Dave Christian C.

Umeran

February 7, 2019

Reflection Paper

On the 30th of January 2019, we had the opportunity to listen on a plenary talk conducted by
Jaisen Co, a businessman/venture capitalist who have succeeded in many of his businesses. During his
talk, he shared his insight on the do’s and don’ts of running a business. What especially hit me during his
talk was that shiny objects (i.e. things which are at the surface can potentially lead to a lot of money)
may not always bear fruit. Initially, I thought that having a groundbreaking idea is a surefire way on
having a successful business. In Mr. Jaisen’s case, this shiny object was in the form of his venture into
radar technology. During the talk, he claimed that the radar technology his venture owned is one of the
most advanced systems in the world. That such a system has a multitude of applications that can lead to
millions if not billions of dollars’ worth of revenues and royalties. However, after several years of
attempting to sell the product, his venture bore no fruit. Despite sinking in a lot of money and hard work
in a project in which at the surface would hold water, he got nothing. Looking back at this anecdote, I
remembered a concept repeatedly emphasized by my marketing professor – the concept of product
myopia. Market myopia are situations where businesses focus too much on product as a tool for
marketing without taking other factors into account. I have read somewhere that product myopia is the
most common reason for the failure of many startups. Many companies focus too much on the creation
of a shiny new product without considering the fact that they have to sell said product to someone. As a
result, these companies would be forced to sit on their products for prolonged amounts of time
struggling on how they would sell them all. In view of this, us in SOMBA should be mindful of the fact
that we need to clearly define our target market. In our case, this target market belongs to students,
churchgoers and other health conscious individuals.

Aside from the lesson in product myopia, one of the major takeaways I had in Mr. Jaisen’s talk is
that it is also important to know what you want to do and to be. And according to him, this can be done
by finding your passion. This statement to me served as a confirmation as to what I want to do 5-6 years
from now – to become a public attorney. Initially, I was hesitant of pursuing such a career path due to
the difficulties associated with the job coupled with the low salary. However, I have found deep inside
me that it is my calling and want to represent and help those who are shoved into the sidelines, the
ones who cannot afford legal representation, and those who has lost faith in justice.