23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1. Experience working in a long term group to raise money: For 18 months I worked with five other girls and created plans, schedules, and tactics in order to raise monetary and physical donations for different women's shelters in the Tampa area. We did bake sales, collected donations, and sold stickers in order to raise money for the women.

• Valuable: This is extremely valuable because it proves that I can work hard in order to achieve a goal.
• Rare: This isn't that rare as other people are able to do the same thing.
• Inimitable: Some aspects of this can be imitated, but others such as us selling stickers cannot be because we created a unique design.
• Non-substitutable-I could have hired people to do the same task for me, but I like hands-on better.

2. Opportunity of my product: I think my opportunity is really good because it looks to eliminate wasted time and I think that is something everyone is on board with.

• Valuable: This is valuable because everyone hates to waste their time.
• Rare: This isn't rare because there are thousands of products that seek to make things more convenient for others, but mine is the only one that would help specifically in Marston or Lib West.
• Inimitable: I don't think this could be done in another way by other people, I think mine is the most efficient.
• Non-substitutable- This cannot be substituted in a way that would be more efficient than my system.

3. Social Capital with Study Edge- I talked to people at Study Edge that helped me understand more about the convenience that college students seek.

• Valuable: This is valuable because it was a firsthand look into someone that works within the opportunity I am seeking.
• Rare: This isn't rare, anyone can talk to them.
• Inimitable: I don't think anyone at UF really has the experience and knowledge Study Edge tutors have on college students.
• Non-substitutable- I think that the knowledge that I gained from Study Edge that cannot be matched.

4. Social Capital with librarians- I talked to librarians at Marston to find out more about how college students operate in libraries because this is where I seek to use my opportunity.

• Valuable-I think this is valuable because they work where I want to expand my business.
• Rare- This isn't rare because anyone can talk to the librarians.
• Inimitable-I don't think this is inimitable because these librarians can see firsthand how college students behave.
• Non-substitutable-I wouldn't trade the information I learned from the librarians for anything else.

5. Being a college student myself-I know firsthand how we hate wasting time and hate the current system or lack thereof in the library.

• Valuable- I think this is valuable because I can relate to my costumers.
• Rare-Not rare at all
• Inimitable-You have to be a college student to really relate.
• Non-substitutable-Without this experience, I wouldn't even have an opportunity

6. Social Capital with students- I think students would get behind my idea

• Valuable-Yes because I need them for this idea to thrive
• Rare-no
• Inimitable-No, because they are the ones that would use my product
• Non-substitutable-Without them I wouldn't have an opportunity

7. Knowledge of a system-throughout this semester I have fine-tuned how I want my system to be put in place in the libraries

•  Valuable-Yes because it helped me with my idea
• Rare-Not rare, anyone can make a system
• Inimitable-My system can be copied
• Non-substitutable-I wouldn't change it

9. Publicity- I can put out posters around school and make an Instagram page, because that is how news gets spread about things that go on around campus.

•  Valuable-Yes because it will help get the word out
• Rare-No
• Inimitable-Yes
• Non-substitutable-It'd be my best bet to get the word out

10. Social capital of other entrepreneurs- I talked to other entrepreneurs in order to help me with how I'd get my idea of the ground.

•  Valuable-Yes, it helped me create my idea more specifically
• Rare-No
• Inimitable-No, they have experience so they can relate to my problems
• Non-substitutable-I wouldn't trade the information they gave me

After doing this VRIN I'd say that my best resources are my contacts at Study Edge and at the library because they experience college students everyday, especially in my opportunity circle which are college students looking for convenience and looking to not waste any of their time anymore. I think the advice that I get from them can help me with my opportunity.