Earlier tonight I made a run on my bike to Woodmans to get some last minute ingredients because we care about the consistency of our doughs. 

We then finished up our last batch and delivered it out to some customers. It is a good feeling to have successfully completed the operations focus of our business, our wrap-up video is coming soon!

On behalf of Madison Underground Cookies, I want to give a huge thank you to all who bought our product, but more importantly each and every one of you were a part of the experience!

Cheers

Midway Planning Meeting

Last Sunday we discussed the logistics of size changes, new packaging, and exploring new channels of distribution. We have also created a new logo in-house after exploring some options for hiring a graphic designer.

AIESEC Promotion

Last Friday night we were able to secure a deal with AIESEC, allowing us to promote our product at their networking event. There were some amazing speakers, connections were made, and Madison Underground Cookie Dough was enjoyed. We also have made the decision to operate as a nonprofit, each of us signing a pledge to donate 100% of our profits to Operation Smile, an organization that fixes children's hare-lips in developing countries. This decision will not only help with promotion, but will also fuel our drive to make sales, knowing that we can make a difference in a child's life.

Trial Batch

It's been a while since we have updated the blog, so here's a little update. The trial run went well, we used that batch to conduct market research, and adjusted our recipe accordingly. Here's the survey we used, brief and to the point! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ZdSpvvrjqKAh_O0zfYNlsD-EYjqW9mxIDlhqRN_zHls/viewform?usp=send_form

Whipping up the batch

Maybe having just a little bit too much fun...

Resourcefulness is the key to college success

Our special creation, double chocolate hazelnut swirl, took some time to perfect

The initial packaging for the trial run

You know you want some!

Second team meeting the other night was successful, while we hit a few road blocks and had to adapt our strategy, all the pieces are finally starting to fall into place.

Trial batch starts tonight and we could not be more excited!

Team Charter

Charter

Goals

Our vision is to satisfy students’ after-class sweet-tooth with two mouthwatering offerings, promoted in an innovative fashion through social media while building our knowledge of hands-on management and logistical skills.

Members

Kritin Komolkiti, Team leader, Finance

Eleonora Shawaller, Operations

Austin Renfert, Marketing

Because of the size of our team, it has been decided that we will work best as a cross-functional team, with each member performing finance, operations, and marketing duties.

Meeting Structure

A meeting leader and note taker will be assigned for each meeting at the conclusion of the previous meeting. The meeting leader will keep time and prepare an agenda that will be approved by the other two team members prior to each meeting. The note taker will record the events of the meeting. We will begin the project with bi-weekly meetings, and adjust the frequency of our meetings as necessary. At the end of each meeting, we will have a conclusion, recapping the events of the meeting and reinforcing the responsibilities that each person will have to complete before the next meeting.

Communication Strategy

We have created a group on Facebook for communication where we can share and discuss ideas. We will use this for all group communication except when an immediate response is required, in which case we will call or text the necessary group members.

Decision Making

While Kritin has been assigned as our team leader for purposes of communication and ensuring the on-time completion of assignments, all members of our group have an equal say in the decision making process. If there is a dispute between team members, each side will be given an opportunity to present their argument and a rebuttal to the opposing argument. If one of the members is neutral, he or she will act as a moderator. After the discussion of arguments, a formal vote will be made, and the team will act on the decision with the most votes.

Finance/Equity

To cover fixed costs and a trial batch of products, each member of the team will invest $20. Subsequently, equity will be divided equally, with each member receiving a 33.33% stake in the company.