Andrew Huang's blog

Constructed of high quality, food-grade silicone and plastic, the 9.5 inch PlateTopper keeps food hot, cold, and fresh. Introduced by entrepreneur and founder, Michael Tseng, PlateTopper is a revolutionizing product for all home-owners and was named “potentially the best product we’ve ever seen” by a Shark/investor (Egan, 2012). In addition, Michael had a vision to expand his product and requested for funding that would help him along his journey.

As quoted from Hans’ blog, Mr. Tseng requested an initial investment of $90000 in return for 5%, but then raised his offer when he realized that the Sharks were becoming very interested to a $750,000 investment for 5% equity. This immediate and blunt adjustment of his offer infuriated the Sharks and ultimately resulted in the opting out of all offers made. From Hans’ analysis on his blog, I strongly agree with his opinion on the specific roles and actions entrepreneurs should adopt when dealing with risk and funding for their company. Entrepreneurs are denoted as and possess a reputation of extreme risk-takers, but, as Hans mentions, entrepreneurs should take risks but they also need to understand the correct and good time to halt and be satisfied with their earnings until it all goes downhill.

Sources: http://www.examiner.com/article/san-francisco-inventor-of-platetop

https://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=shark%20tank&bpcl=38625945&biw=1920&bih=941&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=7zKkUNCHNeiaiQLSkYHYBA

http://platetopper.com/faqs/

https://blogs.ubc.ca/hanschoi/

http://www.examiner.com/article/san-francisco-inventor-of-platetopper-scoops-up-shark-tank-funding

Shrinking ice caps, increasing sea levels, and irregular weather patterns are all causes of global warming and green house gas emissions from human activity. Studies have shown that the main contributor to ozone depletion is the burning of gasoline from transportation. An environmentally friendly solution proposed by Vancouver’s council is a bike sharing program, which will decrease the use of cars and carbon dioxide emitting vehicles. Although this green approach will reduce our city’s contribution to global warming, the bike sharing program will require a large amount of funding and investments. To add on to this obstacle, the citizens of Vancouver are faced with a daunting concern because the same company, Bixi, required a substantial $108 million bailout to support their project in Montreal.

This number has carried onto worried commuters and potential users of the bike sharing program. Through research and analysis, the City of Vancouver transportation director Jerry Dobrovolny said he is aware of the financial and legal difficulties of Bixi, but in Montreal its challenges are difficult because the city is the company’s manufacturing hub. Therefore Vancouver should have no doubts or worries because the city is estimated to only require $1.9 million of support for this project.

Sources: http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/432331/vancouver-bike-share-bailout-worries-unfounded-say-city-bixi/

http://planetsave.com/2009/06/07/global-warming-effects-and-causes-a-top-10-list/

http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/432331/vancouver-bike-share-bailout-worries-unfounded-say-city-bixi/

Janice Leung wrote about an article that affects and is relevant to the average person in the Lower Mainland, especially student commuters. The article, ‘New transit passes usher speedy trips‘, describes and discusses the new system that Translink has implemented in all Canada Line stations from Richmond Brighouse to Vancouver downtown’s Waterfront station. This new payment system called The Compass provides efficiency and ethical practices for both the Translink business and the thousands of commuters that are transported by the Canada Line skytrain. As Janice describes, this implementation will most definitely aid in generating the correct profits for Translink, which was lost by illegal boarders, and the Compass will also provide an evenly distributed effort of employees’ time and energy.

Through further research, I noticed that these installments cost Translink over $100 million, which was made possible by the support of the BC and Canadian government. Although this substantially large amount of money has been invested into this project, I agree with Janice that the Compass will help generate the fair amount of profits while allocating the correct amount of labour and maintenance. This long-term investment benefits commuters like me and Janice, and it also aids Translink in their profit maximization.

Sources: http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=translink+skytrain&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1920&bih=941&tbm=isch&tbnid=U2O7JmN5UonYtM:&imgrefurl=http://www.comfortinnvancouver.com/richmond-hotels-bc-events&docid=MMRn4cutI6–JM&imgurl=http://www.comfortinnvancouver.com/images/CommanFile/ATTLocal_Public_Transportation_-_TranslinkCanada_Line_SkyTrain.jpg&w=600&h=450&ei=SSeQUPz0HIqxigLhpYDACw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=386&vpy=339&dur=330&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=178&ty=95&sig=108824037210716043946&page=1&tbnh=145&tbnw=191&start=0&ndsp=41&ved=1t:429,i:153

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/local/2012/09/10/20185856.html

http://www.translink.ca/en/Fares-and-Passes/Compass-Card/About-Compass.aspx

http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=translink+skytrain+compass&um=1&hl=en&biw=1920&bih=941&tbm=isch&tbnid=CrH7bimpeGahEM:&imgrefurl=http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/skytrain-gets-its-first-of-many-fare-gates/article4479867/&docid=07a3Cm72ckd5DM&imgurl=http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/9f3/news/british-columbia/article4479866.ece/ALTERNATES/w620/web-bc-translink14nw1.JPG&w=620&h=349&ei=qSeQUKL8E8OFiALLrYHACA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=843&vpy=379&dur=817&hovh=168&hovw=299&tx=185&ty=85&sig=108824037210716043946&page=1&tbnh=145&tbnw=261&start=0&ndsp=41&ved=1t:429,i:101

Zara, a clothing company that prides in providing new, high quality clothing, has recorded an addition of 166 new stores in the first half of this year, which brings the company’s store count to 5,693 stores across 85 countries. This organization is owned by Inditex, and the financial statements record a substantial 32% increase in profits since the beginning of this year. A big reason for Zara’s growth and development is mainly due to how the company operates and minimizes inventory turnover. Operations of the company is a significant point of difference compared to other corporations like GAP, Nike, and rival H&M because Zara provides a unparalleled approach to bringing their designs/prototypes onto shelves across the world in as short as two weeks. This approach comes with strengths and weaknesses. With a short supply, Zara is able to stay on consumer trends and keep the buyer connected with Zara stores, but this fast fashion comes with high expenses and pricey transportation costs. Overcoming this problem, Zara is able to set higher prices for clothing products and has recorded an overwhelming growth since last year of over three billion dollars for their owner, Amancio Ortega, the richest man in Spain.

Sources: http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/blog/2011/12/15/4396/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19645749

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=0ce2eb31-a77d-4435-bd31-144d03bc61db%40sessionmgr12&vid=1&hid=7&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=22161327

Referencing back to the previous class on social enterpreneurship, I stumbled upon this blog on the Vancouver Sun posted a few months ago. The blog provides a strong denotation to the term social entrepreneurship, and it truly emphasizes and gets the message across about giving back to the community and making society a better place. In addition, this post did not only aid me in defining the exact meaning of a social entrepreneur, but it also shocked me that we have a company/restaurant that is so close to us and are actively and eagerly involved in the Vancouver downtown-eastside community. The most suprising fact that I discovered was the enormous conrtibutions and impacts Save-On-Meat and owner, Mark Brand, had in the area. By providing ‘480 meals a day, 365 days a year’ and ‘sending out 1,400 pounds of nutritious food a week’, I realized this company is not like all the other corporations on this planet, which only seek for targets of maximizing profits, Save-On-Meats is a genuinely caring and considerate restaurant that puts the citizens and community first. This blog helped me further change my look into business and the different ways a business can profit and be ethical at the same time.

Sources: http://www.google.ca/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbnid=rdCdsiuBzm3UjM:&imgrefurl=http://www.megaphonemagazine.com/legacy/content/save_save_on_iconic_meat_shop_may_close_down_spring.html&docid=xKN_rAZfZOrYuM&imgurl=http://www.megaphonemagazine.com/legacy/files/images/page%2525205%252520-%252520save-on-meats.png&w=400&h=300&ei=t_-BUNDqBqP_igLLmYDoAw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=386&sig=116046131662482537207&page=1&tbnh=138&tbnw=188&start=0&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0,i:93&tx=129&ty=91&biw=1280&bih=929

blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/04/10/save-on-meats-big-on-philanthropy/

http://canada.ashoka.org/what-social-entrepreneur

CUPE 116, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, are currently on strike and have initiated their first day of job action last week. Over 500 workers from UBC ‘formed a march that snaked its way around campus at noon today, ending in a rally in the SUB north plaza’ that was to enforce their request for more benefits and higher wages (Rodgers, 2012). Barry O’Neill, president of all CUPE unions in BC says that workers are only asking for an increase in their cost of living allowance, job security and pensions. This stand for higher benefits and an increase in wages is not only happening at UBC, but it is also commencing at the University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University, and the University of Northern British Columbia. As we can see, this job action is seen all across BC and will have major impacts and feedback effects if this agreement does go through. From the analysis of the article, I can see that the follow through of this job action will cause an increase in costs for universities all across BC. Having universities pay for this increase of wages will ultimately be burdened upon the tuition of innocent and helpless students.

CUPE STRIKE VIDEO

Sources: http://www.google.ca/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbnid=6opgaTzj4ZZWlM:&imgrefurl=http://ubyssey.ca/news/cupe-2950-agrees-757/&docid=nj4U560j8w3V9M&imgurl=http://ubyssey.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/wpid-union_20121004_kai-jacobson-2.jpg&w=1600&h=1067&ei=PDWkUMDpJIOziQKP1oGoBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1255&vpy=626&dur=1516&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=154&ty=144&sig=110255275212904894455&page=2&tbnh=132&tbnw=198&start=42&ndsp=49&ved=1t:429,r:71,s:0,i:286&biw=1920&bih=941

http://ubyssey.ca/news/begin-strike-action586/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6-2T3INQyc

Expanding in all countries, IKEA, famous for its budget furniture in self-build flat packs, “has 338 stores around the world, of which 40 are run by external franchises” (Ringstorm, 2012). With such publicity in the global market, this company has been able to grow in a variety of diverse markets. The Middle-East, specifically Saudi Arabia, have been introduced to IKEA’s vast product line with various marketing strategies implemented by the company. Recently, IKEA has been scrutinized and criticized about their newly updated catalogue that was featured with no female figures in Saudi Arabia. This caused many people and consumers to start discussing about whether IKEA should implement marketing techniques that goes along the company’s value’s of gender equality. Being heavily populated by the Muslim religion, Saudi Arabians do not allow females to be heard or seen out of their homes without a male companion. Although this problem in the Middle-East has been getting better, IKEA states that it will figure out new ways of sticking with their value proposition and further increase the gender equality in the country through their marketing implementations. Clearly illustrated by IKEA, they promise “a correct content presentation from a values point-of-view” to ensure that the company’s value’s are met.

Sources: http://www.google.ca/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbnid=e5gvgb8acsiYyM:&imgrefurl=http://metronews.ca/news/world/389090/ikea-deletes-women-from-saudi-arabia-catalogue/&docid=M0nZIynFvZZ_OM&imgurl=http://metronewsca.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/ikea_metro.jpg%253Fw%253D618%2526h%253D408%2526crop%253D1&w=618&h=408&ei=mTWkUObVKO33igLDsoCICQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1603&vpy=48&dur=442&hovh=182&hovw=276&tx=197&ty=89&sig=110255275212904894455&page=1&tbnh=147&tbnw=221&start=0&ndsp=40&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:90&biw=1920&bih=941

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19697344

http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_JP/virtual_catalogue/online_catalogues.html

http://metronews.ca/news/world/389090/ikea-deletes-women-from-saudi-arabia-catalogue/#

From being valued at $100 an ounze in the 70’s to becoming almost $3000 an ounze now, gold has become more valuable than money as time goes by. This is caused by consumer’s mentality that gold is one of the highest commodities and “medium of exchange” in our markets. Exchanged throughout the world, gold may seem like just a shiny yellow metal, but it is capable of creating prosperity for nations or causing great depressions for countries. In the article, ‘Gold prices‘, it demonstrates the importance of time towards the growth or fall of money. Linking to our class 6 lecture of time value of money, I was able to find immense interest in this reading due to the fact that I was able to connect the terms of present day and future day value onto the prices of gold. Presently, the buying price of gold is viewed at $1500 to around $1900. On the longer-term uptrend as early as 2014, the market may rise to ‘a stronger rally to $2050-2300 and up to $3000’ (Lynch, 2012). From these numbers and the denotation of the term time value of money, I am for certain that investing in gold will definitely pay-off in the future.

Vancouver pursues regional ban on shark fins

Diversity is something that is not lacking here in Canada. Specifically in Vancouver, there are cultures varying from the Middle-East to parts of Africa. With this immense range of culture comes a flow of inspired entrepreneurs that seek to share their diversity through the form of food. The most dominant cuisine in Vancouver are the Asian restaurants that sell the most-sought after Chinese delicacy, shark’s fin. Commonly used in soups, shark fin is an ingredient that is under a lot of dispute and scrutiny. In this article it states that this highly coveted ingredient will soon be banned for sale. This ban will hurt many Chinese restaurants economically because of the shark fin’s desirability. Aside from decreasing profits, the outlaw of the fin will harm the diverse culture that has been developed for many years. David Chung, a restaurant owner, quoted that “this ban will cause a scar to the harmony of the multiculturalism that has been built up for years” (Orton, 2012). From my prospective being a Chinese-Canadian citizen, I see that this ban will not be good for the restaurant industry and will disrupt the multiculturalism of our community.

Sources: http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://newtech.aurum3.com/im

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/local/2012/09/18/20210866.html

Foxconn’s Business Ethics for Employees

1.2 million workers employed in Foxconn, 12 hours in a typical work day, and 3000 workers Foxconn could hire overnight. These are just some numbers that represent the enormous scale of Foxconn, a Taiwanese company that manufactures over 40% of the world’s electronics.

With substantial numbers of workers, Foxconn is able to benefit by producing more units in less time and maximize on profits with the low costs of labour in China. The biggest disadvantage of this are the workers themselves. Over the past five years there has been a reported 17 deaths caused by suicide jumping. This is due to the poor working conditions and low wages offered at Foxconn.

Analyzing all the factors in this company, I noticed that the main concern of Foxconn’s business ethics are their employees. Foxconn says that they provide a healthy working and living environment, and they put their employees first. In contrast, this undercover worker reports differently, as he proves by the overtime work and still existing suicide threats. Having a reputation as one of the world’s largest companies, Foxconn should invest more money in worker’s salaries and provide a safe and friendly environment for their employees.

Sources: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57510975-37/undercover-reporter-details-work-at-foxconns-iphone-plant/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19697344