Venture Concept No.1

Venture Concept

Opportunity:

The need for having an app be able to detect music by just human voice first came to be from my own personal need. I have always had the problem with not being able to remember lyrics of songs, or having a song be stuck in my head but not knowing the name or artist.

·       So my concept came up on what if there was an app similar to Shazam that could detect music by listening to a human voice humming the melody. From there I spoke to other people, made elevator pitches and business concepts and then found out how many other people also have this need to find the names of songs that are stuck in their head.

   

·       From there this potential market has a wide demographic that could expand from young to old, any religion, any ethnicity. This is a huge opportunity for the music business, for the app business, and for people.

 The window of opportunity is wide open, there really isn’t a time constrain at this moment.

Innovation:

·       So the app I have created is called Mind and Melody. How it functions is that the user opens the app and sings/hums/plays the rhythm of whatever song that they do not know all the words to.

·       The app listens and then goes through a huge data base of music and is able to detect the melody that was sung to it from the user.

·       The app then displays the song to the user, and also provides places to listen to the song such as Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, and Sound Cloud, plus lyrics. That is essentially what the app does, it finds the music stuck in people’s heads.

·       From there, the primary way that I would be making money is by selling my app to some technology company or to any game system company and partner up with them.

·       From there they would be paying me to use my app. Also perhaps for a time being the app would have to have a price, perhaps $2.99 so in order to use it customers would have to buy the app. Or there could be a trial version and then a premium version, where the user would have to pay a certain amount a month or a yearly prescription in order to use the app with all its bells and whistles.

Venture Concept:

·       My innovation would solve the opportunity I mentioned above by fulfilling the needs of people who want to know the songs that they have been hearing on the radio but can’t remember the words of the artist name.

·       My product will serve anyone who wants to find out about music, or whoever is just curious about how the app works.

·       I believe customers would buy my product because it is something unique and actually really cool. The potential of the app is great and would be fun to have as a buyer.   

·       Now it would be easy for customers to switch to this product because there is nothing like it! There would be no actual “switching”, perhaps some competition from something similar like Shazam, but Shazam does not have the capability to detect the human voice like Mind and Melody does.

·       Luckily there is no packing for my product so super easy for anyone to get and for me to deliver.

·       The support I need for my business however is exponential. I need graphic designers, app developers, sound engineers, advertisement people, financial partners, and music artist’s assistance in order to make this business happen.

Three minor elements:

·       My most important resource is that of the human capital I have. It is my skill of being well spoken and an amiable person and my ability to make connections easily with people.

·       Then my next big tackle I would have aimed at customers would be for another app be able to understand peoples doodles of TV shows and movies. Perhaps at times you cannot exactly explain to someone a show you watched or the name of the show or the names of characters, but you can draw it. My next product could be able to understand those drawings and find through the power of the internet what show the user is trying describe.

·       Where would I be five, ten years from now after my first business venture? Great question. I would hope that my product is a success, bringing me a decent income and a popular product on the market. I hope that my product helps people, and surges the music technology world forward. I hope that I have a nice place to live, that I have graduated from school, that I am in good health and that my family is well.  

Amazon Whisperer

·       The way I will first be making revenue is by having to sell my app for a certain price. Just like certain music apps and games require you to purchase them, so would the Mind and Melody. That would really be my main way of making money, until I could get possibly partnered with smart phone companies like Apple or Android, or be sponsored by music technology companies like Bose and Sonos.

·       So the next big thing I believe my customers would want is a way to access the song that the app helped them find. For example, Mind and Melody will listen to the user’s voice and find the tune the user is looking for. Then the app could lead the user to a place where the song could be found like on Spotify, Amazon Music, or iTunes. This way, the user can now easily go and listen to the song or purchase it so that they never forget what the song was again!

·         Shazam recognizes music and media playing around you. Tap the Shazam button to instantly match, and then explore, buy and share. You can Shazam as much as you want! Once you’ve Shazamed something, you can:

*Buy tracks on Amazon MP3

*Watch the videos on YouTube

*See what your friends have Shazamed

*Use LyricPlay to sing along to streamed lyrics

*Listen to the music you Shazam in Rdio or Spotify

*Check out the artist’s bio and discography

You can also:

*Preview and save your favourites

*Share what you Shazam on Twitter, Facebook & Google+

·       All the reviews say how much they enjoy using the app do to its simplicity and somehow magical ability to identify songs from the radio and TV. Also, customers really enjoyed the fact that the music can be automatically made into a playlist for Spotify users, and that it can link up with Facebook users so you can see what your friends are Shazaming too. The only thing I saw that one customer didn’t like was that there was a monthly amount of tagging songs you could do until you had to pay to full access to the premium version of Shazam.

·       I would like to keep all the aspects of the app that the customers enjoyed. Really the only thing I would change is that my app version could detect songs with just the human voice from the user and not actually the whole song from the radio.

·       This product would make a good addition to mine because of their similarity and how each can benefit the customer.  

Week 11 Reading Reflection

1)                  What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

Something that was different from my expectations was how close business strategy and innovation can actually work together. The article gave a great example with the Corning story and how over many years its innovation process has allowed the company for great success. Of course Corning’s process is not for everyone, so it may not be so successful if another company tried to do the same thing, which I find interesting because then how do company’s find an appropriate model to follow for their business?

2)                  Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

The grey area of the reading for me was the section called “managing the trade-offs”. Different styles of innovation practices like demand-push, supply-push, and crowd-sourcing were all mentioned as having varying degrees of success for certain types of businesses. What I was trying to understand is that each of these practices has a good and a bad outcome about them, and really in the end it us up to the innovator which to use for what and when.

3)                  If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

Question one: What are some examples of different kinds of phase-gate processes that would be useful for markets dealing with technology? I am just rather curious since the term “phase-gate was used but no examples given.

Question two: What are some ways to create value and innovation for a company so that customers still remain interested? I ask this because isn’t the overall point of a business is to keep the customers happy so that the business makes a profit? So how could I go about doing that?

4)                  Any disagreements:

I mean not really going to disagree with anything. The article overall was extremely informative and interesting when it came to the topic of innovation. I enjoyed the fact that the article remained open and free for the reader to take away whatever they wanted about innovation, and how innovation itself is a constant experiment that we are learning from. 

My Unfair Advantage

1.       Public Speaking- It is my main skill. I am not shy when it comes to speaking to people about my product, presenting it to an audience, or promoting it in some public fashion.  

2.       Friendliness- Being friendly and amiable is another resource that I have which no other company can replicate. It is an important part of my human capital.  

3.       Creativity- This product I have pitched is creative and unique, in my opinion I display those traits as well. Another competitor would have a difficult time replicating an app that could identify songs from someone humming the tune without breaking any ownership laws I may have for the product.  

4.       My new found connections at Kinwa- The young co-founders there are great examples of what is possible in the field of creating applications for phones. I was able to establish a connection with them, and could possibly have a similar success story as theirs if this creation of mine actually ever happened. That is something rare and inimitable.

5.       An open and broad target audience- The people I am aiming towards is everyone and anyone, no matter the age, race, religion, or ethnicity. My product could be used by anyone who wanted to use it, and therefore it is highly valuable due to its diversity.  

6.       A music related creation- Having an app that would both attract music students and music all typed of music lovers is really exciting. It would be a huge boost to the music industry and to technology in the music department if such an app could be used; making it a valuable resource.

7.       Large range of music- Overall, a vast knowledge for the different types of music genres out there. My father has a great music collection that he passed on to me, and it is because of that emersion into music that I now have allowed myself to be open minded and listen anything and everything. Other companies cannot replicate that.

8.       Pre-existing technology- Some aspects of my resources are already out there ready for me to use them. For instance, the way Shazam finds the music it hears would be a similar technology that I would use in my product, only this time the app can identify things by the human voice.

9.       Friends in many places- I have connections with friends who are talented in the technological field, and could help me make this app a success. That friendship cannot be replicated.

10.   The name- The name of the product is super cool and different. Mind and Melody states what the overall purpose of the app is. There is a melody and you are going to use your mind to find it. It is a cohesive link between the two.

Top Resource:

My top resource is definitely the people connection I have with the three young entrepreneurs at Kinwa. They have experience and an understanding for how to start up apps and use new technology to be successful. Furthermore, I was able to get in contact with them and share my idea, so having them on my side would be extremely beneficial and unique to my situation. 

Growing My Social Capital

Person One:

1)      Domain Expert: Dr. John Shea

2)      Dr. John M. Shea is an Associate Professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Florida.

3)      I simply looked up the UF staff directory and found that Dr. Shea was well versed in the area of application development. After that I just sent him an email of my idea napkin.

4)      It was a nice email explaining how application development works.

5)      Having Dr. Shea gives me a good name, and experience.

Person Two: 

1)      Narayan Ghiotti is the co-founder and creative director of Kinwa; a mobile design and development studio based in Gainesville, Florida. Narayan Ghiotti of Kinwa, Inc., was among the four finalists selected for the Cade Museum Prize, a contest that challenges Florida start-up companies to create the world’s next game-changing invention.

2)      I am putting them as a supplier.

3)      Mr. Ghiotti was mentioned in seminar with Dr. John Shea so that’s how I found out about him. Then I researched about his company Kinwa and simply emailed them with my idea napkin.

4)      The exchange between us was more on my idea being a great one, but realizing that the possibility of it actually being able to be done at this time slim. He mentioned how the voice recognition is already in use now with things like Syri and Cortana, but to have an app recognize a song from the human voice would be rather difficult.

5)      He acts as a valuable asset towards the creative side of the app, and how it could be used in business. He also adds experience and advice.

Person Three:

1)      David Muir is the Co-founder and Mobile Engineer at Kinwa, which is located in Gainesville, Florida. He was also one of the four finalists selected for the Cade Museum Prize.

2)      I am putting him as the market expert.

3)      I found out about David Muir because he is co-founder with Mr. Ghiotti, so he is mentioned in all the work about Kinwa. I just emailed Kinwa like before and asked for Mr. Muir. I sent him my idea napkin as well.

4)      He told me more about logistics and the design of the app, how it would function, that sort of thing. Some points about what the public would do was brought up as well. It was difficult to put any of these three men as marketing experts so I did the best I could.

5)      Once again he is an experienced, successful, intelligent person in my field and so having him as an asset is exceptionally valuable.

Reflection: I have never networked like this before, so really I have no comparison. All I can say is that it was a bit intimidating to put yourself out there and show your idea to professionals. The feedback I received helped a lot, and put me back into perspective of things. What was neat about getting in contact with these people though is now I have some confidence if I ever were to have to do this for something in real life that I would like to create.  

Week 10 Reading Reflection

1)    What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

What I found very interesting within the reading was the section on marketing philosophy. According to the production-driven philosophy, you must produce efficiently before worrying about sales. I found this rather surprising because I always thought you produced an amount that you knew you could sell and make a profit. Apparently however, the better the production process is, the better your final product will be, and therefore your sales will always be well off.

2)    Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

Something that was a bit vague to me was the section on developing an information gathering instrument. Apparently it has to do when making a questionnaire or a survey of some sort, but overall the idea of it is a bit vague.

3)    If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

Question one: How did you manage to put the research process described in the book into five easy steps?

Question two: What were some scenarios and examples you used to find the major environmental factors that affect pricing strategy?

4)     The only thing I would really say against the author is about the area with having focus groups to gather information. I understand it’s a good way to get more of a closer look into finding potential customers, but it also allows for more human error and bias.  

Elevator Pitch No.3

A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. Describe what stood out to you as important, what feedback surprised you the most, what feedback you think was outright wrong or silly. 

What really stood out to me from feedback was that a few people thought the use of instruments was distracting and not very useful. I thought since my pitch was about music it would be neat to have a piano and then a trombone present, but apparently not. After that everyone’s feedback was supportive and favored my approach to my speaking and to my pitch.

3) What did you change, based on the feedback?

          Since people thought the instruments were distracting, I removed them from my video all together. Instead I was outside by a nice tree and just talked, no props or anything.  

My Secret Sauce

Know Thyself

What makes me different?

Good question. I don’t really ask myself that often. I may think about it subconsciously or in a rather fleeting moment of thought when I wonder what someone thinks about me, but other than that not really. So now after a good two hours of starring off into space I believe I know what makes me unique.

As an introduction there are some simple basic things I would like to discuss about first. My DNA is a one of a kind. I’d like to think that if we have souls than my soul is a one of a kind too. My voice is also unique. People can impersonate it sure, but I am the only one that has my voice. My handwriting is definitely unique. No one has the same styled chicken scratch as I do. My fingerprints are for sure the only ones out there. I’d like to say no one has the same laugh as me. I sure do cackle a lot. So now that those basic unique things about me have been stated, let’s get into the philosophical nitty gritty that I just love.

What I think

1.       Speaking of love, no one can love the same way I do. The level of love doesn’t matter, but to love is something different for everyone. I like to think that I give love first, that I appreciate and care for others before myself. I am not much for violence or hating against others, so why not give good first before judging and criticizing?

2.       Another thing is my capability to speak freely and openly to nearly everyone I meet. With this skill I have been able to not have fear when public speaking or introducing myself in foreign situations. Being able to just talk about anything with anyone has lead me to make great friends, learn new things all the time, and just be a better orator.

3.       Coinciding with the statement above, my very open and personable attitude is something that I find unique and important to who I am. I like to think that my amiable nature allows me to open people up and makes it easier for me to make connections with people. That way anywhere I go, I have friends in all sorts of places, which is extremely helpful when it comes to finding help or favors.

4.       Another thing that connects with my amiability is that I also believe myself to be a fun, witty, and positive person. Everyone needs that friend that can brighten your day, that can make a good joke or have one heck of a comeback in a matter of seconds. That’s me in my opinion. I wouldn’t say I am a class clown so to speak, but rather a spreader of good vibes and fun times.

5.       At last number five. I think that my final main quality about myself is that I like to think things through. I am not the type of person who goes off making rash decisions or do something spontaneous unless I have had time to plan it and think about all the different outcomes I could have by doing it. This careful planning leads me to be a good coordinator for events and manager when it comes to my life and to activities that involve people besides me. 

What My Friends Think

Interview 1. Courtney said I had great musical taste.

Interview 2. Debbie said I am a “Beautiful Caramel Person” and have a great sense of humor.

Interview 3. Rachel said I have a great personality, and that I managed to get along with anyone. She also said I have a vast knowledge for music.

Interview 4. Haley  said I have a great outlook on life, and that I am always positive even when life is just not that great.

My Reflection

It appears as though many of my friends see me as a musical person, and as someone who has a great array of musical knowledge. I agree with that statement, but I did not mention it in my personal description of myself. I suppose I went in deeper when it came to describing my unique differences, and my friends spoke more about the outward uniqueness that I project like my personality and love for music. To an extent my interviewees are correct, but they don’t really know everything about me. I suppose in my list I would correct things to be more based on my diversity for music and more on my personality, but other than that I wouldn’t change anything.  

Week 9 Reading Reflection

1)    What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

Would stood out to me from the reading was the whole section on trade secrets. It was interesting to read about the types of trademark protection on the internet, business advantages, and learned about the steps to protect secrets. 

2)    Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

What was confusing to me was the section on the advantages and disadvantages of partnerships. Terms used like “ease of formation” and “relative difficulty obtaining large sums of capital” are not defined very well.

3)    If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

Question one: Could a more detailed comparison of S corporations and B corporations and L3C’s be spoken about?

Question two: Why is bankruptcy an option for debtors and creditors when it is so important to have payments be made?

4)    Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I had some disagreements with the four basic rules entrepreneurs should remember when trying to secure a patent. Also, more questioning towards when a patent should be declared invalid since the author is going off assumptions sometimes.  

Idea Napkin No. 2

1)    Well from the first time I made my post about this idea napkin to now, I am pretty much the same person. I definitely still believe myself to be that quirky music student trying to find their place in the world, and probably always will be.

 Talent wise I find myself to have the same things as before. The power of communication still holds strong. I haven’t really had any crazy new experiences lately so the ones that I mentioned before remain, and same goes for my previous skills. I mean the reason we call them skills is because it is something we have mastered, hence I would I would maintain that mastery for life.

Aspiration wise, well I just want to live a good, happy, healthy, simple life. Maybe get a killer beach house in Destin, Florida and have a super sweet chocolate Labrador, but really just a good life.

So once again, how does this business come to play? It is a HUGE role. I mean this business would be my life line, my pride and joy, my contribution to society. This business would not only affect me, but hopefully those around me as well.

2)    The customers unmet need is not being able to find the song they have stuck in their head because they don’t know the words or the name of the artist. These customers have a need to know about music and where it’s coming from, so having my business be there, it can provide that unmet need of musical knowledge which customers are craving for.

3)    I am offering up this business for all. It is meant for all ages, all backgrounds, no restrictions. My customers have in common the desire to know music, specifically when it comes to not being able to remember that music’s words or title.

4) This is a unique service, and is not something that is out on the market at the moment. Sure there are apps like Shazam that detect music, yet it is not quite like the app I have in mind. My service could also easily be partnered up with already existing services, making the customers life so much easier.

5) What do I have that no one else has? Uniqueness. My app is better than something like Shazam because it doesn’t need the actually song to be playing in order to be detected and identified. This app is powered by the user’s voice and that’s it. It only needs some rhythm or a simple humming in order to do its job. Furthermore, this app would connect to any music store app that already exists like iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, or anything similar of that nature. Therefore, once a song is detected, it can be added to the user’s device.

These aspects definitely fit together. The business will provide a service to customers, which in turn will benefit me, the music community, the technology community, and would just be really neat to have! Even more so, it would be a great achievement if my business were to succeed and actually work. 

Feed-back-memo:  Everyone’s comments were so incredibly helpful and thoughtful! Here are the five main points I received from them:

1)    Give a story in my pitch

2)    Clearly show the comparisons from my product to those already on the market

3)    Make my pitch more realistic as if I was actually talking to someone face to face instead of like on an infomercial

4)    Keep up with the enthusiasm and personality of the pitch

5)    Continue with the idea, because it is appealing to music lovers

I believe I incorporated these comments within my idea napkin by maintaining my passion and personality in the pitch. I kept it unique, and was able to state more clearly the differences between what my product has to offer compared to things already on the market. Plus, I kept a neat music theme throughout my video.