Assignment 23A- Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. Since I am a the first entrant proposing this idea, speed to the market.
Valuable: I believe it is incredibly valuable to be first because it gives you the power to make the first decisions, set the standards, and gain market share.
Rare: Since I am the first one doing the idea, it definitely is rare.
Inimitable: This idea could be copied, which is why speed to market is extremely important.
Non-substitute: There is no substitute that I can think of that provides the same benefits as being first to the market.

2. Ability to reason logically rather than emotionally.
Valuable: Incredibly valuable, emotions plague decision making and lead to bad consequences.
Rare: I believe it is rare to find people who do not let their emotions interfere with their rationality.
Inimitable: A person could theoretically think the same way, but it is very hard to start doing so when you are used to using emotion.
Non- substitute: There is no substitute for good old-fashioned logic.

3.  Smaller sized firm which could adapt more easily.
Valuable: I think when competing with larger real-estate firms and brokers, it is incredibly important to be able to move quickly and answer to customer feedback swiftly.
Rare: In Gainesville, it is rare to see a small firm making an impact in the real-estate market.
Inimitable: Any small firm could crop out and start competing, no doubt.
Non-substitute: I guess a large corporation could provide smaller divisions which could act in the same manner, although it would still be difficult.

4. Access to successful real-estate brokers and agents.
Valuable: Real-estate agents and brokers know the most about what customers want in a certain area.
Rare: To ask for feedback from agents and brokers, I do not know how rare it is.
Inimitable: Anyone could create relationships with brokers and agents, but they cannot re-create my specific relationships.
Non-substitute: Creating customer surveys could provide you with customer info.

5. College students from UF and Santa Fe are employees.
Valuable: Since college students are our customer base, it makes sense to employ some that understand the market.
Rare: In Gainesville, I believe it is rare to have only students work for you.
Inimitable: You could hire students, but I plan to hire the best ones that you can not imitate.
Non-substitute: There is no substitute to a knowledgeable work force.

6. Open corporate culture where everyone's opinions matter.
Valuable: Since I believe the best ideas can come from anyone you employ, I believe it is highly valuable to create an open corporate culture.
Rare: Extremely rare, most companies use a formal hierarchy.
Inimitable: This structure can be copied, but people like their power so I dont know how willing they would be.
Non-substitute: Not that I can think of.

7. Social Media Marketing
Valuable: Since everyone's attention is on their phones, social media marketing is the best way to get to them.
Rare: It is not rare to see social media marketing, but it is rare to see it done well and consistently.
Inimitable: Anyone can make social media accounts, so you must be posting the highest quality things.
Non-substitute: Theoretically, you could use traditional marketing, although I do not think it is nearly as effective.

8. Good Written and Oral Communication Skills:
Valuable: To effectively communicate is a highly valuable skill.
Rare: I would say it is not extremely rare but somewhat rare to find people who truly are good communicators.
Inimitable: You can definitely get good communication skills, so it is something you can copy.
Non-substitute: No, there is no substitute for good communication skills.

9. Thorough understanding of the market.
Valuable: To understand your market is everything. It is the starting point for any good business.
Rare: I think these days in Gainesville it is rare for businesses to understand the needs of college students.
Inimitable: Its hard to stay up to date on trends and feedback from students as a larger business.
Non-substitute: No, without an understanding your business will fail.

10. Incentive based pay and benefits
Valuable: I believe if  you tie a persons pay to their performance, they feel more empowered and will do more for the company.
Rare: It is not too rare to see incentive based pay, especially in real-estate.
Inimitable: Easily copied.
Non-substitute: A good salary could provide the same benefits, but you could end up over-paying.

I think my best resource is definitely my speed to market. I believe without speed to market, the whole idea is something that can be copied by a larger firm before I get a chance to really break ground. Since the real-estate market is definitely something slow moving, a firm that enters quickly will probably not truly be affected for quite some time. This gives us the opportunity to start taking customers and market share before anyone else reacts.