Halfway Reflection

1) Tenacity is something I had never thought of necessarily in the academic setting but it is definitely an applicable word to what it takes to be successful in this course. I have always thought of myself as a hard worker but it took me developing an extra level of "tenacity" within the course to keep up with the material on a weekly basis.

2) A moment I can recall off the top of my head was when the lecture was not loading for me and thus I could not complete a cupcake and I thought about just not doing any of the work for that week but instead completed all of the assignments including finding a way to pass the cupcake.  I would say a lot of experiences contributed to that some unconsciously as perhaps in the past I would've given up.

3) First tip would be go in with an open mind willing to read and learn new things and about new people because that is really what entrepreneurship is about to me. Secondly, I suggest watching as much of the lectures as possible not only to learn but for some entertainment value at times. Lastly, work ahead if possible as it will relieve a lot of time crunch stress on Friday and Monday mornings.

Reading Reflection No. 1

Shoe Dog - Phil Knight 

1) The thing that surprised me the most about Phil Knight was the fact he often expected to fail and would even make sure to let investors know that it was a real possibility. That parlays into what I admired most and that was how hard he was on himself and how that was the primary reason he ended up being successful. The one thing I would say that I least admired was the amount of time he spent in debt as it paid off in his case but in the majority of cases that is not a sufficient practice. Knight unquestionably faced failure and you could argue that was the primary point he wanted to get across was that no matter how many times you came up short you should never give up on a dream.

2) There were countless competencies that stood out to me but the one that resonated the most was his self-awareness in that he was not the most personable or best looking but he was dedicated to his cause and was going to work until he made his dream a reality.

3) I was somewhat confused by the way he continued to acquire funding despite continuously going into debt time after time before finally succeeding.

4) Two questions I'd have would be: What has changed between the entrepreneurial climate from when you were successful to now? And if you were to start another business idea what would it be founded on?

5) My guess is Phil Knight's opinion on hard work is that it is at the center of all success. That is the way I see it as well in that no matter how smart or talented you are in whatever you do if you do not have the work ethic to go along with it you will ultimately fall short of your potential and your goals.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

With a problem like traffic, it is difficult to pin point one primary market segment but if I were forced to it would be those in the working class in larger cities who are commuting to and from work on a daily basis and experiencing this problem on a more regular basis than the average person.

When conducting the various interviews, I found the responses rather consistent across the board. The ideal target consumer generally commutes to and from either work or school at the busiest hours of the day. The places generally were the same at least locally here in Gainesville as all three noted similar places such as University, Archer, and 13th and the busiest corridors. This is also something I noticed in previous interviews from other cities as well as responses remained consistent in terms of place and time and that was what really made it evident this a problem and a real opportunity.

Need awareness is the perhaps the most important factor in successfully identifying an opportunity and implementing your solution. For my problem, this was rather easy as it remained consistent across the board at least from my limited experience with people both here in Gainesville and people at home in Tampa. Furthermore, expanding my information search beyond those two markets would better allow me to fully understand the entirety of the market and the need throughout the US.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1) Recognizing one's own strengths and weaknesses is not necessarily always as easy as it sounds. Personally, there are two things I tend to note and that is for one, I am a hard worker in anything I do and I like to think I am self-motivated. I guess there are really three things because I also usually include the fact that I work with other people, and more specifically other highly motivated individuals. I've had a rather diverse background of experiences from working for a Congressional office to manual labor in the Florida summer heat. Thus I believe this has paved the way for my future aspirations that are still to be determined. If I were to hypothetically pursue the route of attempting to solve the problem of traffic, that would change a lot of my life as I currently know it.

2) The problem itself is rather simple and that is the unmet need of traffic but the solutions on the other hand are not so simple. Considering this has been a problem for years, there is no one single solution and so I believe a combination of things would be necessary. To start, the enhancing and upgrading of public transportation(buses, trains, etc.), combined with promoting carpooling and other methods of cutting down on congestion. Lastly, the unique aspect of an overpass from one point to another in the more crowded corridors without lights or anything to create any congestion.

3) The beauty and simplicity of this problem and therefore my solution is that it is applicable to nearly everybody regardless of demographics or psychographics. The primary factor for me would be location as the issue of traffic is not nearly as large of an issue in some of the smaller cities.

4) Traffic is something that no matter who you talk to or where you are for the most part, it will be something that people complain about. Countless politicians and officials have attempted to solve this problem with solutions somewhat similar to mine but have not been successful. In my opinion, there will never be a perfect solution that will entirely eliminate traffic, but limiting it would be a success.

5) To be honest, there is nothing that sets me or my solution apart or that has not been attempted before. With that said, I do not believe my unique combination of solutions has ever been set forth in the right environment and thus it is something that could ultimately prove to be a viable solution.

Elevator Pitch

Testing the Hypothesis - Part 2

Who: After conducting several interviews, there could be some people who would be considered "outside the boundary". Although they still share a lot in common with those included in my opportunity of traffic, those who are commuting in smaller cities with less congestion or not during rush hour in larger cities could be considered outside the typical target of my solution.

What: The question of whether my need differs from another need is rather complicated considering the fact there are countless things that cause the problem of traffic. Thus, there are complications such as certain businesses that influence traffic, on top of unforeseen issues such as accidents or flat tires that further complicate this issue and could be seen as an entirely different need.

Why: The underlying need of those inside as opposed to outside the boundary remains consistent in my mind. And that is the fact they are trying to get from one place to another in the most efficient manner. Whether there issue is simply traffic or something like a flat tire, their reasoning is the same.


Inside the Boundary                                                                 Outside the Boundary
Who is in? Everybody who falls in the category                        Who is out? Those who do not
of struggling with traffic which is generally those                      struggle with traffic due to living
living in larger cities commuting in rush hour.                           in a smaller city or commuting at
                                                                                                     certain times or have more distinct                                                                                                           needs than simply just traffic.
What the need is? The need is simple and it is                           What the need is not? The need is not
that traffic is a major problem that is relevant                             for those with more specific needs
to almost anybody in a major city.                                               such as crashes or outside issues.

Why the need exists? The issue of traffic may                           Alternative explanations: The affects
never be explained entirely whether it's accidents,                    businesses and other unrelated factors
people driving in the wrong lane or just congestion.                  can disrupt the flow of traffic.                                     

Solving the Problem

My solution to the problem of traffic and congestion is a combination of several things, some of which you have likely heard of and then one that is more innovative. First off, increasing the usage of public transit such as more accessible busing, enhancing railways and promoting carpooling. The second piece is something I witnessed that is in progress in my home city of Tampa. That being an overhead expressway built in corridors that are most crowded specifically throughout rush hour times of day. This is obviously something that is not possible everywhere but a combination of these things are solutions that would benefit a lot of cities in terms of reducing some of their traffic congestion.

Testing the Hypothesis - Part 1

1) Opportunity - Traffic in the US

2) Local officials throughout the United States, but more specifically in large cities, have been unable to come up with a long term, sustainable solution to the problem that has been and is traffic.

Who: Local and State officials and legislators

What: They have been incapable of providing a solution to the age old problem of traffic/congestion.

Why: Financial and logistical problems related to decreasing traffic in a safe and sustainable manner.

3) An opportunity such as traffic is relevant to almost anybody who drives a car or rides public transportation and thus can be seen as a need for the majority of the population at least in big cities. Providing a safe and sustainable solution is not easily done hence why this has been a problem for decades and continues to be one. There are many factors for that such as logistics as well as financial limitations. The why is rather similar across the board for reasons such as getting to work on time, catching a flight or simply trying to make it home at a reasonable hour.

4) From interviewing five people who were friends, classmates or merely acquaintances, the responses were very similar across the board. I asked one individual who lives near me in Gainesville, and as you would expect his experiences with traffic were merely the same as mine. I asked a couple of individuals who did not live near me but also in Gainesville and they said outside of campus the traffic is not nearly as bad. Lastly, I asked two people who do not currently live here and they both live in larger cities and confirmed my notion it is much worse in other more populated places. In summary, this is a problem across the board but especially so here on a college campus or in a big city where congestion is higher and the problem is much more evident.

Identifying Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends

1) The first opportunity correlates to the trend that is rising wages. With wages continuing to rise, offering a high quality product at a lower price than the competition while still compensating employees accordingly would generate long term revenue. Secondly, with tariffs only going up, making an American-based product would be vital to maximizing return on investments. In terms of regulatory trends, we see this with a potential new regulation on minimum wage thus presenting an opportunity now for employers to provide a pay raise to entice top level prospective employees. Secondly, we witnessed some rather new regulation in the sports world called the Rooney Rule, where teams are required to interview at least one person of color prior to making a decision on their next coach. This is an opportunity for teams to get ahead of the curve and be trendsetters in a way.

2) For both of the economic trends I found an article from Inc. (https://www.inc.com/joe-galvin/5-economic-trends-every-business-owner-should-watch-in-2018.html) that lists new trends in the market. Forming a belief was centered around the fact that these are both two very prevalent trends in the economic world and thus they would be relevant to any all businesses thus creating opportunities. The prototypical customer would be for one top level prospective employees looking for competitive pay and a rewarding workplace and secondly those looking to buy American-made products. In terms of exploiting this opportunity I think it would be very viable in the current marketplace.

3)For the first opportunity I believe the majority of people would not want to make the initial investment required to present a high quality product for a lower price and risk not getting the return on the backend. Secondly, a lot of investors will decide to outsource work to others places for cheaper labor but with rising tariffs and an appeal of American-made products there is a market for that. Moreover, increasing pay prior to the rise of minimum wage is something that would cost a lot of employers money on the front-end likely making them less inclined to raise wages. Lastly, in sports people always believe they're correct and are then not willing to break the mold for potentially a better candidate but will instead stick to what they are familiar with and comfortable with.