Airah Sol Estologa

Doer, Optimist, Game Changer

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Pitching Journey

Pitching plays a significant role in start-up. In pitching, organizations and groups showcase their strengths and weaknesses and how long can the project sustain its usability and what are the measures they need to put in order to fulfill its mission and vision. In my personal journey, it takes a lot of effort in terms of preparing your project and gaining also advices and ideas from the panel. Being open to any changes can also be possible if you want to grow outside your possibilities.

VMEB Solutions have been my bread and butter during this semester, it enables myself to put a heavy courage on how should I lift the project and what possibilities I must need to sustain its validity and how it should flourish in the market if possibly. I felt relief on my end, knowing me and my groupmates have come a long way to fought what we believe is right and just in procuring our possibility could also be your possibility.

All in all, it was a sweet success to all of my classmates who I know also poured their heart in making their projects successful and I promise that this experience have been a one to remember. This semester might be tough, but we always remember to be tougher at all times. What a journey, perhaps a successful journey to all of us.

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Intellectual Property & Fundraising

Week 14 is one of the most crucial in the journey of our start up project, enabling to conceptualize how far the project can go and in terms of drafting our high fidelity demonstration, updating the business model canvas and presentation of the proposed draft of the design.

In week 14 we focus on the high fidelity demonstration as well as the business model canvas. In high fidelity demonstration we consider the following suggestions and advices from our instructor in terms of the used, the size and the color. To add we also focus on the inner components of the machine on how safe it should be since we are targeting the market of the households and sari-sari stores. Second is our focus on business model canvas, in creating and updating our business model canvas we consider different aspects in terms of considering partnerships, resources, business propositions, activities, channels, segments, revenue streams and costs structure.

Lastly, week 14 is one of the most crucial and essential part in every start up projects. We may caught up diverse difficulties along the way, but we stay firm in attaining what our goals and mission should be in developing our machine namely VMEB Solutions.

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Traction featuring "The Bullseye Framework"

According to an online article I have read from designvalue it stated that "A traction channel is a marketing channel that helps you to get new customers. Traction means that your strategy is working and is showing valuable results. Failing to know which marketing channel works for your company is one of the prime mistakes SaaS companies and Start-ups make.

Gabriel Weinberg has identified 19 traction channels, all of which we will discuss individually – including the necessary metrics, key questions and viable ideas for rapid testing. Each of these growth channels has already worked before, but not all of them are a good fit for different companies. However, there will be at least one channel that brings traction to your business. For this reason, it is necessary that you find the channel that will work for your company."

In this week we are task to write the channels and thus the channel we choose we'll be our foundation in creating or building the brand, the product and development we'll be making in the near future. In my own perspective traction channel is like creating or building blocks one by one, the organization will garner techniques to acquire customers, increase revenues, boost public relations, be involve in different speaking engagements on strengthening technology development and lastly is the technique in promoting advertisements whether online or offline ads.

Despite greater challenge in competitive marketing or creating your channel, its also very important to note the important of marketing in this channels. Marketing often brings different possibilities in a start-up project, however marketing may be describe as the crowded point in building a project but entertaining at the same time. You'll get to explore different ideas, plans, outline and such to introduce your product.

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Business Model Canvas

According to a online article from business model, the business model canvas is a great tool to help you understand a business model in a straightforward, structured way. Using this canvas will lead to insights about the customers you serve, what value propositions are offered through what channels, and how your company makes money. You can also use the business model canvas to understand your own business model or that of a competitor! The Business Model Canvas was created by Alexander Osterwalder, of Strategyzer.

Business model canvas, in my viewpoint, is a shared concept for articulating, illustrating, examining, and developing business models. It explains how an organization generates, distributes, and captures value. Business model canvas also helps to capture a larger scale of potential customers and buyers. Involving different factors in introducing the product, for a given example we have branding and promotions using different social media platforms. In business model canvas we could also see a further step or checklist you might want to consider for your business or organization. For example in key activities, you might include your social responsibility in your specific area. If you plan to sell some eco friendly machines, then you are expected to give back something to the nature, particularly activities such as tree planting, waste management projects and many more. Business model canvas also helps organization identify the key partners you might have along the way.

All in all business model canvas is a helpful tool that can guide your organization to take on the lead and monitor your activities you might want to take. Business model canvas is just a larger scale of what is business, how do you create strategies and balancing different events that might happen possibly.

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Revenue Model

What comes in to your mind when you hear the word revenue? Money? Pricing? Totality? Income? Well all of these are associated with revenue. Money in terms of capital, pricing in terms of price of the products, totality in terms of number and lastly is income in terms of ROI or return of investment. In week 11 we try to assumed and estimated revenues, conversions, values and customers. But how and what did steps did we take? We'll know.

Primary Customers and how to make money, in establishing a business its very essential to know your primary customers and what steps should you take to capture this customers, and in terms of how to make money you should always remember the cause of your project to gain sales and dispose your product to its customers.

Pricing, this word was being used when we check a certain product and what amount can be sold. Pricing is significant in revenue model because pricing or the price is what captured the attention of the customers. May it be expensive or cheap. Pricing is significant in acquiring revenue.

Lastly is the value and the customer. When we say value we grasp information that leads to currency, money, amount and more but value is also part in a business revenue. Specifically customer's value, when we say customer's value we try to know the loyalty and the patronage of our customers to our product in a span of time. The products they always buy because they feel secure about the brand and how they do a personal advertising to introduce a certain product from a trusted brand and that type of relationship is what we're creating. To create a brand that can guarantee at any cost.

All in all revenue is not just about numbers, revenue is also discovering and monitoring necessary flow of business advantages as well as disadvantages. Revenue is a result, not a plan. When you create a business, better understand the word revenue and try to discern that revenue is also the back bone of every organization.

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Creating Competitive Advantage

Being competitive is an edge to your competitors. But being competitive does not end with being emotionally competitive, you must be competitive with your decision, steps, branding, market strategy and more. In this week’s task being competitive is one of our main subject matter involving factors like; creating competitive analysis, a competitive description of company’s target market, the details about the product or service versus the competitors, projected market sales, share and revenues, pricing comparison and lastly is the marketing and social media analysis.

But why is creating competitive advantage significant in a start-up or a certain business? Simply, to create a competitive business or organization in a world full of competition. Creating competitive advantage start with your vision and how you distribute this vision within your people. Its not about always assessing and attaining large number of sales but creating solutions to every problem the organization or the business might face in the future, competitive decision making is a must in building a competitive organization. I presume all business start small, but it does not mean that staying small forever is the goal it is creating a competitive environment for everyone to grasp to help them alleviate the organization to substantially little by little building its competitiveness in its market and in its industry. In short competition is always a core in the business world.

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Assessing Market Size and Share

In week 9 we assess our capabilities in identifying our market and its size. The steps we take in knowing these are as follows; as a starter we try to identify our customer and their market need, we did a thorough research to identify the size of the vending machine market, gather appropriate findings in knowing our potential competitors both local and international, we estimated the growth potential of the vending industry and lastly we identify our Total Available Market which is the TOM, Serviceable Available Market which is the SAM and lastly our Serviceable Obtainable Market.

As a starter we found out that vending industry here in the Philippines is still a small retail channel and also due to the pandemic the decline of sales in the industry is also showing however these vending machines are those machines that dispense food, beverage, coffee, and snacks. Honestly, if we we’re given a chance to open a small business starter our machine will be the completely first vending machine that dispense an eco-brick which can be used as a wall, furniture designs and even buildings. Moving on, the significant part I truly understand in this week’s task is the TAM, SAM, and SOM. It opens a wider perspective on how calculating the size of the market. From your potential customers, geographical locations, machine prices and other involving factors. It also surprises us as a start-up creator that Philippines is adapting to these changes and it is a good signal to every business starter or entrepreneur projects.

All in all week 9 is a week of discovery and fun!

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People's Pulses and Feedbacks

In building a start up one of the most essential key I have learn is to communicate with your future customers. In communication we can gain suggestions, advices and many more factual experiences. In this week, targeting our customers with what they really want and what their considerations is our goal. Why do they matter?

Because their points could help us along the process. Process in creating what's best for them. In communicating we can't deny that there are also negative feedbacks in the process but we can handle them smoothly by embracing their opinions assertively. Thus, we can create a more genuine and harmonious relationship towards each other that could result to more ahead possibilities.

I presume customer's feedback will help us gain something, something we can use for in creating the best through the process.

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How important is MVP and wireframing in a start-up?

MVP or Minimum Viable Product is a version of a product with enough features offers to customers to avoid lengthy and unnecessary work, while wireframing is an early stage of developing the features of a specific project or a start up. But how significant is these two when it comes to a project?

MVP is a initial testing of a company or an organization to read simply the needs and the wants of the customers. Pattern to testing is the development it needs to address the concerns of the existing end customers, it also enhances work and development sustainability. Enabling people working behind projects could formulate a keen perception on how the products really affects its customers and what steps should the organization should take to make it better or simpler. It may be as easy as everyone thinks but it is not. MVP also stands as a experimenting process in a start up project, reading its feedbacks, concerns, comments and etc. could really make an impact in recreating a certain product or services.

Wireframing is one of the most crucial part in building or developing a project, specifically if you're trying create or building an application or website. Wireframing consist sensitive and crucial testing since most parts of a certain project specifically application or website is tested here.

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Business Market; Identifying our target Market

In a certain business identifying what type of target market is one of the most important keys in knowing your potential customers and investors. In the WEEK 5 we identify two target markets, the business-to-customer market and the business-to-business market. But how did we come up in identifying those two? Wanna know?

READ.

As a new comer in the said industry we wanted to emphasize that creating a sustainable relationship within customers create a significant effect in a business. Knowing VMEB or (Vendo Machine that produces Eco Bricks) is all new product that will sit in the industry. Designing a machine purposely used in a household is one of the main project we know we'll never regret. Most of our customers have small to large plastics dispose garbage and as an organization that produces those machine we wanted to emphasize that buying our machine and helping the environment friendly focus of our organization well never go wrong.

Second is the business-to-business market, in creating this machine our top goal is to provide a machine for different business establishments in the locality. Paving the way for more recyclable plastics and eco friendly projects that would benefit its organization and its people? What a great deal, right?

Before arriving and identifying this type of market we gather different opinions and advices through interviewing a general demographics, for us to help in a thorough examining of what are the possibilities and adjustments we could make along the journey in creating a machine that would help our environment, household, and business establishments in the locality.

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Questions and Hypotheses

As we embark on this journey, we are learning time to time. Learning from people, situations, stories and many more. Formulating our hypotheses is one of the most crucial part, thinking situations whether it could lead us to something and and finding solutions to what are these situations are.

From formulating hypothesis, we also talk about potential customers and how our product could help in the best possible ways, but before concluding all these involve matters we also create eight questions which we would analyze and use to cater the needs and what are the wants of our customers in relation to our offers. We want them to give us an open conclusions and suggestions that could help us grow in the most possible ways.

In the weeks passed, we face our hardest as a group as we continue to discuss this project but solely progressing little by little since we are on the journey of arriving our purpose.

Things might come slowly, but small progress is still a progress I presume we could go beyond our limitations and think possibilities are boundless if we are working hand in hand.

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Identifying Pains, Gains and People

Identifying gains, pains and people are very crucial in a start up. Plotting where you should start as a business is very vital in the procedure. But why do we need to identify these matter?

First PAINS,

In starting a business countless pains you must endure to test the capacity and your capability as an entrepreneur. Pains such as financial challenges, planning are one of the most common pains in a new business.

Second GAINS,

Are you planning to step up in the game? Gains are somewhat your strengths and A's in the business. High customer demands, franchising and other positive comments towards the organization is most commonly known as gains.

Third PEOPLE

Your people are your assets in a company. They stand as a foundation in your business, their dedication and passion in working could go beyond and as an entrepeneur you must first believe that you're where you are because of them.

Why do we need to identify this 3 subtle matter? Easy. To make a change, to make a living and to make business. A business that could go beyond longer to help your people and yourself to fight pains and to create gains.

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The Team

People are the key to success of an organization. They stand as a foundation of workforce and aspiration to the organization they belong to. As we took the MBTI and BIIT tests we are able to designate our set of skills by reflecting on the results. In that note we were able to assign our hustler (CEO), hacker (ENGINEER), and lastly the hipster (DESIGNER). Reflecting from the results, it's easier for us to work conveniently and comfortably on the designation of tasks.

Our results shows consistency and dedication which matches the skill set in this coming project. We were very hopeful that it could be a catalysts to establish more projects in the future soon. Pondering on the result I am more confident and proud that this project could lead us into more opportunities along the way. The brainstorming session put us on a very risky decision since we will be finalizing our top 5 start up plans. We delicately tackled social problems inside and outside the university to asses what are the best projects we could offer and what possibilities we can bring in to the table. Critically we examined and finally come up to top 5 start up plans. As a student and a doer I believe that with endless efforts to get things done nothing is impossible.

Not a promise but I will stand with this, I would do my very best as an hustler to lead my team as far as I can and be productive in all aspects of this project. I will also encourage the people inside my team to strive harder and harder to build a relationship with the project as well as to the people who's been tirelessly working to get things done.

My Team's Top 5 Start-up Ideas:

1. ECO BRICKS PROJECT

- We will be using plastic bottles and chip wrappers with is project, since the university are one of those campaigning and advocating for clean and green projects.

2. BUY THREE, PLANT TREE PROJECT

- Still a move to protect and save mother earth. We will be partnering with different departments in the school to sell seeds of trees and encourage them to plant trees in the specific area in the city.

3. ONLINE ADMISSION APP FOR USTAT

- Due to the pandemic everything is digital and given that there are students from far flung areas that wanted to study here in the university why not make it easier for them to plot their own schedule and take exams inside an application.

4. SAFETY CODE

- We already know that the university is situating in a location where floods always happens, we wanted to propose a safety code or a safety text message that notifies in what color and what heavy the rain will be for them to be alert what is the situation inside the university when floods comes in

5. PLASTIC BOTTLE MACHINE VENDO

- Burned plastic bottles are one of the main causes of actively depleting of the ozone layer. In connection we that, high ultraviolet rays of the sun are directed to human skin and could result to any diseases, why not recycle and be discipline to change your bottle into a money.

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Strengths and Weaknesses!!

Yesterday as I took the two test namely Berkley Innovation Index test and Myers Brigg test indicator I discover some points about myself that would help me to build gaps towards others.

On the first note, having a high score on resiliency is quiet surprising it says that resilient people view setbacks as inspirations to conquer more challenges instead of losing hope. This result made me a bit strong knowing that I could use my resiliency skills to make a future for myself and for the people that surrounds me. Sadly, my trust result is not complementing compare to my resilient result. My trust to people is quiet shaken due to fact that I have trust issues before that even now I still bring that baggage with me.

On the other hand result have shown that people like me are the ones who speak up for what's right and I totally agree with this. Being known for a student who speaks truths for the fairness of everyone is my self. I couldn't digest any lies coming through just to save someone or anyone and that's a fact about me and it also shows on the result. Lastly is getting involved, I always aspire to be someone who's responsible and devoted on what she's passionate about. Being involved could result to many causes, standing for what's right, ability to guide people, innate leadership skills and more. Being involved is a particular thing to me, growing up joining different clubs and organizations is my thing and I think could help me lead the way on becoming who am I now as a student, a citizen, a daughter and most importantly a radical being.