www.sleeve-up.com
Relevant KASB capacities:
- Interpersonal Skills
- Able to manage people, delegate tasks, trust in others, identify the strengths and weaknesses of others
- Organizational Skills
- Able to conceptualize and organize ideas in order to actualize programs, events, projects, etc.
- Effectively and efficiently manage resources
- Able to collaborate with others
Reflection:
I am truly honored to be attending one of the best universities in the country. One of the MANY opportunities I have taken include an entrepreneurship class dubbed "Creating A Company." Through the vehicles of this class, students are given two quarters to start their own company from the ground up. The first two weeks are primarily to form teams and establish a product or idea, and the rest of the time is dedicated to conducting your own market research, creating the product/service, securing a manufacturer, writing a detailed business plan, etc. etc.
At the end of the first quarter, teams are expected to present their work in a 10-minute presentation to angel investors (a panel of professionals who are closely tied with the professor - John Castle) in order to secure start-up funds necessary to launch the business.
My team and I are currently in the second quarter of this class, which means we're hitting the ground selling. We successfully secured $1,500 in start-up funds and have allocated that money to production, operation expenses, and marketing. The rest of our jobs now is to sell!
I am humbled beyond words because I was asked to be CEO of our company. I was hesitant at first because I knew the responsibilities expected of a great leader required a lot of time out of my already busy schedule. On top of that, I would be accountable for all the decisions we made at the company. It took me a while to decide but at this point in our progress, I look back with no regrets.
My role as a CEO translating to a Husky Leader
My role as a CEO translating to a Husky Leader
Able to collaborate with others
One might ask what a CEO really does (as there are no specializations in my role, in contrast to the CMO or CFO). I'd say my job is a combination of project management, quality assurance, asking LOTS of questions, and unifying visions all in one. With a team of five other individuals, it gets a little difficult sometimes to ensure we are all moving cohesively together in the same direction. For example, there was a split between our members when we originally set the price point of our product. Upon redundant conversations and market testing, we seem to have arrived at a price point that everybody believes in. This is one of many situations where six people do not agree on the same thing.
Able to manage people, delegate tasks, trust in others, identify the strengths and weaknesses of others
Each individual on my team has a specialized role - accounting (CFO), marketing (CMO), sales (COS), operations (COO), and events (CCO). My job is to take the bird's eye view of our end goal and to delegate the tasks in between to the appropriate person. For example, our CFO and COO were responsible for choosing the fabrics for the sleeves and finalizing designs with our manufacturer. Our CCO takes cares of all the events, such as planning for HuskyFest, tabling in Cafe on the Ave, or the Sustainability Fair coming up. Our CMO and COS work closely together to create a solid sales and marketing strategy to get our sleeves sold in coffee retailers. My job is to make sure everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing and that all of our actions align with the same vision. If one person has a heavy week load with midterms, I'll delegate their tasks to another individual who has more free time. If one person is not confident on talking to retailers on the phone, I'll sit down with them and we'll do it together. My hope is that I enable people to fulfill their roles and support them when they need.
Able to conceptualize and organize ideas in order to actualize programs, events, projects, etc.
A specific example includes the history of our sleeves. We thought our idea was completely unique, but upon conducting market research, we all found that hundreds of reusable coffee sleeves already existed on etsy, amazon, etc. However, we thought we could do better. We conducted two surveys to gauge people's responses on the idea of our product. One of my best friends who is a fashion designer helped us create the prototypes we used to ask the market of their opinions. We studied several competitors and talked to a variety of people. We discovered the features that people ranked most important: insulative, portable, convenient, and fashionable. Upon more research, we found a manufacturing company that had the capabilities to create our sleeves in bulk. He created a prototype for us to ensure his quality, and from then on, our sleeves were born. This process lasted over an entire quarter but we literally took a blueprint idea and transformed it into a business with over 600 sleeves in inventory. If that's not conception to actualization, then I don't know what is!
Effectively and efficiently manage resources
As our team gets our feet wet even more in the business world, we are learning how to not fall prey to running out of money. We were given $1500 to begin our business but in the grand scheme of things, that isn't a lot. With manufacturing costs being our greatest overhead, the CFO and I have to time our sales forecast perfectly with our order schedule. If we order too many sleeves and do not sell enough, we won't have the funds to cover our payment. The CFO and I meet bi-weekly to ensure that our money is being well spent and that our time as individual team members are being allocated to the right tasks in order to secure sales to sustain the business.
One might ask what a CEO really does (as there are no specializations in my role, in contrast to the CMO or CFO). I'd say my job is a combination of project management, quality assurance, asking LOTS of questions, and unifying visions all in one. With a team of five other individuals, it gets a little difficult sometimes to ensure we are all moving cohesively together in the same direction. For example, there was a split between our members when we originally set the price point of our product. Upon redundant conversations and market testing, we seem to have arrived at a price point that everybody believes in. This is one of many situations where six people do not agree on the same thing.
Able to manage people, delegate tasks, trust in others, identify the strengths and weaknesses of others
Each individual on my team has a specialized role - accounting (CFO), marketing (CMO), sales (COS), operations (COO), and events (CCO). My job is to take the bird's eye view of our end goal and to delegate the tasks in between to the appropriate person. For example, our CFO and COO were responsible for choosing the fabrics for the sleeves and finalizing designs with our manufacturer. Our CCO takes cares of all the events, such as planning for HuskyFest, tabling in Cafe on the Ave, or the Sustainability Fair coming up. Our CMO and COS work closely together to create a solid sales and marketing strategy to get our sleeves sold in coffee retailers. My job is to make sure everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing and that all of our actions align with the same vision. If one person has a heavy week load with midterms, I'll delegate their tasks to another individual who has more free time. If one person is not confident on talking to retailers on the phone, I'll sit down with them and we'll do it together. My hope is that I enable people to fulfill their roles and support them when they need.
Able to conceptualize and organize ideas in order to actualize programs, events, projects, etc.
A specific example includes the history of our sleeves. We thought our idea was completely unique, but upon conducting market research, we all found that hundreds of reusable coffee sleeves already existed on etsy, amazon, etc. However, we thought we could do better. We conducted two surveys to gauge people's responses on the idea of our product. One of my best friends who is a fashion designer helped us create the prototypes we used to ask the market of their opinions. We studied several competitors and talked to a variety of people. We discovered the features that people ranked most important: insulative, portable, convenient, and fashionable. Upon more research, we found a manufacturing company that had the capabilities to create our sleeves in bulk. He created a prototype for us to ensure his quality, and from then on, our sleeves were born. This process lasted over an entire quarter but we literally took a blueprint idea and transformed it into a business with over 600 sleeves in inventory. If that's not conception to actualization, then I don't know what is!
Effectively and efficiently manage resources
As our team gets our feet wet even more in the business world, we are learning how to not fall prey to running out of money. We were given $1500 to begin our business but in the grand scheme of things, that isn't a lot. With manufacturing costs being our greatest overhead, the CFO and I have to time our sales forecast perfectly with our order schedule. If we order too many sleeves and do not sell enough, we won't have the funds to cover our payment. The CFO and I meet bi-weekly to ensure that our money is being well spent and that our time as individual team members are being allocated to the right tasks in order to secure sales to sustain the business.
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The rest of this specific post is to take you through the journey of Sleeve Up!, including who we are, what we've done, and where we plan to go.
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Our executive summary
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/26868155/Sleeve%20Up%20Business%20Plan%20Table%20of%20Contents.pdf
Our story
Our executive summary
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/26868155/Sleeve%20Up%20Business%20Plan%20Table%20of%20Contents.pdf
Our story
Sleeve Up! is a start-up company created by six University of Washington students through the entrepreneurial class “Create A Company.” When brainstorming ideas for what type of product we wanted to create, we bounced all over the place. We knew we wanted to cater to college students, just like us. We also wanted to keep it close to home. Although we all come from different backgrounds and even different parts of the world, we wanted a product that capitalized on the pride of this city - Seattle. The next question came naturally - what’s the one novelty near and dear to every Seattlite’s heart? The answer was easy - coffee! And thus a new flood of ideas flowed in. Our results: a reusable coffee sleeve that you can take with you wherever you go! We hope you share our excitement in going green in a fun and fashionable way!
Our mission
Sleeve Up! accessorizes your beverage of choice in a fashion-forward way.
Our sleeves
Our social media
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