Venture's unfair advantage

1.     Work ethic:

a.     Valuable: not stopping until the task is complete and putting in one’s best effort for the project.

b.     Rare: a strong work ethic is not rare in the business realm. In order to succeed, one must possess a fantastic work ethic.

c.     Inimitable: it can be imitated. In fact, it often is.

d.     Non-substitutable: Nothing can substitute a good work ethic.

2.     Lack of competitors:

a.     Valuable: Valuable because I have virtually no competitors.

b.     Rare: It is very rare in current times to be the first person/company to enter a market.

c.     Inimitable: There is a similar version of my product being used online but not for television.

d.     Non-substitutable: since there is nothing else like it on the market, it cannot be substituted.

3.     Social capital:

a.     Valuable: Being a UF student, I have numerous recourses to help me start a business and guide me along the way.

b.     Rare: Not many entrepreneurs are fortunate enough to have successful business people guide them along the way.

c.     Inimitable: It can be imitated, all one needs to do is seek advice.

d.     Non-substitutable: The only substitute for good advice is learning the lesson the hard way but that is unwise.

4.     Financial capital:

a.     Valuable: because I will be able to attract top talent for my company and be able to expand rapidly.

b.     Rare: Though money is not rare, the uses that I will put it towards will be the first of their kind.

c.     Inimitable: cannot replicate money.

d.     Non-substitutable: Not many people are willing to work for free so I do not think that there is a substitute.

5.     Determination to be a pioneer in the field:

a.     Valuable:  If one has the desire and determination to succeed, nothing can stop them.

b.     Rare: Not many people have an unstoppable drive.

c.     Inimitable: many others have strong desires to succeed.

d.     Non-substitutable: there is no substitute for passion.

6.     Vision:

a.     Valuable: because competitors are not privy to my vision so they do not know the direction that I am planning on taking my company.

b.     Rare: No one else can see it.

c.     Inimitable: If word spreads of what it is, it can be imitated.

d.     Non-substitutable: a vision cannot be substituted.

7.     Social Capital:

a.     Valuable: people want to work with people that they like. If it is an enjoyable work environment, employee’s will put forth their best effort and look forward to coming into work every day.

b.     Rare: every relationship and connection created is valuable and rare.

c.     Inimitable: relationships can be imitated and even faked.

d.     Non-substitutable: relationships cannot be substituted.

8.     Desire to innovate:

a.     Valuable: by constantly looking for something new and ways to improve my product, it will always be on the cutting edge.

b.     Rare: desire to innovate is not rare amongst entrepreneurs.

c.     Inimitable: if there is a patent, the innovation cannot be imitated.

d.     Non-substitutable: desire can be faked but it cannot be substituted.

9.     Publicity:

a.     Valuable: since it is the first in a new field, once one or two big companies adopt my technology, word will spread quickly.

b.     Rare: spreading word the grapevine is not rare.

c.     Inimitable: though the publicity cannot be imitated, it can be altered and contain statements that are not true.

d.     Non-substitutable: publicity cannot be substituted.

10.  Access to top talent:

a.     Valuable: top talent will allow my business to quickly rise to the top and bring a student at UF puts me in a prime position to gather such talent.

b.     Rare: top talent is very rare. It’s what separates the good companies from the best.

c.     Inimitable: it is not imitable because at the end of the day, only two things get the job done, talent and hard work.

d.     Non-substitutable: talent can be substituted with hard work.

Summery:

My most valuable resource is hard work. Nothing can replace it and since I will be pioneering a field, I will not only have to sell my product, but I will also have to sell the field. Honestly, I believe that the only way for my product to succeed will be if everyone involved works as hard as they can.