23A Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1.     App development experience: I already have had experience co-founding an app company in high school, where I learned all of the necessary steps that are involved with creating an app business.

a.      Valuable: This is extremely valuable because I already know the necessary steps I will need to take rather than having to learn as I go.

b.     Rare: Since the app industry is still growing, having this kind of experience is somewhat rare, but becoming more common.

c.      Inimitable: The experience can be somewhat imitated, but since every app is different, it is also individualistic.

d.     Non-substitutable: I could always hire someone to take care of all of the development and business side of things, but that also costs money whereas I could just do it to reduce costs.  

2.     Social capital: domain expert: I already have contacts with global app developers who I already have a professional contact with, and they can develop the software for my app.

a.      Valuable: This is extremely valuable because I can not code and having a developer who can code the software is crucial for this business venture.

b.     Rare: It is not as rare. There are many coders out there who can do this type of work. However, this particular contact is rare since they work on a global scale rather than locally.

c.      Inimitable: This can be somewhat inimitable. Since coders are becoming more demanded by app companies it is very easy to get contacts. Finding one on the global scale is trickier.

d.     Non-substitutable: I think having someone who understands how software development works is more valuable then having to teach myself. Since every coder has their strengths and weaknesses, the “same benefits” could vary among who you hire.

3.     Public speaking skills: I have had experience doing public speaking for three years prior to coming to college and have had practice with elevator pitches from this class.

a.      Valuable: It is a very valuable resource to have since it allows me to comfortably talk to investors and be able to pitch my ideas in order to make sales or get funding.

b.     Rare: This is not a rare skill to have. Many people have had public speaking experience.

c.      Inimitable: It can be very easily imitated; the trick is to have the right amount passion and presence to get your point across effectively.

d.     Non-substitutable: I could always hire someone to do the speaking for me so there are other ways to get the same benefit.

4.     Leadership skills: I have had a lot of experience to develop leadership skills through volunteer work and clubs I have been part of.

a.      Valuable: In a venture like this, it is a very good resource to have to make sure things get done and everything is going well.

b.     Rare: It is not entirely rare, everyone has the opportunity to develop these skills it just comes down the amount of experience.

c.      Inimitable: I feel like it is not entirely a skill that can be easily imitated by anyone without any experience.

d.     Non-substitutable: It is not a skill that can be substituted. It is a crucial element in any venture.

5.     Uniqueness of product/features it provides: Even though there are a lot of products out there that can help with one or two aspects of a person’s lifestyle, there is not anything on the market to can be individualized and cover all aspects a person finds necessary.

a.      Valuable: This is very valuable since it helps this product stand out rather than be viewed as just another product on the market.

b.     Rare: Having originality is rare, but that does not mean that success will follow based on its unique design and capabilities.

c.      Inimitable: It is very unique now, but once competitors enter the market, it could easily be imitated.

d.     Non-substitutable: Uniqueness is not something that can be provided via other resources. I can easily come up with another unique venture concept that just costs time and money to do so.

6.     Social capital: market expert: Having someone who can give me a better understand about the behaviors of my target market and their buyer behavior and needs.

a.      Valuable: This is extremely valuable because I need as much information as I can get in order to be successful in this venture.

b.     Rare: It is a very rare resource to have. Not very many people may have the expert knowledge of this target group and has had experience with working with it over the years.

c.      Inimitable: It is not very easy to copy one’s knowledge and experiences. It is possible for someone to try to become an expert but that takes a lot of time and resources.  

d.     Non-substitutable: I can always go look for another expert on this market. However, every expert will have different knowledge and experiences. It also takes time to find another expert.

7.     Social Capital: Personal Trainer: Part of the app would be a list of resource that users can use to complete their goals. Personal trainers can be a resource within the app to help people with fitness and diet goals.

a.      Valuable: There is definitely some value to having this contact. It is important to have resources to provide to users in order to help them complete their goals and the contact information to personal trainers could be useful.

b.     Rare: It is not a rare contact since there is many personal trainers that I could easily reach out to.

c.      Inimitable: Many personal trainers have the same general knowledge which makes this contact very easy to copy. The only thing that might be hard to copy is any specializations the personal trainers focus on.

d.     Non-substitutable: There are many resources I can provide to users that are not personal trainers to help them complete their goals, so yes there are other resources that can provide similar benefits.

8.     Entrepreneur influences:  I come from a line of entrepreneurs (mother, father and grandfather) who have all had the experience of starting and running their own companies. They give me the encouragement and always motivate me to think creatively.  

a.      Valuable: Having entrepreneurial knowledge and motivation is extremely valuable when trying to form my own company.

b.     Rare: It is somewhat rare. I can easily talk to other entrepreneurs, but I feel like it is different when it is a family connection.

c.      Inimitable: Having as close of a relationship that I have with family entrepreneurs, it can not be imitated.

d.     Non-substitutable: None of my direct family members have much experience in the technology field, so having a connection with an entrepreneur in the tech field could be very beneficial.

9.     Adaptability: If the market changes or the demand decreases, this product can easily adapt to any changes that we could face without having to change any core functions of the product.  

a.      Valuable: This is very valuable. Having this ability allows us to tackle different markets without having to worry if the target market does not work out.

b.     Rare: It is very rare. Many products are designed to serve a particular market and are not designed to adapt to changes in that market.

c.      Inimitable: It is not a feature that can easily be copied. Once the product is on the market the idea of adaptability can possibly be copied but it would difficult to do.

d.     Non-substitutable: I do not know of any other resource that can provide the same benefit.

10.  Innovation and maintenance costs: Since the only costs, outside of development, would be maintenance costs. This would allow us to sell the product at a more affordable rate thus making it an attractive product.

a.      Valuable: This is extremely valuable. This allows us to maintain a product at low costs which saves the company money. By having low costs, we can lower the costs enough to still make profit but make it affordable to the consumer.

b.     Rare: This resource can be somewhat rare, but especially in this market.

c.      Inimitable: It can be copied, but it all relies on how much maintenance is required to keep ones’ own software running.

d.     Non-substitutable: I do not think there is any other resource that can provide the benefit of low costs.

After conducting my VRIN analysis, it is very difficult to choose which resource that is the strongest in all of the criteria. It seems like almost all of the resources have their strengths and weaknesses in each category. Ultimately, I still feel that App Development Experience is still my best resource. All of the resources are very important to making the product grow and work well in the target market. However, for many first-time app developers and app businesses, they may be unaware of the many challenges they will ultimately face during development and distribution. Having this prior knowledge, really helps prepare for many of the potential problems (software bugs, beta testing, etc.) and makes the process run much more smoothly.