Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

The American middle class has been the symbol of the American work ethic and prosperity for more than a hundred years.  However, over the last few decades, the middle class has been shrinking or losing ground according to Pew Research.  Their share of income and wealth has been shrinking along with the reality behind the American dream that hard work and meritocracy can propel anyone towards wealth and financial freedom.  The reality is that the system has been rigged to the benefit of the ultra rich since the 1970s and and the recent financial crisis left the middle class incrementally worse off than any other segment of society.  The failure of the financial industry evidenced by the creation of the real estate bubble deprived the middle class of their greatest source of wealth, their homes.

Week 11 Reading Reflection

Questions

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?

I had no idea that Corning was such a multi-faceted and successful innovator.  I just knew of them from their cookware but to learn about how they have been and are leaders in glass and plastics was pleasantly surprising.

Amazon Whisperer

The SORIN concept that I have outlined in this blog does not neatly fall within the Amazon Whisperer exercise but I will attempt to do what I can.

Current Revenue Drivers

SORIN represents an attempt to establish a socially responsible financial services eco-system that is comprised of a central non-profit surrounded by for profit financial businesses dedicated to the overall mission of providing socially responsible financial products and services.  SORIN earns revenue through revenue-driven contributions made by its partner businesses (type and amount yet to be determined) for the awareness, credibility, and product development services provided by SORIN, the non-profit.  Additionally, SORIN will seek charitable contributions from individuals and organizations that support and advocate its mission.  SORIN will also seek grants that fit within its mandate and those of the granting organization.

My Unfair Advantage

List of Resources

1. Personal experience with socially responsible financial services:  VRIN (Very valuable for obvious reasons, valuable; my experience is also rare because the socially responsible financial services market is still in a development stage; it is also inimitable because copying experience cannot be done; there are other practitioners in this space so I would say that my experience is substitutable)

Growing My Social Capital

This is a very important assignment but one that proved to be difficult for me for two reasons.  One, I was traveling for a good portion of last week and this week so I was not able to devote enough time to the assignment and two, my concept and the industry it relates to is difficult to pin down.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

Questions

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?

This chapter is pretty standard for understanding the basic financial statements and metrics.  Therefore, nothing really was a surprise.  I just found the organization of information to be very useful so it stood out but this is a common theme throughout this excellent text.

Elevator Pitch 3

Reflection

I decided to repost my second elevator pitch because I received all positive feedback for it.  I had addressed the issues identified in my first elevator pitch in it.  I am hoping that by reposting it, either the first set of feedback (4 comments) will be validated or I will get feedback in this round to improve it. Obviously, I was surprised by the overwhelming positive feedback.

Week 9 Reading Reflection

Questions

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?

The difference between qualitative and quantitative research and its application was a surprise because I had always considered qualitative research to be more important.

My Secret Sauce

I believe that humility is one of the most important of human traits so this exercise presents an interesting dilemma.  I am supposed to talk about myself so, like it or not, here is an honest attempt at it.

Human Capital:  My Perception

Idea Napkin No. 2

The five important elements of my business concept, SORIN (the SOcially Responsible INitiative) are presented here again with the aim of incorporating the feedback that was provided in Idea Napkin 1.  They are as follows:

1) You.

I am a seasoned financial services professional with 25 years of experience that includes a dozen years working with socially responsible financial services.  Professionally, I have been described as a jack of all trades because my experience is expansive comprising of entrepreneurship, technology, finance, marketing, management, business, and product development.  I see SORIN as the embodiment of my ideals and now consider it my life's work because it integrates all of my past experiences and future educational goals into a cohesive movement dedicated to proving that socially responsible financial services are the antidote to the potentially self-destructive tendencies of free market capitalism.