Final Reflection

While the image posted above may make it seem like I had a horrible time in this class, in reality I find it hard to say that I enjoyed another class at UF more than this one! 

One of my most memorable experiences was definitely the assignment in which I had to try go "sell a dollar" to a stranger around campus. While I had spoken with strangers for some of the previous "Interviewing customers" assignment, I always felt like those interactions went by very smoothly. I knew what I had to say and why I wanted to say it. By contrast, selling a dollar (getting someone else to take a dollar, no strings attached) is much harder and requires some more imagination.

I would rank the series of elevator pitches that had to be completed for this class as some of the most useful experiences overall. It's hard to summarize a business idea in a minute and it's even harder to make a convincing presentation to obtain funding. 

I don't currently see myself as an entrepreneur simply because I haven't created an actual business yet. I would say that I've acquired an entrepreneurial mindset however and that I have a much better idea of how to take advantage of an opportunity for a business in the future. 

The one recommendation that I would make for future students would be to put some practice behind the theory of this class. It's all good and well to create practice business concepts and proposals, but they will never replace the experience that actually starting a business provides. While I haven't done this myself (yet) I do know that it's a necessary step if I'm ever going to consider myself to be an entrepreneur.

Week 15 Reading Reflection

After completing the final reading assignment of the semester, I was most surprised by the profitability of Vikram Akula's company. Before reading the journal article, I found it hard to believe that a business could profit from extremely small loans made to the poor. What Vikram has accomplished is truly astounding and a testament to the untapped markets that still exist in modern society.

I was most confused by the way in which the author introduced his business idea and model at the beginning of the article. While he mentioned the problems SKS Microfinance experienced in Nizamabad, he failed to clearly explain what was done to resolve the problem there. Could nothing truly be done with the exception of leaving the town?

If I had the opportunity to ask the author two questions I would first ask if SKS Microfinance has ventured to conduct business in other countries with poverty levels similar to those in India? Intuition tells me that there are definitely other countries in which this business model would also be profitable, but there must be a  reason the company hasn't entered new territory as of yet. I would also ask what the exact job specifications of the loan officers are. I understand that they make sure that customers are on track in re-paying their loans, but how are they able to enforce this without acting as a loan shark?

Given that I have very little experience with the field of Microfinance I would not say that the author was wrong about anything.

Elevator Pitch No. 4

Pitch:

Feedback and Changes:

The feedback that I received from my last elevator pitch was all positive, indicating that most people really liked my pitch! I would appreciate some constructive criticism so that I can improve however, so feel free to speak your mind in the comments.

Since the feedback from the last elevator pitch was all positive, I didn't change much in order to address people's concerns. I did however add some more context to the pitch, adding in that OddJob would be more focused on college students and how it would work in a localized way.

Google Gold

1.) Unfortunately I have not focused most on my blog on being search engine optimized. While I could have done a better job of utilizing labels in each of my posts, I think it would have helped the most if I named my blog after my product or included the product name in the URL. I did make sure to post a link to my blog in every student's blog that I commented on, but those links are read as text by Blogger, which would not really help in having the search engine give more relevancy to my blog.

2.) The only keywords that were used throughout this course were the week name labels. This blog post has one for example, Week 14.

3.) I did not use social media to any extent in promoting my blog. In the case of this specific blog, along with the posts that it has created, I'm not sure a significant increase in the site traffic would have been achieved. Most social media users click on blog post links that relate to a topic of interest and have the potential to teach them something new. Most of the posts on this blog have been analytic in nature, although I think some people would be interested in those posts with videos.

4.) The "My Entrepreneurship Story" and "What I Think are the World's Biggest Problems" blog posts obtained the highest number of page views. I think this is because of the recent creation of the blog at the time those posts were created. At that moment in time I was sharing the URL to my blog with friends and family members and while they may have looked at the blog post, they most likely didn't continue to visit the site for subsequent posts.

5.) Since I did not have any pre-defined keywords at the start of the semester, I have done some searches with the keywords I believe I would have used. Note that each page of search results in google shows 10 results.

Keywords - rank - page

uf odd job blog - 10th - 1st page

ent 3003 odd job blog - 1st - 1st page 

uf odd job app blog - 6th - 1st page

While these results are all on the first page of Google, they are due to very specific searches. Had I searched "uf odd job" I would have had a very hard time finding the results since my blog is not optimized for general keywords.

 

Week 14 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise for me, in this week's reading, was how extensive and far reaching corporate entrepreneurship can be. Previously I only considered corporate entrepreneurship to include the acquisition of other business in similar or different markets. I've now come to realize that internal development and production is a large part of corporate entrepreneurship and that by fostering an open and creative environment, any employee can bring an entrepreneurial idea to fruition.

After reading Chapters 3 and 4 of our textbook, I was most confused by one of the types f morally questionable acts detailed in Chapter 4. Here the author details Role assertion as a type of morally questionable act but does not give clear examples. How does "investing in South Africa" or "using nuclear technology in energy generation" represent morally questionable acts? Perhaps these examples refer to the South Africa of the past, when apartheid was present, but overall the examples don't seem to be very good.

If I had the opportunity to ask the author two questions, I would first ask if there are any business development workflows that allow entrepreneurial ideas to become most apparent. The company where I currently work employs a system of software development called the Agile/Scrum method in which departments are broken down into small groups of 4-7 individuals. Each group decides which tasks are of most importance and work together to deliver on business commitments after a set amount of time. Are there other models such as this one that can help in creating new concepts? I would then ask if there is a most efficient manner of allotting time for employees to work on innovation projects during the workday. Many companies are more focused on keeping employees busy during their hours of work but don't consider the benefits that a set amount of "innovation time" could provide.

I did not find the author to be incorrect with any of the points made. Overall, I found no problem with the concepts and ideas brought up in the reading.

Celebrating Failure

While the instructions for this assignment indicate that a failure from this past semester (Spring 2016) should be used, I will instead be using a failure from last semester (Fall 2015). Doing so will enable me to fully detail a failure from which I learned and have reflected upon quite a bit.

Fall 2015 was a hard semester for me, quite possibly the hardest semester I have experienced as a sophomore at UF. I was taking several challenging classes including ACG 2021 (Introduction to Financial Accounting), CDA 3101 (Introduction to Computer Organization), and finally COP 3530 (Data Structures and Algorithms) during Fall 2015. While I knew from the beginning of last semester that I would have to put a lot of work into my classes to succeed, I underestimated the amount of work that was truly required. By the end of the semester I ended up getting a B in CDA 3101, a B- in COP 3530, and a C+ in ACG 2021. While some would not consider these grades to be a true failure, seeing as ACG 2021 is touted for it's difficulty as an undergraduate course and COP 3530 is a prerequisite for nearly every class in the Computer Science Engineering major, I hold myself to a high standard. For me, Fall 2015 constituted a semester in which I failed.

As a result of my failure, I learned various lessons. More than once I left assignment for the last minute in COP 3530, a class in which the assignments were non-trivial in scope. As I worked to complete assignments that I procrastinated on, I forgot to complete assignment for other classes, such as a quiz in ACG 2021. I no longer procrastinate on assignments, especially those assignments that stand to teach me the most (with regards to my field) and which I know will be involved beforehand. Furthermore, I've learned to keep on working and pushing forward, even when the going gets tough. Had I studied longer and worked more towards practicing the concepts covered in tests for ACG 2021, I could have gotten a B or a B+ instead of a C+, which would have been much better. Now, even though I work a part-time job (19-23 hours a week), I continue to work and put in the extra degree of effort in my assignments because I know the rewards speak for themselves.

I have found that while I initially handle failure emotionally (I think that to a certain extent, we all handle failure this way) I eventually handle the bulk of the failure in a behavioral manner, finding ways to better myself and change my habits in order to succeed in the future. I personally believe that this is the best method of dealing with failure. There's no use in thinking in terms of "could have" and "should have" when the past cannot be changed. As a result, I see failure as an opportunity to grow and advance as an individual. While this class has not significantly changed my views on risk-taking, I find that I am more likely to take a risk in which the main consequence is "failure" simply because I know that failure can push one to succeed and achieve more than previously thought. I think the image below illustrates this point well. Don't see failure as an absolute end. Instead see it as an opportunity to work harder and reach goals that seemed too far to reach before.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

After completing this week's reading, I was most surprised by the amount of steps that must be taken in order to both value a venture and for an existing company to buy another company. Before reading Chapter 14 of our textbook I knew that these processes are by no means simple. However, Table 14.1 and Table 14.2 (Due Diligence Evaluation and Checklist for Analyzing a Business) both clarified the exact points that must be addressed when properly valuing a business.

I was most confused by the process to apply the price/earnings ratio to privately held corporations. While the math makes sense to me, I'm not sure where exactly the capitalization rate comes from. Some more explanation for this quantity would have been helpful in understanding the conversion method.

Given the opportunity to ask two questions I would ask how big the difference between start-up costs and the costs of purchasing an existing business is when creating a final valuation price and how important it is that every item on the Due Diligence checklist be completed. The first question arises from the section at the end of the chapter, which states that while existing companies will be more expensive to acquire than start-ups, the overall cost is cheaper when considering the costs a start-up must incur to obtain a clientele and start making money. The second question comes from the fact that the evaluation checklist is quite long, spanning the length of almost two pages.

Overall I think that the author's points are very sound and do not contain any errors.

My Exit Strategy

After having successfully grown OddJob into a viable business I plan on greatly minimizing my involvement with the venture. I would make sure the structure of the business is such that it would be able to grow and survive with a different team in charge of it's operations.

I have selected this particular exit strategy because I know that after growing a business I will want to  move onto another opportunity. While I'm not opposed to continually supporting OddJob and other older business ventures, I think there are always greater opportunities for advancement.

I don't think my particular exit strategy has influenced my other decisions in building the concept of OddJob. My exit strategy only applies once the business venture has grown a sufficient amount and does not depend on the amount of time that has passed. Assuming that OddJob is still a viable business after 5, 7, or 10 years, I would only leave once I felt the business is in a stable enough position.

Week 12 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise for me in this week's reading was how much of a challenge it is for entrepreneurs to make a change into a managerial mindset.

I was most confused by the difficulty in which entrepreneurs have in delegating work to other individuals in the company. I can understand that many entrepreneurs are perfectionist that take pride in their work but it seems to me that when needed most people can effectively delegate.

Given the opportunity to ask two questions to the author, I would ask when is it appropriate to increase company-community involvement and what are easy steps that emerging ventures can take to reach out to global markets. In my mind global business has only been available to larger corporations. I would be interested to see what suggestions the author has for these questions.

I do not think the author was wrong about any of the points made in this chapter.

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity:

Recent years have seen the rise of platforms dedicated to selling personal items or services. Craigslist is one of these platforms, allowing any person to make a post in their area of residence in with the intent of selling an item, finding someone to complete a job for them, or even offer their services with a related task. Specific applications, such as the sale of used items, have resulted in the widespread use of Facebook pages as a means of connecting a vendor with a seller. These platforms are both inefficient and hard to maintain as there is lack of built-int organization and accountability.

Users of the previously mentioned platforms are mainly young, with many users being college students. With respect to Facebook, the beginning of every semester provides a large increase in the posts created on “used & for sale” pages as college students try to gather school supplies in an affordable manner. Craigslist and other potentially anonymous boards, such as Yik Yak, are often used by college students to find other individuals willing to help with specific tasks such as painting a wall, moving furniture, putting up a painting, and other tasks.

This opportunity is available due to the fact that existing resale and small job platforms are specific in their scope. While there exist online services to buy and sell used textbook, most students must rely on word of mouth or Facebook pages in order to sell used items. The same can be said of job posting platforms, many of which have little credibility and lack friendly user interfaces. While Craigslist offers a site for users to post jobs they need help with, most of the site’s users are not college students and the site itself has no real way of ensuring it’s users have good intentions at heart. In other words, a level of personal safety is not guaranteed.

The “window of opportunity” for this opportunity is estimated to last for at least two school years, or 6 semesters. A small number of platforms have risen to meet the needs of college students and while most students continue to use traditional platforms (Facebook, Craigslist, job posting boards, etc.) the number of apps in the market are sure to rise. 

Innovation:

The opportunity described above exists because existing connection platforms fail to be inclusive enough in their scope of application. In other cases, new uses for pre-existing social media sites are developed as students with limited time create pages other users can use for free. 

To address these issues, a platform must be created that can not only be applied to a variety of use cases, but also appeals to the average college student. Such an application would focus on reliably connecting students with compatible needs through listings sorted by categories, geographical areas, prices, and other fields. In addition, all payment and contact would be done through the app itself, ensuring financial and personal security. Users would be forced to create accounts on the app in order to make proper use of the platform and as such would have any of their actions directly attributed to their account. 

In this case there is no physical product or service that is being sold to create revenue. Instead the platform itself would be the revenue-creating product. At first users would be able to use the proposed platform for free, with the only money being spent or earned coming from the users themselves. As the user base increases and more students use the platform to sell items or get help with specific tasks, a percentage based fee would be implemented into the system. For instance, if John, a UF student, is looking to sell a piece of furniture for $20 and Liz, another student, agrees to buy this furniture for the listed price, the business would receive $1 and John would receive $19. 

Venture Concept:

I propose a phone/web app called OddJob. This app would provide all the innovation that a student-services connection platform offers while making the process convenient and safe through the phone app’s design. 

Customers will want to use OddJob and stop using existing service platforms due to its ease of use, guarantee of financial safety, and social appeal. Customers will be able to create their account on OddJob through Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms, making the registration process as simple as possible. The use of third-party payment services, such as Stripe, will also allow payments made through OddJob to be as secure as possible, with payments not reaching their destination until 2 to 3 business days after in order to guarantee payment intent. Other platforms such as Craigslist and Facebook simply allow users to easily communicate with each other. OddJob instead focuses on the communication aspect of the connection process, alongside the payment process and platform appeal. As such, most users will find OddJob to be a more convenient alternative and will have no problem switching over.

Some users will be wary of the idea of meeting other individuals in person without having a real-life connection beforehand. This is a problem inherent in current sale and services platforms, meaning that most users will have no problem continuing to meet with strangers. However, safety will be throughly reinforced as users will have to will have to enter their personal information to make an account in the app and safety information will be provided throughout the app and supporting website.

As previously mentioned, there currently exists only one competitor at the University of Florida for this market. The start-up, called Qwerk, also focuses on students and enables users to provide services for stated rates as well as list items for sale. Qwerk is currently only available as an iPhone app, meaning that Android and users without smartphones will not be able to use the platform in its current state. The start-up is also relatively new, having only released their app and made press coverage in February of this year. As such they will have the benefit of being the first business to tap into this market but will not have this benefit for long as OddJob’s development begins. 

At first the business behind OddJob would be supported by myself and my business partner who has a background in Finance. As development continues and a more accurate business plan is created, other developers would join the business in an effort to streamline the development process. While I have experience with creating web apps, I would need help in creating a proper user experience as well with creating a native iOS or Android app later in time. 

Additional Thoughts:

My most important resource in the creation of this business venture will be my experience as a Computer Scientists and programmer. Having obtained programming experience from classes and personal projects, I will not have to fully rely on someone else to create OddJob for me. 

Assuming OddJob is widely adopted and becomes a success, in five-years I see myself continuing development with the phone app. While OddJob would first become available for students at UF, other colleges in the United States also provide a user base that could be tapped into. As an entrepreneur, by dream is to create a well-designed product that will enable me to work on my own terms and focus on the areas of app development that I find most interesting.

Amazon Whisperer

Revenue Drivers:
 A short summary of my business idea for those of you who have not read my blog before:

• Name: OddJob
• Platform: iPhone/Android/WebApp 
• Focus: Craigslist like platform that allows college students with a task at hand to find other college students that are willing to help or complete said task in return for an agreed form of payment
• Target Audience: Colleges (college students), followed by single lifestyle individuals in cities/urban areas

At first OddJob would be free and would not make any profit.By making the platform free I have the opportunity to get more college students to use the app and raise awareness about the service. After some time however, the app would bring in revenue through a variety of ways. These include sponsored jobs, ads, and most importantly, a percentage based fee for using the app. This last revenue driver is the most important as it does not incur any extra cost to users that have a task for which they need help with. Task-providers are already willing to pay money for help, OddJob would simply take a small percentage of the reward amount before passing along the rest to the task-fulfiller (a.k.a the person who fulfilled/helped complete the advertised task)

Next Steps:

After using the app for some time, I predict most users will want an easy way to make their jobs receive more publicity. This feature would enable users to boost their job to the top of the "job offers board" through a small payment or through a token system that rewards users for using the app in return for an "in-app" credit. By allowing users to boost their job-listings without necessarily having to pay, customer-loyalty will be fostered and some users will be incentivized to use the app more often.

This is of course just one potential way to develop the app further. If you have any ideas please feel free to describe below in the comments.

Amazon Product:

 Seeing as OddJob is a software-based venture it was hard for me to find physical products on Amazon that relate to the business idea well. As such I decided to instead focus on Amazon's Kindle App store and find app's that are similar to OddJob.

Job Search: http://www.amazon.com/Indeed-com-Job-Search/dp/B004JP482I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459124172&sr=8-1&keywords=job+search+app

 Daily for Craigslist: http://www.amazon.com/Lifelike-Apps-Inc-Daily-Craigslist/dp/B00FEMFDWE/ref=sr_1_5?s=mobile-apps&ie=UTF8&qid=1459123934&sr=1-5&keywords=job+search+app


 Customer reviews for these apps indicate that the app is really just one of several ways to access the services the creators of the apps provide. As such "Job Search" is really just a way to use and upload user information related to Indeed.com, the creators of the app. Reviews indicate that some users have had great successes in finding interviews through the app although the majority of users seem to be hourly-waged positions for teenagers, etc.

Given the opportunity to change these apps, I would focus on the "Daily for Craigslist" app. Customer reviews show that the app is not the most stable and sometimes crashes. Some users would also like different search fields for finding posts on Craigslist, such as "miles from current zip code" or "show nearby areas". Adding these features would be a priority for me.

Overall I think that Amazon may not be a good fit for my product and as such in real life I would focus on using the Apple AppStore or the Google PlayStore to find other apps similar to OddJob.

Week 11 Reading Reflection

Personally, the biggest surprise from this week's reading  was variety of innovation types that were presented. Previously I simply thought of innovation as a buzz word used by companies when creating a new product or business strategy. I now realize that innovation takes many different forms, some of which I had not considered to be types of innovation until now.

One part of the reading that was confusing to me was how the author narrows down the areas in which innovation can create value but then states that innovation can create value in many different ways. I'm not sure if he is referring to many innovation types within their respective broader categories or to something else.

Given the opportunity to ask two questions to the author I would ask at what stage in a companies development should it start focusing on routine innovation and what other companies have implemented architectural innovation. During the course of the reading, routine innovation was really only referenced with respect to very large and well known companies. Is routine innovation just as effective in a small, but dedicated market serviced by smaller companies? With regards to architectural innovation, I simply had a hard time thinking of other companies that have had to implement this kind of innovation to continue operating in a profitable and sustainable manner.

Overall I do not think there was anything the author was wrong about. I did find it interesting how most of the companies he referenced as examples were also companies that he had consulted for.

My Unfair Advantage

Resources:

1. Computer Science background and programming knowledge
•  This resource is extremely valuable, especially in the context of a business venture that is based around a software application. Computer Science is a field that is in high demand by other fields. While there are many programmers and Computer Scientists out there, they are more uncommon than most people think. This also ties in to how non-substitutable this resource is. If I did not have any development and programming knowledge, I would have to hire a programmer to bring my ideas to fruition. This would bring additional costs to the venture since speaking from experience, most programmers don't work for free.
2. Accumulated savings
•  While this resource is very valuable with respect to obtaining capital to fund a new venture, it's really not very unique or rare. Many individuals have savings (maybe not college students specifically but I'm considering the population as a whole here) and I would not want to necessarily take on all the risk of a venture by funding it myself. This resource is highly substitutable. Banks exist for this very reason.
3. Multiple sources of income
•  Once again, in terms of the financial health of a new venture, this resource is very valuable. Multiple sources of income mean that I can stop receiving income from one source and be fine in the long run. Realistically speaking however, loans and investors would most likely be the best option for funding a venture (for the most part).
4. Bilingual (can speak Spanish fluently)
•  Having the ability to speak more than one language is extremely valuable, no matter what the languages are. In the case of being able to speak both English and Spanish, I have the opportunity to very easily make my venture accessible to the Hispanic market. While this is not an extremely rare resource (especially in Latin-American countries), most individuals in the United States are not fluent in Spanish.
5. Professional Network
•  This is a resource that is important in terms of social capital and how easy it would be to receive outside help when needed. I have had the opportunity to work at several different companies which corresponds to having met a large amount of professionals. While this may not be an extremely rare resource (everyone has a social network after all) it is certainly hard to replace.
6. New Car (2016 Kia Forte)
•  Recently I had to purchase a new car in order to replace my previous vehicle. While this resource may seem strange at first, I include it in this list because it signifies a reliable form of transportation. Many people take cars for granted and fail to realize how many opportunities would be missed without a reliable and consistent form of transportation. This resource is very inimitable and not that rare, but it still constitutes an asset that can only help in a new venture.
7. Willingness to dedicate time outside of the normal work week
•  While I find that many people claim to follow this mindset and consequently label it a resource, most of those people don't actually follow up with their claim. I work 23 hours a week while being a full time student, which only makes me available either right after work or during the weekend. Anyone can obtain this resource and work hard when others aren't willing to but it takes a large amount of perseverance to work at this.
8. A drive to succeed and persevere at a large opportunity cost
•  This resource is very similar to resource (7) with the exception that it pertains more to the opportunity cost of working hard. Persevering and working that "extra amount" to succeed really comes down to staying focused on the task at hand, even when there are other more desirable things to do. Once again, while anyone has the ability to copy this resource, most people will have to condition themselves to working hard when needed to benefit from their work later on.
9. Computer game knowledge
•  Some people may consider this resource to be extraneous and irrelevant, but together with resource (1) this resource represents a significant amount of value. Most ventures that I foresee myself involved in are related to technology and the culture that is inherently a part of technology. This resource is neither rare, hard to copy (all you have to do is play games for a long time), but it does give a slight advantage when developing a business centered around a software product.
10. Ability to easily move to location of greatest opportunity
• This resource is slightly different from the resource described in bullet point (6). Here I am describing the fact that as a young college student, I don't have any extremely strong ties to where I am located. If a new venture required me to move from one end of the country to the other, it would be a change that I would definitely consider. This resource is directly related to how many familial responsibilities an individual possesses and the fact is that the older a person gets the less likely they will be to have access to this resource. It's always possible to create opportunities but very little can replace the flexibility of being able to move when needed. 

Top Resource:
 My top resource is definitely resource (1). In my opinion, a Computer Science background coupled with programming knowledge is exceedingly useful in today's economy. Most venture's that I set out to start will be based around software, and the ability to create the product myself is, in my opinion, indispensable.
 

Week 10 Reading Reflection

After completing this week's reading I was most surprised different ways in which a "break-even" analysis can be used. From being to see how much of a product must be sold to return a profit to aiding in the decision making process for questionable costs, the contribution margin approach formula is definitely useful.

One part of the reading that was confusing to me was how the internal rate of return method can be used for capital budgeting. While the payback method seems intuitive to me and I have learned about net present value in my accounting class, I'm simply not familiar with the internal rate of return.

Given the opportunity to ask two questions to the author I would ask the following:
1.) In what scenarios is it most appropriate to allow customers to purchase a product on account?
2.) What other statistical techniques can be used to prepare a sales forecast?

While I understand that allowing customers to sometimes buy products on account can increase sales, the risk associated with such an endeavor seems too high to me. At what point is a customer important enough that they are allowed to purchase on account?

I do not think there was anything incorrect in this chapter. Most of the concept discussed were taught during Introduction to Accounting and as such, I was already familiar with them.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

Pitch:

Feedback Reflection and Changes:

Since I've kept my business opportunity the same throughout the entirety of this course, I've had the opportunity to receive a large amount of feedback already. One of the pieces of feedback that I receive several times before, including the last time I did an elevator pitch, concerns the security of the app. Many potential users are worried that the users they end up interacting with as a result of the app may not be trustworthy or safe. This time around I tried to change my elevator pitch to contain a small section that addresses those concerns. I think that if the safety concern is addressed early on, users will be more likely to adopt the app in earlier stages of its development.

As always, thanks for reading and please leave some honest feedback below.

Week 9 Reading Reflection

I was most surprised by the different pricing strategies mentioned towards the end of this weeks reading. While I've always known that competitive pricing is important to stay relevant in some markets, I was not aware of the large number of developed strategies available. Some of these strategies, such as "skimming" seem counter intuitive to me but make sense after some thought. Early adopters are more willing to pay more money for early access to a product and as such can provide more capital for new businesses.

I was most confused by the web design tips as seen in Table 10.3. The first tip on this table states that in order to provide a description of the firm one should avoid scrolling. While I understand that it's important to display the most important information first on a website, most consumers have no problem scrolling to see what other information is available. I would argue that having a clearly visible "About" section would perhaps be a better tip as this is where most users will head to to find out more information about a firm.  

Given the opportunity to ask two questions to the author I would ask what the cheapest form of marketing would be and which marketing strategy is primarily used for immaterial products, such as businesses based upon a software product. One of the tables in the chapter (Table 10.2) laid out the different aspects of traditional marketing strategies, such as direct mailing, telephone, and mall intercept. I would be interested in finding out which method provides the most reliable feedback and the lowest cost. Most of my business ideas and opportunities are related in one way or another to technology. Therefore, I would be interested in learning if the author has any information about marketing specific to the tech-field.

I did not directly disagree with any of the points made by the author, but I do think more relevant and up-to-date information could be presented in the "Internet Marketing" section of this chapter. The Internet is very susceptible to change and is constantly changing in regard as to what consumers are attracted to. In the past companies have relied on pop-ups and other forms of Internet ads that created such an unpleasant browsing experience that individuals went out and created ad-blocker tools to stop these ads from appearing. The Internet is undeniably a wonderful medium for marketing a product or business, but such marketing plans should be well thought out. Inexperience with marketing over the Internet can often times cause more harm than good if performed incorrectly.

Idea Napkin No. 2

1.) You:  As I stated in my previous Idea Napkin, I am very willing to put in the extra work in order to succeed with my own venture. I find that I am more productive when working on my own and with my knowledge of Computer Science I have the advantage of making many of my personal projects a reality. If I were to start OddJob, the business would take up most, if not all, of my free time. I also have no problem speaking with members of my "target audience" and would be willing to try different approaches to spreading the word about my business.

2.) What are you offering to customers?:  With OddJob I am offering an easy way for individuals with some extra cash to get troublesome day-to-day tasks finished. As I stated in my previous blog post, this app would function similarly to Craigslist, but it would be focused on reaching individuals via their smart phones. Feedback from my last Idea Napkin indicated that there were concerns as to how to ensure the "hired" individual fully completes their task as well as how to perform security screenings on users of the app. The first point could be dealt with by making it so that individuals only received payment after completing the tasks. The "reporter" (person asking for the task to be done) would have to upload their payment to the app before accepting help, but this money would not be deducted from their account until their task has been fully completed. Security is a harder problem to deal with. The easiest solutions include having users take a picture of the ID and upload it to the app, after which they can begin using the app. OddJob would also display helpful tips, such as encouraging first contact with individuals outside of personal residences. The idea is that individuals will be much less likely to commit a crime or scam the system when forced to upload their ID and credit card information (in order to pay or get paid).

3.) Who are you offering it to?: College students would be the primary target audience for OddJob, at least at first. College students are more willing to out new technologies and often find themselves inexperienced with simple, but uncommon problems. At first OddJob would offered to UF students solely, but over time other colleges would also be eligible for OddJob.

4.) Why do they care?: College students would care about a product like OddJob because they are normally young, inexperienced individuals that don't necessarily have the knowledge or man power to complete day-to-day tasks. College students moving out without the help of friends or family members can struggle moving furniture. What about a student looking to put some art up on their wall but don't want to damage their wall? Name the task and there is surely someone out there who has struggled with completing it by themselves.

5.) What are your core competencies?: A.k.a what makes my idea different? College students are likelier to trust other students than they are to trust other strangers. While Craigslist is well known, it misses out on a younger market that is more and more likely to use technology their friends use. Additionally, the need for a smartphone to use OddJob can facilitate security checks and can lead to a safer experience for all individuals involved.

Feedback Memo:  After receiving feedback from my last Idea Napkin I was able to take away five main points from what I read.

1. Personal security is a concern - Students are worried about dealing with strangers and want to ensure there is some degree of safety associated with using OddJob
2. Payment guarantees need to be made - Without being guaranteed the monetary payment associated with completing a task, students will be unlikely to use OddJob
3. Completion of work must occur before payment - Similar to insight (2), students won't use OddJob if there is a concern of paying a stranger for work done incompletely or incorrectly.
4. Students like the idea so far! - Feedback I received indicated that at least those individuals that read my blog post would be willing to give the app a try.
5. A market exists with students that have not heard of OddJob's competition as of yet - While there are other apps out there that provide a similar service as OddJob, not all students are aware of their existence. 

I tried to incorporate the feedback I received from the last blog post by changing the second section of the Idea Napkin. Giving some possible solutions for maintaining OddJob safe and reliable definitely strengthens the idea of the app overall. I also came to realize that even though OddJob may have competition, there is still plenty of room to grow. Additionally, as I learned from one of our recent weekly readings, competition in a market can indicate that an idea has the potential to succeed with the knowledge that a market exists to begin with.

Week 8 Reading Reflection

For me, the biggest surprise from the reading was that there is such a thing as an "Angel Investor". While I was previously aware of different kinds of wealthy individuals who focus on investing in small, start-up businesses, the fact that there is a specific term for them was quite interesting to me. I was also surprised by the speed with which venture capitalists were able to reach a "no/no go" decision with respect to their evaluations of investment opportunities. 6 minutes for an initial screening is quite fast in my opinion.

I was most confused by the fact that most venture capitalist firms tend to invest in mature, established businesses, as opposed growing start-ups. I believe this confusion stems from the portrayal of venture capitalists in the media and on TV. If you've every seen HBO's Silicon Valley you'll know what I'm referring to.

Given the opportunity to ask two questions, I would ask what is the best way to find angel investors and what private placements, which are regulated by Regulation D of the SEC, specifically refer to. The first question stems from the quote in the reading by William E. Wetzel, Jr. which claims that often times angel investors can be found "within 50 miles or within a day's drive at most". While small businesses are almost certainly headed by entrepreneurs, angel investors are probably not in small business environments. I would ask the second question simply because I did not fully understand what a private placement is.


I did not find any aspect of the reading where I believed the author was wrong.

Half-Way Reflection

Developed Behaviors:
As we approach the half-way point of the semester I feel it's important to reflect on the behaviors that have allowed me to succeed thus far. The number one behavior that I have used to keep up with the course is keeping myself organized. Every person has their own way of being organized. My take on this method is to keep a daily "planner" or list in my computer and phone with what I need to do. Below I've included a screenshot of this planner but this is during a time where I'm quite caught up on my work and am actually working ahead. Believe me, there have been times where this list has been much larger and I've had to list out several assignment next to one class.

I've also developed myself throughout the course of these two months enough that I no longer really find it hard to speak with a stranger. Many of the assignments in this course required that I go out and speak with strangers, a task that I have struggled with in the past. Communication skills are extremely important and while I considered myself quite personable before taking this class, I have definitely grown in my ability to approach strangers and hold a conversation.

Hard Times (How to keep the momentum going!):

The "hardest time" that I have experienced so far in the semester was definitely when I had several large deadlines due during the same week. These deadlines included a Physics 2 test (those are hard by the way), a 1000+ word report, customer interviews, and group work for a software development project. When there is pressure from so many different assignments it can be very easy to give up and under-perform in one class to make up for it. I was able to pull through by staying committed and working long hours several days in a row. Keeping a goal in mind is especially important when trying to stay focused with a lot of work. For me that goal is to personally develop myself as much as possible, all while keeping my grades up. That sounds like tenacity to me.


Tips:

1. Stay organized. There is no one "right" way to do this, but whatever way you choose to stay organized make sure it works for you.
2. Make realistic and achievable goals. While it's not realistic to say you'll be ahead by 3 assignments in every class by the end of the week, it is realistic to say you'll be ahead by a few assignments in one class. Completing goals is just as important as setting them to begin with.
3. Go above and beyond requirements. While it's not realistic to dedicate a large amount to every assignment, you'll get the most out of this class if you take every assignment seriously. Sure you can choose to do the bare minimum for every assignment, but you'll have to ask yourself if you're really developing any useful skills for the real world (where you'll be all on your own).

Week 7 Reading Reflection

After completing this week's reading from the Harvard Business Review I was most surprised by how much importance companies placed on an individual's identity and what products conformed to that identity instead of what decisions consumers made when spending their money. As detailed by the reading, consumer behavior is much more important than consumer identity. However I was not aware that companies used the latter metric so heavily during the last four decades.

I was most confused by the portion of the reading that focused on creating segmentations that conformed to what senior managers thought. While I understand that early statistical research conducted by private companies focused too much on consumer identity, I was unsure as to how that related to the marketing manager's reluctance to accept such data.

Given the opportunity to ask two questions to the author I would ask if the appropriate approach has been taken by modern companies in identifying consumer identity and how companies go about obtaining the statistical data they use to make informed marketing decisions.

I found the author's input was quite good and well supported by a variety of real-life scenarios. Overall a great article.

Free Money

Strategy:

Where to go?: The best way to find people to approach was definitely a very busy and public place. I choose the area near Turlington and Marston to give away my dollar bills.

Kinds of people to approach?: I decided to focus on people that were looking down and that were busy as this would provide the best experience in catching someone's attention. I also found it easier to speak with individuals that while walking, didn't seem to be in much of a rush so as to make it easier to hold a conversation.

Conversation Starter/Plan?: My initial plan was to try to incentivize people to provide feedback on the business idea stated in my other blog posts (OddJob - a CraigsList like phone app for College students) but due to reasons stated below (in the reflection) I decided to change my approach. My second idea was to give people the dollar bill under the context of a "social experiment" to see if they would pay the dollar bill forward to someone else. See my reflection for what I learned about each conversation idea.

Prediction: I predicted that out of 5 people only 1 or 2 people would actually take the dollar bill.

Encounters:

Note: Unfortunately the sound in my first video is not very good, but you should be able to hear me speak.

Reflection:

After completing this assignment I definitely gained some insight as to how to make it easier to sell a product or approach an individual with respect to a product. My first idea (getting people to provide feedback in return for a dollar) did not work well in reality. I think the main cause behind this was that people felt bad taking a dollar from someone trying to create a new business or further themselves. I then realized that it would be much easier to give someone a dollar (and have them keep it) if they felt good about taking the dollar. This proved to be true as I was able to convince 2 out of the 5 people to take the dollar under the context of them "helping" out by paying the dollar forward. If I could have given the dollar under the context of a non-for profit organization (imagine the non-for profit gives 2 dollar for every dollar I give) then it would have been even easier, in my opinion. I had predicted that it would be harder to give away a dollar and this proved to be true.

Feel free to leave feedback below!

Elevator Pitch No. 2

Overall I think that the feedback I received last time I did my elevator pitch was quite good. There was no feedback that I thought was wrong. I was however surprised that many people that left feedback thought I was relaxed throughout most of the pitch. I believe this applies to any presentation, but when you look back on yourself it's much easier to identify a specific moment during which you were nervous than it is for others to identify.

Based off the feedback from last time I tried to keep my hands at my sides and express myself as clearly as possible in order to make the pitch look natural.

Please let me know what I can improve this time around!

Week 6 Reading Reflection

After finishing the reading for this week I was most surprised by the statement that "Industry structure drives competition and profitability, not whether an industry is emerging or mature, high tech or low tech, regulated or unregulated.". This surprised me because I have traditionally thought, as I think most people do, that outside "magical" forces dictated the profitability of an industry. I believed that the simple fact that an industry is emerging or that it is specialized in products/services that are highly used by the average consumer played the highest role in determining profitability. 

One part of the reading that was confusing to me was how the power of suppliers affects profitability. Specifically how "supplier groups can credibly threaten to integrate for- ward into the industry." The wording here is what confuses me, as I'm not sure if the author is referencing the ability for suppliers to grow to become a competitor in an industry or the consequences of industry participants making more money relative to the suppliers themselves. 

Two questions I would ask the author are what are some more specific examples of high exit barriers and what are the best ways to gain market share (from the perspective of a corporation) without engaging in "innovation for its own sake". While I understand that company owners and workers can be very dedicated to their field and in maintaining the health of the company overall, I don't understand how those factors contribute to high exit barriers. It seems to me that if any company truly wanted to exit the industry it could do so, presumably with a new player entering the market or existing players taking up that market share. I'm also interested in learning different strategies for gaining market share, although I realize that some methods (like adapting to emerging substitutes) are mentioned in the article. 

Considering that the author, Michael E. Porter, is much more qualified on this subject than I am I find no reason to think that he is wrong in his statements. As stated at the beginning of the article, Porter's five forces have changed the way companies view their role in being profitable in an industry and I believe this is for good reason. 

Idea Napkin No. 1

1.) You: I am a hard-working, independent individual who seeks to directly control the route my life is to take. While I don't mind going above and beyond to fulfill a goal or task, I find much more fulfillment when working on my own accord and not being forced to answer to other people. As a Computer Science student I have skills in programming and computing technologies. I've also worked with both start-ups and large businesses and have seen the differences in how those businesses are run. If I were to start OddJob (the business described below) I would dedicate most of my time, including free time, to the development and growth of the business. While I would be much more involved with the technical side of the app I wouldn't hesitate to speak with potential customers.

2.) What are you offering to customers?: I'm offering an easy way to reach out to individuals nearby that are willing to help with specific day-to-day tasks. Similar to Craigslist, this app would allow individuals create job postings which can be fulfilled by others in the area.

3.) Who are you offering it to?: OddJob would be offered to college students at first. College students would be most willing to try out a new app, they often find themselves in need of help due to the nature of being by themselves, and they always need spending money. At first OddJob would offered to UF students solely, but over time other colleges would also be eligible for OddJob.

4.) Why do they care?: College students would care about a product like OddJob because they are normally young inexperienced individuals that don't necessarily have the knowledge or man power to complete day-to-day tasks. College students moving out without the help of friends or family members can struggle moving furniture. What about a student looking to put some art up on their wall but don't want to damage their wall? Name the task and there is surely someone out there who has struggled with completing it by themselves.

5.) What are your core competencies?: A.k.a what makes my idea different? College students are likelier to trust other students than they are to trust other strangers. While Craigslist is well known, it misses out on a younger market that is more and more likely to use technology their friends use. Additionally, the need for a smartphone to use OddJob can facilitate security checks and can lead to a safer for all individuals involved.

Reflection:

After completing the five elements of an idea napkin listed above I believe that they fit well together. The choice to focus on college students is one that I can relate to easily (seeing as I'm a college student) and one which I think would help the business. As I mentioned above, I have no problem going above and beyond in the pursuit of self-fulfillment and success. While OddJob may not take off immediately upon release, I think there definitely exists a market for such a job-sharing platform.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

After completing the reading for Week 5 I was most surprised by the fact that 89% of entrepreneurs attribute the failure of a new-venture to internal factors, instead of external factors. Previously I believed that external factors, such as market conditions and a lack of an active customer base were the most prevalent factors in causing a new venture to fail. However, after completing this weeks reading I came to realize that many of these "external" problems are simply caused by inadequate research/preparation done by the entrepreneur.

One part of the reading that I found confusing was the breakdown of financial factors that contribute to the failure of a new-venture. This is mostly due to my limited background in the finance field, having only taken an Intro to Accounting class next semester. Hopefully my understanding of this field will increase as it is definitely important to avoid the pitfalls discussed in the reading.

If I had the opportunity to ask the author two questions I would ask how much importance should be placed on marketing when starting a new business and how early legal considerations should be made in the venture process. The first question comes from the fact that while I acknowledge that marketing is necessary for many businesses to succeed, I also believe that many start-ups spend too much money on the early years of the business. The second question rises from legal considerations that I find myself thinking about when looking for business opportunities. For example, if someone were to create a short-term leasing/property management business (like Airbnb) and wanted customers to have the option to sign their leases online, what legal precautions would have to be taken? Additionally, how early do these legal measures have to be implemented.

I did not find myself disagreeing with any points the author brought up. While this may be due to my lack of knowledge in starting a business, I think all the information the author presented was well supported with other sources.

Elevator Pitch No. 1

My opportunity for this assignment was college students that often find themselves in need of help for simple tasks. These tasks often take a short amount of time and consist of moving furniture, getting a painting put on the wall, or even painting a wall. Without another solution, students are often forced to wait until their friends are available to get simple stuff done.

My solution to this opportunity is a phone app called OddJob. OddJob functions a smaller scale version of Craigslist that allows college students to post their tasks as a job posting on the app. OddJob then sends notifications to all the users in the area with the app installed as an opportunity for them to help another student out and make a small amount of money while doing so.

Below you can find my elevator pitch:

Reflection: This was the first time that I had really sat down and done an elevator pitch. In the future I could definitely improve by looking into the camera more, adding some concrete facts to my pitch, and maybe explaining the product a little more. I would very much appreciate it if readers could leave comments below with feedback on what they think I could do better.

Thanks!

Customer Interviews No. 1

For my customer interviews I came up with a business idea that mirrors Craigslist but on a smaller scale. This opportunity would allow customers with day-to-day tasks (such as helping paint a house or picking up coffee from Starbucks) to find other people that are willing to complete these easier tasks.

I believe that homeowners and college students would have the most need for this idea. Homeowners often need help with short tasks, like moving around furniture, that could easily be fulfilled by getting another person to help on a short term basis. College students, while not having much capital, could also pay someone for a ride to the grocery store or something as simple as pickling up coffee from the Starbucks at Marston Science Library.

All of my interviews were done after having explained the business idea to potential customers. These questions were asked during each interview:

1. How often do you find yourself with a task that someone else could do easily?
2. Would you be willing to undertake tasks for others with money as a form of payment?
3. Is there any reason why you would oppose using this service to give out tasks or to get paid for completing tasks?

Interview 1:

Interview 2:

Interview 3:

Interview 4:

Interview 5:

After having the opportunity to go out and ask customers on their input I've learned that phrasing is very important when looking for feedback. If the question is too vague customers will be unlikely to give a direct answer and it'll be more likely that I have to ask for clarification. I've also learned that people are much more approachable than they often seem, you just have to wear your best smile. I had a great time completing this assignment.

Week 4 Reading Reflection

After reading Chapter 5 of Donald Kuratko's Entrepreneurship textbook, I was most surprised by the "idea killer" phrases that were detailed. Most of the phrases that were included in the chapter could easily be heard in a conversation between two co-workers at a company. However, the fact that they can be said in such a common way that neither party realizes they are stifling creativity is very interesting to me. In hindsight, it makes sense that these phrases stifle innovation and creativity, but the way they are used in common dialogue makes this hard to see.

During the course of my reading I found myself confused by the statement that the parts of the creative process described in the chapter could be completed in different orders. It would seem logical to me that background/knowledge accumulation tends to occur at the beginning of the creative process as some background knowledge is generally needed to make a more developed idea.

Given the opportunity to ask two questions to Dr. Kuratko, I would first ask what is the best way to support the sharing of creativity in a professional setting and secondly I would ask what kind of innovation is seen most commonly in practice. These two questions serve to better support creativity in the work place and allow for creative channels of communication to easily flow.

Overall the author did a great job of explicitly stating how innovation is a process, rather than an act of magic. I did not disagree with what was stated.

Top 5 World Problems

Previously I listed out what I thought were the world's top 10 problems. You can find that blog post here. Today I'll be picking 5 problems and solutions from that list and ranking them separately.

Top 5 problems:

1. Species around the world continue to go extinct or become endangered due to human involvement. Habitat loss, pollution, and poaching all contribute to the increased rate in which we see species disappear from our planet.
2. Not enough emphasis is placed on the role factory farming has on the environment. Many people are not aware that factory farming creates 1 million tons of manure per day (3 times the amount created by the U.S. human population) or that methane levels have increased dramatically due to the emission of the gas from farm animals (Source).
3. Our societies dependence on fossil fuels leads to an increase in the harmful compounds that cause global warming. Contrary to popular belief, the automobile industry is not the largest contributor of greenhouse gases (this industry only accounts for 1/5th of emissions in the U.S. Evidence). Global warming affects natural events, such as the timing of seasonal events (flowing of plants for example) and agricultural productivity.
4. Poorly controlled refugee influx in Europe. Refuge resettlement and planning is handled by local officials instead of the federal government.
5. The cost of a university education is approaching a bubble that will inevitably burst (Source). Very few college students receive enough financial aid to fully finance their education, leaving most students with no other choice than to take out loans (both private and federally subsidized). In 2012, 71% of students graduated four-year institutions with student debt and Americans as a whole owe more in student loan debt than credit card debt (Source).

Top 5 solutions:

1. The easiest action that people can undertake is stop creating a demand for products that are produced from endangered species. Tortoise-shell and ivory souvenirs create a large amount of demand for poachers to continue hunting down more species. Herbicide and pesticide use also contributes to this problem. Alternatives exist (such as using plants that naturally ward off pests to keep crops healthy) but the most important factor is in changing the perception of what a "good looking" yard looks like. While it may be nice to have green grass in one's front yard, non-native plants require constant upkeep which drain resources and negatively affect species in the area.
2. A much greater emphasis should be placed on plant-based diets. Low fat, plant-based diets not only help in treating/preventing deadly diseases (cancer, heart disease, diabetes) but they also reduce the demand for meat from the factory farming industry. 
3. Increase the intensity of the screening process, both in Europe and in the U.S. (if we are to allow a large number of refugees to come into this country). A greater amount of help (economically and militarily) needs to be provided to the Syrian refugees in Syria and their surrounding nations. When examined from a long-term and realistic point of view, the influx of refugees found in Germany and France will eventually have to leave as they inevitably put pressure on the culture and infrastructure of the country.
4. More funding and importance should be contributed to the development of clean energy, not only in the U.S. but all over the world. Solar and nuclear energy are two prominent fields that could help turn our cars, factories, and homes greener.
5. College education rates must be dramatically lowered before the debt bubble bursts and most students are left without way to pay off their loans. I personally believe that (assuming a student has good grades), at least a quarter to half of the cost of education (including housing, tuition, food, etc.) should be paid for by the school or the federal government. While some states, such as Florida, do offer scholarship programs that can greatly help with the burden of paying for educations (Bright Futures), funding for these programs has declined in recent years. A greater emphasis on finding relevant internships and paying positions while in school (not just during the summer) should also be expressed by more four-year institutions to help students pay the other half of their education on their own.

My reasoning behind the "top problem" from the five problems listed above was that this problem, in my opinion, has the most urgency. If habitat conservation and species protection is not taken seriously, we will soon be living in an empty planet. The extinction of a species extends beyond that species due to the fact that other species often depend on each other.  We owe to the other living beings on this planet, as well as to future generations of humans, to keep the environments these species live in alive and well.

I believe my "top solution" is the most implementable because it involves education and consumer demand. When consumers are made aware of the impact that buying products made from endangered species (or that directly affect them) has on the ecosystems of these species, it is much easier to make a difference. This is especially true in markets that hold the greatest amount of demand for these products, such as China, where rhino horn is still used in traditional "medicine" (Source). Many of the other solutions included in my top five also require significant action to be taken by the U.S. government (or the governments of other countries). While the government definitely has the power to induce change, this change often comes far too slow to address problems in a realistic manner.

Identifying Local Opportunities

Below are 5 opportunities to fill local unmet needs.

1. Title:  Garbage, yard waste woes still evident, street by street - County says it's improving service, though
• Link: http://www.pressreader.com/usa/orlando-sentinel/20160122/281479275427310/TextView
• Story Description: Infrastructure issues with Orange County's waste disposal system has led to trash not being picked up, information not being distributed efficiently (with respect to new trash pickup schedules), and new waste containers not being delivered. While problems were expected with the new automated garbage pickup system, an increasing number of households report problems with waste disposal. 
• Problem Description: The Orange county waste disposal office has had trouble in recent days with the implementation of new garbage bins and a new fleet of garbage trucks. Garbage crews sometimes fail to arrive on their assigned pickup days, mainly due to changes in schedules and the positioning of the new garbage bins on resident property.
2. Title: County targets merchants' unsightly signs
• Link:http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/lake/os-lk-lauren-ritchie-snipe-signs-20160122-column.html
• Story Description: Orange county residents continue to be frustrated with the proliferation of cheap, illegal "snipe signs" that advertise local businesses. These signs are usually placed alongside major roads and come at little to no cost to those who place the signs. For now all residents can hope to do is to remove the signs themselves.
• Problem Description:  Orange county code enforcement offices have trouble keeping up with the number of "snipe signs" in the area. This problem mainly stems from the fact that the office cannot afford to actively search areas for these signs and is limited to responding to a sign only once a complaint has been made. If a cheap solution to local advertising were proposed, perhaps these "snipe signs" will begin to disappear on their own. 
3. Title: Seminole residents push for a new cellphone tower
• Link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/seminole/os-seminole-county-sweetwater-cell-tower-20160119-story.html
• Story Description: Residents in southwest seminole county are strongly requesting a county board to allow a telecommunication company to build a cellphone tower near the resident's homes. Most of these residents have had to install cell-phone boosters in their homes to have adequate reception, many of which have resorted to using their landlines to make phone calls.
• Problem Description: Seminole county residents do not have enough cell phone signal near their residences and are actively requesting a cellphone tower be built near them. 
4. Title: Residents seek exclusion from bear rules
• Link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/seminole/os-seminole-county-bear-ordinance-woodlands-20160118-story.html
• Story Description: Seminole county has recently implemented a new ordinance that requires many residents living west of I-4 to take a variety of measures to prevent bear activity in their neighborhoods. These measures include securing trash, storing bird feeders at night, and bringing in pet food bowls. Some of these residents feel the new ordinance is unnecessary and will negatively impact their property values as they cite never having seen bear activity in their area. Residents who do not comply risk being fined $100 a day. 
• Problem Description: Residents of The Woodlands and other neighborhoods west of I-4 find a new county ordinance designed to reduce bear activity to be unnecessary. They ask that the county re-draw the map that enforces the new ordinance to exclude them. 
5. Title: Deaths show need for better bus safety
• Link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-school-bus-passing-scott-maxwell-20160105-column.html
• Story Description: After Don Mair's daughter, Gabby Mair, was killed in 2010 by a speeding car while exiting her school bus he calls for better bus safety. More than 1,600 illegal passings happen in Orange County alone on a daily basis and there are few measures to punish those who break the law in this regard. While the technology to include cameras on the side of buses has been implemented in other states, Florida legislators have been non responsive on taking action to introduce a bill that could allow for this technology in Orange County (as well as the rest of the state). 
• Problem Description: Don Mair, of Orange County, finds that there is not enough of an emphasis placed on the dangers that illegally passing school busses bring. He seeks to bring change to state law and to implement measures to catch those offenders that pass busses illegally. 

Week 3 Reading Reflection

After completing the reading for week 3 I was most surprised by the different ways that entrepreneurs can reduce stress caused by entrepreneurial activities. Most of these ways of dealing with stress involved making slight adjustments to the daily business life of an entrepreneur and were as simple as networking or communicating with employees on a more frequent basis.

I was most confused by the entrepreneurial styles that were detailed in the reading. These styles are characterized by the level of financial risk the individual is willing to assume, alongside the motive to make a profit. However, some specific examples of the different entrepreneurs these personality styles create would have been helpful.

Given the opportunity to ask two questions I would first ask which source of stress is seen most common in studies and secondly, which form of dealing with stress has proven to be the most effective. When dealing with a risk of failure and pushing the limit of what can be achieved, there is sure to be a great deal of stress that should be lessened as much as possible.

Overall, I greatly appreciated this weeks reading. Learning about the common characteristics entrepreneurs exhibit alongside how those characteristics can be put to use is important in living an entrepreneurial life.  

Very Short Interview No. 1

To complete my short interview with an entrepreneur I reached out to a friend and mentor, Tyler Parker.  Tyler is the President and CTO of Spin Chill Corp., a company he co-founded that specializes in a small device that can warm a can of beer (or soft drink) in under a minute. Since the creation of the company, Spin Chill continues to grow and Tyler finds himself working on other entrepreneurial projects, such as ToutLoud. ToutLoud focuses on delivering targeted marketing campaigns on Instagram that leverage the marketing power of popular social media pages. Even when progress is being made with one business, Tyler continually looks for ways to improve and branch out into other business ventures, befitting of a true entrepreneur.  Links to Tyler's projects can be found at the bottom of this post.

SpinChill Demo 

Below you will find the questions and answers from my interview with Tyler:

SH - In your opinion, what are the most important skills to take from an entrepreneurship class?

TP-  I’m not sure how a class would teach these two things without direct hands on experience but here are two:

1.           The ability to deal with absolute uncertainty – Most people have had a lot of structure in their lives since birth.  Everybody goes to school for 12 years and then goes to college for a certain amount of time and takes certain classes for a certain major and gets certain grades on certain tests on certain dates.  Most people then get a job or join the military where the structure is basically exactly the same: someone tells you what and when to do something and if you do it well enough and on time you get a raise or promotion or good review. With entrepreneurship, however, nobody tells you what to do or when to do it.  This sounds great, and it can be, but there are literally millions of different decisions you could make that could completely change the outcome of a business.  Or are you even starting the right business?  Or should you hire people or get investment or sell or franchise?  Obviously one metric for success is making a profit but what constitutes a successful profit and when should you expect to see it?  How long should you keep pushing forward with a certain idea before you decide to try something else?  Entrepreneurship can be very fun and rewarding but it’s definitely not stable or structured so beginning entrepreneurs have to be able to handle complete uncertainty and be able to maintain a clear vision of where they want to go and how to get there.

2.           Salesmanship – Many engineers, myself included, want to make cool products and have someone else handle all the “dirty work” of sales, marketing, and management.  This works really well in a large corporation where someone else is specifically hired to handle all those things.  As an entrepreneur, though, you are the salesperson and you have to be able to sell your product directly to clients, especially in the beginning when you’re trying to tweak the product to fit the needs of a user.  You also have to be able to sell your idea and vision to employees, potential founders, and investors.  There’s really no way to learn salesmanship without getting out there and doing it.



SH-  What are some common mistakes that you or other entrepreneurs you know have made when creating a personal businesses?

TY- I think a big mistake is getting excited in the beginning and not building a strong foundation for the business to be built on.  Similarly, a mistake is thinking that a business will be something that you do for the next few months or so.  This can include bringing on co-founders prematurely, not defining goals and plans, taking investment from the wrong person or for the wrong amounts, and a bunch of other issues that can arise.  Thinking short term can cause you to do things like work with the wrong people because “who cares, it will only be for a few months”.  The reality is that the whole idea is to build a successful long lasting business so that means whatever you do in the beginning carries on forever or the business has to restructure or fails.  Peter Thiel’s law says that “A startup messed up at its foundation cannot be fixed.”


Another, much smaller problem, is that many people with a college degree want to focus on something that pertains to that degree because they spent the time to get it.  That’s not necessarily bad if you are an expert in your field but don’t discredit businesses that have nothing to do with your degree. You may be a mechanical or electrical engineer but if you find out that you can buy and sell products online and make huge profits, who cares if there’s any engineering involved?


SH- What helps you stay on track with your business goals and identify good potential business ideas?

TP- I think a constant sense of running out of time or money keeps entrepreneurs motivated.  Also, most businesses are seasonal in some way so there’s always something that needs to get done before a certain date to be successful.  I personally find business ideas by solving problems in my own business.  When I have a problem I look for a solution and if I can’t find one I usually build a way to solve it for myself.  If it looks like something that many other businesses would pay to use, it’s probably a decent business idea.  Most of the best business ideas come from someone using cross disciplined skills (human resources + software development or almost any other combination) to solve a real problem.  This is because most problems that can be solved with a single discipline have probably already been solved.  For instance, the practice of law doesn't change much when looking at it from a laywer's perspective and most computer programmers don't know of the inefficiencies in the legal practice.  However, a lawyer who also happens to know how to write software might be able to totally change parts of the industry. 


Reflection:

My interview with Tyler went well and definitely opened my eyes as to how a successful entrepreneur handles themselves. The most important point that I took from my interview was that successful entrepreneurs are jacks of all trades. As Tyler stated, an entrepreneur needs to know how to sell themselves and their product, all while coming from a background that may not necessarily include marketing/salesmanship. I also found myself pleased with the point that Tyler made in that entrepreneurs need to know how to plan ahead and make decisions in the context of the long-term future, even amidst uncertainty. A business based off of short-term thinking will be a short-term business (with no chance of long-term success)! I thank Tyler for providing his time for this interview and I'm excited to get back to him later on in the semester (hopefully I'll have some more entrepreneurial skills by then). 

Links:
Spin Chill
ToutLoud
Tyler Parker