Task 4, and my leave of abscense, & task 5

This post is well overdue. Usually, I would apologize for my tardiness; however, given that the cause of the delay was the recent growth we have experienced at Citizen's Insurance, a Tucson based insurance brokerage; I suppose I had good cause.

None the less, task 4 has been completed and posted for some time now. In fact, task 5 has already been assigned and most likely, has been completed by a number of diligent students. With such a great deal of things to discuss I'm going to employ headings and try to move as sequentially as possible through the following topics: Task 4 reflection, Personal Reflections, Task 5, & a look forward. Keep in mind; I'm still trying to perfect the blog feature on Microsoft Word so the formatting of these initial posts may be off to the viewer.

Task 4 Reflection

Task 4 was a fun assignment and I think the possibilities were endless. There are a very diverse group of posts up on the website, U of A 1.com, everything from innovative and insightful to awkward and last minute. I have not yet finished reading through all of the posts and I plan to do so over the weekend. However, what I have read thus far makes me excited for some teams and worried for others, but more on that in later posts.

I have to say, my task four was not what it could be. I have had a fellow student in the program compliment me on my idea; but I must say that it was rather last minute and when thought about in detail, not terribly impressive. The idea itself simply isn't feasible, for a number of reasons. I don't aim to create a bias for those who wish to read my task 4 (full copy below); however, I can't help but point out the explicit imperfections of the venture concept. For starters (to make sense of all this, read on to my task 4):

1. The idea is based on the fact that trash ruins recycling containers when trash and recycled goods are mixed. However, the venture itself calls on consumers to place trace and recycled goods in the same depository.
   
2. The concept itself would require massive amounts of initial seed funding to get off the ground and no angle or VC investor is going to place that kind of investment in the hands of a team of college students.
   
   1. It must be noted that the McGuire program does not focus on creating teams that launch their ventures; in fact it is quite the contrary. However, I would like to position myself with a team and an idea that could be launched.
      
3. I did not conduct enough research on the potential competition for my venture concept and after looking deeper into the waste industry, it has become clear that many companies are already employing the techniques that my venture would have been based on.
   

All things considered, I'm not completely disappointed with my task 4. I will say though, that I could have done better and more importantly, I could have spent a little more time researching and thinking about my concept before positing it on the public website, UofA 1 .com.

Personal Reflection

It was a personal goal of mine to scale down Luxe Living to a more manageable size that would allow me to focus more on McGuire. Little did I know that scaling down Luxe Living would simply lead to a larger time investment and dedication to Citizen's Insurance. I must say that I am extremely impressed with our team and where we are headed. I think we are focused, driven, and determined to reach our goals. I am excited to watch our office grow over the next five years and track our progress. With that said, I'm nervous about the amount of time I will have for McGuire next semester. I tend to follow my heart in business and in choosing what to dedicate my time to. I hope that the McGuire program is as inspiring as working at Citizen's has been. It is a personal goal of mine to stay focused and true to McGuire, but only so much can be done with a 12 hour day.

Task 5 & a look forward

Task 5 is rather basic. It requires all of the students who are still "dedicated to the program," the mentors way of saying, "Those who have not been expelled yet," to read the Task 4 posts of all of the students in the program and complete a feedback form for, what you consider to be, the best posts. I have not decided which posts to comment on; however, I will be sure to include the feedback in my next blog. I may not be able to post the actual venture concept because the idea isn't mine to distribute.

Looking forward, I'm excited to advance in the program. I like the task concept, but I am more interested in getting to know the members of the program on a more personable level. There is a lot more to a person than what they are capable of writing. I believe the number one factor in building a team is cohesion. Jim Collins said in his book, Good to Great, that the one of the most important factors in creating a great company is,"first who, then what." In other words, it's the people on the venture team that drive success, not the venture concept itself. I concur with Jim and I must say that the people that I work with are ultimately much more important to me than the venture concept we choose to pursue.

Without further delay, my task 4 venture concept:

Working Title of Concept ... What is the "working title" (name) of your concept? The final "launch name" will likely be different.

 

The Rubble Routers

Problem or Opportunity ... What is the problem or opportunity you have discovered? 100 words or less.

So many large residential and commercial facilities offer trash and recycling depositories for residents and tenants; however, my professional experience has shown that often times the trash depository fills up first and residents/tenants simply throw their garbage into the recycling bin, contaminating the contents of the recycling bin and inhibiting effective and clean recycling. The opportunity comes in providing a service that would provide ample space for any and all waste, not require residents/tenants to sort it, and ensure the effective recycling of any and all waste that could be recycled.

 

Significance ... Why is this a significant problem or opportunity? Why is this the right time to pursue this opportunity? 100 words or less.

The importance of recycling to the environment has been proven. The significance of recycling to reducing the cost of remanufactured goods has also been proven. There is no question that today's emphasis on "going green" demands for recycling. However, there seems to be a staggering amount of recyclable goods going into dumps and landfills. I think you would struggle to find someone who argued about the importance of recycling; often times the efforts of those who try and recycle via public depositories are spoiled by those who place trash in recycling bins.

Solution ... What is your proposed solution concept? Product, service, process, combination? 100 words or less.

 

A company that would place a single depository (or multiple) at public residences and commercial complexes that would collect all waste be it recyclable or not. The company would pick these depositories up on a regular basis and sort the contents at a local warehouse. The recyclable contents would be identified and sent to recycling companies and/or sold to those interested in specific materials. The remaining waste (Trash) would be delivered to waste management for proper disposal.

Target Market ... LIST the potential customer(s) for your solution concept? Why? Be specific. 100 words or less.

 

Customers would be the owners/managers/operators of large residential facilities including, but not limited to, apartments, condos, affordable housing, track homes, communal living facilities and trailer parks. Commercial customers would include owners/manager/operators of commercial strip malls, large rental complexes, office buildings etc… Additional customers could include parks, recreational facilities, the forest service, theme/amusement parks, or any place producing a large quantity of waste.

Market Segmentation ... LIST the key common characteristics of this/these customer(s) that make them attractive prospects for your solution concept? 100 words or less.

 

All customers must have the following characteristics: produce a large amount of waste, waste includes both trash and recyclable goods, recyclable goods are a large enough proportion of waste to provide financial benefit to this venture, located within a set radius of test market, owner/operators have concern for environment….

Direct Competition ... How is this problem or opportunity currently addressed? LIST products and services that are direct competition, including their key benefits and price. 200 words or less.

 

Currently, recycling and trash services are handled by separate entities that collect their own depositories at each pick up address. The owner/operator of that address is subject to two fees for both services; often times this results in owner/operators only selecting trash pickup and ignoring recycling services to reduce costs. In Tucson, Waste Management would be a major competitor. Any company offering recycling services would also be a direct competitor including the city of Tucson. These services are beneficial because they remove the waste from the site but they are costly, create multiple bills and are not effective means of recycling. In fact, in some cases, recycling depositories become so contaminated with trash that all of the waste that could have been recycled becomes trash. There is no competitor, to my knowledge, that allows for one bill, one service, one depository, one pickup, and a single way to remove all waste from a site and ensure the recycling of the waste that is eligible to be recycled.

Indirect Competition ... How else could this problem or opportunity be addressed? LIST alternatives and substitutes that are or could be used to solve this problem, including their key benefits and price. 200 words or less.

Any service offering alternative recycling methods or alternative ways of getting rid of waste could pose some competition. This could include self serve landfills, compositing services, and local haul-away services (often paid under the table). However, local services would not ensure effective recycling and self serve landfills are nothing more than a glorified dump. These services address the problem of "Waste Removal" for landlords and business owners, but they ignore the problem of recycling, or a lack there of.

Benefits ... What are the primary benefits of your solution concept? A LIST is highly recommended. 100 words or less.

 

The removal of waste from public sites and assurance that the waste will be disposed of in the most environmentally friendly way possible. More importantly, this venture would lead to an increase in effective recycling rates at each pick up site and have major environmental benefits (studies would be needed to determine exact effect). One additional benefit would be that to the waste management and recycling companies would could simply receive the waste, pre-sorted, rather than having to go pick it up. By adding a middle man, the gas, driver salary, and vehicle overhead would be reduced for these companies.

Price ... What price would you charge for your solution? Explain. 50 words or less.

 

Price would be based off the current price for recycling and waste removal services. Our goal would be to price our service so that employing our service would be cheaper than employing both services separately. Prices for resold recycled materials would be set by the current market for those products.

Cost ... How much would it cost to produce and deliver your solution? Explain. 50 words or less.

 

Initial investment would be large. The establishment of the sorting warehouse and the transport vehicles would be very expensive. However, this cost could be amortized over many years. Seed funding could be used to institute a small test market. Hybrid vehicles and facilities could be used to reduce variable costs.
Differentiation and Competitive Advantage ... Why is your solution different/better than the current alternatives? A LIST is highly recommended. 100 words or less.

Our advantage is that we provide both trash removal and recycling services in one package for a price point that is less than employing the services separately. Additionally, we do not require pre sorting of the trash by our customers and/or their customers. We reduce the space required for depositories. We provide assurance that waste will be disposed of properly and in the most environmentally friendly manner. We have a smaller carbon footprint than our competitors running vehicles and facilities on gasoline. We supply quality sorted goods to our buyers and companies like waste management.

Validation ... What could you do to prove your solution will be effective and accepted by your target markets? A LIST is recommended. 100 words or less.

 

We would need to confirm that recycling depositories are spoiled when excessive amounts of trashed are placed in them. We would need to confirm the price of recycling/waste removal services. We would need to confirm that technology is available to make our sorting abilities greater than that of our competitors, specifically companies engaged in recycling. We would need to analyze the cost of our initial startup to see that funding could reasonably be sought out. We would need to establish a small test area (Tucson) to gauge acceptance by landlords/business owners.

Benchmark Enterprise ... What existing enterprise (company, venture, organization) could you use as a benchmark for your concept, and why? The function of studying a benchmark enterprise is to learn what does and doesn't work. 100 words or less.

 

The most effective company in waste removal is Waste Management which is now a publically traded company. We could study their marketing and support of the green movement and improve it. We could also study their carbon footprint and develop ways to reduce it such as using hybrid vehicles. We could study their ability to sort and distinguish between different types of waste and improve it by employing newer, more efficient technology.

Entrepreneur ... Why are you the right person to participate in the creation of this solution? 100 words or less.

 

I have experience with landlords and business owners and can personally relate to their problems in managing their facilities and create a solution that affectively appeals to their problems. Additionally, I have a passion for heavy industry, sorting, production, and large lean facilities. Passion combined with knowledge is powerful.

Team ... What team members will you need to make this concept a success? 100 words or less.

 

I need a team member with scientific knowledge of recycling and knowledge of how recycling benefits the environment, specifically the carbon cycle. I need a teammate with expert financial ability to help hide the large start up costs and make the venture appealing to investors. I need an expert marketer with the ability to create a "green focused" marketing campaign that will portray our venture as more environmentally focused than any other competitor. More than anything else, I need team members that are excited, passionate, and open to learning.