Remember Nolan Watson, the CEO and President of Sandstorm Gold? He graduated form UBC Sauder School of Business. What about Mark Zuckerberg? He started Facebook in his spare time during his university years, unaware of the impact he was about to make in business and technology. How about the guy that sits next to you in COMM 101? For all I know, he can be the next millionaire of his business. Do you know any peer that is interested in starting their own business? Better yet, do you now any peer that has already begun their entrepreneurship journey? A few names pop up in my mind immediately, myself included. Why is entrepreneurship a trend among us students? Perhaps like the article from The Globe and Mail says, students are “natural entrepreneurs”.

The practice of entrepreneurship is not merely existing within students in business, but the opportunities that students seek campus-wide and community-wide. The news article “Why students are natural entrepreneurs” explore the opportunities and business information students absorb during their post-secondary studies, as simple as babysitting and tutoring to running a company with employees and shareholders. The experience of university life itself allows students to interact with more people, hence discovering an unmet demand and provide products and services accordingly. Later on, the article continues illustrate the potential entrepreneurship talents in students and how students should be educated in that manner. The article then concludes with encouraging universities to offer more resources for students, such as co-op and internship.

Although “Why students are natural entrepreneurs” is not related to my COMM 101 material nor can I reflect what I have learned from this article, it is an interesting read as being a student myself, I recognize the interest of young people in entrepreneurship. While most of us are still inexperienced in running a business, I believe the post-secondary education and experience will stimulate students’ success and lead students to a better direction.

“Why students are natural entrepreneurs”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/keg-parties-textbook-markets-every-student-is-a-natural-entrepreneur/article14802550/

Online shopping platforms act as both “pain killers” and “gain creators” in its value propositions. Through online grocers, the shopping cart rides and cashier check-out line ups are replaced with a few clicks in the comfort of your own home. Customers seek the most convenient method of shopping while businesses are shortening the supply chain.

Instead of building physical locations and hiring grocery store workers with wages and salaries, online grocers deliver straight to their customers; decreasing operational costs such as the shipments to grocery stores. As Mr. Gardner says in the article “For Shoppers, Next Level of Instant Gratification”, “efficient markets don’t like middlemen.” The question is, what about the middlemen that has been disintermediated? If the middlemen in the supply chain are all replaced by direct selling, how many companies would go bankrupt and how many employees will be laid off? While producers are increasing their revenues by shortening the supply chain, they are also increasing their market power; which in economic terms, it leads to market failure. In other words, a long supply chain with numerous middlemen results in an inefficient market, but so does a direct selling producer that gains market power and controls the entire market.

Regardless the dismissal of middlemen, online grocers do offer a new value proposition to grocery shoppers; and like the article title itself, online grocers offer the “next level of instant gratification”.

“For Shoppers, Next Level of Instant Gratification”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/08/technology/for-shoppers-next-level-of-instant-gratification.html?smid=pl-share