Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1) Management Experience

Valuable: This is extremely valuable because running a business is going to involve the management of resources, capital, and people. All of this is easier said than done, so having some experience in this area gives me an edge.

Rare: This is probably something that is not that rare. There are a lot of people out there with some sort of management experience.

Inimitable: You can’t really imitate management experience as a whole, even more so, it’s hard to imitate a specific person’s experience and how that has shaped them.

Non-substitutable: Management experience can be substituted by other qualities.

2) Product knowledge/Personal experience

Valuable: Personal experience with the need is extremely valuable for the entrepreneur. It gives you the ability to really put yourself in the customer’s shoes to understand what it is that they need.

Rare: I wouldn’t consider this particularly rare in this space since so many people with cats are probably very aware of this issue.

Inimitable: The only way to really imitate this is to get a cat or care for a cat. I suppose anyone can really get that experience if they wanted to.

Non-substitutable: I don’t think there is a substitute for this. Cat litter care/maintenance is unique, and I don’t think you can get that experience without exposure to having a cat for a while.  

3) Empathy for the customer

Valuable: I personally think this is one of the most important resources or strengths. Empathy for the customer allows me to really understand the needs and help create a solution that is going to make an impact.

Rare: I do consider this somewhat rare. Not everyone is empathetic or is in business for the right reasons. Some people see the opportunity to make money as their driving factor.

Inimitable: While I don’t think this is something that can be imitated, I do think that many other people may share a similar sentiment.

Non-substitutable: I don’t think you can substitute this resource. I think that a venture can work without empathy for the customer, but I don’t think that means that you can substitute the resource.   

4) Social media marketing strategy

Valuable: Having a marketing strategy that takes advantage of today’s social media channels is extremely important and valuable. It’s an easier way to reach a lot of customers and target marketing so that it’s more effective.

Rare: Note very rare at all since it’s becoming the more prominent marketing strategy for so many companies.

Inimitable: It is easy to imitate, especially since so many people are doing it.

Non-substitutable: It can be substituted by other marketing channels. However, I think that this is something that is going to need to be a part of every business.    

5) Positive work culture

Valuable: I think this is extremely valuable to run a successful and sustainable business. I think of employees as important as customers, without them, a business would not exist. For this reason, I think they should be valued and taken care of.

Rare: This is probably rare depending on the space. There are certain areas that are known for having a good work culture, and I don’t believe those pet products are one of them.

Inimitable: This can be easily imitated. I do however believe that delivery is important. So, while certain practices can be imitated, I don’t think they will always have the same impact.

Non-substitutable: I don’t think there’s a substitute for positive work culture.  

6) Access to customer feedback

Valuable: This is valuable because it helps me understand what customers need (what’s working/what’s not working)

Rare: Not very rare. Customer feedback can be accessed in many different ways and by pretty much anybody that is willing to look for it.

Inimitable: It can be imitated.

Non-substitutable: I don’t believe there is a substitute for customer feedback.  

7) Communication skills

Valuable: It pays to have good communication skills as an entrepreneur since you are often relying on them to conduct business.

Rare: Communication skills are not very rare in my opinion. I think a lot of people have good communication skills. It’s also based on your audience and what you’re trying to communicate to them. Some people may be better than others depending on those two factors.

Inimitable: Communication skills can be improved with practice.

Non-substitutable: Communication skills are very important and while they can be imitated, I don’t think they can really be substituted.

8) Resiliency and Grit

Valuable: I believe this is the most valuable resource that an entrepreneur can have. This quality allows you to stick with your venture through thick and think, which is the reason successful entrepreneurs are able to achieve their goals.

Rare: This is difficult to answer because I think it depends on the person and their passions. If one can find something that they’re passionate about, then they can develop the grit to stay with it. Otherwise, I do think that is a rare resource.

Inimitable: I personally don’t believe this can be imitated.

Non-substitutable: I don’t believe there is a substitute for this at all.   

9) Ability to seek financial support

Valuable: This is also one of the most valuable resources and entrepreneur can have. Business needs financial capital/support to operate. Having access to this whether it be through your own work or loans from banks/other people is very important.

Rare: This is not very rare, but I do believe it’s sometimes difficult to find or figure out.

Inimitable: This can be imitated. There are tons of resources out there that can walk entrepreneurs through the process of obtaining financial resources.

Non-substitutable: This cannot be substituted in my opinion. Money is money and a business can’t exist without it.  

10) A unique insight into customer need

Valuable: This is valuable because it allows me to understand the problem at hand and come up with better solutions.

Rare: I don’t think that it’s rare since probably all of my customers would understand the issue.

Inimitable: I suppose this can be imitated by putting yourself in the customer's situation for a while to better understand the problem.

Non-substitutable: While it can be imitated, I don’t think you can really substitute understanding a customer’s need from their point of view.

Reflection: Through the VRIN analysis of my resources I honestly learned that a lot of them are not rare or difficult to imitate as I thought. I think this a lesson in understanding how difficult it is sometimes to differentiate yourself from the competition. Sometimes you get so caught up in thinking that you have a great idea that you don’t look at it objectively. I think I still have some work to do to really make this a viable entrepreneurship project that stands out from others.