29A – Venture Concept No. 2

The opportunity for my business venture are individuals interested in fashion; especially K-fashion and cannot find an outlet where they can access and purchase trend related clothing items. Most of my opportunity are defined geographically outside of the country of South Korea and can range from teens to mid thirties. This opportunity is growing with the rise of Seoul Fashion Week, K-pop, K-dramas, and Korean celebrities that are gaining fame outside of the aforementioned country itself. This window of opportunity will be open for quite some time but I do think that it will be continuous because Korean fashion is constantly developing and will grow to be something larger than its title of “Korean” fashion. Currently, customers are satisfying this need by either buying their clothes directly in Korea, finding clothing items that can replicate the look from domestic brand companies, or paying high prices for Korean clothing brands that have a limited international outreach. And due to insufficient brands currently in the market, it is difficult for customers to stay loyal to one brand; especially due to high prices for non-brand labels.


My innovation is not life-changing, but it helps suffice a demand and need for clothing. My idea of creating an online Korean fashion mall for international shoppers stemmed from a personal struggle to buy clothes that fall under Korean fashion trends. It would help those interested in Korean fashion and those who are looking to buy clothes that fall under the trend by giving them an accessible platform to buy these clothes. MY Korean online fashion mall would be a platform that connects currently existing clothing brands in Korea to those residing outside of the country; in other words, the clothes would be given to my company in wholesale and my company then would sell them to the customers interested. While this may seem like a simple retail business, my company would be satisfying a need that has not been met even though Korean fashion has boomed; this is due to the lack of Korean businesses that reach out internationally and ship overseas as well. Many online Korean brands do not sell to overseas customers because of the lack of financial ability; due to the large amounts of businesses in the Korean market that are all trying to sell to a limited population. My idea would not only help those business expand to outside of the country but it would also help my target audience.


There are very limited competitors because many are domestic in Korea and have their main focus on the Korean market instead of the International market; making their international branch a lot weaker than my venture that will be based in America and targeted towards customers within America and other countries outside of Korea. Business location, shipping, and price points are the main roles in defining my business concept because those are the main reasons why and how my venture concept came to be in the first place.





My connection to the fashion market in Korea will make it difficult for other people to copy; also my ability to fluently speak, write and understand Korean and English will help me with communicating and being able to carry out business easily without a translator or help. I think the next venture for the current one is to expand into creating clothes under my own brand. Being a retail brand is the main goal, but I also think that having my company be a clothing brand in in of itself is a way to upgrade the brand. In five years with this venture, I still want to be working with it and not under someone else. I want to develop and grow this business in the next decade to where it can be a household name to people with interest in clothing and fashion. And even beyond that, I want my company to be known as the pioneer of Korean fashion clothing here in America and in other foreign countries.

30A – Final Reflection

2) What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

The most formative one was the elevator pitch assignments because they refreshed my presentation skills and getting peer feedback was really helpful in fixing my mistakes. My most favorite experience was the reading reflections because I love reading and I really enjoyed being introduced to a lot of new books. I am proud of accomplishing this course and being able to strengthen my idea of an online Korean shopping mall.

3) At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

I do see myself more as an entrepreneur through the help of the lectures and assignments. I think that now that I know more, I am able to think differently than before. But I know I still have a lot more to learn and a lot more to think about before I can call myself someone with a full “entrepreneurship mindset.”

4) What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

I would recommend investing more time into understanding the lectures and what the professor is teaching. I believe that in order to develop and foster the entrepreneur mindset, you need to be open to learning more about it; just like any other subject. I also recommend reading the books from the reading list regardless if they are part of an assignment or not.

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

• What surprised you the most?

It surprised me how Knight hit the floor running and started his business right after a

phone call.

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I admired how smart his actions were despite how reckless they might seem. He had

an idea, and inspiration and just went for it because of his “what could I possibly lose”

mentality.

• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

There wasn’t anything that I didn’t admire. The story Knight had to share was so

inspirational and a lot of the actions he took to start his business reminds me a lot of

how I am acting to start the fashion brand of my dreams.

• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Considering the fact that Knight was straight out of graduate school when he first

started his company, he encountered setbacks and problems with his Japanese

supplier and after they separated.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? Knight’s focus for

the brand was so different than other people that started businesses. He didn’t start

the business to make a lot of money or to become famous; he started it because he

had an idea and wanted to see how it would play out.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. I didn’t find anything

that was really confusing.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? How

did you keep motivating yourself to continue the business despite setbacks? And

what would you think have happened if Nike didn’t grow to be what it is today? I

would ask these questions because they are questions I got curious about while

reading this book. Also, they’re also questions I can learn from as well.

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that

opinion? I think it did take a lot of hard work for the entrepreneur because it takes a lot

to follow through when starting a company. Like Knight stated, “the cowards never

started, the weak died along the way — that leaves us.”

26A – Celebrating Failure

1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time.

During this semester, I failed at budgeting my money. I ate out a lot with my friends, bought what I wanted and didn’t keep track of the small payments that ended up pilling up. Now that I am on my own and that I have full control over my money, I didn’t realize how fast money could be used. I never fell into the negatives and I don’t have debt, but now I struggle with having enough money now; after I used money in the beginning of the semester.

2) Tell us what you learned from it.  

I learned how important it is to keep track of your money and not spend it on things that I do not necessarily need. I learned how to budget in a way that I can see where I spend my money and I try to save as much as I can. And I found a method that helps me be aware of how much I am spending; I found that spending cash instead of using my card helps me physically see how much money I have and how much I have left.

3) Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn't it? It's embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failure (emotionally, behaviorally). Finally, talk about how this class has changed your perspective on failure -- are you more likely to take a risk now than you were just a few months ago?

I tend to reflect after I fail. I’m not afraid of failing, but I try to avoid failing and so I try to think about what I did wrong and how I can fix it. This class has helped me think more in depth of my business venture and now I don’t feel so worried or scared about failing. Of course I still have my doubts, but I feel more comfortable with failing.

28A – Your 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?

I intend on staying with the business for several decades until I cannot and retire. And as I retire, sell it off for a large return.

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

I selected this exit strategy because I love fashion and I want to continue staying in the field for as long as I can and continue designing clothes until I physically cannot or until I feel like I have found another younger individual to take over.

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?

My exit strategy has affected how I plan on using my resources to continue to create clothes; by staying in the industry as long as I can, I can continue to not only create connections but also strengthen relationships over the time I run the business venture. My exit strategy allows me to be creative and allows me to explore methods of expression through clothing and styling.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

The opportunity for my business venture are individuals interested in fashion; especially K-fashion and cannot find an outlet where they can access and purchase trend related clothing items. Most of my opportunity are defined geographically outside of the country of South Korea and can range from teens to mid thirties. This opportunity is growing with the rise of Seoul Fashion Week, K-pop, K-dramas, and Korean celebrities that are gaining fame outside of the aforementioned country itself. This window of opportunity will be open for quite some time but I do think that it will be continuous because Korean fashion is constantly developing and will grow to be something larger than its title of “Korean” fashion. Currently, customers are satisfying this need by either buying their clothes directly in Korea, finding clothing items that can replicate the look from domestic brand companies, or paying high prices for Korean clothing brands that have a limited international outreach. And due to insufficient brands currently in the market, it is difficult for customers to stay loyal to one brand; especially due to high prices for non-brand labels.





My innovation is not life-changing, but it helps suffice a demand and need for clothing. My idea of creating an online Korean fashion mall for international shoppers stemmed from a personal struggle to buy clothes that fall under Korean fashion trends. It would help those interested in Korean fashion and those who are looking to buy clothes that fall under the trend by giving them an accessible platform to buy these clothes. MY Korean online fashion mall would be a platform that connects currently existing clothing brands in Korea to those residing outside of the country; in other words, the clothes would be given to my company in wholesale and my company then would sell them to the customers interested. While this may seem like a simple retail business, my company would be satisfying a need that has not been met even though Korean fashion has boomed; this is due to the lack of Korean businesses that reach out internationally and ship overseas as well. Many online Korean brands do not sell to overseas customers because of the lack of financial ability; due to the large amounts of businesses in the Korean market that are all trying to sell to a limited population. My idea would not only help those business expand to outside of the country but it would also help my target audience.

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1. I have manufacturers to produce my clothes
1. This is valuable, but it can change and is substitutable with other manufacturers.
2. I have the financial ability to start up my business
1. This is rare because many startups don’t start will full financial capability and resort to loans.
3. I have designs in progress for the launch
1. This is valuable but it can change and is substitutable with other designs and reforms.
4. I have the capability to design the website
1. This is valuable; can be substituted with a professional, but it helps financially to have the skill.
5. I have models to model the clothes I will make
1. This is valuable; can be substituted with a professional, but it helps financially to have the skill.
6. I have photography knowledge from past experiences
1. This is valuable; can be substituted with a professional, but it helps financially to have the skill.
7. I have my parent’s full support in starting
1. This is rare and valuable because I know many people who have parents that do not approve of their dreams and goals; so to have the full support my parents give, it is important
8. I have contact with people in the fashion industry that I have close bonds to
1. This is rare and valuable that cannot be replaced but it can increase
9. I have contact with businesses that source the products necessary to make my clothes
1. This is rare and valuable that cannot be replaced but it can increase
10. I am in the middle of learning business along with learning about design
1. This is valuable because I understand how important it is to know business and design if I plan on running a proprietorship.

My top resource is my contact with people in the industry with close bonds to because they can help me network and get my brand going and connect me to other people in the industry as well.