My Venture's Unfair Advantage

V- Valuable
R- Rare
I - Inimitable
N- Non-Substitutable

1. Organizational Culture

Obviously, this isn't something that my company possesses yet, but hypothetically speaking I would like my company to have a sustainable, compassionate culture. A functional and prosperous organizational culture is very valuable because it makes the employees feel like they fit within the company, causing higher productivity and satisfaction. This type of organizational culture is becoming less rare, yet to find one that is 100% what it says it is is rare. Culture is very hard to imitate correctly, and even when people try, they usually get things wrong that are essential to the culture's success. Good company culture is not substitutable because it provides a backbone for the values and mission of the company.

2. Environmental Friendliness and Sustainability

Being sustainable and environmentally friendly is a necessary part of my water bottle idea. Making a product that not only benefits the customer but also the Earth is very valuable to anyone that cares for our future. Just like organizational culture, sustainability is increasingly more common than it used to be as society becomes more progressive. That being said, it is more rare than not when analyzing everyday products. The technology, science, and processes to make products that benefit the environment are readily available nowadays so it is imitable. You can't really substitute a good conscience for the environment; no matter what you do, you will somehow affect the Earth is some negative way so you might as well lessen the effects.

3. Unique

After all of the browsing, I've done on the Internet to search for water bottles, I am very confident that there isn't another water bottle that directly resolves the issue of a small mouth. Having a unique product is valuable because it limits competition during the initial stages. Being unique is rare just based on the definition of each word. After my product hits the market I imagine it wouldn't be long until some company imitates my product. Being unique can kind of be substituted for having resources. Ultimately, the product with more resources backing it will be able to replace a similar product in the long run, even if the other product is more unique.

4. Financial Resources

I have a pretty strong relationship with my local credit union, having worked for them for two years and being a member for five years. This could potentially serve as a resource for me when I need capital to back the startup of my product. Having money is valuable because it's the language of business, however, it's not rare. Money is relatively easy to come by ad everyone has it. Having a lender financially back me is imitable especially by another company that has a better and longer track record and better credit score in general. Capital isn't substitutable in most cases. When it comes down to it, you're going to need money to get stuff done.

5. Passion

This somewhat aligns with my first resource. Having a passion is very important to the success of the product because it is what fuels your drive to endure when you're feeling worn out and inspires you to keep on going. Having passion is very valuable for the reasons stated previously. I wouldn't say it's super rare but it's also not the most common resource on the list. Passion is hard to copy because it is intrinsic, either you have it or you don't. You can't fake a passion because if you have to fake it or inorganically grow it then it isn't real. Passion can't be substituted for anything; even if you have substantial amounts of other resources, having a passion for your business if what takes a company to another level.

6. Entrepreneurial Contacts

I currently know a couple entrepreneurs that have developed and executed successful business ideas, one of which is Imprint Genius. Having entrepreneurs to bounce ideas and concepts off of is extremely valuable because they have the most similar experience to yourself and can give helpful feedback and ideas. This is a pretty rare resource because entrepreneurs are somewhat rare to find and to know well enough to consult. This process is easily replicable by anyone that has access to an entrepreneur, but first, you have to find one. You might be able to imitate an in-person entrepreneurial contact with a blog or website that also gives advice, but there's still something to be said for a one-on-one conversation.

7. Detail and Diligence

Whenever I commit to an exercise or activity, whether that's an assignment for this course or a fully fleshed-out business plan, I fully commit and put a lot of attention, detail, and effort into it. This is valuable because the initial stages of forming a business model, brainstorming your market, etc. are very time consuming and detail-oriented. The more work you put in, in the beginning, the easier it will become later on. Among entrepreneurs, these characteristics are not very rare because being an entrepreneur is only cut out for the most committed people. You can't imitate natural attention span and focus unless you use unnatural methods such as drugs. You could substitute detail and diligence work persistence but ultimately being persistent rather than detailed is going to be more work.

8. Market Representability

Understanding the market of my product is essential, and although it's hard to see every section of the market, I can learn about the market by analyzing myself. I think I fit into a large section of my target market and by understanding why I came up with the water bottle idea and how I would feel as a consumer I can further understand my market. This is a valuable resource because I get insight into the market, however, it's not super rare because when we decide to solve problems, most of the time that starts with solving our own problems. You could imitate this through extensive research and consumer studies, but it's easier to be able to examine yourself. Like I previously said you could substitute market representability with market research and surveys, but that's less efficient.

9. University of Florida

Simply being a college student gives me access to many unique resources, such as clubs/organizations that also advocate for the environment, professors that have essential entrepreneurial advice, etc. This is extremely valuable due to the variety of resources available, and somewhat rare because entrepreneurs are only college students for four to six years of their life. The spiderweb of resources provided by a university is imitable by other college students and even graduates than keep in touch with their contacts at the university. You could theoretically substitute this basket of resources by gathering your own basket, although it would take a lot of time and energy.

10. Analytical

I've always been stronger in analytical fields such as math and science than in other subjects such as history and English. This could come to my advantage when I'm figuring out the numbers for my business including the bottom line and how I can finance my prospect. Being analytically talented is valuable because it provides a perspective that plays very well with business and being profitable. It is not super rare, but many people are more creative than analytical. Another company/entrepreneur could imitate natural analytical ability by hiring someone that's analytical and they could also substitute analytics with creativity and develop their product using creative ideas and such.

 Top Resource

After going back through and reading my resources, I think passion and organizational culture would tie for the best resource, however, since I don't have an organizational culture yet I'll go with passion. It's more important to my water bottle venture than the other resources because it's extremely valuable, somewhat rare, hard to imitate and you can't fake it. Because it's so intrinsic and deeply personal it's my op resource.