Week 13 Reading Reflection

Week 13 Reading Reflection

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?
Something I felt surprising in this reading, Chapter 14: Valuation of Entrepreneurial Ventures, is that the P/E method is not something that I feel venture capital companies use to value, more so equity holders on the public markets.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
This concept that Venture capital firms use P/E to value companies. I would think that venture capital funds typically invest in companies that have yet to go public or offer any type of share.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?
I would obviously ask him why he thinks that vc uses p/e to measure? Also, what does he feel is more telling? Discounted Earnings Method? Discounted Cash Method?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?
No, I do not feel that the author was particularly wrong, but I still wonder why they referred to the P/E instead of a DCF or something similar. 

Celebrating Failure

Celebrating Failure

     I believe that a time this semester that I might consider failing, was when I recently got a concussion in a basketball game. Getting the concussion was not the failure, but I feel like I was not careful on how I was treating my body. That day, I had gone wakeboarding in the morning, then went and worked out, then went to a softball game, and finally played pickup basketball which made me faint and hit my head on the court which led to my concussion. I had to go to the hospital and had to be there a couple of days as well as be on bed rest for the following week. I could not drive, really even look at computer/tv screens which made me not be able to study, and not do any activities.
     I feel like this could of potentially been avoided if I was more careful and made sure to eat, not take too much caffeine, and let my body rest. This accident also obviously cost a lot of money as Shands is not cheap. So, overall I do not know if I would entirely call it a failure because it was truly an accident but I am now much more conscious and proactive about what I am eating/drinking/resting etc. So, I learned that I have to now be much more conscious which I believe will serve me well in the future.
     I do think that failure is hard but I also think that it is key to growing. I would never hope that I was too sheltered to experience failure, which I know would greatly hinder my personal growth. Failure will never be easy though and I hope that I will continue to handle failure better as I get older. I think that this class has helped me change my perspective on failure, especially the video interviews that sometimes made you have to act resiliently.
    

My Exit Strategy

My Exit Strategy

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?

At Juntos, we plan to grow the company in various markets and gain as much market share as possible. We also plan to raise as much funding as possible from VC/PE etc. We look to grow Juntos into an international brand and the only one of it's kind that offers joint purchasing. I think the smartest step for Juntos down the road will be to go public with the company in an IPO, as I believe the company will generate a lot of investor demand which will inject excess capital into the company so that Juntos can even grow further. 

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

I have selected this particular exit strategy because I think that Juntos will continually need a lot of capital to continue running. Juntos is trying to target an extremely large global market which will require ongoing funding. Going public is a good way for Juntos to secure the amount of capital it will need. 

3) How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?

 I think that this exit strategy has allowed us to think about different markets that Juntos could move in to. Going public on the equity markets allows Juntos to generate as much capital as it needs which allows us to position Juntos towards global markets. I believe that since Juntos will be a new concept, it needs a lot of capital as well so that barriers to entry are high.