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Elevator Pitch

During my elevator pitch, I introduced my concept for the cafe business that also focuses on an educational aspect through classes.  I tried to be relaxed and convey enthusiasm about the idea, although I was a bit nervous as well when actually pitching it, but it did feel like good practice.  I feel like my pitch was not as clear and concise as it should be, had it been a real elevator pitch.  I don’t think I made it compelling enough for potential investors or partners, and I need to look into how to tighten up the pitch.  I think having facts and data would help demonstrate how the idea is unique and there is a market there for education in the coffee space.  Being able to cite various industry trends and trajectories would also help with credibility in my pitch.  I found myself rushing a bit and forgetting a few points that I should have made in the pitch, so in the future I think I also need to emphasize slowing it down a bit, and having a short and ver...
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Matt Tolentino Presentation

Matt Tolentino really embodies what being an entrepreneur is.  Having founded and supported multiple ventures, he highlights the importance of understanding your market before committing to any business idea.  For example, Matt joined on to help an ad tech company where he helped them get their business moving in the right direction.  By doing this he also gained the understanding of how the business of ad tech works, and he has now started two separate companies in the ad tech space that focus on a newer type of advertising through drones and lights.  A very understated part of this though in his presentation, is that Matt has the knowledge and technical expertise to solve his own problems in his company.  For example, he reverse engineered a product he purchased to use for his advertising business.  Another important point that Matt discussed is choosing the right business partner.  He is able to have his hand in so many different businesses because ...
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Brian Forth Presentation

Brian Forth is the founder of SiteCrafting, and he gave a great talk about culture and leadership.  Brian’s leadership style seemed very laid back.  He trusts his employees and puts forth the effort to keep them happy in the work environment.  He advocates for open communication with employees and collaboration.  This has helped Brian in retaining multiple long term employees over the years, some of whom have been with the company for more than a decade, which speaks to his effective leadership style.  He also builds strong business relationships to keep clients happy, and he understands the market in which he serves.  His insight was helpful in learning about what a good work environment should look like.  I can see this implemented in my business idea by having collaboration and communication with baristas, roasters, and trainers about coffee and courses.  By listening to employee feedback and the people who are interacting with customers on a d...
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John Dimmer's Class Talk

John Dimmer discussed a lot about raising capital for a business.  He started with different phases from concept and start-up through mezzanine and exit.  John himself is an angel investor, so he had a lot of good knowledge on how it goes with raising funds through that route as well as giving insight to why he would or would not invest in a company.  Angel investors are the step before something like VC funding, as they are often a smaller group or individual investors.  Aside from the money investment, they can also have a lot of value in knowledge of the market / business type, or they may have connections that could be valuable.  He mentioned that sometimes it can help to ask the investor to be on an advisory board, depending on who or what they know.  When talking about business structures, he prefers LLC as opposed to an S-corporation, and recommended that to be one of the better routes.  An S-corp can eliminate a lot of potential investors as it...
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Products, Pricing, Customers

     When I picture my business, I see it built around teaching people how to make great coffee through hands-on classes. At the same time, I plan to run a traditional café so customers can see we genuinely know how to make high-quality drinks. After all, if the coffee we serve isn’t high quality, why would anyone trust us to teach them? In that sense, the coffee we sell acts like advertising for our classes, showing customers what they can learn.      To boost sales, especially during the holiday season, I want to offer coffee-making packages. These could include beginner kits like maybe a simple pour over setup or entry-level espresso machine along with more advanced bundles for those who want to refine their brewing skills. Each package would come with a coupon or voucher for our classes, encouraging people to deepen their knowledge and return for more experiences. This not only expands our product range but also strengthens our reputation as a go to spo...
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Business Idea Competitors

     When analyzing who and what my three competitors to my business would be, Starbucks is the first that comes to mind.  They are possibly the most recognizable coffee chain in the world, and they have locations globally.  There are at least 4 within a 10 minute drive of my house.  They offer convenience and consistency, which is hard to beat.  People like what they like, and if they know what they enjoy from starbucks, they can get it from any location with minimal variation.  They also have great branding and promotions, which adds another element of how they are tough to compete with.  Although they lack speciality roasts, minimal personal touch, and no learning element.      The 2nd that I thought of is Nespresso.  They offer easy to use coffee machines that lets their users make espresso at home with low effort.  Their product is impressive, and is a simple to use machine and capsule system that offers a decent...
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Eric Hanberg's presentation

I enjoyed in Eric’s presentation that he talked about his successes and failures.  He started with talking about how he got his start in running a business with his time at the non-profit theater, before buying his own theater.  He mentioned that a lot of what he had learned had translated over well, and even though he had the experience, it still did not work out.  He admitted that it was in part due to it being harder to sell people on plays as opposed to movies, but there was still a lot that he had learned from the experience. I also thought it was interesting that he was selling/advertising a book that he had not even written yet.  By creating a site for the book and a waiting list he was able to gauge interest in running small non-profits before writing a book about his experiences.  I also liked that his presentation showed that entrepreneurship can be for small niches.  His book may not have mass audience appeal, but it still sells very well, espec...
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