Local Opportunities

1) Crash Report: Pilot flew in turbulence to get to daughter's birthday

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200130/crash-report-pilot-flew-in-turbulence-to-get-to-daughterrsquos-birthday

Description: A pilot was killed in an accident after flying to go to his daughter's birthday even though the weather was not good to fly in and he ended up "going for it" even though it was high turbulence with rain and wind.

Problem: The problem is that private planes are not as regulated as public planes and fly all the time even though they are advise not to as is the case in the Kobe Bryant fatal crash that just happened.

Who: Private plane owners

2) Is Florida trying to kill me? 

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200129/is-florida-trying-to-kill-me

Description: In this article they discuss all the ways that Floridians could be in danger due to the insects that have been studied recently by various scientists.

Problem: The problem is that these insects carry diseases and we have very few defense mechanisms against them and Florida is the perfect climate for them to bread in.

Who: Floridians and all the tourists that come through.

3) High-priority violations: Alachua County restaurant inspections

https://www.gainesville.com/photogallery/LK/20200129/PHOTOGALLERY/129009984/PH/1

Description: In this article they expose all the different restaurants that had issues with their inspections and all the different things that were wrong with the restaurants specifically

Problem: Customers who are unsuspecting and have been eating their food without knowing the dangers behind it.

Who: Customers who eat at the restaurants discussed in the article.

4) UF student dies from injuries after getting hit by car

https://mycbs4.com/news/local/uf-student-dies-from-injuries-after-getting-hit-by-car

Description: A UF student was hit by a car while crossing the street resulting in her untimely death due to a severed spinal cord that left her brain dead.

Problem: The problem is that people drive recklessly on campus and distracted driving results in fatalities.

Who: Unsuspecting students who rely on walking to get to and from places.

5) 18th annual point-in-time count of the homeless

https://mycbs4.com/news/local/18th-annual-point-in-time-count-of-the-homeless

Description: These checkups are used to count the amount of homeless people in the area, while providing them with a bag full of necessities, and is used to plan for the future and provide services for those in need.

Problem: High rates of homelessness within the area.

Who: Homeless people/ locals/ the people trying to introduce new policies

Opportunity Belief

The Opportunity Belief:
When the RTS app doesn't line up with the actual buses.

Description: 
1) The unmet need is that students, staff, and locals arrive late for their various activities due to a delay in the app that makes it so unreliable that people are steering away from using the app.

2) People that use the RTS in order to get around Gainesville

3) This need has existed since the app was formed.

4) People that I have talked to have recently started leaving their houses earlier and abandoning the app altogether.

5) I am 75% sure this opportunity exists and that riders would benefit from an improvement in the system.

Identify the Prototypical Customer:
1) Professors would be a good start because they have more power and money than students and still have the need for the improvement while being conscious of the problem.

2) Alumni would also be a good customer because they have money and a desire to give back as is seen in the Alumni hall and once experienced the problem hands on like the rest of us so they are aware of the problem.

3) The next customer would be the actual students they might not have the money the other two types provide but there is power in numbers and if enough students complained the administration who has money and power would set into motion these ideas of improvement, they are also very aware of the need as so many complain on a daily basis.

Interview the Customer:
1) I interviewed my organic chemistry professor who was once a student as well and he was very passionate about the need for a renovated system. He said he experiences this every time he tries to rely on the app showing how it is consistently malfunctioning. He is currently addressing this need by just not using the app and now driving to campus instead of riding the bus.

2) I talked to my grandmother who is an alumni and she didn't experience this firsthand because she lived on campus the entire time she was at UF but once I discussed this with her she realized their was definitely a need for it and told me to complain to someone about it. She only became aware of the need once I brought it up to her but then was interested and saw how it could be an issue.

3) I talked to a girl next to me on the bus and she said that she can't stand riding the bus and is almost always late to her classes because of the ill-advising app and ends up having to drive to campus pretty regularly. She has been aware of this problem since she first got onto campus, two years ago. She experiences it almost every time she uses the app. She is currently having to fall back on her car but she doesn't have a parking sticker so she has to leave her car super far from campus just so she won't get towed and is pretty upset with this solution.

Reflect:
I learned my opportunity actually has some real need and it validated this issue within my own life which definitely made me feel better about complaining about it since it is actually valid. This experience also helped me realize how easy it is to interview people because they are pretty willing to talk to you for the most part especially if you get them stuck like on a bus, sorry to the poor girl I harassed. My grandmother's was pretty interesting because it was really easy to explain the issue to her and get her to understand it even though she hadn't experienced it first hand (this could also be due to our shared blood but she is a pretty unbiased customer if you ask me). It also gave me a opportunity to talk to my organic chemistry professor which gave me a foot in the door for later on when I am begging him to explain an issue. Overall this experience was really fun and helpful in eliminating some of my initial fears.

Summarize:
1) I realized my opportunity is actually more present than I initially thought as I was reassured by everyone I spoke too.
2) I believe that is definitely more accurate now because now I have some ideas as to who is more aware than others like alumni might not be the best market since they are no longer really affected by this problem and might not be as easily persuaded as my grandmother.
3) There has to be a trade-off if you remain firm and don't listen to your customers you are losing an opportunity for improvement and might be missing a new need that arises in those conversations. Being flexible is key in the entire experience as you might find new opportunities and even change your own entirely ending up with something better that actually has a market.

Entrepreneurship and Me!

When I was accepted into the University of Florida I got into the Innovation Academy where students from different majors are brought together and take courses for what is known as an innovation minor. This past semester I was enrolled in one of those classes where our end project is this huge competition known as Catalyst where we are presented with a problem and then put into different teams in order to innovate a solution for that problem. Ours was based on childhood development and my group came up with a pretty cool innovation known as Elite which used basic colors in order to help students identify their emotions and start their journey on emotional independence. We were forced to come up with idea, create a prototype (that had to be fully functional) and then pitch it to about nine different judges. It was one of the most intimidating things I have ever done but my group actually ended up winning one of the prizes known as the "Best Idea Award" which was so satisfying considering all of our hard work. I took this class to further my knowledge in entrepreneurship and because this past semester taught me that problem solving is definitely something I am passionate about and that I can definitely use in my future career and life in general.

Here is a picture of the device my team and I hand-crafted! We had to 3D
 print and create a computer code along with lots of other things in
order to complete it but it was definitely a fun process!

Here is the IA Logo just in case you didn't know what it looked like already.

Finally, an image of the award my group and I won! Along with some cool stickers one of my teammates designed 

All the things that BUG me!

20 Things That Bug Me:

1. When bus 38 is packed and there are no seats so everyone has to stand. 

-Why: There are too many students and not enough buses. 

2. When the gym at my apartment is packed and I have to wait for machines. 

-Why: There are not enough machines in the gym because the gym is really small. 

3. When my nail polish chips on the first day. 

-Why: The nail polish is cheap and not made to last. 

4. When I forget to change my AirPods and they die while I am on the bus. 

-Why: Not enough outlets to plug all of my devices into or the fact that the battery is short on the AirPods.

5. When I have to carry my textbook in my backpack.

-Why: Not all of the textbooks are online.

6. When my white shoes get dirty.

-Why: White shows more impurities and there is no real solution to protecting them. 

7. When my water bottle drops and makes a really loud noise and everyone turns towards me. 

-Why: There needs to be a rubber protector that fits over it so it won't hit the water bottle on impact.

8. When I forget a word in Spanish and get stuck in class. 

-Why: There are a lot of words and I need to practice more. 

9. When the scanner gets jammed at work. 

-Why: Too many people are trying to use it at once. 

10. When my mom calls me and I am in class even though she knows my schedule.

-Why: She doesn't have access to my schedule at all times. 

11. When I am on the phone with my boyfriend and he is smacking his food. 

-Why: The phone increases the volume of background noises and makes it more noticeable.

12. When people merge into my lane and I have to slam on the breaks.

-Why: Cars have really large blind spots and make it hard to see everything around you.

13. When people are loud on the bus and talk on the phone. 

-Why: There are a lot of noises on the bus and lack of respect or rules in place to keep people in check.

14. When restaurants serve seafood and I have to smell it. 

-Why: Seafood has a really distinct smell and lingers. 

15. When people spell my name with an "a" instead of an "e". 

-Why: People jump to assumptions instead of just asking.

16. When people are overly loud in Newell Hall while I am studying.

-Why: Lack of discipline and rules in place to keep people from continuing to be loud. 

17. When there is a long line for the microwave. 

-Why: Not enough microwaves on campus. 

18. When my roommates leave piles of trash instead of taking it out.

-Why: No rules were ever established upon moving in.

19. When my roommates don't wash their dishes. 

-Why: No rules were ever established and they don't care about the mess. 

20. When my roommates play music really loud. 

-Why: No rules were ever established and they don't care about their future ability to hear.

Reflection: I found it easy to come up with a list but it was harder to figure out the problem/ route of the issues I have with those personally and then translate it to what is fundamentally wrong with that thing. This definitely helped me grasp an understanding towards the things that irritate me and made me more aware of what I  might do to irritate those around me. I love this way of critically thinking and analyzing the little issues that surround us on a day to day it could definitely be useful in entrepreneurship and understanding the world in general. 

TestPost

Hello, 

This is my test post for ENT3003.