Final Reflection

1.) The high points for me from my blog have always been the elevator pitches. I've always had a problem with public speaking, and talking to a camera was a good way of practicing that. The low points are the interviewing customer assignment questions. I didn't like going up to random people to ask them questions and I dreaded that assignment every time I came up.

2.) The experience that will definitely stick with me was being able to think of a product and kind of working on it for months. I got a lot of positive experience where people said they would actually buy my product. That kind of makes me what to pursue actually making my product real.

3.) I think I have gotten closer to developing a entrepreneurial mindset. After all the assignments and readings, I have a better understanding of what it takes to be an entrepreneur and the work needed to be a successful one.

4.) One tip I would give to future students is to come up with product or service that you really believe in. This is make assignments easier for you. Also it will make them more invested in the work they do throughout the semester.

Week 15 Reading Reflection

1.) The first paragraphs of this article really surprised me. I thought it was a really great way to open it and it really drew me in. Trying to do business in a country and being extorted is really crazy.

2.) The part that confused me in this reading was the "Rethinking Microfinance" section. I didn't have an idea of what Microfinance and the definition that was provided didn't make any sense to me.

3.) One question I would ask the author is how was the full experience of being extorted like he did? Was it dangerous and how did you feel to be in that scenario. Also I would ask him if undermining the company's short term interests  for the customers is something every business should do? Can something as big as Microsoft of Comcast do the same?

4.) While I think that the success that this guy and his company have is amazing, I do question his decisions and their way to make a profit. Volume is great when you have a large customer base, but what happens when you don't. This article was made in 2008, how does his company fair now? Did his customer base ever decrease and did he ever start to lose profit because of his small margins and costly customer relationships?

Venture Concept No. 2

The feedback I got from my previous venture concept post really helped better develop my product. For the most part I got a very positive reception of the general idea. The people who commented loved the idea of a more efficient key chain. They also agreed with me that my competition isn't nearly as convenient as mine. The ways I was told I could improve my product was to also find a way to make sure non-commercial users could use it as well. If someone had an uncommon kind of key that wouldn't fit in my product, there would still be a way they could carry it around. So I decided to add more to the design element to work on this. Also, during the venture concept the pricing of my product was brought to light for the first time. I didn't spend a whole lot of time thinking about a good cost for this, but after seeing feedback saying that I needed to change it I did.

Opportunity

My venture is trying to meet the under-met needs people have with their key chains. What created this opportunity was the fact there isn’t much innovation or redesign happening to key chains in this day and age. The market for this product is very broad. Anyone can benefit from using this product, but the main demographics I’m targeting are businesses and students. Workers in hotels, convention centers, or stores, would benefit from the advantages of my product, KeyBrain, since they would be the most likely demographic who would carry 10 or more keys at a time. Also, as a student myself, I believe that the younger demographic would like to see a more efficient design of a key chain with less of the annoyances a regular one has.
As of right now must customers are just complacent with key chains now. They are aware of the annoyances they have but do not know of a better alternative to fix it. But if a better key chain product became known I think many people would be quick to switch to it. I think this opportunity could have a large impact on the world. A majority of people carry a key chain around with them at all time, especially college students. People are always looking for the efficient versions of products and KeyBrain would be just that for them. I think the window of opportunity for this will be open for at least 10 years. The main detriment to this venture is the widespread use of key-less cars and doors, but these things are just starting to get into use. Also growth of it is very slow since it can be very expensive to implement, so many people just dismiss it entirely and stick with the old-fashioned key ring. If this mentality continues, this venture could still be success for much longer than expected.

Innovation

KeyBrain is a new way to carry around your keys. The old-fashioned key ring comes with many small annoyances. They can be bulky in your pocket and take up too much space, this can lead to them pricking the side your leg when walking or sitting, it can be hard to find the right key when you need them if you carry a lot at once, also they can be noisy by jiggling around when you walk. KeyBrains design is meant to eliminate all these issues. The product is a small, thin container that you slip your keys. The container itself looks like a thin USB drive. On the one its sides are small colored knobs for each slot a key is in. You push these up and down to reveal/ hide the key. With the compact design, it reduces the amount of space your keys take up and the noise it makes when you move around and eliminates the chances of your keys hitting your leg when you sit. Also the knobs on the side make getting the right key easier. There is also key finder feature with it. Many people tend to misplace their keys often. The KeyBrain has a companion app that helps you find your keys. If you lose your keys, you can open the app to trigger a small flickering light on the container to help make it more visible. There is also a small GPS device so you can have idea where they are.
With this product we are making money through customization options. The standard KeyBrain, which holds 5 keys, costs $20. These would come in different colors like dark blue, red, orange, green, etc. If someone just wants to add one more key to the standard product, a key slot attachment is afford at $2 with each different color. For business, the KeyBrain XL houses a minimum of 10 keys at $30 with different colors sold as well. Lastly, there is a small add-on that comes with each product. This is a small little knob and an old style key ring. This is for users who might have an uncommon size key that might not be compatible with the product. So they can still carry around the key and use my product.

Venture Capital

The main reason customers would switch to this new product is because they see how more convenient it is over the old fashioned key ring everyone uses. In this day in age, people are buying new products for things that have always been the same for the sake of convenience. Modern takes on coffee machines of picture frames are a few of the examples that show this. One customers see how much better KeyBrain is compared to their key chains, I believe they would quickly make the switch to it. Today, if something isn’t working as well as it should be, people are quick to find something to replace. I believe that many people are sick of the annoyances that come with carry a full key chain and are waiting for something like KeyBrain to fix these small annoyances in their life.
The biggest competitor to my product is the Keyport, a modular key chain. However, their product isn’t as user-friendly or as well designed as mine. First of all, their product standard product is the size of what my XL model is. Also, it isn’t as easy as sticking your keys into it and its done. People have to order their keyport and send their keys to be made to fit into the container. With packaging, the simpler the better would do well for this kind of product. Having it placed in a small plastic box works well since the customer could fully see and imagine how the product would work. I also think our price points help define our business concept. We’re all about designing products that have maximum efficiency. Having these priced at $15 to $20 is a reasonable price for the product we are selling. The distribution, customer service have a small role in my businesses concept. With this venture I would like to keep a small number of employees. I would partner with a manufacturing company to make the product, and have a 5 man design team for future innovations, and 20 man business team to deal with company accounting and deals.

The three minor elements

My most important resource will be my design experience. Having prior knowledge on how to properly design something that’s user-friendly will give me an edge when starting this venture and help differentiate my products from others. The next product I aim to make is a modular phone case. With this you can add different peripherals to the back of your phone like a battery pack or earbud holder. Like the KeyBrain, it aims to maximize the efficiency of a product. If this venture launched, in 5 years I would like to be working on this business full time. After 10 years, I hope to have created a handful of products that people use every day. Hopefully, this venture would be the first of many.

Elevator Pitch no.4

With the feedback I got from the previous elevator pitches, I tried to trip over my words less. If it did happen, I tried to keep going and make things as smooth as possible. That's the feedback that was the most important to me. I'm not the best public speaker so I'm always trying to find ways to improve in that. I was very surprised to see the positive feedback that my product has gotten.

Since the 2nd elevator pitch, I've made the same kind of speech but with a few small additions to what I say. For this one I talked about things that I just mentioned in my venture concept. I talked about the different sizes my product comes in, and whose the target audience for each. I think that made my pitch a little more streamlined.

Google Gold

1.) I used one kind of approach to get search engine optimization. I put a link to my blog post whenever I commented on someone else's posts.

2.) At the beginning of the semester I didn't have any key words that I could attribute to my blog. After the first elevator pitch I used my venture, Key Brain, as my key words. This was something unique to my blog.

3.) I didn't use any other kind of social media to enhance my SEO. I just made posts and shared a URL to it when commenting on other peoples blogs. I don't think anyone followed those links though. If I shared my blog on my Twitter or Facebook I would have gotten a lot more views on each posts and I would have probably enhanced my SEO.

4.) The post that got the most traffic to my blog was the first elevator pitch. I think this happened because it was the first time I posted a video on to my blog. It was also the first time I had introduced my venture.

5.) I never made it to the first page of Google. Even when you type in my venture nothing related to mine comes up. However, if you search up "ENT3003 Jason Jose" the first page is filled with all my blog posts.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

1.)In chapter 3, I was surprised to see that "do not punish failure" was a written corporate philosophy. I thought that failure was something people would understand how to deal with in the corporate world already. I thought they would already know that failure can be a learning experience.

2.) One part that confused me from chapters 3 was the traditional management practice, Control against plan. The book stated its adverse effects and recommended actions, but it was hard to understand what that kind of practice was.

3.) One question I would ask the author is are there any other ways to define a social entrepreneur. He listed a few characteristics in chapter 4, but are there any other ways to define them. Also, which of the social enterprises obligations is the most important. Is the conservation  of energy or environment or community involvement more important than the others.

4.) One thing I don't agree with the author on is in chapter 4. He listed average commute time as a bottom line measure of social performance. Compared to the other examples listed, I don't see this as an important factor. There are many other ways to measure someones social performance than how long it takes them to get to work.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

1.) What I was surprised to see the most in this chapter was that there is a method of venture evaluation only for last resorts. I didn't expect there to be a specific method just for one sort of scenario.

2.) I had a hard time understanding the idea of dividend preference. In the book, I don't think they provided a good definition for it. Also it didn't have an idea of what a common and preferred stock was.

3.) One question I would ask the other is does he think that Facebook will still be profitably and have growth in the future? Does it seem more likely that it will fade away like things like Myspace or digg? Also, is there another website he believes is valued way more than its actually worth? Facebook was thought to be too highly valued, is something like twitch or another site similar?

4.) I don't believe emotional bias is a common issue, or at least one that is big enough to warrant its own section in the book. If an entrepreneur can keep a business running for a while, they have an understanding of how their business fairs with their competitors. The only time this could really apply is if your company is as huge as Facebook. I don't think a small business could have this issue.

Celebrating Failure

1.) A friend of mine asked me to help them edit a video. They asked me to take 45 minutes of footage that they had and cut it down into 2 minutes so they could use it for a presentation. I had a lot of late nights trying to make a video that worked, but with each new version of it I always say something wrong with it. There were simple things like awkward transitions, bad audio, the green screen was noticeable, and then there were more complex things, like the video didn't have any flow or was too all over the place. After weeks of working on it, I finally got it done. My friend was satisfied with it but after all the work I still wasn't happy with it.

2.) From this, I learned that things are never perfect. I spent so much time trying to make every detail in the video work, even though they never could be. Also, as long as a customer is happy you should consider something a success.

3.) I think in whatever we want do in life, we must experience failure in order for us to succeed. Experiencing failure makes us better at things. We become better prepared to tackle the challenge. The way I handle failure is accessing whatever I do wrong and trying to figure out why it happened and how I can make sure it doesn't happen again. Emotionally, I just let it eat away at me. With this class, I've become more likely to take risks. Looking back at the interview assignments, I was afraid of failing but after going through with them, even when they went bad, I feel better prepared for doing something like it again.

My Exit Strategy

1.) My exit strategy for my venture is to stick with the business for several decades, and then when it comes time to retire I find someone to replace me.

2.) I choose this exit strategy because my venture is all about creating different kinds of products. There isn't a one certain thing that this business does, it always something different. My first product was on key chains and my next product was a phone case. I think this inconsistency in what products my business makes would make it hard to sell. Also, I would like to keep control of my company.

3.) This exit strategy has influenced my venture concept by making it that I keep things small. It influenced how small of a staff I'm looking for. This exit strategy has influenced how I identify an opportunity. They would be ways to not only expand the reach of my products, but also way to keep things easy for a relatively small business . So I'd look to have partners in almost every aspect of the business to help me.

Week 12 Reading Reflection

1.) I was surprised to see that failing to explicitly communicate the company's strategy to employees was a fatal vision in strategic planning. I didn't think something like that could be so detrimental to a company.

2.) What confused me the must from this reading was the idea of strategic planning. With the way the book explained it, it took a long time for me to wrap my mind around it.

3.) One question I would ask the author is how long does it usually takes before a venture experiences failure. I remember reading something how they usually last 3 years or so, but is that really true. Also I would ask what he thinks could be the next company that could be like the "fab four" in innovation growth. Does he think something like Oculus could be the next big innovation.

4.) I disagree with the author on saying no is a way to help employee motivation. I think constant rejection of someone's ideas could heavily demotivate them and maybe ruin their working mindset completely.

Venture Concept No.1

Opportunity

My venture is trying to meet the under-met needs people have with their key chains. What created this opportunity was the fact there isn’t much innovation or redesign happening to key chains in this day and age. The market for this product is very broad. Anyone can benefit from using this product, but the main demographics I’m targeting are businesses and students. Workers in hotels, convention centers, or stores, would benefit from the advantages of my product, KeyBrain, since they would be the most likely demographic who would carry 10 or more keys at a time. Also, as a student myself, I believe that the younger demographic would like to see a more efficient design of a key chain with less of the annoyances a regular one has.

As of right now must customers are just complacent with key chains now. They are aware of the annoyances they have but do not know of a better alternative to fix it. But if a better key chain product became known I think many people would be quick to switch to it. I think this opportunity could have a large impact on the world. A majority of people carry a key chain around with them at all time, especially college students. People are always looking for the efficient versions of products and KeyBrain would be just that for them. I think the window of opportunity for this will be open for at least 10 years. The main detriment to this venture is the widespread use of key-less cars and doors, but these things are just starting to get into use. Also growth of it is very slow since it can be very expensive to implement, so many people just dismiss it entirely and stick with the old-fashioned key. If this mentality continues, this venture could still be success for much longer than expected.

Innovation

KeyBrain is a new way to carry around your keys. The old-fashioned key ring comes with many small annoyances. They can be bulky in your pocket and take up too much space, this can lead to them pricking the side your leg when walking or sitting, it can be hard to find the right key when you need them if you carry a lot at once, also they can be noisy by jiggling around when you walk. KeyBrains design is meant to eliminate all these issues. The product is a small, thin container that you slip your keys. The container itself looks like a thin USB drive. On the one its sides are small colored knobs for each slot a key is in. You push these up and down to reveal/ hide the key. With the compact design, it reduces the amount of space your keys take up and the noise it makes when you move around and eliminates the chances of your keys hitting your leg when you sit. Also the knobs on the side make getting the right key easier. There is also key finder feature with it. Many people tend to misplace their keys often. The KeyBrain has a companion app that helps you find your keys. If you lose your keys, you can open the app to trigger a small flickering light on the container to help make it more visible. There is also a small GPS device so you can have idea where they are.

With this product we are making money through customization options. The standard KeyBrain, which holds 5 keys, costs $20. These would come in different colors like dark blue, red, orange, green, etc. If someone just wants to add one more key to the standard product, a key slot attachment is afford at $2 with each different color. For business, the KeyBrain XL houses a minimum of 10 keys at $30 with different colors sold as well.

Venture Capital

The main reason customers would switch to this new product is because they see how more convenient it is over the old fashioned key ring everyone uses. In this day in age, people are buying new products for things that have always been the same for the sake of convenience. Modern takes on coffee machines of picture frames are a few of the examples that show this. One customers see how much better KeyBrain is compared to their key chains, I believe they would quickly make the switch to it. Today, if something isn’t working as well as it should be, people are quick to find something to replace. I believe that many people are sick of the annoyances that come with carry a full key chain and are waiting for something like KeyBrain to fix these small annoyances in their life.

The biggest competitor to my product is the Keyport, a modular key chain. However, their product isn’t as user-friendly or as well designed as mine. First of all, their product standard product is the size of what my XL model is. Also, it isn’t as easy as sticking your keys into it and its done. People have to order their keyport and send their keys to be made to fit into the container. With packaging, the simpler the better would do well for this kind of product. Having it placed in a small plastic box works well since the customer could fully see and imagine how the product would work. I also think our price points help define our business concept. We’re all about designing products that have maximum efficiency. Having these priced at $20 and $30 is a reasonable price for the product we are selling. The distribution, customer service have a small role in my businesses concept. With this venture I would like to keep a small number of employees. I would partner with a manufacturing company to make the product, and have a 5 man design team for future innovations, and 20 man business team to deal with company accounting and deals.

The three minor elements

My most important resource will be my design experience. Having prior knowledge on how to properly design something that’s user-friendly will give me an edge when starting this venture and help differentiate my products from others. The next product I aim to make is a modular phone case. With this you can add different peripherals to the back of your phone like a battery pack or earbud holder. Like the KeyBrain, it aims to maximize the efficiency of a product. If this venture launched, in 5 years I would like to be working on this business full time. After 10 years, I hope to have created a handful of products that people use every day. Hopefully, this venture would be the first of many.

Amazon Whisperer

-The revenue drivers in my business concept are the variations my KeyBrain product. So I'd make money by selling two different sizes of KeyBrain, and also small modular components you could add to the KeyBrain like a bottle opener and small change holder.

-The next kind of product I'm offering is a modular phone case that could work for all the latest phone cases. Besides just being a strong phone case, this product also allows you to add different things to the case. 

-The original purpose of KeyBrain was to find a way to find a way to make a keychain more efficient. It did this by making the key chain less bulky and noisy. This next product follows that same idea of making things more efficient. This modular phone case will maximize what the capabilities of a phone case can be for a better user experience. 

-The closes thing on Amazon to my product is the "uNu Exera Modular Detachable Battery Case for iPhone 4S/4". This phone case allows you to attach/detach a battery module whenever you want.

                                           

This product has mostly favorable reviews. Customers did not like that the product worked better for some and terribly for others. Many people complained that it was difficult to charge after a certain point or it would charge at all. People do like being able to add the battery whenever they want and remove it when they don't need it.

-With my idea, the modular phone case, a battery module would be just one of the things you could add to the case. You can add a slim battery pack to it for more battery, a headphone holder or a headphone amp. You can even add miscellaneous tools like a modular bottle opener, key holder, etc. These modules would also be compatible with the previous product, KeyBrain.

-As stated before, my previous product was all about maximizing the efficiency of the key chain. This next product is all about maximizing the efficiency of the phone case. So the phone case isn't just about keeping you phone safe, this product allows it to do more. 

Week 11 Reading Reflection

1.) What surprised me the most was seeing Cornings's tech history. Having such a long gap between products from 1982 to 2007 is amazing.

2.) I was confused with how they were trying to explain how will innovation create value for potential customers. I understood what they were talking about but I thought the way they explained it could have been better.

3.) One question I would ask the author is if he thinks more companies should practice crowd sourcing. Can this be used as a standard way of doing things now instead of a traditional route.
Also, I would ask what he thinks a company like Yahoo would need to innovate to become relevant again here in the states. He brought it up early in the article and it got me thinking out how Yahoo is still a top website in Japan but barely standing here in the states.

4.) I don't agree with the author that aping someone's else's system is not the answer. This has been done so many times today and it has worked. Services like Spotify and Tidal, Xbox Live and PSN, are companies looking to their competitors copying exactly what worked for them.

My Unfair Advantage.

Design Knowledge (human capital)
V: I have experience designing an actual app and its layout and functionality. Understanding how to properly design things is a good skill to have when making a product.
R: Not many people my age have this kind experience.
I: People can't copy the experience I have.
N: Although other people can be more experienced than me, they would do things differently than me.

Professional Clients experience (human capital)
V: Having experience dealing with professional clients at my age gives me a better understanding of how things work in the real world.
R: Not many people my age have experience pitching and presenting products to actual business clients.
I: People can't have the experience I have
N: Although other people can be more experienced than me, they would do things differently than me.

KeyBrain (human capital)
V: This idea is what makes my venture special.
R: Not many companies are looking to reinvent key chains.
I: People could have similar ideas, but nothing like mine.
N: There aren't many substitutions for this kind of product.

Connection to business professionals (social capital)
V: Having access to people who could help me grow my business could really help.
R: It isn't that rare for someone my age to know someone involved in business
I: My connections can't be copied.
N: This can be substituted by knowing better contacts.

Determination (human capital)
V:  Having the will to see this venture through to the end is very valuable.
R: Not many people are willing to invest this amount of effort into something.
I: You cannot copy this.
N: This could be substituted with someone more determined.

Connection to design professionals (Social capital)
V: Being able to get feedback or ideas from design experts can really help make my product better
R: Having this kind of connection isn't rare.
I: This could be copied by having the same connections.
N: This could be substituted by having better connections.

Location (Social capital)
V: Being in a university allows me test the product in every situations.
R: This kind of environment isn't rare.
I: This could be imitable with any other university.
N: This could be substituted with any other location

Large base of customers (social capital)
V: Being able to sell this product to 50,000+ on campus and businesses around Gainesville could give me an edge in breaking into the market.
R: A college town isn't that rare.
I: This could be imitable with any other college town.
N: This could be substituted with any other location.

Responsibility (human capital)
V: Being able to be trusted by customers and connections is extremely valuable in business.
R: Not very rare for people to have this
I: This trait could be imitable.
N: This could be substituted

Powerful laptop (human capital)
V: Being able to work on everything on one machine and being able to take is very valuable.
R: Having a good laptop isn't rare.
I: This could be easily copied by just buying the same computer
N: The software and hardware I used can be easily substituted.

My top resource is probably my experience dealing with professional clients.Working with professional clients on a project isn't something a lot of people have. Having a understanding of this helps my venture by giving me an edge on how to work with business partners.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

1.) The biggest surprise for me was seeing that knowing when to walk away was a tip related to securing funds. As the post pointed out, I had a traditional thinking where customers are always profitable.

2.) One part of the reading that was confusing to me was the concept of owner equity. I had a hard time grasping what it actually meant.

3.) One question I would ask the author is what characteristic is better to have in a financial statement. Is it better to be realistic or precise? Also, which stage of preparing financial budgets is the most difficult to map out for larger business. Is it operating or cash flow budget?

4.) I disagree with the author in making noise is a good tip to help secure funds. I think that in the short term it does help you receive your payment, but it could hurt in the future. The customer might not like being pushed to pay and might tell others to avoid working with you.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

The feedback that surprised the most for me in the last elevator pitch was every comment was really positive about my product. Also people liked my short and to the point delivery. The one that stood out the most was someone pointed out that I tripped over my words at one point.

For this pitch, I tried to make it even more shorter and to the point. I focused on what the product was and who it was for. I also tried to trip over my words less.

Week 9 Reading Reflection

1.) What surprised me from the reading was to find out that blog monitoring is an actual tactic in marketing research. I didn't think that companies would look at blogs to help better sell their products.

2.) The part that confused me from the reading was the 4Ps to the 4Cs. I didn't really understand how the two correlated.

3.) One question I would ask the author is what he thinks the best way to research a market. What does he think provides the faster, and better data in this day and age. I would also ask him what he thinks influences marketing philosophy more. I believe that an entrepreneurs background is the biggest influence but I am curious to know what he thinks.

4.) I disagree with the authors idea that telephone interviews are a good way to research the market. I don't think respondents would cooperate with them on the phone.

Idea Napkin No.2

1.) I have experience designing apps for student and professional projects. My aspiration is to have a career that is both creatively rewarding and can provide benefits to people. If I were to start this business, this could achieve that aspiration. I would dedicate all my time to designing my key holder product and knowing people are willing to buy it would give me the sense that I'm having a positive impact on society.

2.) Carrying a lot of keys on you comes with a lot of annoyances. They can take up a lot of space and sit uncomfortably in your pocket. They can be noisy if you walk around with them. And there's a hassle to find the right key when you need to use it. My product, KeyBrain, is meant to replace the regular key chain and remove of these annoyances of carry keys around.

3.) My main target for this product is anyone who needs to carry around a lot of keys with them at all times, so people like college students, hotel staff, business owners, and many more. This product is something that could make their lives more convenient by removing a small but annoying issue in their life. I've seen in convention centers and hotels where staff members have a hard time trying to find the right key for a specific room or they are constantly messing with their keys because its uncomfortable or too loud. I also deal with these annoyances every day and having a product like KeyBrain is something that I need.

4.) The product is designed to fix every annoyance previously mentioned. Instead of keys placed around a ring and exposed, they are put into a small rectangular container that holds them neatly. The container is compact so it takes up less space in your pocket, is more comfortable,  and removes the clattering of keys. Finding the right key is a lot easier too. So the keys are placed inside of the container. On the side of the container are small knobs that you push up and down. This pushes the key up so you can use it and down again when yo're done with it.

There is also a feature that lets you find your KeyBrain if you misplace is. A common annoyance is not knowing where you placed your keys. There will be an app that works with the product that helps pinpoint where your keys are located. The number of keys you can hold is also expandable. You can carry 5 to 10 keys at a time. So for staff workers at a hotel instead of carry a huge bundle of disorganized keys, you can carry 2 or three KeyBrains that have the keys sorted together.

5.) What sets me apart from everyone else is my determination. No matter how far fetched or impossible something might seem, I'll do my best to things work. What I have that nobody else has is that at my age I have experience with working with professional clients on making a new product from scratch.

I believe that all five of these elements work well together. I have some unqiue experiences that give me an understanding on how to design and plan out a product. I have a core audience that I'm targeting but the product is something that everyone could use. The features it has are things that people care about. And I think my core competencies are things that will help me move my business further if I wanted to start it.

Feedback Memo

From my feedback, everyone thought I came up with a great solution to a problem. They found the annoyances I fixed very convenient. The design of the product was also well received. Also my target audience was something people agreed on. There was feedback on how there could be problems getting an older generation to use a new technology for something they've been using for years. With this feedback I tried to make my napkin idea more detailed so people could better understand what my goal of the product is. I also tried to define my target audience more understandable. 

Week 8 Reading Reflection

1.) One thing that surprised me from the reading was seeing that venture capitalists aren't satisfied with a reasonable return on investments. I thought investors would stay satisfied as long as they make a decent return. I didn't expect that they would want unreasonable returns in order to invest.

2.) One thing that confused me from the reading was that they didn't really explain why having too much reliance on one member of a team could be deal breaker for venture capitalists. I never assumed that that would be a problem.

3.) My first question to the author would be what he thinks of the new trend of crowdfunding? Does he think it could take over as the main way to finance a business? Also, in this day and age its hard to make a product that is truly unique. What does he think is the best way to try and present a product if uniqueness isn't possible.

4.) I think the author is wrong to think that unrealistic expectations can be a deal breaker for venture capitalists. From what I've seen, people who make the products have more understanding of the industry more than anyone. So they know exactly how well they're product is really worth.

Half-way Reflection

1.) A behavior I picked up to keep up with this course is to try and stay organized and manage my time well. There were times in the beginning where I would almost forget to do assignments. Now I keep a schedule on when I want to get things done.

2.) Moments I felt like giving up was when I had to do the interviews and the elevator pitch. I couldn't bring myself to do them but then I realized that they were things that could be done really quickly. I think those two assignments have helped me develop a tenacious attitude.

3.) three tips I would give out for this course:

1. Keep a schedule on when you want to get things done. This makes things easier.
2. Don't worry about having to go out and asking/ interviewing people.
3. Having a friend with you when doing some of the assignments can make things easier.

Week 7 Reading Reflection

1.) One thing that surprised me from the reading was the way advertising was after WWII. I thought persuading people using emotions you get from buying products or using relatable characters would have been something done before that time.

2.) One part that confused me was when the reading was trying to explain how attitudes matter to the buying decision. The reading wasn't exactly clear on how it helps sell products.

3.) One question I would ask the other is what does he think the most effective way to segment an audience is. Can segmenting them through attitude or lifestyle lead to more profit? Also, which purpose of segmentation is more effective, advertising or new products? I feel that a new develop on advertising can make any product more appealing for different audiences. Microsoft has done a great job at using different kinds of ads to target different kinds of people for their Surface Pro series.

4.) One thing I disagree on with the authors is that they say that visiting a clinic about a medical condition is a middle of the spectrum decision. I think in most cases that's a more deeper decision since it has a chance of being something serious.

Elevator Pitch no.2

What stood out to me the most from the feedback I got from the first elevator pitch was how positive it all was. Every comment I got said that they thought my idea was great and it was something they would.

For this pitch, I tried to make sure my delivery was more concise. I wanted to make sure I got the idea of KeyBrain across better than the first pitch. While nobody had a problem with understanding the product, I thought I could do a better job at it.

Interviewing Customers No. 3

The questions I asked during the interview:

1. Do you carry a lot of keys with you?
2. Do they ever annoy you? Do they hurt your leg when they're in your pocket? Are they too bulky? Is it a hassle to find the right key?
3. Would you be willing to buy a product that fixes those annoyances?
4. If it came with a feature that would help you locate your keys if you lost them through an app, would that be an incentive to buy it?
5. How much would you be willing to pay for this kind of product?

From these interviews, I learned that people could really benefit from having a new kind of key chain. People want a more compact, less noisy, and easier way to store their keys. What surprised me the most is how much people are willing to pay for it. Throughout the interviews people said they would pay $10-$20 for the product. I didn't think people would go over $10. Because of these interviews, my thoughts on the product has changed. I'm more confident that this product is a good idea and would actually benefit a lot of people.

Week 6 Reading Reflection

1.) What surprised me the most in the reading was the Airlines were less profitable than Knitting Mills from 1992-2006, with Airlines averaging 5.9% ROIC and Mills 10.5%.

2.) One part of the reading that confused me was the shaping industry structure part. The idea of an industry reshaping itself was not sticking with me.

3.) One question I would ask the author is what he thinks the biggest barrier to entry is for incumbents. He listed 7 but surely there is one that more hindering than the other. Also, I would ask how big of a threat are substitutes. There are five forces that shape industry competition, so much do substitutes effect that.

4.) The thing that I disagree on with the author is on Rivalry. He says that rivalry is especially destructive to profitability if it gravitates solely to price because price competition transfers profits directly from an industry to its customers. I think in the long term rivalry can be beneficial to profitability as it fuels competition to make the better and more affordable products. Rivalry can set which company is the best.

Idea Napkin No.1

1.) I have experience designing apps for student and professional projects. My aspiration is to have a career that is both creatively rewarding and can provide benefits to people. If I were to start this business, this could achieve that aspiration. I would dedicate all my time to designing my key holder product and knowing people are willing to buy it would give me the sense that I'm having a positive impact on society.

2.) My product, KeyBrain, is meant to replace the regular key chain. Having a lot of keys in your pocket can be annoying. They can sit uncomfortably in your pocket, takes up a lot of space, are noisy, and can be a hassle to find the right key when you need it. KeyBrain is a new key holder that is meant to fix all those problems.

3.) This product would be great for individuals who carry a lot of keys around with them all the time, like college students. This would also be great for any organization or business that has a lot of rooms, like a hotel or convention center. Every time I got to a hotel, I see workers who have these huge amount of keys on a small key chain. They always chain them to their belt buckles and have a hard time finding the right keys to every door they need to open.

4.)  The product itself is a small rectangular container that holds and organizes all of your keys. Its compact so it takes up less space in your pocket and is more comfortable, removes the clattering of keys, and makes find the the right key easier. The idea is that you put your keys into the container and when you need to take a key out, there is a knob in the side that slides the key out and back in. Depending on the number of keys you carry, you can have the container hold 5 to 10 keys at a time. So for staff workers at a hotel instead of carry a huge bundle of disorganized keys, you can carry 2 or three KeyBrains that have the keys sorted together.

5.) What sets me apart from everyone else is my determination. No matter how far fetched or impossible something might seem, I'll do my best to things work. What I have that nobody else has is that at my age I have experience with working with professional clients on making a new product from scratch.

I think that all five of these elements fit together well for me. My experience with designing apps gives me some insight on how to develop an idea from the ground up. The product that I'm offering can really benefit a a large demographic of people. The people I listed would care about my product and everyday people could use it as well.Also my core competencies are things that will help me move my business further if I wanted to start it.

Interviewing Customers No. 2

1.) After the first round of interviews, I started with a broad opportunity. I thought of a way to reduce the amount of space our phone, keys, and wallet take in our pocket. Now I focused more on one of those items, keys/ key chains. I thought of an opportunity that would reduce the clutter, noise, and annoyance of having a lot of keys in your pocket.

2.) In the last interview I talked to anyone. But for these interviews I focused on students. I think students would definitely gain the most from this opportunity than anyone else because of all the different kinds of keys we have to carry at all times.

3.) In this interview, I changed my questions to focus more on the issues of keys.

5.) After these 10 interviews, I have more confidence in my opportunity. I think it's good idea and it's something that people would actually use. 

6.) My three tips for students in the class next semester:

1. Don't worry too much about asking random people for interviews. 
2. Having a friend with you when your interviews makes things easier
3. Think of your surroundings. Make sure you're interviewing people in a quiet place so when people watch your videos, they'll be able to understand whats being said.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

1.) What surprised me the most from the readings was finding out how long it takes to obtain a patent. I knew the process was complicated, but I never thought it would take 24 months to get it done.

2.) One part of the reading that confused me was the reasons a trademark may be invalidated. I didn't understand what the conditions they listed meant at first, but after reading them again I got it.

3.) A question I would ask the author is which of the three primary forms of organization does he think is more suitable for a smaller business. Would a sole proprietorship or partnership be more beneficial. Also, with this chapter being about trademarks and legal challenges, I would ask the author a question on a current event. I would ask him what he thinks about the Finebros. controversy that happened over the past week with them trying to trademark content.

4.) There is one thing I disagree with that the author wrote. He states that generic words never get trademarked, but there have been many times in recent events where they have been. The game studio, King, trademarked the word "Candy" for Candy Crush, Sony tried to trademark the term "Let's Play", and the Finebros trademarked the "React".

Elevator Pitch no.1

KeyBrain

Having a lot of things attached to your keychain can be really annoying. It’s bulky and can take up a lot of space in your pocket, it can be uncomfortable to move around with, and it can be a hassle to try a find the right key when you need it.

My solution is a small container that neatly holds all your keys. The key holder would be a thin container, that could fit in your palm, that you would slide your keys in and out of. When you need to use a certain key, there is a knob on the side that raises and lowers the key. This would fix all the problems I listed above. Your keys would take less room in your pocket and be more comfortable to carry, and finding the right key would be easier. 

Week 4 Reading Reflection

1.) The biggest surprise for me from the reading about the either/or-thinking of the muddling mind-sets section. I thought looking for certainty in our lives would be considered a good thing.

2.) The part that confused me the most from the reading was one of the muddling mind-sets, probability thinking. I really understand what it meant with the examples given.

3.) There are two questions I would like to ask the author for this chapter. One is does he think there is a certain characteristic in the creative climate that is more important than others. There are many different traits listed but is there one that is more preferred. Another question is are there any drawbacks to any of the principles of innovation. Are there any consequences to being action oriented or starting small.

4.) The one thing I think the author was wrong about was with the either/or-thinking being a muddling mind-set. After the reading I do understand the author's point that a reasonable amount of uncertainty can be good in someones work or life, but I think a mindset of striving for certainty can lead to creativity as well. If someone knows the goal they need to achieve, they can figure out different steps they can take to achieve it. Also having certainty can lead to someone feeling more freely to think creatively.

Top 5 World Problems

Top 5 problems (Descending order)

1.) There is too much wasted food. People are very quick to dispose of something when they see the expiration date is passed, even though for most products its still perfectly edible. Many times the expiration date is put on by companies to make people by more of their product instead of being accurate. Any vegetables or fruits not bought in stores in thrown away.

2.) The amount of waste the world produces is too large and effecting our environment. There are islands of trash floating around in the sea contaminating the water and large acres of land with nothing but garbage giving off harmful fumes.

3.) Air pollution makes living in densely populated areas. Air in certain cities in China is so polluted from car exhaust fumes that it is impossible to see and people are getting sick everyday.

4.) Many countries around the world are either dealing with under population or over population. Japan, for instance, is experiencing a rapid decline in their population.

5.) People around the world continue to text or use their phones while driving. Even though there have been countless number of campaigns advising people to not do and people know how dangerous it is, they still do it.

The reason I decided food waste is the world's most serious problem is because i's something that most people unintentionally contribute to. This is something that could be easily preventable if the information about false expiration dates was more commonly know. The next two problems I ranked for the a similar reason except many people do know how it effects the world. I choose under and over population at #4 because it is a global issue. I ranked texting and driving as #5 there are a lot of things being done to stop it. 

Top 5 Solutions (Descending order)

1.)  (For problem #4) Advance the hands free technology in cars so people are more inclined to use that instead of looking at their phones. Certain cars allow you to send and read texts and control your music without looking on your phone. If all cars had that and had better voice recognition to make using it easier, more people would stop looking at their phones while driving.

2.) (For problem # 2) Require or promote companies to re-use waste in their products. Coca Cola has a program where they make handbags and other accessories out of recycled waste. If more companies that could replace their materials they use to make their products use recycled waste instead, the amount of trash laying around in the world would decrease.

3.) (For problem #3) Heavily push the development of electric cars to make them accessible and a viable option for people. If more people in dense urban areas have electric cars, the cleaner the air will be.

4.) (For problem #1) Enact a law that requires companies to show a true expiration date on foods. Allow vegetables and fruits not bought to be donated.

5.) (For problem #5) Have countries who face over population problems promote immigration to the countries with under population to help balance their demographics.

The reason I choose improving the hands free technology in cars to help prevent people from using their phones while driving to be the most implementable is because it's an improvement of what we already have. Many cars have some kinds of hands free technology as a standard feature. My solution was a call for wider implementation and improvements to the tech so more people will be able to use it and will want to use it. My reason for #2 was that there are already many companies who do this, this again was just a call to action for more companies to do it. The reason for #3 being in the middle of what could be easily implementable is because while there are many companies rolling out there own electric cars, there are many companies who aren't looking into it or not making their own electric vehicles easily accessible. My reasons ranking #4 and #5 were that they would take a lot of government involvement to implement. 

Week 3 Identifying Local Opportunities

All stories are from the Orlando Sentinel,

1,) Garbage, yard waste woes still evident, street by street - County says it's improving service, though

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8936B034785F8?p=AWNB

Orange County's new automated garbage service is having problems operating after its implementation.

The problem is that the county is having trouble transitioning into a new garbage pick up system. They're having trouble scheduling pick up times, getting to all the neighborhoods, and operating the the new vehicles.

People who are running new services or are expanding on them have this problem.

2.) Crocodile took swim in pool in the Keys

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8936B527B7200?p=AWNB

A crocodile found its way into someones private pool.

The problem here is that homeowners are having trouble keeping animals away from their homes.

The people who have this problem are people who live near places with a lot of wildlife.

3.) County targets merchants' unsightly signs

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8936959194EE8?p=AWNB

Lake County is trying to find a way to get rid of all of the "snipe signs" on their roadways

The problem presented here is that snipe signs are creating annoyances for everyone. The officials in charge of getting rid of the signs, the people who put the signs up, and homeowners having to report the signs are all being disrupted by the signs.

Homeowners, small businesses, and county officials have the problem of dealing with how to handle snipe signs.

4.) Pit bull attack call: 'I can't calm down' - Police release audio of emergency dispatch calls

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8936B433C2000?p=AWNB

Officers had to put down a family's pit bulls after it attacked and injured the family and police officers.

The problem in the story was that the family and the police officers couldn't find a way to tame the pit bulls and it lead to people getting hurt.

People who have pit bulls or other pets that can be aggressive have this problem.

5.) Downtown shops put new spin on vinyl

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8E7D663C91260?p=AWNB

Two new vinyl shops are opening in Downtown Orlando.

The problem presented in the story is that two shops are opening near each other that provide identical services.

New business owners have this problem of opening and competing with rival businesses.

Week 3 Reading Reflection

1.) The biggest surprise from the reading for me was reading how big Google is on the Global Perspective section. It has 1 million servers, 1 billion search requests, and 24 petabytes of user-generated data. I knew Google was big but I never knew the full scale of it.

2.) The one part of the reading that confused me was metacognitive model. I didn't really understand what it meant.

3.) There are two questions I would like to ask the author. The First one is what does he think the most important trait to have as an entrepreneur. Is vision or innovativeness a better trait to have? I'm curious if there is a trait that benefits a person more. Also I would ask if he really believes unrealistic optimism can be a good thing. I don't see any good from being too optimistic.

4.) While I do believe psychic risk can me a major problem for an entrepreneur, I think career risk is the greatest risk. You can mentally build back up after a catastrophe but a hit in your career could stop you from making an progress or force you to do something else.

World's Biggest Problems

1.) Air pollution makes living in densely populated areas. Air in certain cities in China is so polluted from car exhaust fumes that it is impossible to see and people are getting sick everyday.

Solution: Heavily push the development of electric cars to make them accessible and a viable option for people. If more people in dense urban areas have electric cars, the cleaner the air will be.

2.) The amount of waste the world produces is too large and effecting our environment. There are islands of trash floating around in the sea contaminating the water and large acres of land with nothing but garbage giving off harmful fumes.

Solution: Require or promote companies to re-use waste in their products. Coca Cola has a program where they make handbags and other accessories out of recycled waste. If more companies that could replace their materials they use to make their products use recycled waste instead, the amount of trash laying around in the world would decrease.

3.) People, especially children, in 3rd world countries have little to no access to technology. Our world now revolves around computers and the internet. It can be detrimental for someone to not understand how to use these things work.

Solution: Have more tech companies or organizations send people to these countries to teach people how to use certain technologies.

4.) Kids who now grow up with the internet don't know how to act properly online. They can act viciously and don't know the right way to act online in certain scenarios.

Solution: Have a section or program in school that teaches kids how to treat other people online. Teach them the do's and don'ts of social media can be something they should learn early on.

5.) Higher education doesn't prepare people for the real world. While colleges teach people what they need to know for their careers, they aren't teaching young people how to deal with everyday situations they could face in their life.

Solution: Have certain courses or organizations to help people develop skills they would need for everyday life when they leave college.

6.) Accurate and unbiased journalism has decreased since the rise of the internet. We live in a time where the most informative, accurate, and unbiased journalism comes more from comedians than actual journalists. News media at times is more concerned with making things more profitable and keeping things interesting.

Solution: Provide media companies with more funds so they can focus less on how to make things profitable and focus more providing more reliable journalism.

7.) Many countries around the world are either dealing with under population or over population. Japan, for instance, is experiencing a rapid decline in their population.

Solution: Have countries who face over population problems promote immigration to the countries with under population to help balance their demographics.

8.) People around the world continue to text or use their phones while driving. Even though there have been countless number of campaigns advising people to not do and people know how dangerous it is, they still do it.

Solution: Advance the hands free technology in cars so people are more inclined to use that instead of looking at their phones. Certain cars allow you to send and read texts and control your music without looking on your phone. If all cars had that and had better voice recognition to make using it easier, more people would stop looking at their phones while driving.

9.) There is too much wasted food. People are very quick to dispose of something when they see the expiration date is passed, even though for most products its still perfectly edible. Many times the expiration date is put on by companies to make people by more of their product instead of being accurate. Any vegetables or fruits not bought in stores in thrown away.

Solution: Enact a law that requires companies to show a true expiration date on foods. Allow vegetables and fruits not bought to be donated.

10.) Many people have no idea how politics work, even though it is something important in our lives. Many are uninformed of new acts being passed or what goes on in our government.

Solution: Have a required class in high school or college teach people the basic concepts of their countries government.

Bug List

1. Why do earbuds break easily after only a short use?
1. Because they're made out of cheap parts
2. Why is it so difficult to find size 28 x 28 pants?
1. Because it costs too much money for company to make more pants in a size that isn't really common.
3. Why isn't Xbox video a supported app in 3rd party devices like a Vizio TV?
1. Because only a small number of people use Xbox video.
4. Why does Bing Rewards only allow you to redeem 15 searches per day?
1. Because if they don't people would abuse the service.
5. Why don't digital downloaded movies include the special behind the scenes stuff?
1. Because companies need some initiative for people to buy the DVDs.
6. Why don't more movies premiere online at the same times as they come out in theaters?
1. Because its more profitable to have separate releases.
7. Why does Facebook require you to download a messenger app?
1. Because they want to provide a service to rival other similar apps
8. Why are watch batteries difficult to change?
1. By design
9. Why is there a long process to by high-end cameras/ lenses?
1. To make sure it stays undamaged and a high cost product doesn't fall into the wrong hands
10. Why do PG-13 action movies shake the camera too often during fight scene?
1. To avoid an R rating and make more money
11. Why don't streaming services have more international songs available?
1. Because record label disputes and the licensing costs outweighs the number of people who would listen to it.
12. Why does Pandora limit you to an amount of songs to skip?
1. To have an incentive to buy a subscription.
13. Why is there always a long line at Chipotle?
1. understaffed
14. Why does Microsoft sell the Surface keyboard separately?
1. Make more money
15. Why doesn't apple allow you to have external storage for an iPhone/iPad?
1. Make more money with people buying the more expensive models and security reasons.
16. Why does Xbox Video only have dubbed versions of certain foreign movies?
1. Audiences don't want to read subtitles.
17. Why does Crunchyroll play 10+ adds for 25 minute long episodes?
1. To make up for licensing costs.
18. Why does the site hummingbird.me go down every other day?
1. Because it's a small site that doesn't have access to more servers
19. Why did YouTube take down many music / tv show soundtrack channels that it allowed before?
1. YouTube Red's new policy.
20. Why does the Windows store have so few apps?
1. Because no developer thinks it would be beneficial to put their apps on the Windows store.

The biggest problem I had with coming up with this list was remember my "bugs". I knew there were many things I wasn't satisfied with but over time I've just gotten used to them to the put where I forgot they bothered me. 

Week 2 Reading Reflection

1.) The biggest surprise from the reading for me was the fact on page 17 that said during the "Great Recession" more Americans became entrepreneurs than at any time in the past 20 years. I would have thought that a recession would decrease the number of people trying to become entrepreneurs.

2.) The part in the reading that confused me was the mentioning of "Venture Financing". To me it wasn't exactly clear what that was.

3.) One question I would ask the author is if they think all the different Entrepreneurial schools-of-thought were necessary, especially the Macro views. What benefits really come from studying this  Another question I would ask is why pick Gazelle's to define business establishments? What is the similarities between the two that makes sense?

4.) The one thing I disagree on with the author is importance of understanding entrepreneur's through the macro view. I don't believe studying the external factors of an entrepreneur's development would provide any insight.

My Entrepreneurship Story and what I want out of ENT3003

One time in my life where I was exposed to entrepreneurship was last last year during the spring semester. During my first week I went to this event called startup hour which was a gathering of a whole bunch of people involved in different startup companies in Gainesville. I talked to two guys who had just graduated from UF and started their own music promotion/ collaboration service. One of them was a Computer Science major and the other a business major but they both liked to produce music in their free time. I remember them telling me how they were very passionate about growing their startup because they knew first hand how hard it was for a new musician to gain exposure on their own. And even though there were other services similar to theirs, they were still going to try and work on it.

The reason I enrolled in ENT3003 is because I have zero understanding of the entrepreneurship process and its concepts. So with this class I would like to gain a grasp on what is means to be an entrepreneur and develop and entrepreneurial mindset. These are two things I think would be beneficial for me to understand when I start my career.

My Entrepreneur's Mantra video

My introduction

Hello everyone!

My name is Jason Jose. I was born in New Jersey but I've lived in Kissimmee, Florida for most of my life.

I'm an only child and much of my relatives still live in New Jersey. My major is Telecommunication Production and I'm interested in film making. When I'm done with college I want to be involved in either the TV or film industry.

first post

Hello, world.