23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

Resources in my venture:

• Potential investors (family members)
• Access to sports agents
• Access to athletes
• Partners who are willing to customize the website
• Advertising/marketing background
• Creativity to make the idea work
• Experience customizing database to contain agent/athlete information
• Relationship with CEO at the orange bowl
• Sports world continuing to expand
• Network to expand idea quickly

VRIN Analysis:

• Potential investors
• Value: very valuable because it will allow me to actually create the product
• Rare: not very rare, as lots of people have investors
• Inimitable: others can copy this method rather easily
• Non-substitutable: There are other resources, such as friends and random investors that can emulate the same value
• Access to sports agents
• Value: This is incredibly valuable when it comes to my business idea
• Rare: This is relatively rare, as most people haven't had detailed communication with agents
• Inimitable: This is inimitable as long as you have a good work ethic and are patient to get in contact with them
• Non-substitutable: There are no other resources/people that can substitute for agents
• Access to athletes
• Value: Very valuable, just as agents
• Rare: Having connections is somewhat rare, but less rare than relationships with agents
• Inimitable: Pretty easy to copy for other people 
• Non-substitutable: There are no other resources that can provide the same value
• Partners who are willing to customize the website
• Value: Invaluable, considering the individuality of the website
• Rare: Having friends willing to help out isn't necessarily rare, but in this case, the technological advancement is rather rare
• Inimitable: Others can copy this resource easily for other ideas
• Non-substitutable: I can hire other people to help with the website, I don't need the partners I currently have picked out
• Advertising/marketing background
• Value: Pretty useful in figuring out the best way to advertise my product and maximize revenue
• Rare: Reasonably rare given my age and detailed experiences 
• Inimitable: With education and practice others can easily copy this competitive advantage
• Non-substitutable: This invaluable knowledge is irreplaceable and will help out in the future
• Creativity to make the idea work
• Value: Very valuable in identifying the best way to turn this idea into a product
• Rare: Relatively rare, but others definitely share as much, if not more creativity
• Inimitable: With practice, it is a skill others can acquire as well
• Non-substitutable: This is a pretty invaluable resource that only takes with practice
• Experience customizing database to contain agent/athlete information
• Value: This is incredibly valuable, as it something I acquired working for a financial planning firm
• Rare: This is a very rare resource as most people don't have this background
• Inimitable: Others would need very specific experiences to understand how to run this
• Non-substitutable: Other resources can help this experience, however, it is hard to come by
• Relationship with CEO of the Orange Bowl
• Value: This tremendous relationship I have is incredibly useful for building future connections
• Rare: This is a one-of-a-kind relationship
• Inimitable: The vast majority of people would have a tough time imitating this relationship
• Non-substitutable: Not many resources can provide the same benefits as the CEO of the Orange Bowl
• Sports world continuing to expand
• Value: This is a huge asset to my future endeavors 
• Rare: This is an extremely rare thing that is uncontrollable by any one person
• Inimitable: Once again, due to it being uncontrollable this is tough to answer
• Non-substitutable: No other industries can provide the same benefits for myself as this one
• Network to expand idea quickly
• Value: The in-depth network that I have built is priceless
• Rare: It is extremely rare because no one person shares the same network that I currently have
• Inimitable: With time, others can imitate it to an extent, but not all the way
• Non-substitutable: Other people can definitely serve as even better resources, but it will take time and effort to attain those relationships

Top Resource: After conducting a VRIN analysis for each resource, I have concluded that my experience creating a database my top, most relevant resource. It can directly contribute to the success of my product and is the most real-world experience I have attained so far.