My Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. Passion

• Valuable: Passion is valuable because it brings a new level of drive to the project and meaning to the product. 
• Rare: This is rare because not everyone has something that they can call their passion. People often have things they care about, but not enough to make change towards it. 
• Inimitable: This is not inimitable because you cannot force someone to care about something to the point of passion.
• Non-substitutable: This quality is non-substitutable because there is nothing that will drive a team like a common goal that they all believe in. 

2. Insight into the Desired Demographic

• Valuable: This is valuable when it comes to selling and creating a product. Being a part of the targeted demographic makes it easier to know what the consumers would want from the product. 
• Rare: It is rare that I am part of the desired demographic because it only makes up a certain percentage of the population. 
• Inimitable: It is inimitable because people don’t know the exact thought process of teenage environmentalist unless they are one. 
• Non-substitutable:  This is not substitutable because the insight into the demographic through a person in that demographic is only available from a select number of people and cannot be replicated. 

3. Ability to Network

• Valuable: This is valuable in expanding our reach for the product.
• Rare: It is rare to have a large social network, such as through my sorority, and still be able to expand it from current social media platforms.
• Inimitable: It is inimitable because the connections I have made have been on my own time, as an executive member, with a specific group of driven and intelligent women. 
• Non-substitutable: It is non-substitutable because the specific group of women I work with are a special group with diverse talents and knowledge.

4. Capital and Funding 

• Valuable: It is extremely valuable that Florida, and more specifically the University of Florida, are always looking for ways to protect the environment. 
• Rare: It is rare that Florida is such an environmentally conscious state, with places like Miami and the Everglades that are often negatively affected by disregard to the environment. 
• Inimitable: It is inimitable to have people care about the environment due to the place they grew up. People in Florida care and are often willing to put forward money to protect the environment because they grew up on the beach, near the Everglades, among numerous other natural wonders. 
• Non-substitutable: It is non-substitutable to have connections to people who care and are actively looking to help protect the Earth and environment. You cannot force this and it is an essential part to building a foundation. 

5. Drive

• Valuable: It is valuable to have drive because it will be the reason things actually get done even when things are tough.
• Rare: It is rare to find people who will work really hard at whatever they are doing.
• Inimitable: It is inimitable because you cannot teach someone to be hardworking, they have to want to do it on their own. 
• Non-substitutable: It is non-substitutable because when things get hard, you need people with drive to keep on carrying on to meet the goals.

6. Background in Economics

• Valuable: I believe this is valuable because I already have a foundation for understanding how businesses work in the market.
• Rare: This is rare because proportionally very few people are economics majors.
• Inimitable: This is inimitable because if you do not know economics, you can’t really fake it. 
• Non-substitutable: This is non-substitutable because it is a huge asset and there’s not another form of knowledge that gives you the same benefits. 

7. Background in Sustainability 

• Valuable: This is valuable because I actually know the difference the product is going to make and, to a degree, how it works.
• Rare: This is rare because few people study sustainability to this degree.
• Inimitable: This is inimitable because if you do not know about sustainability, you can’t really fake it. 
• Non-substitutable: This is non-substitutable because it is a huge asset and there’s not another form of knowledge that gives the same benefits.

8. Accessibility

• Valuable: This is valuable because people are more likely to buy things if they can easily attain them.
• Rare: This is rare because some products are just online, the phone case will be sold in phone stores and online. 
• Inimitable: This is inimitable because my phone case itself is inimitable and only certain items are sold in the places I will place my product. 
• Non-substitutable: This is non-substitutable because people who are buying new phones, or accessories, will be able to see my product every time they do. 

9. Good Speaking Abilities

• Valuable: This is valuable when speaking to investors or potential buyers. 
• Rare:  This is rare because often people are nervous or uncomfortable when speaking to people, but I am not. 
• Inimitable: This is inimitable because you can learn how to be better at public speaking, but you can’t learn people skills and projecting a comfortable feeling.
• Non-substitutable: This is non-substitutable because having a warm and friendly, yet knowledgable spokesperson is not something we can afford to not use. 

10. Like-Minded Team of Workers 

• Valuable: This is valuable because people who actually believe in what they are doing tend to do it well.
• Rare: This is rare because it is hard to find a group of people who share a common bond through a collective idea. 
• Inimitable: This is inimitable because you cannot make people feel united through a common goal, they have to actually believe in it. 
• Non-substitutable: This is non-substitutable because people who believe in what they are doing tend to work hard at it and do it well. 

Top Resource:

To me, passion is my top resource. I believe that without passion, nothing would be accomplished or at least not in a way that is true to the nature of the project. While creating this product, I want to create an atmosphere that is pro-environment and pro-kindness in every aspect of the business.