30A – Final Reflection

Final Reflection

1. Reflecting on this past semester in ENT3003, I can definitely see how much I have learned and grown as a student. Coming into this class, I was nervous about the workload and all the different assignments we had to do. Now, I am so happy to have done every assignment and gotten through it all. I would say the most formative experience was the elevator pitches. When I first saw that that was an assignment, I dreaded doing it. I have always been horrible at elevator pitches and hated filming myself. However, I saw the improvement after doing it three times and practicing often. I would now say I am comfortable doing an elevator pitch and am very thankful for all the practice this class gave me.

2. I definitely think I have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset. Coming into this class, I did not know much of what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Now, I feel like I have a much better understanding of the many things to consider and the planning it takes to start a business. Although I am sure I have much more to learn, I definitely think I am closer to thinking like an entrepreneur.

3. One recommendation I have for future students is to plan ahead, and to invest in every assignment, Every assignment, lecture, book you have to read is practical to life whether or not you want to be an entrepreneur. Therefore, I would recommend to future students to take the time to truly invest in every assignment rather than rushing through the work.

4. 

29A – Venture Concept No. 2: Gatorganize

Venture Concept No. 1: Gatorganize

 

Opportunity:

As college students, we balance a rigorous course load, involvement, and employment along with our own personal activities (working out, studying, hobbies, etc.). Often times, the amount of work that needs to be done in a day can be daunting; if you are not organized you can miss an assignment that affects your grade tremendously. I think we have all been there before, where if we were just a little bit more organized we wouldn't have missed a deadline that hurt our grade. College students without a organizational platform that works for them have my need. This need is created by the lack of organizational platforms that combine all types of involvement into one platform, and the unreliability of Canvas in posting accurate deadlines. My market is specific to the University of Florida, and can apply to students in any stage of their education (undergraduate, graduate, etc.). My customers are currently satisfying this need with Canvas, a planner, an app on their phones, etc. They may be loyal to their platforms, but I believe when they see how cohesive and all-inclusive my platform is they will be convinced to switch how they stay organized. This opportunity is large, and will remain open for a long time as this opportunity has been an issue for students for years. I would like to extend my opportunity to middle and high schools in Alachua County as well, who have a large need for help staying organized as they grow independent.

 

Innovation: 

My innovation is an online platform that organizes student assignments, deadlines, and events into one cohesive site. The platform will be both online and a phone application. The class assignments, exam dates, etc. will be provided by each professor individually and updated by them as well to ensure they are absolutely accurate. Additionally, student organizations will be given the opportunity to add their own date events to the platform.  My customers will simply have to log into my platform and subscribe to the classes and student organizations they are a part of; these dates will automatically auto-populate both a calendar and to-do list. The dates will be presented in two separate formats to accommodate to the different ways students may prefer to view their schedule. On top of all this, students will also have the ability to add in their own personal events so they can individualize the platform to include their work schedule/hobbies. I will sell my platform for a yearly subscription price of $10, a more affordable alternative to a planner. This will be made available to not only college students, but also to middle and high schools in Alachua County to help their students transition to a digital platform for independent organization.

 

Venture Concept: 

My innovation will solve the opportunity I have identified because it organizes all aspects of a student's schedule into one platform. No longer will students have to cross check their Canvas calendar to their individual class announcements, to Facebook pages for involvement, to work schedules, etc. Everything will be synced onto one platform with dates added in by the people assigning them to you. Students will want to buy my innovation because it is guaranteed be accurate, as your dates are given by the university/student organization. Additionally, it is very affordable and flexible in its display and accessibility. My competitors are Canvas, physical planners, and online agendas such as Google Calendar. Their weakness lies in that users have to manually add in their deadlines and/or not all deadlines display or are accurate (Canvas). Since my product is digital, no physical characteristics will affect the success of my product besides app design.

 

Feedback:

I did not receive much feed back on my lasts Venture Concept. Everything was positive, and the most feedback I did great was to definitely market to students in high school and middle schools. Additionally, I did get feedback telling me to charge for a subscription service rather than an app on the App Store to get more profit.

Changes:

I changed my Venture Concept to be reflective of the change to provide my service for middle and high schools, and also made sure to include a subscription price in my Venture Concept.

Picture:

 

28A – Your Exit Strategy

Your Exit Strategy

1. I do not plan on actually pursuing this opportunity.

2. Although it would be great to start a business, in this time in my life I do not think it is a practical venture for me to pursue as I am still a full-time student with many time obligations. Additionally, this is not the career path I am preparing myself for. In the future I would absolutely consider starting a business, but right now I will not be pursuing this opportunity.

3. I knew as soon as I picked this opportunity that I was not actually going to pursue this venture; this was always going to be my exit strategy. However, I do believe I made all my decisions based on if I was actually going to pursue this opportunity. I wanted to see if this opportunity was actually viable, and I wanted the experience of figuring out the details of starting a business. I do not think it has influenced my decisions in past assignments. If I had the time and this was my passion, I think I would have pursed this venture; however, as of now this will just remain an idea.

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

Reading Reflection No. 3

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

I chose to read The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users by Guy Kawasaki. In this book, Kawasaki focused on how to use social media effectively to target your audience and engage with them successfully. Thousands of people use social media, but do not use it effectively; this book delves into practical practices that can help you improve our social media presence.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

One theme the book emphasized often is to treat social media like a business. Kawasaki explained you need to be competitive, take risks, and invest time into your social media to be successful in engaging with your market. Just like a business, you need to be creative and take risks to try and take your social media to the next level. i think this connects well with ENT 3003, as we have learned the entrepreneurs need to be able to take risks and be creative in their businesses just like Kawasaki says you need to have successful social media platforms.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

If I had to design an exercise for this class based on this book, I would have the class analyze their social media presence and see if it lines up with what Kawasaki recommends. For example, I would have them count how many platforms they are registered for and see if they are having an equally strong presence on each platform. Kawasaki recommends a maximum of 3 platforms rather than the 10 we often sign up for but only engage with once a year. I would then have the class choose three platforms and see how much stronger of a social media presence they can have with less platforms but more targeted content.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

My biggest surprise when reading this book was when Kawasaki said to give fans the content they want to see, not just what you want to create. I think this was a very interesting point, because I think often times we want to post what we like but that may not be what our audience wants to see. I never thought about this before, but it is very true. In the end, we are working to please a consumer, and that should be the primary focus when deciding what to post.

26A – Celebrating Failure

Celebrating Failure

1. One time this past semester where I failed is in trying to get an internship at the Career Showcase. I knew I needed a summer internship but I was not proactive in preparing for the Career Showcase. In fact, I forgot it was even happening until my friend in the business school reminded me the day of. I ended up printing out my resume and rushing to the career fair and networking with dozens of employees. I thought I did a great job, but when I got home and emailed the recruiters I met I got zero emails back. Even with repeated communication I had 0 luck. Ultimately, I failed at finding a summer internship from the career fair, but was able to motivate myself to find a different internship from a different information session.

2. I learned from this experience that if you truly want something, you need to work hard for it. Even if I tried my best and did not get an internship, I would have been much happier with myself if I gave my absolute best. I also learned not to let failure define me; if I let all those denials define me, I would have never pushed to find the great internship I have now.

3. Failure is without a doubt hard. I think a lot of us have the mentality that failure is embarrassing and we need to avoid it at all costs. However, I think that failure is only negative if you do not learn from it. When you learn from a failure, it ultimately becomes a success because you have learned and grown from it. I used to handle failure poorly, but after being in college for a few years and making a lot of mistakes, I have learned to use failure to grow and not get caught up in the disappointment, but rather turn it into a positive. I think I am more likely to take a risk now rather than before this class. I see now how vital it is to be willing to take risks in order to create something successful, and therefore believe that I would be more willing to take a risk now after everything I have learned in ENT3003.

25A – What’s Next?

What's Next?

Existing Market

Step 1: In terms of next steps, I think my next step would be to garner support and awareness of my product on campus. Additionally, I would work with student organizations to get every student organization at UF subscribed to my service.

Step 2: Interviews cancelled.

Step 3: Over the next few months, I would first start by meeting with a software developer and creating my product. I would be sure to include all the services I have described in my last post to ensure that my product is unique among competition. Additionally, we would have to work out the many expected bugs that will come with building the app and website. 

I will also work to meet with the university to gain the support of all professors in using my platform. Their compliance is vital, so offering a partnership and convincing of them my opportunity and how it will help their students succeed will be my priority. I also will work to meet with as many student organizations as possible and work closely with the Student Activities and Involvement office to get them subscribed to my platform.

New Market

Step 1: A radically different platform for me would be a platform for organization for middle schoolers, rather than college students.

Step 2: My venture concept could potentially create value for middle schoolers as they are starting to  become independent and are learning how to be organized. An all-inclusive platform of their school work along with any extra-curricular activities may be beneficial to many of them.

Step 3: Interviews cancelled.

Step 4: After contemplating this opportunity, I am actually very interested in pursuing it. Middle schoolers are in need of organization more than college students, as they are just learning how to stay organized. Additionally, to my understanding very few middle schools utilize platforms such as Canvas, so my product would be extremely unique for them.

This opportunity almost seems more attractive then my existing venture, as college students have a much greater amount of options to choose from for organization. There is much more competition in my existing market than my new market. Additionally, I would be working more so with parents wanting success for their children with higher budgets rather than college students on budgets, so I may be able to make more profit in my new market. I do believe my current venue is feasible, but I am very surprised after exploring this market how feasible it could be to pursue this opportunity.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1: Gatorganize

Venture Concept No. 1: Gatorganize

Opportunity:

As college students, we balance a rigorous course load, involvement, and employment along with our own personal activities (working out, studying, hobbies, etc.). Often times, the amount of work that needs to be done in a day can be daunting; if you are not organized you can miss an assignment that affects your grade tremendously. I think we have all been there before, where if we were just a little bit more organized we wouldn't have missed a deadline that hurt our grade. College students without a organizational platform that works for them have my need. This need is created by the lack of organizational platforms that combine all types of involvement into one platform, and the unreliability of Canvas in posting accurate deadlines. My market is specific to the University of Florida, and can apply to students in any stage of their education (undergraduate, graduate, etc.). My customers are currently satisfying this need with Canvas, a planner, an app on their phones, etc. They may be loyal to their platforms, but I believe when they see how cohesive and all-inclusive my platform is they will be convinced to switch how they stay organized. This opportunity is large, and will remain open for a long time as this opportunity has been an issue for students for years.

Innovation: 

My innovation is an online platform that organizes student assignments, deadlines, and events into one cohesive site. The platform will be both online and a phone application. The class assignments, exam dates, etc. will be provided by each professor individually and updated by them as well to ensure they are absolutely accurate. Additionally, student organizations will be given the opportunity to add their own date events to the platform.  My customers will simply have to log into my platform and subscribe to the classes and student organizations they are a part of; these dates will automatically auto-populate both a calendar and to-do list. The dates will be presented in two separate formats to accommodate to the different ways students may prefer to view their schedule. On top of all this, students will also have the ability to add in their own personal events so they can individualize the platform to include their work schedule/hobbies. I will sell my platform for a yearly subscription price of $10, a more affordable alternative to a planner.

Venture Concept: 

My innovation will solve the opportunity I have identified because it organizes all aspects of a student's schedule into one platform. No longer will students have to cross check their Canvas calendar to their individual class announcements, to Facebook pages for involvement, to work schedules, etc. Everything will be synced onto one platform with dates added in by the people assigning them to you. Students will want to buy my innovation because it is guaranteed be accurate, as your dates are given by the university/student organization. Additionally, it is very affordable and flexible in its display and accessibility. My competitors are Canvas, physical planners, and online agendas such as Google Calendar. Their weakness lies in that users have to manually add in their deadlines and/or not all deadlines display or are accurate (Canvas). Since my product is digital, no physical characteristics will affect the success of my product besides app design.

My most important resource: My team of college students working to make this product a success.

What’s next for the venture: Having full involvement of all student organizations registered for my service.

What’s next for me: I will not be pursing this venture, but if I did I hope it would open doors to more opportunities in this industry and serving students academically.

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

My resources:

1. Technological assistance
a. Valuable: very valuable in creating the application
b. Rare: not rare, but good to have for my company
c. Imitable: technology is pretty universal, so any company can use this technology
d. Non-substitutable: technology is absolutely necessary for my product

2. A team of passionate college students

a. Valuable: very valuable to garner attention for my resource

b. Rare: it is not often a company is run by college students, so this is rare

c. Imitable: this is not easy to imitate and be successful

d. Non-substitutable: since my product is made solely for college students, it is vital to be managed by people who understand the issue personally to create the best product

3. Funding

a. Valuable: this is very valuable to start and sustain a company

b. Rare: not really, all companies have to be funded

c. Imitable: funding is not something that can be copied

d. Non-substitutable: this is absolutely necessary to create and sustain a company

4. Market research

a. Valuable: this is very valuable in knowing if an opportunity is viable and worth pursuing

b. Rare: yes, not all start-ups conduct research before starting their company

c. Imitable: this can only be imitated by companies in my same market

d. Non-substitutable: no, this research can not be substituted as it is unique to my market

5. Strong company culture

a. Valuable: yes, this is valuable to keeping my company running

b. Rare: yes, not all companies have a strong company cultured geared towards their customers

c. Imitable: this is unique to my company and therefore cannot be imitated

d. Non-substitutable: no, this cannot be replaced with something similar

6. Unique product with little competition

a. Valuable: yes, it is very valuable to have a product with little competition

b. Rare: yes, it is rare to have a product that is unique in its market

c. Imitable: it would be fairly easy for another organizational platform to mimic the services I offer to my customers

d. Non-substitutable: no, this is necessary to succeed

7. University support

a. Valuable: yes, it is valuable to have support from professors as I will need their cooperation to make my product effective

b. Rare: no, I think most professors would be willing to support a service that helps their students succeed

c. Imitable: other companies could also garner university support but it would be hard to attain

d. Non-substitutable: this is absolutely necessary for my service to succeed

8. Flexibility for users

a. Valuable: yes, this makes my product useful to different customer segments

b. Rare: somewhat, most products have some flexibility in user capabilities but not all do

c. Imitable: yes, other products can copy my features and make their products flexible as well

d. Non-substitutable: I could make my product less flexible but this would make my product less attractive in the marketplace

9. Passion as an organization to help our customers

a. Valuable: yes, this is very valuable in making sure my company continues even through obstacles

b. Rare: yes, i think it is fairly rare for a company to be extremely passionate about its customers rather than making a profit

c. Imitable: no, it is difficult/nearly impossible to imitate passion

d. Non-substitutable: no, passion can not be substituted

10. Customer loyalty

a. Valuable: yes, having a loyal customer base is very helpful

b. Rare: yes, it is fairly rare to have customers that are loyal to your product over other competitors

c. Imitable: no, as customers can only be loyal to one product in a market

d. Non-substitutable: no, there is no substitute for customer loyalty

Top resource: I believe my top resource is the uniqueness of my product. My product differs from every other product in my market and therefore has no similar competition. This is very important to the success of my venture as it sets my product apart and offers a service customers cannot have elsewhere.

22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3

Pitching Practice Makes "Perfect"

1) The pitch:

2) Reflection on feedback:

On my last elevator pitch, I received no criticism. A majority of my comments said my audience had  a better understanding of my idea now that I had practiced the elevator pitch a few times, and my pitch was more clear and concise. Therefore, I aimed this time to be even more clear with my pitch and to try to complete it with less mistakes as last time. Additionally, I tried to be a bit more organized and move from my hook to my explanation more seamlessly.

3)What I changed:

I definitely found myself to be much more comfortable in front of the camera. With my first pitch, it took numerous tries and I found myself getting frustrated not remembering what to say next. Now, I have my pitch pretty much memorized and found it a lot easier to say with less tries. I still had some difficulties, but I know with more practice it will get even easier to say my pitch without mistakes. I can definitely see the improvement from my first pitch, bot in presentation and in how easy it is to complete now.

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

Bringing In A Second Opinion

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

I chose to read How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams. In this book, Adams focused on how he pushed through many failures to eventually succeed. He failed in multiple jobs, attempted start-ups, etc. before he was eventually able to succeed in the cartoon industry. He discussed these failures, and how he was able to learn from his mistakes and take care of himself in order to push himself towards success.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

In ENT3003, we spent a good amount of time discussing how tenacity is a shared strength of entrepreneurs. I think this book connects and reinforces that idea. Adams really had to be tenacious in his career, and find a way to push back his numerous failures. Just like many other entrepreneurs, he had to learn form his mistakes and not let that deter him from trying to succeed, and his tenacious attitude allowed him to eventually succeed.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

If I had to design an exercise for this class based on this book, I would have my students analyze three goals they have set for themselves. Then, I would have them adjust the goals to the system approach Adam discusses in his book. I would then have them compare the two and see how the systems approach is either more beneficial or not for their personality.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

My biggest surprise when reading this book was when Adams explained to have systems, not goals. I found that intriguing, as my entire life I have been taught to set goals and work towards them daily. Instead, systems are more flexible and have less pressure on the time aspect. I struggle the most in making goals that are too difficult to attain in a certain amount of time, so thinking about goals as a system rather than a specific task to achieve is really interesting and something I think I will apply to my life now.

20A – Growing Your Social Capital

Growing Your Social Capital

Domain Expert:

1. Family friend.
2. This person fills the domain expert slot because he works in IT in developing applications similar to the product I want to create.
3. This person is a family friend; as soon as I read the assignment description I knew he would be a good candidate for this interview.
4. After telling him my idea, he said it was feasible and would be a relatively easy platform to create with help from an expert. He gave me tips on what services I could include to expand on my product, and explained how he would approach creating my application with his expertise.
5. Including this person in my network would allow me to exploit my opportunity by creating the best product possible for my customer. My domain expert has extensive knowledge on what make an app successful, and this knowledge can help me greatly in creating a good product.

Market Expert:

1. An owner of an agenda company.
2. This person fills the market expert slot because she owns a company in the same market my product would be in.
3. This person is actually one of my good friend's mother; she started a business while we were in high school creating custom agendas for people to stay organized. I knew she would be a great candidate for this interview after seeing the assignment description.
4. When I told my market expert about my product, she said my idea has the potential to be successful. She did stress that I need to make sure my product is unique and stands out among competition; the organization market is very saturated, and the only reason she has a successful company is because all her agendas are custom-made and therefore a unique product. 
5. Including this person in my network allows me to have a better understanding of the market I am entering into from a seasoned expert, and adapt my product to succeed in the very competitive market I am entering into.

Supplier: 

1. This person is a sales representative for Canvas.
2. This person fills the supplier slot because she sells a digital organizational platform to organizations and schools.
3. I actually have been in contact with a Canvas representative to get one of my student organizations organized through Canvas; therefore, I was already in contact with this individual prior to this interview.
4. I asked the supplier a couple questions about Canvas in comparison to my product. When comparing the capabilities of Canvas versus my product it became clear that my product would be a much more individualized product to the University of Florida,rather than the standard blanket product offered by Canvas.
5. By learning more about what Canvas offers to students and universities, I will be able to make my product more competitive and unique in comparison to my competition.

Reflect: This experience made me realize that when networking, you should target people that allow you to have a better understanding of your market and also will help you make your product more competitive in your market. In past networking events, I would simply talk to anyone and everyone to develop as many connections as possible. After this assignment, I have a better understanding of how to develop meaningful connections that I can use to my benefit in the future.

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

Idea Napkin No. 2

1. You: I am a second-year Business Administration student. I am very organized, and use multiple platforms to ensure I have both my school and work deadlines listed so they are never missed. I understand what it is like to miss a deadline and have that negatively affect your performance in a class, so therefore I am very passionate about my service. Additionally, I have tried just about every organization platform so I have an extensive knowledge about this opportunity. If I were to start this opportunity, it would take up a huge part of my life; however, I am not pursing this opportunity.
2. What: I am offering an organization platform for students, so they can have all of their school deadlines consolidated onto one platform. Professors would submit all class deadlines onto the platform, and students can log onto the website every semester, select their classes, and have all their deadlines all in one place. Additionally, they will have the flexibility to add their own personal events onto their calendar/to-do list, and student organizations will also be able to register for my service as well.
3. Who: My customers are students at the University of Florida who are in need of a way to stay organized. They all share a common unmet need of not having found a successful way to organize their deadlines.
4. Why: Customers will want to buy my service because it will solve their problem of not being able to stay organized. They will be able to have all their deadlines consolidated onto one platform, and have it updated by their professors. They will save time by not having to do this themselves, and will have higher grades as they will miss less deadlines. Additionally, they will be able to add their personal events and involvement to the platform, so every aspect of their schedule can be viewed on one platform.
5. Core Competencies: There is no other platform that is catered specifically to the University of Florida and is updated by professors. Therefore, my platform offers a unique service that no other does. It allows for students to get their deadlines straight from the University, so there is no doubt they are accurate. In addition to including personal involvement, this platform is all-inclusive and therefore offers a unique service no other platform does.

I believe these aspects of my business do fit together. College students need a way of staying organized in the many aspects of their lives (school, work involvement, etc.). When I first came up with this service, I limited it to solely school. However, by including involvement and work to my service, I believe this will make my product more attractive to customers and offer a more unique service. 

Feedback: I did not receive any negative feedback on my last idea napkin. Instead, I analyzed my last post myself and decided to change two things for my second idea napkin. First, I added involvement and work to the platform to make the platform more inclusive of all of my customer needs. Second, I expounded on the details of each section to make my idea more clear to my audience. Since the last time we had to make an idea napkin, my idea has developed and changed to be a better product so this napkin is reflective of those changes. 

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

My Customer Avatar

My prototypical customer, Amy, is a sophomore at the University of Florida. Amy is a biomedical engineering student, so she has many classes to attend on campus along with many labs she must prepare in advance for. Additionally, she is involved in multiple student organizations and has quite a few leadership positions. On top of all this, she works a part-time job at a local restaurant and also volunteers at UF Health Shands Hospital. Aside from her academic and professional life, she also likes to work out and spend time with friends in her free time and often has to schedule these activities she enjoys into her day.

Amy is my prototypical customer because she is a college student with a very busy schedule outside of just her academics. Although she does have a time-consuming course load with many in-class meetings, she also has to factor into her schedule her other time commitments and meetings. Therefore, my platform would cater to her organizational needs and help her plan her day around her many responsibilities.

Besides my major, I have just about everything in common with my prototypical customer. I have a heavy course load that requires me to plan ahead time for each class I am in. Additionally, I am a part of many student organizations and hold quite a few leadership positions that have many meetings and time commitments. I also do work part-time, and enjoying working out and hanging out with friends. In order to balance all these responsibilities, I have to have really good organizational skills and I have to plan ahead often. I do not think its a coincidence that I have so much in common with my avatar; I believe I identified the need of a comprehensive organizational platform because I really need one, and that is why I have so many similarities to my avatar-because I share the same situation and needs asa my prototypical customer.

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

Elevator Pitch No. 2

Pitch:

Reflection on feedback: Looking back on my last pitch, the best feedback I got was to make my pitch longer and to use more of my time to explain my platform. Many people commented that my pitch was easy to understand and cohesive, but that I should use my time more wisely to explain my platform better.

What I changed: Based on my feedback, I first made pitch longer. I made my hook more detailed, and then went into more detail on my product. When talking about my product I did not just explain the product, but I also went into detail on why my product in particular was unique and why it stood out among the competition. Additionally, I discussed the audience this would benefit and the various features my product has that make it a useful tool for all students. Overall, I tried to use the constructive feedback I received on my last post to better my elevator pitch the second time.

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

What's your Secret Sauce?

Five ways in which I have human capital that is unique:

• I believe I have great interpersonal skills which allow for me to communicate with all kinds of people well.
• I am a very organized person, and can manage many tasks well at once.
• I have great leadership skills, and have experience leading large organizations and dealing with many people at once.
• I am very reflective, and look to always learn from my mistakes and grow from them.
• I am very open-minded and always seeking new learning experiences and opportunities.
• 
  

Interviews:

Interview 1: https://soundcloud.com/user-604746771/interview-1

Summary: In this interview, I learned that I am different because I am hardworking and dedicated to everything I do. Additionally, I learned that I manage my responsibilities well and am able to balance various tasks easily.

Interview 2: https://soundcloud.com/user-604746771/interview-2

Summary: In this interview, I learned that although I hold many leadership roles I am very approachable. Additionally, I learned that I am professional but also know how to be welcoming and friendly.

Interview 3: https://soundcloud.com/user-604746771/interview-3

Summary: In this interview, I learned that I am a leader in every area of my life. I also learned that I am very approachable and give each person I lead the individualized attention they need.

Interview 4: https://soundcloud.com/user-604746771/interview-4

Summary: In this interview, I learned that I am effective leader that can delegate well Additionally, I learned that I am organized and approachable.

Interview 5: https://soundcloud.com/user-604746771/interview-5

Summary: In this interview, I learned that I am a good leader. The person I interviewed explained I am skilled in motivating my audience and helping them achieve their goals.

Differences Reflection:

I would definitely say one thing I was not expecting my interviewees to describe me as was a leader. Although I do lead a few organizations on campus, I did not see that as a primary trait that makes me unique. However, it was the first thing ever person I interviewed mentioned about me. Other than that, I believe my interviewees' perception of myself and the way I view myself as very similar, and I would not change anything about my list.

15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Evaluating How Your Customers Evaluate Stuff

For this assignment, I interviewed 3 students at the University of Florida who prioritize planning and are always looking for a better method of organization.

Alternative Evaluation: From my interviews, I learned that there are a couple of factors that that are important to my customer segment. First, is convenience. They want an organizational platform that is easy to integrate into and does not require much effort to maintain. Additionally, they consider price. They were all not willing to pay for a platform when there are free resources available such as apps through their phones, unless the platform had features that would guarantee to solve all their organizational issues.

How/Where Do They Buy: Since my product is an online service, my customers will buy my product online. Additionally, my customers will pay through card not cash.

Post-Purchase Evaluation: What matters most to my customers is that they are able to have all their deadlines conveniently displayed into one platform. They would measure the success of the purchase by if they meet their deadlines, are informed of assignments in time to complete them, etc. In order for them to know if my product is a good fit for them, they would determine that by how much my service helps them stay organized.

Report the Findings: For this assignment, I interviewed three students at UF. The first person I interviewed uses Canvas as her primary way of staying organized, and is not content with it. She liked the idea of my platform, especially since it would utilize dates directly from professors. The second person I interviewed uses a planner to stay organized. She said she likes her method of communication because she can move things around and individualize it to best fit her needs; she did not see a need for my service. The last person I interviewed was a student who does not use an organizational platform; he usually just makes to-do lists every day. Although he liked the idea of my service and definitely thinks he needs an organizational system, he said he would not be willing to pay for my service. 

Conclusions: Based on what I learned in my interviews, I would say that my product needs to offer a service that no other organizational platform offers yet. Additionally, it would have to be very affordable (less than or equal to the cost of a planner) in order for anyone to consider purchasing my service. Lastly, it would have to cater to the various specific needs of my audience in order to help people who stay organized through different methods (notifications, lists, calendars, etc.).

14A–Halfway Reflection

14A–Halfway Reflection: Tenacity & Paying it Forward

Tenacity is a competency: 

In order to keep up with the requirements of this course, one behavior I have had to develop is a schedule. There is a lot of work that comes with this class. The work is not difficult, but it does take time to complete. Therefore, in order to succeed you do not want to leave everything for one day. To keep up with this course, I have had to develop a schedule of when to complete assignments, that way each week I can consistently meet deadlines and not worry about having to do it all on one day.

Tenacity is also about attitude:

There have definitely been moments when I have felt like giving up. Before I had a set schedule for this course, I would sometimes forget to complete assignments and would have to complete them all in a short amount of time. With the interviews and work beforehand that come with certain assignments, these situations were not ideal and I would feel like giving up. However, knowing the reward that would come with completing the assignment and the good grade I would be able to achieve in this class pulled me through. I do feel like I have developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months; I have always been a committed person, but especially in this course I can see how this is a critical characteristic of an entrepreneur.

Three Tips:

1. Make sure to set a schedule and stay organized to set yourself up for success.

2. Put your full effort into every assignment; they are designed to help you learn, and are really enjoyable if you try your best on each one.

3. When hard times come, remember the end goal and the reward that comes with persevering.

13A–Reading Reflection No. 1

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1: The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

What surprised you the most? What surprised me the most after reading is book was the amount of scrutiny the Wright brothers received. They were watched and discouraged by the military, the press, etc. Prior to reading this book, I had no idea that their invention was controversial.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? I most admire the tenacity of the Wright brothers. They had to push through a great deal of setbacks, and risked a lot to see their invention succeed (even their own lives). It takes a large level of dedication to not give up after so many failures and judgment, and I really admire that about the Wright brothers.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? There is not much I least admire about the Wright brothers. They are exceptional entrepreneurs, and I did not notice any traits in their story that I disliked while reading the book.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? The Wright brothers faced a great deal of adversity and failure. The community often times thought their flights were a joke and did not believe them we they succeeded; additionally, they had many failures and crashes before they were able to finally succeed. Whenever they faced adversity and/or failure, they always persevered through and were able to find a solution to their problem with hard work and focus.

What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? The Wright brothers exhibited hard work, focus, and tenacity. They had an idea, and were able to see their idea come to life by pushing through every obstacle and not quitting until they found a solution.

Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. One part of the reading that was confusing to me was when the book discussed how the press would not give the Wright brothers the attention they deserved. I feel like this was a huge invention that no matter what the size should receive press, but the book explained the press was not impressed, which was very surprising.

If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? I would ask the Wright brothers why they did not stop after they were able to fly the first time. The brothers kept on working to make their invention go longer, fly higher, and overall be better. I find this interesting, and wonder if they had a set goal where once that was achieved they were willing to stop experimenting.

For fun: What do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? I believe the Wright brothers saw hard work as persevering through all obstacles and achieving a successful end goal, no matter what the cost. I do agree with this, but maybe would limit the physical aspect of hard work as I do not see achieving a goal always as a justifiable reason to risk your life.