Halfway There....(14A)

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

This course has kept me on my toes that's for sure. I have had to really pay attention during lectures and maker sure to keep good notes in order to have a chance on the cupcakes and have made sure to look at the assignments ahead of hand because you can't do any of them last minute especially ones like the elevator pitch or the book reflection that I am sure many are scrambling to do last minute. 

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

Throughout my product I have had lots of times where I have wanted to completely give up on the opportunity altogether because of the mixed feedback and just doubts throughout this process entirely. Yet, the good feedback has been able to pull me through the obvious need and desire for a new system has made me want to actually work hard through these assignments. I have definitely developed a tenacious attitude over this course and my other courses as I have had to not procrastinate and always be on the watch for what is coming up with no desire to take a bad grade. I think just my desire to do well I told myself at the beginning of this semester I wanted all A's and I am really striving to get that goal which has really helped me push through. 

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

• Stay ahead. It's going to be difficult but when you want the A you gotta do everything to get the A and honestly it will become more than a grade for you over time. 

• Treat these assignments like a real business plan and take them seriously it will help develop your mindset in the real world and other classes. 

• Start a journal of potential ideas in order to always keep your ideas flowing and help you build a new outlook on opportunities in your surroundings. 

THE IRON MAN (13A)

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance


What was the most surprising thing? 

Wow. What wasn't surprising? I mean honestly before reading this I new Elon Musk was an amazing entrepreneur but I didn't know the full extent of his greatness. He took on two projects that were so amazing yet defying the current standard with almost no money. That's what I found the most impressing is that while he was being stricken down in one area he was excelling at the other until they both took off and he became the person he is today.


What did you most admire? 

I loved his ambition being explained throughout as he was in the depths and almost had to choose one project over the other yet he pushed through and came up with two amazing ideas sticking to his initial goal of alleviating dependency on oil. I admired how he didn't give up. 


What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

It's hard to not admire Elon Musk I mean he is an amazing example of what entrepreneurship is all about. However, he still receives a lot of hate and one of the things I personally least admire about him is he seems to have a very selective customer of which I am definitely outside of considering I couldn't afford a Tesla with even 100 of my paychecks but he is working on a more cost efficient version. 

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

Elon Musk definitely encountered adversity and failure as discussed in the book, which showed how he was days away from choosing between the Tesla and Space X yet due to PayPal giving him some liquidity and then a huge contract with the government to fund Space X, he was able to proceed with both inventions in 2008. 

What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

He really didn't possess anything outside of the ordinary other than a dream and a huge ambition in order to make that happen. He was depicted as the average man throughout and the key differentiating factor was his desire to succeed he knew he had amazing ideas and found the right people to make those ideas come about. However, he was also said to have this "worldview" that no other entrepreneur has had as he seemingly didn't care about the money but more so improving the world around him.

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

I was confused when the topic of fighting rules took place there's a quote in the book that says, 

"If the rules are such that you can't make progress, you have to start fighting the rules"-Ashlee Vance

which seems all fine and dandy but is one of those things that is easier said than done. It is hard to fight rules when you don't have a huge name like Elon Musk to support those declarations. It was almost as if it was made to look easy at some points throughout the book.

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

I would ask: 

• Do you regret not just focusing all of your time and money on one product in order to make sure it was the best version it could be?

• What would you do differently during your startup process? 

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

I think he had to have a pretty good relationship with hard work he didn't seem to be afraid of it and honestly strived under pressure and high stress. I think he is one of those people that like to work and he saw that at his contribution to society which has been a pretty huge one if I do say so myself. I definitely share that opinion as I know you can't get anything worthwhile without having to work for it and have tried to have the same approach when it comes to school.

Buyer Behavior 12A

My Segment:

For my segment I chose to interview 3 students from the bus 38 route who I have seen at least twice a week on the bus this semester.

My Findings:

I found my interviewees rather quickly as the bus is full of students who have really no other choice but to sit and listen to you. All three agreed with me that the bus system needed an improvement but weren't too fond of the idea of having to pay for the app part of my solution because of course they are broke college kids which made me think about my approach on that aspect of my solution a little harder. All three students were very aware that a solution was needed and they experienced the need every time they rode the bus which for one of them was just three times a week, the other everyday, and the third just in the mornings. This provided me with clues that this is pretty much an issue throughout the days of the week in varying time periods. This need is the most persistent when the individual is already running late to class or in some other high stressed situation like rushing for an exam or just going to study for those exams. This is due to the fact that they are already stressed from school pressures and then are being delayed by untimely routes.

My Conclusion:

This was the perfect segment of available customers because they were in the source of the issue and could explain why that issue was prevalent within their own lives. However, time of day did seem to be a factor there was a greater need in the morning when a influx of students were on there way to school then towards the evening when students were just going home, showing there might be some further testing needed to figure out the optimal time of congestion within the bus routes.

Napkin Notes (11A)

You.

I am a student just like the rest of you at the University of Florida yet that doesn't really mean anything unique at all so let's just get right into it. I have three younger sisters who mean the world to me and who I tried to guide as much as possible I am someone who wants to direct people and help as much as I can. I try to fix problems a little too much instead of listening sometimes yet this class has shown me the importance of listening to your customers. In the future I want to be a Pediatrician and think that skills such as these will be helpful in that career path. I have gotten to travel around the world and meet lots of different people which I think has helped given me a lot of perspective on life, yet I am still only 19 so who knows. To be honest this business would be pretty significant in my life considering I am forced to ride the bus everyday due to lack of parking and could help me save time while getting to all my future classes as I do prefer to ride the bus considering it gives me a few extra minutes of study time.

What are you offering to customers?

This is a little bit trickier, I am offering the bus companies with an actual product yet the customers would mainly be the riders of the bus who would be experiencing a service. I would create a product of an improved gps system and traffic scanner in order for the bus systems to purchase yet the students will be using the app and increasing revenue in that way yet it would still be considered a service based good.

Who are you offering it to?

I would have two main customers, one being the bus managers who want their customers to be happy and to provide the safest quickest routes in order to improve ratings and the riders who are all trying to get somewhere in the most efficient manner possible.

Why do they care?

Bus companies will pay me money for the new systems because of the insufficiencies of today's solution and this solution would end up creating more revenue in the long run as it would create more users and even the app builds revenue as users would be more likely to pay for an app if they had a better guarantee of its accuracy and I believe this combination of products and services would be ideal because it would produce the most revenue and is already a prevalent need.

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

The core thing is the new technology placed within the bus systems, currently the routes run on solely expected times that are set for each day due to a schedule with no room for error, however, I would be using technology that would update riders with any significant changes. I have the guarantee of accuracy as there are very accurate traffic scanners and GPS trackers already out there but I would combine the two in order to provide both benefits to users.


I believe that these all flow together as I have planned my product with the who and why and based everything around those complaints and ideas that were provided to me by potential customers. However, my why I stand out was a little hard to come up with and I am still not really sure how I can make bus management use my product and would definitely need to come up with some better incentives down the road.

I'm only cringing a lot... Elevator Pitch (10A)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnsg_srU6_Y 

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2 (9A)

Testing the Hypothesis:

Who: After discussing this idea with more individuals, I realized there are apps out there that definitely could be seen as competition yet they don't work as well as they should and are not reliable sources. Which is why I am not making an app, I have decided to create a new GPS system to be paired with these preexisting apps in order to make them more efficient and the bus system in general more efficient.

What: This differs in other in the fact that these apps are based on calculations and estimations rather than actual geographical locations and don't account for traffic, collisions, or breaks that the bus drivers themselves take. With the addition of the locational factor there will be no question as to where any bus is at any given time and will increase the overall views on apps increasing revenue.

Why: I do see a common ground between those in the boundaries and those outside of it due to the fact that I talked to professors who agreed they would rather their students not walk into the middle of class out of breath causing a discussion due to bus issues, even those these individuals might not lie within the boundary they see the desire and need for an improvement.

Inside the Boundary:
Who: Students who use bus transport and other riders who want to arrive safely and on time.
What: An improvement in the current RTS system that has failed for so long.
Why: The apps that currently exist are not connected with any gps systems and are based on estimations that are almost always incorrect.

Outside the Boundary:
Who: Students who drive or walk to school and other civilians whose main source of transportation is not the bus system.
What: The need is not for a new app that will ultimately just fail or a new bus system altogether, the need is for the improvement of the preexisting one.
Alternative Explanations: Buses are off track due to lags within the app itself, drivers taking too many breaks, traffic, an excess of students on the buses.

Summary: I realize there will always be factors that are uncontrollable, collisions and traffic, however, with todays technology they are definitely accessible. It is better to be aware of when we need to leave earlier before we are regretting it while stuck in traffic. However, there will always be limitations as there already is with the customers who will be affected considering there is still a good percent of students who drive to school or just walk due to proximity.

Solving the Problem

Opportunity: 

The opportunity I discussed in my last post was that of the RTS bus system and its impact on the students and staff getting to their activities on time. 

-The Rider app is slow and misguiding on when the buses will actually arrive and due to Gainesville traffic from all the cars trying to snag one of the few parking paces, there is a huge demand for seats within the buses. 

Solution: 

To create a navigational system within the buses that will notify users of any potential delays, such as crashes and other time consuming inconveniences, so that people can try and leave earlier or find a different form of transportation. I would also like to push for more funding for more busses due to the fact that parking on campus is a scam and more people would benefit from public transportation if there were more buses and more routes. 

Testing the Hypothesis (Part 1)

RTS Renovation: 

The Who: RTS buses are never on time, always too full, and the app is always delayed.

The What: The Rider app is almost always wrong and makes students and staff late for their daily ventures.

The Why: The navigation system within the buses is off and not accurate enough for the app to pick up.

Testing the Who: Are there others who need this?
-After these interviews I have realized there is a huge demand for this because everyone I talked to was frustrated with this same issue.

Testing the What:
-Some buses seemed to better than others but everyone I addressed on the 38 route had the same argument and other routes just seemed to have more buses on there route.

Testing the Why: 
There was various reasons across the board:
-Bus drivers
-Rider app
-Gainesville traffic
-Navigation system
People were mostly placing blame on traffic or the drivers themselves when it came to them being late for work or class instead of the navigation system and app combo I came up with. Suggesting there might be a new opportunity.

This experience with interviewing taught me how to adapt my hypothesis and gave me a new outlook on the problem with a potential new route due to the honesty of the people I interviewed.

More Opportunity Identification

1) "Spike in Crime Inflames Debate Over Bail Law in New York"

A) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/nyregion/crime-stats-nyc-bail-reform.html
B) I believe there is an opportunity here due to spike in crimes.
Who: Police officers and other people affected by crimes
What: Bail is no longer applicable on smaller misdemeanors releasing criminals back into the streets before their trial.
Why: Criminals are released before they are tried and given the opportunity to commit more.
C) Customer: Police Officers
D) This opportunity is difficult to exploit because it has do too with laws which can be complex to change yet would be beneficial.
I saw this just based on a simple search and realized that it was an issue in multiple places as there seems to be a consistent spike in crime for various reasons which means there is definitely an opportunity for approval.

2) "Robots predicted to displace 50% of jobs by 2035"

A) https://www.investopedia.com/the-10-trends-that-will-shape-the-global-economy-over-the-next-decade-4777822
B) I believe there is a huge unmet need considering new technology will begin to replace jobs as we go into the future.
C) Customer: Current labor force and future students going into jobs outside of technology
D) Another difficult opportunity to exploit considering their isn't a clear design that can be put in place as of right now but definitely has a huge span.
I personally am attached to this because as a college student our jobs and futures are in jeopardy due to the technology being created.

3) Cybersecurity

A) https://home.kpmg/us/en/home/insights/2018/12/ten-key-regulatory-challenges-of-2019.html
B) With the increase in technology and availability of that technology there is a new risk to security and an increase need of internet safety.
C) Internet users everywhere.
D) This opportunity is easy to exploit considering the market is huge and can be easily manipulated.
I personally have seen people in my families identities be stolen due to lack of security on the web and think this is a huge issue especially within Florida.

4) Consumer Control

A) https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/us/pdf/2018/12/ten-key-regulatory-challenges-pov-v5-web.pdf
B) Consumers are demanding more control and freedom with their purchases causing companies to have to work around this new aspect of customer service.
C) Companies that are highly involved with customers and interactions.
D) This opportunity is easy to exploit since the customers are coming for a distinct purpose and companies should be able to give them a sense of control or at least a false sense with todays technology.
I am attached to this because I know that I like to have a say in what goes on around me and what I purchase so it would be nice to have a sense of control especially on the internet.