20A – Growing Your Social Capital

Unique Dobermans

Unique Dobermans is a breeder in Washington. They are one of the top breeders in the United States.

Domain expert. These guys are one of the dominant breeders in my domain. We have talked in the past and he has genetics I'd like to acquire.

He is one of the you guys in my space here in the US.

I sent him an email. As I said before, we have spoken in the past and while I'd like to think he will respond positively, it is likely that me emailing him demonstrating my high ambitions in his space will cause him to go the other way.

If I can add his genetics to what I already have I will surpass many breeders in our space.

Del Nasi

Del Nasi is a breeder in Russia that has the nicest dobermans in the world.

They are international market experts.

Every top dog I have has a del Nasi grandparent.

We have been in contact via whatapp for the last year or so. I'm trying to get him to send me a female for less than most people spend on a car.

If I can convince him to send what we are asking for, I will have the best dogs in the US.

Betelges

Betelges is a top breeder in Serbia. He is second only to del Nasi.

Supplier

I found him as a potential source of genetics that may be more in my reach.

We have talked in the past about me buying one of his males. I hope for this email to reestablish that dialogue.

If we are able to reach an agreement his expertise will help me advance in my space.

Reaching out for this assignment might establish dialogues that may help my business. It is also possible however that expressing my ambitions to reach their level may cause one or all of them to go the other way due to the fact that they'd be creating competition and now they know that.

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

My name is Cory Cannon. I'm an economics major at the end of my senior year. I have worked extensively in sales in every role starting as a salesperson myself and eventually as an owner. Along the way I hired, trained and supported new hires and worked in customer service where I worked to salvage employees' bad deals. I manage that company as general manager for a couple years before leaving to work as a consultant to other sales offices in the Tampa area. I eventually started my own business where I opened a call center on the outskirts of Ybor city where I employed over 40 people. I eventually sold that business and attempted an international model where I traveled to the Dominican Republic and Panama where I recruited existing call centers to sell my companies services and trained their employees. I experienced moderate success before deciding that I would rather return home to finish my degree and pursue grad school. At one time I could sell ice to Eskimos although I will admit I'm a little rusty these days. I'd like to eventually earn my JD where I'd like to utilize my prior experience and combine those principles with the typical law model. I've fleshed out two concepts during my time in this course-one that I'm currently working on and one I'd like to get going in the future.

Currently, I'm offering high end Dobermans, from the world's top working and show lines, to families that have a desire and can afford to have the nicest dog in their social circle. I hope to build a real estate portfolio that will enable me to extent to families and individuals the ability to earn returns in a sector that would otherwise be unavailable to people with capital but lack expertise.

I currently service customers of all age groups in higher income demographics but do tend to have more customers that are more established due to the costs commanded in my space.

With Florida Dobermans, most of my customers do business with me because they have gone cheaper routes in the past and have grown to regret it. I have spoken to 3 customers this week who have had pets which they loved dearly and lost prematurely to a preventable health problem-one I met and sold a puppy to last weekend and one I have plans to meet Saturday.

My most valuable core competency is my willingness to do what no one else or few people are willing to do. I feel like too many people try to get rich from one deal rather than focusing on providing value. I worked hard for years making little to no money but always positioning myself to make more later. I have placed myself on an exponential growth curve. While my earnings were so low the first few years that few people would have put in the work that I did for the earnings that I received, I made as much last year as any people make working a part time job and have already surpassed those figures the first quarter of this year. Something I have that few others have is my combination of work ethic and willingness to make little now to make more later.

I think all these elements fit together nicely. The combination of them has been good to me and I hope they continue to be. I will concede that I have failed as much as I have succeeded. Many of my ideas and concepts I put in place prove to weak or out of joint with others and result in losses in the short run but enable me to hone what works.

The feedback I received on the first idea napkin was supported and positive as is much of the feedback we give to each other in this class. My most critical feedback has been outside of this class and from the market. I try not to let the criticism of naysayers mess with my head but I do pay attention to it to help me avoid failure where possible. Criticism from the market I feel acutely in my pocket and always listen to. 

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

Literally anyone could be a customer of The Legacy Company. I think the largest appeal would be to those that aren't as savvy. Seasoned investors would be more likely to manage their own rentals or be in a position where they would scoff at paying the fees and giving up the equity that Legacy would charge. There is however a large portion of the population that might benefit by converting their credit to cash.



People that have untapped credit and no know-how to capitalize on it might be interested in monthly payments in exchange for little more than their signature. While many Americans lack retirement savings, many of them pay their bills on time and might qualify for one or more mortgages. Without real estate experience they might have little success trying to finance rentals on their own.



Legacy customers would have a wide range of hobbies as people seeking to earn passive incomes span across all nearly all demographics. The same is true for vehicle types and colors. As far as TV shows it would be more useful to think about the types of shows they don't watch rather than the types of shows they do watch: most of these investors might be the type that do not frequently consume business and investment media. Some will have children and some won't. I'd imagine some might be adopted. Books and political preferences would range across the spectrum. I believe older customers would take advantage of this services in greater numbers than younger people. I don't have much in common with this group. I have owned multiple businesses and feel that I am in a decent financial position given my age and that my home and vehicles are paid off. I'd be more likely to use my credit to start a business rather than participate in such a program. I do realize however that my situation is not typical and would be happy to help people who are not investment minded earn returns.

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

2) My last upload was an audio file. It was most useful and insightful when Dr. Pryor notified me that I had to upload a video to receive credit.
3) I recorded a video and posted it to Youtube for review.

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

1) Myself, my wife, and my brothers have extensive experience with animal husbandry but also experience specific to the breed.
2) We have a close family friend that mentors us that has bred Dobermans for 30 years and formally apprenticed under Jack Healy of USK9. We are one of very few breeders that utilize the Healy-Salvo method when training our dogs.
3) I am formally trained in economics and my wife is an engineer. In an industry where most competitors generally possess low levels of education we have a unique advantage.
4) We are the only breeders in Florida that have registered dogs that are free of over 100 genetic disorders known to affect canines.
5) We possess a unique combination of American and European champion bloodlines. We invest the money but more importantly the time to extensively research lineage to pair optimal breedings.

https://recordings.tapeacall.com/t/373FHdE4GMPn

https://recordings.tapeacall.com/t/uCC1Anzg09XF

https://recordings.tapeacall.com/t/sFNx3583ln_3
https://recordings.tapeacall.com/t/BpnCxO3EfXI3

https://recordings.tapeacall.com/t/UIi9qI5eQuJw

I interviewed my wife, my mom, my brothers, and my friend Chris. They all had different perspectives on me and my attributes. It was nice to hear everyone’s kind words.
I think the 5 people that know me best have views that are in line with my own except that everyone was more generous with compliments than I might have been with myself. I have had many ups and downs in business and life and have frequently consulted them for their perspectives and advice. I was nice to hear

15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Jack and Lesa
For Jack and Lesa price does not matter most. They both have above average incomes and to them, health was the primary consideration when choosing to go with us. Quality and style are important to this couple. They have had a Doberman in the past and in speaking to them I was able to determine that the attention they garner by having an extraordinary specimen meant a lot to them. Conformation to the breed standard is important to them but they are also very concerned with size and health because while their last doberman was large, he was lost early due to a preventable disease. They, like many others focused their search online due to the poor reputation of pet stores. Due to their income range they were not interested in financing but rather a cash transaction. The most important factor for them to evaluate the rightness of their purchase is whether the pup grew up to meet their expectations of size and quality. If the pup grows up to be big and healthy they would determine the purchase was a good idea. If the pup grows up to be standard to below standard size they would determine they made a poor choice going with us.
Jay
With Jay, quality and style are important but being budget constrained, Jay and his wife tried to balance these with a strong consideration given to price. Jay wanted the nicest pup he could find but is also concerned with temperament as he has a young daughter. It was important that he had a nice and protective dog but primarily needed a calm demeanor. As with Jack and Lesa, Jay only considered online research due to the poor reputation of pet stores that sell puppies. Jay is unique in that he required the ability to finance his purchase by making payments in advance over a period of months. Jay will determine that he made the right decision if the pup grows to integrate smoothly into his new family. If the pup is unruly or aggressive he will determine that he made a poor choice.
Andrew
For Andrew, price was relevant but far outweighed by quality and style. From the first time we spoke he was laser focused on health factors such as dna clearances and low inbreeding coefficient. Like Jay, Andrew also has young children and for that reason is very concerned with temperament. Andrew decided early on that he would not do business with a retail establishment thus focused his search online. Andrew plans to use cash as opposed to trying to finance the transaction. If Andrew’s puppy grows up to be healthy and can be trusted with his young boys unsupervised he will determine that he made the right decision. As with Jay, if the pups grows up to be aggressive he will not be satisfied.

Nearly all of our customers and potential customers prefer home raised and/or professionally bred puppies vetted by extensive online research. Because every family has different needs, they appreciate that we take the time to get to know them to help pair them with the perfect match. When looking for puppies, folks want to be sure that we screen dna to avoid hereditary disorders and that we invest the time and resources to ensure this new member of their family was properly nourished and socialized. The prospective customers that do not value these things over price are simply not a good fit for our puppies.