Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1. Human capital: having friends who are interesting in this product and would be willing to venture into the idea together. This is important because it allows me to have people to discuss ideas with.
Valuable: This is important because it will allow me a backbone in the business and help me feel more comfortable
Rare: not rare, everyone has people help them in businesses
Inimitable: this is able to be imitated but, not always efficiently
Non-substitutable: you can't substitute people you trust

2. Social Capital: UF journalism school can possibly help spread the word about my product since I am involved in journalism organizations.
Valuable: The journalism school is one of the best in the country and they have a lot of connections for publicity.
Rare: This is rare because not every school or person has journalism connections
Inimitable: This can't be imitated because journalism is hard to get into
Non-substitutable: This can be substituted, but it would be difficult

3. The uniqueness of venture: there aren't many faux leather products on the market currently, which gives me an edge up and the opportunity to run this specific market.
Valuable: This is very valuable because if my product was the same as others, it wouldn't sell
Rare: This is rare because of how saturated many markets are currently
Inimitable: This can't be imitated, either your product exists of it doesn't
Non-substitutable: Can be substituted if someone makes something better

4. Support by public and organizations: since so many people are currently interested in environmental sustainability, there would be a lot of public support.
Valuable: This is valuable because it spreads the word about the product
Rare: This isn't really rare, everywhere has oragnizations
Inimitable: This can be imitated
Non-substitutable: Can be substituted with other public relationships

5. Publicity: veganism and sustainability are both buzz words in society right now. By creating a product that includes these issues, will bring about a lot of publicity
Valuable: This is valuable because it peaks public interest
Rare: This is rare because not everything is a buzz word
Inimitable: This can't be imitated because it's a societal decision
Non-substitutable: This can't really be substituted

6. Sales experience: I have experience in retail and commission sales, which would help me in understanding the world of product sales and customer interests.
Valuable: This is valuable because I have some knowledge about how to talk with customers to get them to buy products
Rare: This isn't rare, a lot of people have worked in sales/retail
Inimitable: This can be imitated, you can have other experience dealing with customers
Non-substitutable: Can be substituted, I could have worked with people in a different way and have a similar experience.

7. Personal relationships with business owners: I have personal relationships with business owners in my family who could possibly help me on the business side of starting a company since I am not confident in that field.
Valuable: This is very valuable since I have the comfort of discussing business with family members who won't judge me and will give me honest feedback
Rare: This isn't rare, usually people have at least one family member with business experience
Inimitable: This can be imitated, pretty much everyone has a family.
Non-substitutable: This can't be substituted since it's a personal relationship

8. Social capital: UF environmental and vegan organizations: there are several organizations at UF that are passionate about veganism and environmental sustainability and would help me obtain contacts for other organizations and would be interested in the product themselves.
Valuable: This is very valuable because not everyone has connections within their school
Rare: This isn't very rare, there are organizations everywhere
Inimitable: Can't be easily imitated
Non-substitutable: Could be substituted for local clubs/organizations

9. Social capital: public speaking experience. Having experience speaking publically makes me more comfortable to discuss important issues in front of any audience, like when I would have to pitch my ideas to investors.
Valuable: This is very important because talking to people confidently is a huge way to sell your product
Rare: This isn't rare, but mastering the skill of public speaking is rare
Inimitable: This can be easily imitated with practice
Non-substitutable: This can't really be substituted unless I hire someone to talk for me

10. Social capital: contacts with boutiques who would be willing to see this product. I have worked with several boutiques in Fort Lauderdale and the South Florida area and have contacts whom I can talk to and discuss the possibility of selling faux leather.
Valuable: This is very valuable since I would get an insight into businesses who would possibly sell this product
Rare: Not very rare, most people have connections with potential buyers of a product
Inimitable: This can be imitated
Non-substitutable: This can be substituted for other businesses or potential clients

I would say the top resource would be the uniqueness of the venture and the fact that the current market for faux leather is not saturated by a ton of options and alternatives. There are a few options for it, but none that are controlling the field I would be interested in.