feel anxious. Having a monitor that continuously traps and lures bed bugs will give people peace of mind. If this trap does catch bed bugs, this will give the user an early warning. The user will have time to contact a pest control company before a complete infestation occurs.
8. Low-maintenance: This trap does not need to be put together or set up. This trap does also not contain harsh chemicals that require warning labels or application directions. The user only has to plug the outlet into a wall.
9. Rapid results: This trap should begin capturing bed bugs immediately if these bugs are present. Someone staying in a hotel room can plug in this device and know whether or not bed bugs are present within an hour.
10. Subtle: People may not want visitors to know that they are monitoring for bed bugs. This device is meant to be placed underneath the bed, out of sight.
Top Resource
Although I have focused on how affordable this product is to use in the past, I believe my top resource is priority (#7). People are willing to buy products that better their physical and mental health.
ReplyDeleteYou created an excellent list which really high lights valuable resources. I found this exercise to be extremely helpful. It’s interesting that you selected priority as top resource. I believe you as human capital is also really valuable. Your knowledge ( first hand research) is something other companies might not have. This is really a valuable asset and seems to have shaped your model.
Hey Ashley,
ReplyDeleteHaving created this list not only helps you to see how many useful resources you have at your disposal, but also helps compare to see which are your strongest. As you've indicated, the priority that this issue causes means that people will want to solve it right away, meaning your product has high chances of being demanded highly. Aside from priority, you also have some strong resource, such as affordability.