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- All Subjects: Entrepreneurship
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- Creators: Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
- Status: Published
Description
Aventure is the newest contemporary luxury men and women’s apparel and accessories boutique in Arizona. The boutique will be located in Downtown Scottsdale, specifically in McKellips Plaza conveniently located near Scottsdale Fashion Square. Aventure is the first of its kind in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, providing Millennial fashion fanatics with a destination that fills the empty void in the city’s growing fashion scene. At Aventure, we bridge the gap between pop culture, streetwear, and high-fashion. Through our mantra ‘Redefining the Luxury Retail Experience,’ we aim is to promote expression of one’s self to the fullest extent through style.
‘Aventure,’ which means “experience” or “adventure” in French, defines this upscale boutique and its essence of inclusion. This store does not aim to be your traditional retailer; instead, Aventure aims to build a community within and around the store for individuals with similar styles and passion for fashion. At the moment, the city of Scottsdale (and the Metro Phoenix area as a whole) does not have its own identity in the fashion world. There is no reason why Metro Phoenix cannot, with time, become more recognized in the global fashion community. With an array of exclusive luxury merchandise and an urban atmosphere, Aventure aims to pioneer the Valley’s establishment on the national high-end fashion scene.
The boutique is a result of the vision of its founder Ahmed Imam. Ahmed is a graduating Honors student at Arizona State Univeristy’s W.P. Carey School of Business, pursuing concurrent degrees in Finance and Business Entrepreneurship. Having been passionate about fashion for as long as he can remember, Ahmed will leverage his connections to the industry and excellent understanding of the Metro Phoenix market to turn Aventure into a hallmark of the community. Through his professional experience and educational background, Ahmed also brings the necessary knowledge and skills to the table to effectively run a startup.
The retail industry is experiencing steady growth, with the luxury goods sector expected to perform very well in the coming years. Using market-based sales forecasting, Aventure is estimated to break even by the third year of operations. Sales are expected to grow 20 percent after Year 1, and grow 5 percent thereafter. Net operating income of $83,643 is estimated in Year 1, growing to $141,351 by the end of Year 3. Overall, total startup expenses are estimated to be $206,574, made up of investments from owners and a term loan from Bank of America. The owner investment will be used to cover capital equipment, location, and administrative expenses. These include furniture, equipment, machinery, rent, utility, legal and accounting fees, prepaid insurance, and other expenses. The majority of the term loan will be used to finance opening inventory and advertising expenses, with the rest going towards cash on the balance sheet to ensure liquidity.
‘Aventure,’ which means “experience” or “adventure” in French, defines this upscale boutique and its essence of inclusion. This store does not aim to be your traditional retailer; instead, Aventure aims to build a community within and around the store for individuals with similar styles and passion for fashion. At the moment, the city of Scottsdale (and the Metro Phoenix area as a whole) does not have its own identity in the fashion world. There is no reason why Metro Phoenix cannot, with time, become more recognized in the global fashion community. With an array of exclusive luxury merchandise and an urban atmosphere, Aventure aims to pioneer the Valley’s establishment on the national high-end fashion scene.
The boutique is a result of the vision of its founder Ahmed Imam. Ahmed is a graduating Honors student at Arizona State Univeristy’s W.P. Carey School of Business, pursuing concurrent degrees in Finance and Business Entrepreneurship. Having been passionate about fashion for as long as he can remember, Ahmed will leverage his connections to the industry and excellent understanding of the Metro Phoenix market to turn Aventure into a hallmark of the community. Through his professional experience and educational background, Ahmed also brings the necessary knowledge and skills to the table to effectively run a startup.
The retail industry is experiencing steady growth, with the luxury goods sector expected to perform very well in the coming years. Using market-based sales forecasting, Aventure is estimated to break even by the third year of operations. Sales are expected to grow 20 percent after Year 1, and grow 5 percent thereafter. Net operating income of $83,643 is estimated in Year 1, growing to $141,351 by the end of Year 3. Overall, total startup expenses are estimated to be $206,574, made up of investments from owners and a term loan from Bank of America. The owner investment will be used to cover capital equipment, location, and administrative expenses. These include furniture, equipment, machinery, rent, utility, legal and accounting fees, prepaid insurance, and other expenses. The majority of the term loan will be used to finance opening inventory and advertising expenses, with the rest going towards cash on the balance sheet to ensure liquidity.
ContributorsImam, Ahmed Mohamed (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Asana Arizona is a concept created by Arizona State University students Halie Blauser and Stephen Argentati to sell handmade jewelry. They were inspired to start making jewelry in their free time, and were interested to see if they could create a profitable small business. Their first priority was to create a strategic marketing plan, to examine the current external/internal environment and find marketplace opportunities. As a part of this they performed research to determine which fashion styles would be the best target demographic to market their products to, and found that consumers who identified as "Bohemian", "Hipster", and "Punk" were the best target demographics. They also found that a majority of college students do not care whether or not a product is handmade or locally made, and primarily just care about price. Online social media pages were created for Asana Arizona on Instagram, Etsy, and Facebook, and a Facebook ads were created and boosted towards the target fashion styles.
ContributorsArgentati, Stephen (Co-author) / Blauser, Halie (Co-author) / Eaton, Kathryn (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This Creative Project contains a short movie that is comprised of interviews with various business owners and entrepreneurs based in Arizona. The purpose of this project was originally to explore "how businesses finance their initial venture" but quickly evolved into open-ended interviews. Originally, one of the listed goals for the project was to ensure that the movie be entertaining for the viewer. In order to gain the richest experience, it was decided that at least 8-10 entrepreneurs be interviewed for a 25 minute video. Since the creator of the video had no prior videography experience, it was assumed to be feasible \u2014 but in order to maintain the integrity of the interviews, and in order to provide the viewer with a better background, the format was changed to a 44 minute movie with 5 featured businesses, though more than 30 businesses were considered. It became clear that the diversity of available interviewees and the complexity of the businesses and financing methods made it impractical to feature such a technical topic in the movie. Balancing the entertainment value of the film and its functional, educational purpose proved to be one of the challenges for the completion of the project. Each interview stands alone its own right, but it's highly recommended that the viewer watch the entire feature. The businesses are featured in the following order: DryClean U.S., Jeffrey Rivera (sole-proprietor), Arizona Hops and Vines, Rune Wines, and The Duquesne House Inn and Gardens. The viewer will find that the businesses featured include both service-based businesses and product-based businesses. In all, over 300 hours of planning, filming, writing, and video-editing contributed to successful completion of this project.
ContributorsElliott, Spencer William (Author) / Trujillo, Rhett (Thesis director) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Traditions come about in a variety of ways varying from school to school and sport to sport. Fans in the NCAA have the most connection to their team’s traditions when they follow one or multiple dimensions of the P.A.T.H. framework. Traditions that are Passionate, Authentic, Tribal, and Historical help fans have a sacred, emotional bond between themselves and their favorite team. Most of the time, this bond makes people behave in a way that they do not normally. The best traditions create an atmosphere that allows someone to come back decades later and feel like they never left. When fans feel strongly toward the tradition, it creates a passion unlike any other. The fans will go through great lengths to keep the tradition happening. When a tradition comes about organically and is not forced on the fanbase, it follows the authentic dimension. Fanbases will not be willing to keep a tradition going if they feel like it was manufactured; it needs to be something that they want to do. The tribal dimension is created by the desire people have to be a part of a group because of a shared belief. People have a need to fit in and belong, so if a tradition is able to create this feeling, it will be more likely to stick. The historical dimension explains itself; a tradition that has been around for many years has a much better chance of being around for years to come because of the history associated with it. Traditions that encompass one or all of the dimensions of P.A.T.H. have a better chance of sticking and becoming a tradition that is recognized nationally. Traditions should eventually become something that completes the game day experience. At the end of the day, people will not remember exact plays that happened, but they will remember the experiences they shared with everyone else in the stands.
ContributorsWeller, Allison Jo (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Lee, Christopher (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
ART VR LLC is a virtual reality art gallery software company. The company was founded by Phillips Andrew Koss IV in 2018. The goal of the company is to give art galleries the opportunity to exhibit their artwork in a virtual reality headset. This is achieved through the development of the industry changing Virtual Reality application called Viewing Room. The very nature of art and its personal connection to the buyer makes it difficult for both the consumer and the seller to properly showcase the artwork without seeing it in person. In the increasingly online world of fine art there exists a disconnect between the art seen available online and the actual feel of the artwork in a space. The dimensions of an artwork can never be fully captured by a photograph as well as the colors and beauty of a piece of art depend entirely on how it is viewed. This creates an issue for galleries who deal with clients from all over the world as they have the issue of trying to sell a piece of artwork whose size cannot be fully grasped. The current solution is to have either the clients come into the gallery to view the work, ship it to them to see for themselves, or even attempt to show them a picture of it through the internet or mail relying on their sense of space and imagination to see how it would look. These ways cost time, money, and most of all potential sales. The Viewing Room application is positioned to become one of the few virtual reality applications tailored towards fine art galleries. The Viewing Room once used in a gallery setting allows the gallery to upload their artwork into the headset and the user can view the art and change various setting from frame, to mat color, to distance away to properly view the artwork without having to see it in person. The timing of this endeavor is well suited for success as VR technology has become affordable for use in commercial stores and the art world is moving more towards a digital presence.
ContributorsKoss, Phillips Andrew (Author) / Filley, Richard (Thesis director) / Cho, Steve (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
After having worked in the legal field for two years, I began to notice a pattern with clients. Several clients had an unrealistic view of the court system regarding trial proceedings. Oftentimes, I would come across clients that were perplexed by the idea of disclosing witnesses and exhibits to the opposing party before trial. They seemed to believe that evidence was only meant to be disclosed at the time of trial, so as to surprise the opposing side. This is just one of the many distorted ideas that several people have come to me with. I can see that clients feel upset and overwhelmed by how the reality of court differs from the court that they had been imagining. These patterns in client questions and realizations began my thinking of how to better raise awareness to Americans regarding realistic dealings in the courtroom. My desire to find a means to help people unfamiliar with the legal system better understand the rules of the court, paired with my love for card games, led me to create Judge and Jury, a card game about the legal system. Judge and Jury is a game that is meant to simplify concepts of the legal system through playing cards. Each rule in the game corresponds with real-life court rules and is meant to allow people to play out "court trials' through each round of the game. The correlations between the game rules and real-life court rules are subtle to keep players engaged and entertained. The subtleness allows players to grasp legal concepts without feeling overwhelmed. Game Website: https://judgeandjurygame.weebly.com/
ContributorsHomewood, Alexa (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Wood, Robert (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The idea of taking an idea or a plan and turning it into a business is an attractive concept to many, including soon-to-graduate college students. Many graduating young adults are offered a chance to go the corporate route and become a cog in a machine, specializing in one task and working that job for an entire career. The freedom of being one's own boss, choosing when to work and when to vacation, with the ability to handle all aspects of a business, can be extremely appealing. On the surface, entrepreneurship may seem easy and exciting, but it is much more complicated. While most entrepreneurs would state that their work is exciting, it can also be difficult and full of long hours working alone in high stress environments. Entrepreneurs must know everything about their businesses if they hope to survive. It is difficult for many college students to understand or have access to the complete picture of what it means to be an entrepreneur. In this document, I hope to provide potential entrepreneurs with a sample of what is included in the monstrous task of starting a business from nothing. While every startup has different challenges and problems that must be solved, there are many general principles that apply to every business. Through this report, I plan to convey those principles in a qualitative manner, applying classroom principles learned at the W.P. Carey School of Business to a real life example of a business startup. The startup I have chosen to analyze is an online life insurance broker, founded under the name "Insurmi.com" by Arizona State University student Sonny Patel. I currently work at Insurmi.com as a content writer and will receive data for this report directly from Mr. Patel. Sonny Patel is a recently graduated Arizona State student who started his business during his junior year. Thus, he is a great example of a student entrepreneur, and a look into his daily habits and responsibilities with Insurmi.com will provide a glimpse into what is necessary to build a startup out of college. The format of this thesis is broken into two sections. The first will be research into the current and future state of life insurance, while the second part will be a case study of the foundations and current actions of Insurmi.com. The defense will include a slideshow presentation made up of useful Insurmi.com photography by Sam Jagoda.
ContributorsJagoda, Samuel David (Author) / Trujillo, Rhett (Thesis director) / Kobyleski, Kammie (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Incidents relating to professional/collegiate athletes and their use of social media have been a prominent topic in the news for the last several years. For collegiate athletes, a distasteful, offensive post can have a substantial impact on the rest of their lives, as he/she can have scholarships revoked, legal action taken upon them, and professional offers cut. An athlete's poor actions will affect their brand image and that of the school whose uniform they wear. Outcry over these incidents have caused teams, themselves, to compensate in a variety of ways. The following thesis is a narrative representation of these incidents, resulting outcry, and desperate compensation. The narrative touches upon the impact social media can have on a team, athletic department, and university. It explores the rules/restrictions of social media, marketing concepts such as branding, the right to free speech, and the impact/consequences of bad choices. The narrative is preceded and followed by analysis of real-world examples to provide sound rationale for the actions taken in the narrative.
ContributorsBornhoft, Holly Marie (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Mokwa, Michael (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Almost all surfboard wax on the market today is made of paraffin wax, a product made from crude oil. Paraffin wax is not an environmentally friendly product for surfers. I believe that there is a market for and environmentally friendly surfboard wax. My thesis/creative project will be to create this business and prepare it for launch. My main deliverable will be a business plan detailing:
• An Executive Summary
• Description of the Business
• Market Analysis Summary
• Sales and Marketing Strategy
• Company Management Summary
• Funding Plan
• Financial Projections
• Appendix if Necessary
By the time I defend, the ECO-Wax (Working Title) business will be ready to launch.
• An Executive Summary
• Description of the Business
• Market Analysis Summary
• Sales and Marketing Strategy
• Company Management Summary
• Funding Plan
• Financial Projections
• Appendix if Necessary
By the time I defend, the ECO-Wax (Working Title) business will be ready to launch.
ContributorsTingey, Cameron M. (Author) / Dietrich, John (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Battered is a socially responsible bakery focused on providing prevention awareness, education, and donations to sexual violence awareness and aid. The bakery model will provide education resources within each order on the problem and current availability of aid and donations for local and national charities that assist in sexual violence aid and awareness. In order to assist in prevention and aid, Battered will create a safe environment and non-confrontational outlet for a taboo conversation; offering sweet treats in conjunction with aid and education of sexual violence awareness. Additionally, the company will donate 10% of all profits to local and national organizations that help victims of sexual violence.
ContributorsBitzan, Marie Catherine (Author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Livengood, Scott (Committee member) / School of Art (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05