16 What's Your Secret Sauce?

Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique.

·       Team Player – I always try to include everyone in any task. I am also really team oriented and always make sure I play the role I am supposed to play in any given project.

·       Passionate – Whenever I put my mind to work on something, I almost become engulfed by it. I become very passionate in whatever I put my mind to, and I think it is one of the key reasons I am always motivated by my work. For example, with the app I helped create in high school, I became so passionate about the product that I put all of my heart and soul into it to see it thrive.

·       Communication – I feel like I have pretty strong communication skills. I think this a very important skill to have since in any field of business or on any project, communication is key.

·       Compassion – I try to relate to the others the best I can. I do this to try to understand others and it lets me connect with people who are very different from me. It lets me connect with both the people I work with and the people I try to help.

·       Leadership – I have a lot of experience with being a peer leader from all of the volunteer work I have done and officer positions in clubs I have been part of in the past. I think with any venture, leadership is a very valuable asset to have.

Interviews:

1.     Interview with my sister

https://soundcloud.com/averyjsmith99/audio-1/s-SqAaQ

2.       Interview with my friend, Elder

https://soundcloud.com/averyjsmith99/audio-2/s-hhVMd

3.     Interview with my father

https://soundcloud.com/averyjsmith99/audio-3/s-A2faf

4.     Interview with my high school friend Jonathan

https://soundcloud.com/averyjsmith99/audio-4/s-cUw9I

5.     Interview with my friend Julia

https://soundcloud.com/averyjsmith99/audio-5/s-ROoMj

6.     Interview with my classmate Catie

https://soundcloud.com/averyjsmith99/audio-6/s-cuwtX

Reflection:

I think how I see myself and how others see me are very similar. A couple of the interviews talked about how I am hard working, energetic, and motivated. A couple of the interviews also pointed to my creativity and respectfulness. Overall though, I feel like the interviews and how I viewed myself were very similar. I think the interviewees are correct. My family and friends know me best which leads me to believe that what they said was reliable and correct. I would not make any corrections to my list above.

15A Figuring Out Buyer Behavior 2

In these interviews, I was able to interview five students about their buyer behavior process. All of these students fit into my segment (current freshmen who are experienced independence for the first time). From these interviews I was able to gain some insight on the segment’s alternative evaluation, how they buy, and post-purchase evaluation when trying to solve their need (needing a way to maintain a healthy balanced lifestyle). 

Alternative Evaluation:

I learned a lot from each interview about this segment’s alternative evaluation.

·       From my first interview, the interviewee stated that the resources they sought to help with the need were academic resources, mental health support, and athletic facilities. My second interviewee stated the importance of calendars and apps to track spending, sleep, and studying.

·       In regard to price, all of the interviewees stated that price is an important factor. All said that they do not wish to spend a lot or are on strict budgets. So, products that are cheap or free are the most preferred for this segment.

·       All also said that quality of the product/resource is very important. They all want the best results from the product and want to get their money’s worth. My fourth interviewee also said that quality is what they use to determine if the product or resource has value.

·       In terms of style, I received mixed results from the interviewees. The first interviewee stated that style is how they determine what resource they are most comfortable using and if they are not comfortable they move on. My second interviewee stated that the more appealing the product or resource is, the more likely they will use it. The other three interviewees said that style is not important in their decisions. Other factors that the interviewees mentioned were convenience, accessibility, and easy to use.

How/where do they buy?

These interviews also gave me insight in how and where this segment buys their products.

·       All the interviewees stated the importance of having resources on campus.

·       3 of the interviewees said that other alternative resources they seek in both in a store and online. The other two emphasized buying products in a store rather than online.

·       One interviewee preferred to just to make purchases online. The others would rather use cash or other methods of payment.

·       Three of the interviewees stated they are the only ones that are involved in making decisions. The other two stated that there were other influences (peer pressure, family influence, etc.).

Post-Purchase Evaluation:

Finally, I was able to gather some information on this segments’ post-purchase evaluation.

·          When determining the “rightness” and whether the product/ resource was a good idea, the interviewees gave me their opinions on what result they are looking for. The first two of my interviewees stressed the importance of the effectiveness of the product or resource. They measured effectiveness by if they are feeling better and how quickly results are showing.

·          My third interviewee said that if the product compares well to other products then they consider it a good idea. My last two interviewees stated that if they benefit then they consider the product a good idea.

·          To determine if the idea was a bad idea, all of the interviewees stated that if the resource makes them feel worse or gives them discomfort then the resource was a bad idea.

·          All stated the importance of technology being an added benefit to the product in making it “good”.

Based on all of this information from my interviewees, I am now able to get a better picture of my segment’s buyer behavior. I now have insight on this segment’s alternative evaluation process, how and where they seek resources, and their post purchase evaluation process. I would describe this segment as one that prefers products that are inexpensive, of high quality, and convenient. It seems like this segment slightly refers store bought products. The biggest factor in determining their post product production is whether they feel better off or worse off after using the product or resource. 

14A Halfway Reflection

1.     Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 

In this course, I have used a couple of behaviors to keep up with the requirements of this course. I have had to implement really good time management skills for this class since the assignments usually take a good amount of time to complete. I have had to develop an “entrepreneur mindset” in order to identify a good problem to solve and how to go about solving it. I have also had to be very open-minded. I have had to accept the fact not everyone is going to like my ideas or need my solution. I have had to stay very organized as well. In order to keep track of the interviews and due dates, I have had to make sure I was organized so that the process for each assignment runs smoothly.

2.     Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

Even though the course has run smoothly for me thus far, there has been times of difficulty. A time where I thought about “giving up” was the first assignment we had to interview people. I have developed more confidence in talking to people I have never met before and in conducting interviews. I was pretty nervous during the first interview I did. After doing more and more interviews, I have become more comfortable around people and being to ask interview questions.

I have always been hard working and tenacious. I definitely feel like I have become more tenacious throughout these last two months. I think from being to able to think outside the box more and developing problem solving skills contribute to this. Having to go out and identify problems in the world and identifying the right market to implement a solution for have been great experiences that have helped motivate me to continue to work hard.

3.     Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

1.     Be ok with criticism and failure. As an entrepreneur, you are going to fail probably more than once, and people may criticize your ideas. At the end of the day, do not let this deter you from pursuing your venture. Turn failure into motivation to try harder to get it right.

2.     Be open minded. Your idea for your venture is more than likely going to change at different times through the entrepreneurship process. Do not become close minded. Let the flow of new ideas and possibilities motivate you in making your ideas better moving forward.

3.     Have time management skills. It is important not to fall behind in this course and due dates are closer than they appear. By being organized and being able to manage your time well, it allows you to stay tenacious and always be on track.

13A Reading Reflection 1

For this reading reflection I chose to read The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

What surprised you the most?

The thing that surprised me the most is the journey that the Wright Brothers took to become successful. Prior to reading the book, I had no idea that the brothers actually started out in the bicycle business where they were relatively successful. I was surprised by how long it took them to become successful. Not only was it a long time before they actually got a working model, but it was a long time before they ever received any recognition for it. To me, it was very surprising that the United States did not recognize their work after Europe did.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

The things I admire about these two entrepreneurs were their dedication and work ethic. They probably would not have accomplished what they accomplished had it not been for their determination of completing a working airplane and seeing it through. They were so dedicated to their work and they never gave up. I also admired the fact that they were always respectful to the failures others had at creating an airplane.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

The thing I least admired about them was how they were around people sometimes. When people took pictures when they were not supposed to, the brothers would react very strongly which I did not admire very much. They also sometimes secluded themselves when away. They would often stay in the hanger with the planes at night which was a safety precaution but at the same time they lost a lot of time in the social atmosphere by doing that.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

These entrepreneurs experienced a lot of adversity and failure. The entire time they were trying to build the airplane, many others were trying to develop their own. This particularly did not seem to bother the brothers as much as they saw the flaws in the others’ models. They also faced many weather challenges that would prevent them from conducting test runs. Since it was mother nature, there was not much they could really do but have patience. They experienced many failures. It took Wilbur and Orville years to figure out the right models and engines. Nevertheless, each failure resulted in more motivation to keep going in order to figure it out.

What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

The biggest competency these two entrepreneurs exhibited was the ability to learn. Neither one of them attended college and yet still found a way to engineer a piece of technology that no one else had been able to do. They read and requested as many documents as they could from the Smithsonian about aeronautics and others’ experiences trying to develop an airplane. They were really good at identifying when they could or could not follow others’ data or ideas. The fact that neither achieved a college education and yet understood the laws of aeronautics and physics is quite amazing. They also exhibited tenacity. Nothing was going to get in the way that would prevent the brothers from achieving their goals.  

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

The book itself was an overall easy read and was not difficult to follow. The only part that I found a little confusing was when Wilbur, Katharine, and Orville were all in Europe together. There were so many events that took place with a number of different people in many different locations. To me it got a little difficult trying to keep up with the novel and being able to keep track of the different people and locations.

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

If I were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneurs, I would ask

1.     What was the driving force that motivated you in pursuing the airplane venture knowing that so many other people and organizations were already pursuing it?

2.     How much of a motivating factor was your sister in your business ventures?

I would ask these specific questions because I would like to know why they were not discouraged by the fact that there were already so many people trying to achieve the same thing they were trying to achieve. Also, since the book mentions their sister a lot and the relationship they had with her, I would like to know how much she was a driving force in their minds.

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

I think the Wright Brothers’ opinion of hard work is a lot of things. Hard work in their minds is being to able to stick to your goals. They never gave up no matter how tough times were. Hard work is often pain. Many of their trials resulted in the planes getting damaged and whoever was flying often getting cuts and bruises (or in one case ending up in the hospital like Orville did). Ultimately, I think their opinions are that hard work is the most important aspect of achieving anything you put your mind to. I one hundred percent share this opinion. I believe you can not get very far in life or achieve your goals without hard work.

12A Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Choosing a segment:

The segment I selected for this assignment were current freshmen students who are experiencing independence for the first time.  Some incoming freshmen have experience with independence prior to college. These students will be outside the chosen segment. All three of my interviews are with current freshmen who all experienced a need of maintaining a balanced life. All three are living away from home and are experiencing independence for the first time.

Interview Questions:

1.     When did you first become aware of the fact you need a way to maintain a balanced lifestyle during your transition from living away from home to college?

2.     What was the first solution you sought in order to resolve this unmet need?

3.     What other resources did you consult when trying to resolve this unmet need?

4.     What on the internet did you search to gather information/resources?

5.     Which campus resources did you use to try to solve your unmet need?

6.     Did you ever consult with family and/or friends?

7.     Was preparedness an issue?

8.     Which aspects of a balanced life did you seek information for?

9.     How did you fully resolve your unmet need? How long did it take?

What I learned:

I learned a variety of things from all three of my interviews. The first thing I learned is that all three became aware of their need at different times. One interviewee stated they became aware in high school, the other two stated different times during their first semester. Two of the interviewees sought help at the health and wellness center due to the importance of keeping good mental health. All stated that preparedness for being independent was a factor as to why their need exists. What was interesting was that the aspects of a balanced life that information was sought for was different for each interviewee. One said physical health, the second said mental health, and the third stated nutrition and sleep schedule. Only one stated they felt that they have been able to resolve their unmet need by the end of first semester. The other two are still experiencing their unmet need. Other resources the interviewees consulted included: books for college freshmen, the gym, and Amazon.

Conclusions:

I would describe this segment as a good segment for the opportunity. This segment all experienced the need at some point in their transition into college. The aspects of a balanced life that each focused on may have varied but since everyone is different, that is expected. The unmet need is the need for a balanced life overall. By identifying that preparedness is a factor as to why the need exists, maybe the product will not be super helpful to this segment. It could be helpful if it was provided early enough with tips and goals on how to be prepared. It seems that within this segment, the sources of information that were consulted are mostly the same. The health and wellness resources seemed to be a common thread among this group. This shows the importance of having access to campus resources. This segment overall could be a big potential market for the application.

11A Idea Napkin No.1

1.     Who you are? What your talents are? What your skills and experiences are? Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically, regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

My name is Avery Smith. I am a first year at the University of Florida and I am currently a marketing major. My intention is to eventually join the Master of International Business program. I have a lot of experience with public speaking and leadership. I volunteered at Sarasota Teen Court for three years where I was a peer leader. I also have experience with creating a company that also offered software and apps to consumers. This experience will be extremely beneficial to this opportunity. My aspirations are to be an entrepreneur and perhaps even a lawyer someday. My goal is to be able to do something that can help people. By starting this business concept, it would play a big role in my life. I would be able to help others succeed and that is something that excites me.

2.      What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs).

I am offering this product to both individual consumers and businesses. The product is a software application that helps individuals hold themselves accountable for maintaining healthy, balanced lifestyles. The application will be able to track various aspects of a balanced lifestyle (social time, study time, diet, fitness, mental well-being, etc.) by having the individuals set goals and manually input their data so that they can hold themselves accountable for meeting these goals. This product is solving individual’s un-met needs by helping them be accountable for maintaining healthy, balanced lifestyles during periods of transition.  I am also helping businesses because the businesses thrive when people are well rounded and have healthy balance in their lives. This could mean happy customers of the business or even more productive employees. Businesses also gain an outlet to provide services that can be used to help individuals with this unmet need.

3.     Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

I am offering this product to both individuals and businesses. Individuals in my target market would be primarily 18-19-year old’s who are just starting their first year in college. This includes both men and women. Not all first year students will have this unmet need of a way to maintain accountability for a healthy balanced lifestyle. Some students come from backgrounds where they have developed the skills and independence to maintain such a lifestyle. The primary focus is on students who are living away from home for the first time and need a way to hold themselves accountable for certain balances that they have been able to rely on parents or guardians for growing up. Some students may not need help or accountability for all aspects of a healthy, balanced lifestyle; but rather, they need help with one or two areas (i.e. time management and diet). They would still fall into the target market group because the product is designed to help with all aspects and the goals the students would set would just be for the few they need. The product will be marketed to any income level, all for the same set price.

I am also offering the application to businesses. This would include colleges and universities. Universities, like UF, all have incoming freshmen and understand the difficulties that students might have with the first year transition. Many, if not all, of these institutions offer services to help students, but students may not know where to go to find them. The application would be customizable so that institutions, like UF, can preload their services and resources to the app if the students need them. The idea is to sell the customizable application to universities in which they can in turn provide it free to their incoming freshmen.

4.      Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

I believe that primarily the businesses will pay money for my product. They are focused on providing the best resources to help their students transition well and succeed. By providing a way for students to maintain healthy balanced lifestyles, they are not only helping the students, but also better performing students who are able to perform well for the university rather than spending the time trying to figure out how to be healthy on their own. It also benefits the universities by helping them provide easier access to the resources they provide but students may be unable to find. I think universities, by purchasing this product, will be able to provide the product to students for free which will make the students more inclined to use it. I think students will use the product since it gives them a platform to make sure they are staying healthy and balanced during times of transition (in this case college).

5.     What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

There is no denying there are already products and resources on market already. These could be coming from the universities themselves or other third-party vendors. However, many of the products either focus on just one particular aspect of a balanced lifestyle or may be difficult for students to find. This product sets itself apart by providing a platform for all aspects that are relevant to the student and provides ease of access to resources they may not know where to find otherwise. The idea is to not compete with the resources the universities have to offer, but rather it is a platform to help guide students to these resources. It also sets itself apart as being one hundred percent customizable to fit students’ needs and allows them to hold themselves accountable by manually tracking these aspects in order to reach the goals the set for themselves.

In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others. 

I think the five elements work relatively well together. I feel like there could be some hesitation with universities adopting the product until it builds a reputation for itself. Until it is shown that the application can really help provide better access to their resources, universities may not buy the product for students right away. Also, both customer bases are necessary to each other, but both are extremely different. The business group’s focus of the product would be to provide a resource to students along with easier access to ones that are also available. The students would be interested in the product in order to better themselves and make sure they are maintaining healthy balanced lives. Students, due to tight budgets may not be as inclined to pay for the product which is why in order for the company to be successful, it has to be bought by universities. Other than that, due to my experience with app development and having gone through the college transition myself, I feel that I am a good person to offer this product and that there is definitely potential for success.  

11A1

10A Elevator Pitch no. 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVm6Ue9NH94&feature=youtu.be 

9A Testing the Hypothesis part 2

Who:

·       After conducting my interviews, I have identified groups that fall outside of my market. These are people who did not find the transition into college difficult or found it easy to maintain a healthy life balance. Like the people within in my current market, all of the interviewees are college freshmen living away from home. However, they fall outside of the market since they have not found difficulty in maintaining a healthy life balance while transitioning into college. One of my interviewees said that they were “used to doing a lot of things on their own” and the it was not difficult to maintain a balanced lifestyle.

·       What all of the interviewees said that was interesting is that they all experienced some form of difficulty at maintaining some form of balance in their lifestyle. What caused this difficulty was just the adjustment to college classes, not necessarily living away from home or the college transition.

·       One interviewee said that the use of calendars was all they needed to stay balanced. Another said it was the help of parents and being close to home as to how they stay balanced.

·       Another interviewee pointed out that though not all freshmen may find difficulty, transfer students or graduating students moving to new cities may find difficulty in leading a balanced lifestyle. This could be a potentially another market.

What:

·       One interviewee brought up the point that a budget is more of need than achieving a balanced lifestyle since the budget plays a large role.

·       My third interviewee stated that not all college freshmen necessarily may need help achieving a healthy life balance but that does not mean people will not need assistance in balancing their lifestyle in other stages of their life.

·       My current boundary includes all aspects of a balanced lifestyle, but all of the interviewees stated that it is more of an issue of time management for them rather than other aspects.

Why:

·       In some ways, this need just does not exist with some people. Some students get a strong foundation in lifestyle before college. Some may face a struggle at times at maintaining balance but have their own methods that work for them. Nevertheless, I still believe there is still some form of the need in most people. The most common problem I have found is issues with time management.

·       Everyone has a similar need but everyone is different which means everyone’s lifestyles are going to be different. Also, everyone was raised differently.

	Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who	1.    Freshmen who are living away from home for the first time 2.    Students who have never gone through a big life transition. 3.    Transfer students 4.    Graduating Students	1.    Students who are used to doing things on their own 2.    Students who have gone through transitions before.
What	1.    The need is a way to help people achieve a balanced lifestyle (time management, diet, fitness, mental wellbeing, etc.) that they may not be able to achieve due to big changes transitioning into college life. 2.    Students need a way to achieve a balanced lifestyle while holding themselves accountable. 3.    To help with such events like culture shock	1.    A calendar system (though it is part of the need) 2.    To prevent culture shock 3.    The need is not a way to create a budget; however, it can be part of the overall need. The need is a way to maintain all aspects together.
Why	1.    Living away from home for the first time 2.    Living on their own for the first time with no parent figure to help make sure they are maintain balance in their life 3.    Students need better time management skills 4.    Too much free time and freedom when students reach college 5.    New social changes	1.    Budget issues 2.    College classes are much different and harder than traditional high school classes. 3.    Not enough hours in the day