14A Halfway Reflection

Tenacity & Paying It Forward 

1) Tenaciousness is a competency. 

 The behaviors I have tried to develop over these months are to schedule everything. Staying on top of things and organized with a clear path has helped as well.

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. 

I've felt like "giving up" when I've had my workload and balance between personal life, school & work heavily increased and becoming constrained. I believe I have developed a tenacious attitude during my development these past years. Maintaining a healthy balance is a must when dealing with a lot of things at once

What has contributed is my vision of my goals. Keeping your chin up & being positive while working hard towards your goals.

3) Three tips. 

1) Plan ahead, knowing when to do your assignments and work can increase your chance in staying on path if taking a big workload of classes.

2) What up early and check out the videos or the daily activities in a planer organization is key.

3) Understand that everything counts towards your development so doing everything you do well, will help you grow better overall 

13A Reading Reflection #1

1) You read about an entrepreneur: 

• I read about the Wright Brothers, by David McCullough

• What surprised you the most?
• What surprised me the most about these two brothers was their connection & their ability to persist on the same vision after so many failed attempts, and public criticism shows how one should never give up, it will be difficult at times but they eventually took off and revolutionized the world. They invented modern aeronautics per se.
• 
  
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
• Their determination, the flying machine they made did not get much attention at first because some other inventor's expensive flying machine had failed, the media was all over it. They basically struggled to get something so meaningful as is airplanes to be seen. Besides all odds, the flying machine changed the world.
• 
  
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
• Overall their personalities worked well with each other. However, I do not like how Orville and Wilbur fought so hard to keep their invention to themselves & with such greed, I believed they did not completely see the extent of the massive change they caused.
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
• The brothers encountered many adversities, I mean in that time what they thought off was seen as crazy or out of this world, they received a lot of criticism from bigger players in that time and from the public as well.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

• Their commitment to they're work and consistency, the brothers kept working on aeronautics their entire lives. Wilbur died but was happy to be recognized and they were finally innovator for the US army.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

The fact that the brothers tried to tell the world, not much attention was placed on them. it made me wonder how different views we all have and how media can distortion events.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

• What were you thinking when you noticed everyone looking at you people like you were crazy?
• This question would be useful to see how they envisioned themselves in a world that saw things so narrow
• Why so focused on patent infringement if it was something that revolutionized the world?
• I want to ask this question to gain some insight into how the brothers, especially Orville saw how his machine revolutionized the world. I do not think they saw the complete big picture

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

• The brother's opinion on hard work was that it paid off. Even though they had around 10 years of failures, struggles and many many failed ventures they made it. These brothers had a big dream and they accomplished it.
• I believe I share that opinion, however, in this era we should be aware of when we practice hard work, to when people might take advantage of us. The entrepreneurial environment can be very hostile

12A Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

12A figuring Out Buyer Behaviour

1) Pick a segment. 

This segment will be focused on the older generation of people (40-75). Any individual with a difficulty understanding technology.

2) Find three people who would fit that segment and arrange to interview them. 

First Interview:

• Need awareness: Every time she buys a new device, twice a year. Especially when getting a new gadget that asks all these questions.

• Information search: The first thing they do after buying a new device is turning it on and realizing it asks for all these questions they can not seem to remember or how to. She has resorted to calling family members but none are able to help her, she has told me she usually goes back to the store to get someone's help.

Second Interview:

• Need awareness: This person is a lawyer every time she buys a new phone she experiences this need. She buys a new phone twice a year. She says she simply does not have time.

• Information search: She has tried to do it herself but finds it frustrating. She told me she has looked for ideas or programs but none fit her specific needs

Third Interview:

• Need awareness: This person says he experiences such need when buying new equipment for properties, usually 4 times a year, ranging from TV to Alexa devices to smart home. This person likes to get home and have everything running as their previous location.

• Information search: He has researched online but has not found a service at his location who does such thing, he does pay for technicians when purchasing a new product but he told me they're usually there for one specific problem.

5) Report the findings of your research. 

Throughout my interviews, I learned that there is not a massive need for such service, and that usually people do have someone to help them, but it is a bit of an annoyance. I believe my service could still provide some sort of solution into integrating technology on the everyday life of citizens

6) Draw conclusions. 

Based on the information obtained from my interviews, most of the research is done throughout, the phone, or word of mouth with no specific service in one area. The awareness of such need comes when purchasing new devices, usually when sales or discounts on holidays.

11A Idea Napkin

11A Idea Napkin

1) You: 

I am an Economics/Sociology major at the University of Florida who has experienced the ongoing problems and troubles of helping out someone adapt to new technologies. I look for the opportunity of making a well-known business that everybody will recognize. 

2) What are you offering to customers?:

I am offering customers a service that provides full, personalized functionality of any device they buy, taking away the hassle that most people encounter with having to set-up new devices.

3) Who are you offering it to?:

My customers are people who either don't want to go through the trouble of having all devices, accounts in sync, or is older and does not understand the complexities.

4) Why do they care?:

People will care about my service because the problem they are experiencing is one that has persisted, and is becoming increasingly necessary to know technology and have a digital persona. The need of having accounts, and understand technology is becoming a norm.

5) What are your core competencies?:

Until now, many people know someone who might look forward to this type of service. I am looking to eliminate the "Inconvenience" of these types of problems and provide individuals with a smooth transition into understanding this digital era. This service will be well priced, convenient, and fast. Soothing that frustration that can come when having to install/setting-up new devices.

I believe all of these elements fit well together into providing a solution towards my demographic, with the right marketing and trained individuals it can fill a gap in this market. People enjoy the convenience which this service can provide, by helping those who want to stay connected.

10A- Elevator Pitch

Below is the Link for the elevator pitch


https://youtu.be/VKJZqGNlzbU

Note: I was unable to place the phone in at my height, was only able to lean it down

9A- Testing Hypothesis, Part 2

Testing Opportunity Hypothesis

In my previous post, we talked about the business idea of creating a service for those people who are not technologically savvy. As I continued on my quest for feedback I went ahead and asked more people about this idea.

Person one: My manager at work, sweet lady in her 50's- 6.'s as a person who had to adapt to technology she frequently has questions that can either be troubleshot in a few minutes or a google search. She thought this idea was fun and innovating, adding that she would use the service if offered to help her at home since her kids are not with her anymore.

Person two: Coworker, a student at UF working nex to me. He thought it was an interesting idea but does not have the need since he can do any type of troubleshooting himself. He suggested maybe offering a service as server installation or other types of services that require higher-level technicians in the future.

Person three: Best friend's grandmother, a very nice lady around 65 years of age living outside of the country. She communicated that she constantly has these types of problems in which she would call her grandkids throughout facetime to help her troubleshoot things but was unsuccessful most of the time. Her advice was that it would be a great idea.

Person four: My uncle, middle-aged two kids. After pitching my idea he thought it was great since I mostly troubleshot any viruses on his computer. He advised that while most people can troubleshoot simple things it would be nice to have a specific team for more in-depth computer problems.

Person five: Friend from Orlando, aged 24. He thought the idea was extremely useful and very scalable in terms of growing it independently first.

The who:  After my interviews and drawing conclusions, some individuals might that would fall outside of boundaries might include, adults aged 31-42, college students. A lot of female individuals, elderly people or someone recently moving might  do need the service as well

The what:
This need differs because unlike others we help individuals troubleshoot their day to day basis. Companies like geek squad you have to take your devices and do not offer a wide range of repairs. Our repairs/services can be done in a short amount of time. Hence we charge a flat rate per category depending on the type of issue.

The why
The outsider does not have this need because they have been around technology for a very long period of time and in the era, we all work with technology. The type of services we offer are simple, setting up wifi, fixing the printer, setting up accounts after buying a new piece of technology



Inside the boundary
The who
After my interviews, my conclusion was that most people who do not have someone to help and need basic trouble-shoot. Those who won't need this service are people brought up to date with current technology and know the basics of it.

The what
Our elderly and people who still need to adapt to technology have a hard time living in this world, where everything is connected and you need to set up accounts and settings almost constantly

The Why
Technology has advanced at an extremely high pace, so fast that it is hard to adapt.


Outside the boundary
The who
This market might be a little niche because our specific target audience would be those who do not understand technology.

The what
A service that expands too broad and does not completely work well in all areas.

Alternative expectation
Not an easy way to scale.
Many older generations might not need the service since they either know how to or have help.

8A Solving the Problem

Solving the Problem

Elderly people in the US are unable to effectively trouble shoot current generation electronics because of their age and the fast pace technology advances.

To give people a better perspective of this issue we must first ask ourselves a question.

• Has any loved one ever ask you to fix their computer,internet, printer?
• Have you yet to still fix their issue?
• Do they rely solely on you or anyone in your family to “fix” this problem?
• Was the problem ever a simple troubleshoot?

Service idea

To solve this problem it would be the best to offer a service.
This service constitutes of a technician sent over to the house filling a “help”request
The individual seeking for help would call a representative to inform them of what type of problem they currently encounter.
The phone representative would then take notes on such issue & schedule a “help” appointment with the best technician for such job

In simple terms it could be described as geek squad mobile service, focused on people who have a hard time understanding electronics.

Services can range from

• Fixing wifi
• Fixing printer
• Troubleshooting computer
• Setting up devices
• Setting up smart home
• Technology classes

7A Testing Hypothesis

Testing Hypothesis

 Opportunity to pursue:  Elderly people in the US are unable to effectively trouble shoot current generation electronics because of their age and the fast pace technology advances.

• The who: Elderly people/ non technological individuals
• The what: They are unable to troubleshoot simple electronic devices and get them working properly
• The why: Continuous fast pace of technology does not let some individuals catch up to how things work.

• Testing The Who: Other people who might have this need are people with disabilities or anyone who does not have a person there to help them set-up their day to day electronics.
• Testing the What: To know every single piece of troubleshoot is difficult; Some elderly people are difficult to work with.
• Testing the why: Family members are not always around to help their elders on simple troubleshoots. Some people with disabilities might not have anyone around for help.

My research for this included a system similar to on call repairs, in which someone would go to a persons house and help them troubleshoot simple day to day things that we take for granted.

Like: setting up wifi, printers, fixing phones, organizing the emails.

This model can work with anyone who is not technologically savvy and might just need some help with a quick setup or so.

What I dint know about this opportunity is scalability, training people to fix or troubleshoot anything might be troublesome, but as I noticed there is definitively a need for this types of services.

Opportunity Identification 6A

Identifying opportunities in Economic & regulatory trends

For this we will choose two economic and two regulatory opportunities

1) For the regulatory opportunities we will look at Trumps Flavor ban on vapes & Colorados new bill allowing to open marijuana cafe’s in its city.
1b) For the Economic trends we will look at the subcription based model many companies are adoption & The rise of  Independent content creators.

2) Trump flavor ban.
     (a) Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/vaping/federal-flavor-ban-goes-effect-thursday-many-flavored-vape-products-n1130466
 
Being someone who like fruity flavors and used juul to stop smoking I have always been on the loop with the news. This ban is implemented as a way to discontinue flavor vapes.
When there is a need for something there is always an opportunity

(b)The information stated on this article implies that such ban took place as of Feb 6 2020.    Unfortunately many people still use these products to stop smoking. Leading to them searching for such products.
In Venezuela very rare there is representation of such companies; even Latin America.
The opportunity is presented here into taking the whole process, talking to the right people and implementing a program to see the viability into expanding this to South America.

(c)The most likely customer to benefit from this opportunity would be people who want to quit smoking, enjoy fruit flavored vapes & do not have access to buying it. The good thing about this opportunity is that people who smoke are all over the world. So having that accessibility somewhere that it is very difficult to find, definitively helps.

(d) For this opportunity to be exploited is easy up until a certain point, If there is only one legal source or shop in a certain are there is much more control of it. I believe is this is brought to Latin America with proper execution there could be a majority of market control.

3) I believe I saw this opportunity because of my relationship with such products, because of my previous knowledge I am able to make judgment based on how have the news developed around such topic.

2) Colorado’s Marijuana cafes

(a) Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/colorado-ushers-in-2020-with-new-cannabis-market-opportunities/

(b) What leads me to believe that the opportunity might exist is this statement

• “Starting Jan. 1, licenses can be issued for “marijuana hospitality establishments” such as cannabis cafes, dispensary tasting rooms, marijuana bus tours and designated areas of hotels.”

(c) Most likely consumers would be anyone who enjoys this, tourists, and for medicinal purposes patients suffering from chronic conditions that might need this.

(d) Opportunity is relatively easy if taken an early approach, it can be quite to difficult to develop since there is a lot of people requesting permits.

3) I see this opportunity because of the same reason as above, I have kept up with the news and the marijuana market is giving billions in taxes to States. If these approaches are taken in its beginning stages of development it is much easier to thrive even with competition.

1) Economic trends

2) Subscription based economies

(a) Source: https://www.profitwell.com/blog/subscription-based-economy-trends

(b) For subscription based the opportunity lies beyond just paid subscription

(c)The most likely consumer would be anyone in the digital area. So many things are subscription based now that the old model of buying a piece of software or song is almost non existent.

(d) The opportunity is relatively easy to exploit due to its variations of implications that a person is able to do with a subscription based model.

3) I see this opportunity because it is proven to work, when developing an app or any other type of subscription based project the benefits outweighs the cost.


2) Digital Currency

(a) Source: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2019/12/13/the-current-landscape-of-central-bank-digital-currencies/
With the boom of the bitcoin many companies including Facebook, have started to develop their own digital currencies

(b) Opportunity exists here because of the relatively young timeline of this. While new laws, policies and projects are developed we can see a rise on the world of the Digital currency.

(c) The consumer of this opportunity ranges from people all the way to governments. In this new digital age, cash is less and less used. Digital forms of instant payments are developed and banks are less needed everyday.

(d) This opportunity can be relatively easy to exploit due to the huge amount of different currencies, being digital or actual. A consensus must be maid on to how to use these currencies and which ones.

3) I saw this opportunity because the trends have shown how more and more companies, websites, stores are accepting different forms of payment. Not like before where only form was cash or card.