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.).