1. The biggest surprise was how many different ways there are for a company to raise money. It is interesting that so many small businesses fail, even though there are many ways in which they could collect capital. I would think that this would make it easier for more businesses to succeed.
2. One part that was confusing to me was how venture capitalists are so quick to invest their money into a company. It would take me time to have to look at the company and their product, but the author made it seem like venture capitalists will pretty much throw their money at anyone with a good idea.
3. My two questions would be: What do you think is the biggest disadvantage for a firm when it goes public? What are the top three things to look for in a successful start-up company.
4. There was nothing in which I though the author was wrong. I thought this chapter had a lot of great information, and I did not think anything was wrong in what they said.
Friday, February 26, 2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Half-way Reflection
1. To be able to keep up with this course, I have had to become very organized. I make sure to know what the assignments are the weekend before they start. I plan out my week every Sunday, to be able to stay on top of everything. Also, if I have free time I try to work ahead on assignments, and I try to do the extra-credit so that I have other points if I do forget to do an assignment.
2. A moment in which I felt like giving up was when I had to do interviews or the free money assignment. I felt very awkward and out of my comfort zone. I was not confident in myself before going out and attempting these assignments. I decided that I just need to go out and do them, and I stopped overthinking everything. After I completed one interview, I noticed how simple it was. Also, I noticed that there really was no reason for me to be so worried or uncomfortable about it. The different experiences with interviewing people and entrepreneurs has helped me to develop a tenacious attitude.
3. Three tips I would give to future students would be to be organized, never give up because an assignment seems too hard or uncomfortable, and go into every assignment with an open mind because they will teach you things you might have not thought about.
2. A moment in which I felt like giving up was when I had to do interviews or the free money assignment. I felt very awkward and out of my comfort zone. I was not confident in myself before going out and attempting these assignments. I decided that I just need to go out and do them, and I stopped overthinking everything. After I completed one interview, I noticed how simple it was. Also, I noticed that there really was no reason for me to be so worried or uncomfortable about it. The different experiences with interviewing people and entrepreneurs has helped me to develop a tenacious attitude.
3. Three tips I would give to future students would be to be organized, never give up because an assignment seems too hard or uncomfortable, and go into every assignment with an open mind because they will teach you things you might have not thought about.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Week 7 Reading Reflection
1. My biggest surprise was that traditional demographics are no longer a good basis to use for a marketing strategy. I assumed that things such as income, sex, education, and age are timeless when it comes to marketing.
2. I was confused by how the demographic segmentation and the non-demographic segmentation are both not really useful. I don't understand which one is better, and what you should use if neither of these provide much information.
3. I would ask the author to better explain what we can use in terms of non-demographic and demographic segmentation to better understand the market, and what market segmentation strategy do you prefer and why.
4. I do not agree with the author's views on the traditional demographic segmentation. I have been taught that this is a useful segmentation, and I do not really understand the author's point of view.
2. I was confused by how the demographic segmentation and the non-demographic segmentation are both not really useful. I don't understand which one is better, and what you should use if neither of these provide much information.
3. I would ask the author to better explain what we can use in terms of non-demographic and demographic segmentation to better understand the market, and what market segmentation strategy do you prefer and why.
4. I do not agree with the author's views on the traditional demographic segmentation. I have been taught that this is a useful segmentation, and I do not really understand the author's point of view.
Free Money
1. Strategy: I decided to go to Dunkin' Donuts during their happy hour time. I approached people that were going into the store with the mindset that they were most likely going for the coffee since it was happy hour. I have two strategies which I will try out about how to approach the person. First, I will approach the person and ask if they are going inside the store for coffee. I will then offer to pay for it by giving them a dollar. My other approach is to start the conversation by asking people if they have seen videos of people "paying it forward," in which people do good needs and ask others to do the same. My good deed will be to give them a dollar. I think I will be able to give all of the money away. I think anyone would take free money if given the chance.
2. Recording:
My first video recording was a bit awkward. I did not want the person to know I was recording, so I did not try to video record her. She did take the dollar and thanked me for it, but the conversation did seem a bit awkward to me. In the second recording I did record the person, but I moved my phone around so that it did not seem as if I were recording. Overall, my "paying it forward approach" was better for starting the conversation. It was also a better conversation, and I was more relaxed about it. Giving away a dollar was easy in terms of the people taking the money, but it was hard to start a random conversation and to think of a way to not make the conversation awkward. I was able to give away all $5, and people were happy to be receiving even one dollar. My predictions about giving away money were correct, and it was fairly easy to get people to take the money.
2. Recording:
My first video recording was a bit awkward. I did not want the person to know I was recording, so I did not try to video record her. She did take the dollar and thanked me for it, but the conversation did seem a bit awkward to me. In the second recording I did record the person, but I moved my phone around so that it did not seem as if I were recording. Overall, my "paying it forward approach" was better for starting the conversation. It was also a better conversation, and I was more relaxed about it. Giving away a dollar was easy in terms of the people taking the money, but it was hard to start a random conversation and to think of a way to not make the conversation awkward. I was able to give away all $5, and people were happy to be receiving even one dollar. My predictions about giving away money were correct, and it was fairly easy to get people to take the money.
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Elevator Pitch No. 2
1. The Pitch
2. I thought the feedback I received was good. I was surprised that people came up with the idea to add cars to my idea. I feel like scooters are used more around campus, and it would be easier to find valet parking for them. I do not think this would work as well with cars, but I am willing to give this idea some though. Also, I tried to be more clear in my idea because, it seemed that some people did not completely understand how this would work in terms of the employees and how you would get your scooter without having to wait for it.
3. I changed my idea by adding more detail in my elevator pitch. I tried to be as clear as possible when explaining how the valet service would work. I also added the price per month that people would have to pay to use this service.
2. I thought the feedback I received was good. I was surprised that people came up with the idea to add cars to my idea. I feel like scooters are used more around campus, and it would be easier to find valet parking for them. I do not think this would work as well with cars, but I am willing to give this idea some though. Also, I tried to be more clear in my idea because, it seemed that some people did not completely understand how this would work in terms of the employees and how you would get your scooter without having to wait for it.
3. I changed my idea by adding more detail in my elevator pitch. I tried to be as clear as possible when explaining how the valet service would work. I also added the price per month that people would have to pay to use this service.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Week 6 Reading Reflection
1. The concept that surprised me the most in the reading was the idea of patents. I did not know it was that simple to get around them. It's pretty interesting to see that there are many companies that are basically the same, even though they have patents for many of their things. For example, Apple and Samsung have basically the the same product, but their patents give them the advantage of being a little bit different from each other. Overall, this makes me realize that patents should not scare me when trying to enter into a certain market.
2. I was confused with how powerful suppliers maintain high prices to strengthen their own product. I would of thought that they would give back to the consumer by being able to give sales or special offers, specially to loyal customers.
3. I would ask the author, what should a company do before entering the market. I feel like there is a lot that a company must look at before even opening its doors, and I would like to know where would be the best place to being.
4. There is nothing in which I disagreed with the author. I learned things that I did not clearly know about, and everything was relatively easy to understand.
2. I was confused with how powerful suppliers maintain high prices to strengthen their own product. I would of thought that they would give back to the consumer by being able to give sales or special offers, specially to loyal customers.
3. I would ask the author, what should a company do before entering the market. I feel like there is a lot that a company must look at before even opening its doors, and I would like to know where would be the best place to being.
4. There is nothing in which I disagreed with the author. I learned things that I did not clearly know about, and everything was relatively easy to understand.
Customer Interviews No. 3
1. For this round of interviews I wrote out my business concept and asked people what their reaction was. Depending on each person's answers, I conducted follow-up questions. Each of the follow-up questions was different depending on each person's answers to their reaction on the business concept, and I asked how they think I could improve the concept as a whole.
2. Interviews:
2. Interviews:
Nikki
Parker
Santiago
Travis
Jesse
3. Interviewing people has taught me to be more open to feedback and criticism. I was mostly surprised by how easy it actually was to interview people. I thought it would be hard to find people that would be willing to do this. I also thought it would be awkward and uncomfortable, but it was relatively easy and people were very open to giving their opinions. As an outcome of these interviews I expect to share more of my own ideas with people. I also expect to be able to better my ideas based on other people's opinions of them. There were many things I did not think about when coming up with this idea. For example, I did not think of a liability waiver or the safety of the customer. Overall, this experience has helped me to better understand an important aspect of being entrepreneur, which is the need for feedback and the sharing of opinions with other people.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Idea Napkin No. 1
1. My name is Luis, and I am an entrepreneur. I am creative, thoughtful, and I am good at socializing and holding conversations with people. I am great at working with a team or by myself. My skills include being motivated and driven, delegating tasks, and working well in a team environment. My aspirations for my opportunity are that people will not have to worry about parking. Students at the University of Florida incur many expenses while attending this school. Many students cannot afford a form of transportation outside from the bus system. Even though the bus system is helpful, it is usually unreliable. In order to create a more reliable means of transportation, I would like to implement a scooter rental service. Overall, I hope to be able to fix the problem and provide students with an inexpensive way to get around campus without having the fear of or being late to a class or meeting, or not being able to move around the Gainesville area because of unreliable transportation.
2. I am offering customers the knowledge that they will be able to move around campus and the Gainesville area at their desired time, and that they will be able to arrive anywhere on campus without the fear of being late because of missing the bus or having unreliable transportation. Also, I am offering this service in the most inexpensive way I know, because college students all ready incur many costs and I want them to be able to use this service without the stress of figuring out how to pay for it.
3. I am offering this service to anyone in the Gainesville area, but the customer demographic is students of the University of Florida. My customers are undergraduate or graduate students that do not have a personal form of transportation. They are people that have a lot to do with their day. For example, they have class, meetings, sports, etc. These people need a reliable source of transportation fir their schedules.
4. They care because they do not want to be late for these different events, or miss them all together. This group of people is paying for an education, and it is in their best interest to attend classes and meetings, and to join different groups around campus to widen their horizons. A scooter would help these people to be able to organize their day better, by giving them the peace of mind that they can go where ever they need to whenever they need to. They do not have to wait for a bus, taxi, or an uber to arrive at their destination on time. I am providing them with a solution to this problem, and taking away the cost of having to purchase a scooter, which most students cannot afford.
5. I am providing customers with a new idea. This idea has not been implement elsewhere, and there are no other companies doing this. Since I am also a student, I can relate to my customer demographic better, by understanding their needs and wants. Also, I am providing an inexpensive service compared with actually buying a scooter. Purchasing a scooter can cost between $700 - $1200 or more, and my service will cost about $10 at the most.
I believe that these elements do build on each other. This is not a business idea that I thought of to make money. I believe that college students deserve a reliable form of transportation that is inexpensive, and college students are all ready asked to spend a great deal of money of tuition, books, and other necessities. There is also a possibility of making this opportunity free if colleges were to fund it, by providing students with free scooter rentals as long as they sign liability waivers. Overall, there is an opportunity here to help college students.
2. I am offering customers the knowledge that they will be able to move around campus and the Gainesville area at their desired time, and that they will be able to arrive anywhere on campus without the fear of being late because of missing the bus or having unreliable transportation. Also, I am offering this service in the most inexpensive way I know, because college students all ready incur many costs and I want them to be able to use this service without the stress of figuring out how to pay for it.
3. I am offering this service to anyone in the Gainesville area, but the customer demographic is students of the University of Florida. My customers are undergraduate or graduate students that do not have a personal form of transportation. They are people that have a lot to do with their day. For example, they have class, meetings, sports, etc. These people need a reliable source of transportation fir their schedules.
4. They care because they do not want to be late for these different events, or miss them all together. This group of people is paying for an education, and it is in their best interest to attend classes and meetings, and to join different groups around campus to widen their horizons. A scooter would help these people to be able to organize their day better, by giving them the peace of mind that they can go where ever they need to whenever they need to. They do not have to wait for a bus, taxi, or an uber to arrive at their destination on time. I am providing them with a solution to this problem, and taking away the cost of having to purchase a scooter, which most students cannot afford.
5. I am providing customers with a new idea. This idea has not been implement elsewhere, and there are no other companies doing this. Since I am also a student, I can relate to my customer demographic better, by understanding their needs and wants. Also, I am providing an inexpensive service compared with actually buying a scooter. Purchasing a scooter can cost between $700 - $1200 or more, and my service will cost about $10 at the most.
I believe that these elements do build on each other. This is not a business idea that I thought of to make money. I believe that college students deserve a reliable form of transportation that is inexpensive, and college students are all ready asked to spend a great deal of money of tuition, books, and other necessities. There is also a possibility of making this opportunity free if colleges were to fund it, by providing students with free scooter rentals as long as they sign liability waivers. Overall, there is an opportunity here to help college students.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Week 5 Reading Reflection
1. The thing that stood out to me the most was the part about legality in this chapter. I would of thought that people would be more careful when looking at the legality of their company.
2. I was confused by the forms of intellectual property chart. Some of the terms used were not familiar to me, and it made it difficult to actually understand what the author was trying to say and explain.
3. Could you better explain the forms of intellectual property chart?
What are the chances of a business succeeding if it has multiple reasons for failure? Should a company attempt to reestablish a product that has failed in the past?
4. I agree with what I have read and understood in this chapter. I think the author brought up good ideas and topics, but I do think he could of made the reading easier to understand.
2. I was confused by the forms of intellectual property chart. Some of the terms used were not familiar to me, and it made it difficult to actually understand what the author was trying to say and explain.
3. Could you better explain the forms of intellectual property chart?
What are the chances of a business succeeding if it has multiple reasons for failure? Should a company attempt to reestablish a product that has failed in the past?
4. I agree with what I have read and understood in this chapter. I think the author brought up good ideas and topics, but I do think he could of made the reading easier to understand.
Interviewing Customers No. 2
1. I still believe that my opportunity is a good one. It seems that people would find a scooter rental service to be useful. Also, it seems that people would use this service on a daily basis. I kept the same opportunity for this round of interviews.
2. I talked to college students during my first round of interviews. I believe that this group of people is the one that would use this service the most. After my first round of interviews, I still believe that this is the right customers to interview. For this round of interviews, I again found college students to talk to about this opportunity.
3. For my interview questions, I attempted to ask more questions to see if people actually thought that a scooter service would be useful. Also, I asked them what price they would pay for this service to see if it the service would be feasible.
Questions:
Do you find the bus system in Gainesville reliable? why or why not?
How do you get to class?
Do you have a scooter?
How much would you pay to rent a scooter hourly? daily?
4. Interviews:
2. I talked to college students during my first round of interviews. I believe that this group of people is the one that would use this service the most. After my first round of interviews, I still believe that this is the right customers to interview. For this round of interviews, I again found college students to talk to about this opportunity.
3. For my interview questions, I attempted to ask more questions to see if people actually thought that a scooter service would be useful. Also, I asked them what price they would pay for this service to see if it the service would be feasible.
Questions:
- If not, do you think it would be easier to move around campus with one? why or why not?
- If yes, do you think it is the best way to get around campus? why or why not?
4. Interviews:
Josh
Ricky
Will
Jake
David
5. I think that I have come up with a great opportunity. Many students own and operate scooters on a daily basis. Most of the students that I have interviewed are open to this opportunity, and they seem to like the idea of being able rent scooters. This opportunity also seems cost-efficient.
6. Interviewing customers becomes easier with practice. Three tips I would offer students are, to do mock interviews with friends so that they get comfortable with it, try to ask precise questions, and to be open to receiving negative feedback from the people they interview.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Elevator Pitch No. 1
Smart Scoot
This new company is a scooter valet parking service. Throughout campus many students struggle to find scooter parking. This usually happens during times of high traffic, which are usually during class hours. Many students miss class, or are late because of this problem. Smart Scoot will be the new solution. This valet service will take you scooter to a designated scooter parking spot while you are able to relax and go to class. Once you leave your class, all you have to do is text our staff through our cell phone application. By doing this, we will make sure to have your scooter ready once you arrive. This service is relatively cheap, and will safe you from those costly parking tickets. All you have to do is subscribe to either our monthly or yearly Smart Scoot subscription.
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