Alexis Hopper
Professor Schmitz Weiss
May 6, 2019
Final Project Assignment
Synopsis
The media startup I chose to learn about all semester was Instagram. Instagram is a photo and video sharing app that was released to the world on October 6, 2010, by entrepreneurs Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. In 2012 Instagram was bought by Facebook. Now in 2019, Instagram is one of the most used social media platforms for sharing and creating. Instagrams main features include photo sharing, video sharing, live video, stories features, push notifications for your favorite accounts, your favorite filters, geo-tagged content, manage multiple accounts, activity status tracker, hyperlink username and hashtags in your bio, and most recently IGTV.
Developing the Case Study
I mainly used my weekly blog posts as an outlet to explain and think out loud everything I was working on and learning in class. Most of my blog post center around specific things I learned in class and from guest speakers. All the information compiled together helped me achieve a successful case study on Instagram. The main challenge I faced with the case study was obtaining information on records of demographics, finances, and statistics of Instagram. Since Instagram is owned by Facebook, all records are tied to Facebook’s records and are not easily distinguished. It was most difficult to figure out the financial statistics of Instagram. Professor Schmitz Weiss gave us suggestions on where to find these stats like Pew Research Center which helped me get the information I needed. The main opportunity I faced when working on this case study was compiling a lot of information into one cohesive case study. I worked on a similar project in another class but the project involved a group of 12 people all working together. At times it was hard to have so much information, and I did not want any details to get lost. This project really helped me stay organized. This will help me in the future when I have to do a project in my professional career.
Entrepreneurial Mindset
How this experience has helped you have a better understanding of the entrepreneurial mindset and its role in the media industry
The experience of being in this class taught me a great deal of what having an entrepreneurial mindset looks like. The number one thing I learned throughout the readings and all the guest speakers is that you will not be successful in starting a venture if you are not passionate about what you are doing. All source of success comes from passion. In my face-to-face interview with CEO and founder of inewsource, Lorie Hearn, Hearn told me about her trials and triumphs starting inewsource. Her number one quote that stuck out to me that whenever she was at the lowest points of her venture she never once thought of quitting as an option. She kept pushing forward and working with an entrepreneurial mindset which ultimately let inewsource to the success it has today. The media industry is always changing so entrepreneurs are always having to shift business models. An example of this is the wildly successful app Instagram. I studied Instagram all semester for my case study and the CEO’s never had a set business model because they are aware that media is always changing.
According to our class textbook, Business Model Generation, CEO, Tim O’Reilly, says “There’s not a single business model… There are really a lot of opportunities and a lot of options and we just have to discover all of them” (page 196). This also mimics the idea of the CEO’s of Instagram. I believe having a business model is necessary for a company that is starting up, but it is OK to change the model when needed. According to class lectures, we learned that the only way to make money is to have a business model.
Along with the same topic of creating business models that help elevate a company, it is also important for entrepreneurs to be creative and innovative. There are a lot of ways entrepreneurs need to be creative and innovative but one example from the Creative Confidence book stood out to me. When starting venture money is probably the hardest aspect to handle. According to the book, “Instead of letting a lack of resources hold you back, use these constraints to be creative and come up with solutions that require minimal time or money” (page 249). I think this is solid advice when it comes to struggling with money. It is important to come up with new innovative ways to be your company going, and sometimes the new way could end up being more beneficial.
Working on the entrepreneurial interview was by far one of the most highlighted moments I will take away with this class. As previously mentioned I had the pleasure of speaking to Lorie Hearn. Lorie is a strong and passionate entrepreneur in media and she has inspired me to keep pursuing my dreams no matter how many hurdles there are. She went through a lot of path changing problems that led inewsource to the success it is today. My challenging moments was retaining all the information she gave me. We talked about so much in the time of our interview that I feel like some of the information may have gotten lost in the overall review paper. Either way, I learned so much from her and I will take all the advice she has given me throughout my professional future. One major thing I will take away and use in my entrepreneurial mindset is always giving back. By this I mean if I find myself with success in my future career I will make sure to make time to speak to students and new entrepreneurs and give them all the advice I can. All the guest speakers had the same mindset that it is important to teach students and new entrepreneurs about everything they learned in their time of being an entrepreneur. That is something that is so important to me, and I hope I can do the same in the future.
Alexis Hopper 