Reading Reflection No.1

Steve Jobs, Walter Issacson

1.

• What surprised you the most? I found it surprising that Jobs started college and started studying liberal arts. This is shocking to me because his passion and ultimately his company is not built on a foundation of liberal arts but rather technology/coding/business. 
• What about the entrepreneur did you admire the most? Steve Jobs was a very straight forward and blunt guy. He told you his honest opinion about your idea even when it is bad. This is an aspect I desire about Jobs because that is something I would want from my boss and my peers.
• What about the entrepreneur do you admire the least? I find it least admirable that he dropped out of college after one year. I understand college is not for everyone but such a driven person like Jobs such have had some structural college experience to gain knowledge. He ended up being very successful without college but I feel like college could have helped him understand how to run a business.
• Did the entrepreneur experience adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? Jobs faced a lot of adversity and hardship throughout his life with the company in personal life. With Apple, Jobs had many battles against other big software companies like Microsoft and Google. He ended up working out the situation with Microsoft allowing them to make Office suitable for Apple products. 

2. What competencies did you notice the entrepreneur exhibit?

I believe some competencies that Steve Jobs had were grit, determinations and the willingness to succeed. He did not let go of situation that frustrated him but rather pushed through to see the end. His passion for technology drove his ambitious personally to be successful.

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

The book really never showed his struggle with Apple. The book talked about how he got to the place of starting Apple but never mentioned how it took off. Suddenly it shifted the story to his success and how his products took off and he started selling millions of products.

4. If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would they be and why?

The questions I would ask would be:

Did you think you were creating the next big thing in the technology world or were you more surprised by the take off it had?

If you could go back and change a time in your life, what would it be and why?

5. What do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I believe Steve Jobs opinion on hard work is you have to work hard even when you think the universe is pushing against you. To be successful you have to put in hard work even on the days you feel like giving up. I believe in a similar opinion of his definition of hard work. 

Halfway Reflection

1. Some strategies I have developed to keep up with this course is to come to lecture or watch them live on my laptop. If I watch the lecture when they happen it is easier to keep up with them and I do not find myself cramming two lectures on Sunday to do the cupcake. This allows time for me to get the assignments done for the week and also easily manage other classes as I take this course. Another strategy is to try to take the cupcake when it comes out. This makes it easier to take the cupcake because the lectures happened only a few days ago. If I wait to Sunday or Monday to take it, it is much harder because I am only able to remember what my notes have not the information still in my head from being at lecture.

2. I have not felt like giving up in this class so far but by far I dreaded and felt the most out of the class when we had to do the first elevator pitch. It was something I was not looking forward to recording and submitting. I feel like I had a good tenacious grip on this class so far as I feel like you have to remain on top of this class in order to not fall behind. There are weekly assignments and cupcakes that you have to stay with if not those are easy points you give up and can not get back.

3. Three tips I would give to future students:
       a. Either go to live lecture or watch the lecture live, easiest way to stay on top of this class.
       b. Take the cupcake when it first comes out, will be the time when you recall the most from the               lectures.
       c. If you want to be an entrepreneur, listen  and actually do the assignments because they can                  help you develop your idea into a business.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.1

The segment of my market that I pick is students who live off campus who do not have any means of transportation in Gainesville, meaning they do not own a car, scooter or bike (skateboard etc.).

Interview 1: (female living at 2nd Ave)
For her, the need awareness comes when she tries to get to and from campus later at night whether she is going to study at the library or for a club meeting. She says during the day she does not mind walking to and from her classes and even if the timing is right she will take the bus to school. But at those later hours the buses run less frequently and she does not feel safe walking home alone at night. For her, her immediate solution is having her roommate who has a car pick her up or catching a ride home with a friend. She says sometimes she will walk home and call a friend but she is nervous doing so, occasionally she will call an Uber depending on the price and time of night.

Interview 2: (male living at Gainesville Place)

For him, the need awareness comes for when he goes to classes. For most of his classes he rather bikes than take the bus. He just takes the bus because he has no other alternatives. He says the bus is reliable in coming every 15 minutes from his place but to get to his stop it takes about 25 mins which he believes is too long. It makes him leave for class way earlier than he like to. For his immediate solution he rides the bus. He says he does not come to campus during odd hours in he evening and if he has to his roommate drives him. The bus is consistent but just puts a strain on his day because he feels like his commute to and from school makes him unproductive for over an hour each day.

Interview 3: (female living behind mid)
For her, the need awareness comes when she goes to campus for work. She works at Starbucks in the library. She sometimes gets weird hours making her leave at night time. She says it would be nice to have a reliable and safe way to get home at night. She says none of the bus loops run close to her place leaving her to walk. Neither of her roommates has a car so she just calls her boyfriend every night when she has to walk home alone. She says during the day she does not mind walking to and from classes and work because she feels safe. Her immediate solution is walking and talking to someone on the phone but she believes that if that had rental bikes she would use them because of their convenience and less scary to ride a bike at night than walk.

After interviewing three different people, I feel like there are multiple uses for these bikes just to get to and from campus. They all would use them at different hours and for different circumstances. It seems the UBikes would be a huge convenience for students because it would allow them to use them whenever the time is right for them to head somewhere. I would describe this segment as people who are looking for a new transportation method for travel, there current method is working but they are tired of their current state. They do not stretch very far when it comes to information search as they go with the only solution they currently have. For one it is relying on the bus for the other is they rely on their boyfriend to call them.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1.  My name is Danielle Arigo and I am a sophomore from Tampa, Florida. I am at the University of Florida pursuing a degree in accounting. I really excel when it comes to projections and analysis of numbers. I think this would be beneficial to my company of UBikes when it comes to the financial side of the company. It could help my company better project how many bikes to start out with and estimate the growth of the company throughout Gainesville.
2. My business offers an affordable solution to traveling around Gainesville whether it be for enjoyment or as a reliable transportation method. May students do not have cars or bikes in Gainesville so instead of trying to Uber or walk to and from places they can rent a bike at their convenience.
3. I am offering it to University of Florida students primarily who do not already possess a car, scooter or bike. These students primarily live off campus and are needing a way to travel to campus. The general age of my market is people who are around the ages of 17 to 24. These people have some extra discretionary money they do not mind spending to get around campus or Gainesville. Most of my potential consumers find the RTS system inconvenient either because of the timing or pick up locations.
4. My business is valuable because there is nothing like it in Gainesville so far. I already have a competitive advantage on the market if people enter the market after I start because mine would be the first product they know and use. My business is also valuable because of the convenience factor, people can use the bikes whenever they want and do not have to wait for a specific time to come around in order for them to ride. Lastly my business is valuable because it is cheaper than other competitors that offer rides. The bike is a more reasonable price for college students on a tight budget compared to Uber or Lyft.
5. My core competency is being like no other business in and around the Gainesville area. MY company of UBikes serves the needs of students by providing a way to get to and from campus. In addition the UBike can be used for pure entertainment. If it is a nice day out friends can get together and ride bikes and explore downtown Gainesville. I believe no other company serves needs of transportation and as a leisure activity.

After analyzing my business in depth I believe it can be successful with proper estimates. I believe to launch this business there has to be a really good estimate of the number of people who would use the UBikes. From a conservative standpoint I can always add more bikes around the area if it is successful. The upfront cost is so high with a business like this so it is important to see how well the business does before growing. I definitely think there is a market that would adopt these bikes into their everyday lives.

Elevator Pitch 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXbMFQU_3SI&feature=youtu.be

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Changing up my solution to the problem. My solution for the lack of parking in and around UF campus will be solved by having bikes all around campus that people can use for however long they want. These bikes will be called UBike. Say they want to ride from Heavener to the Reitz and then they park it at the Reitz and another person can use it to go from the Reitz to their class at the music building. These bikes would be spread around campus in a 2 mile radius allowing people to use them to get to and from school if need be. The bikes would charge you by the minute and that is where my profit would comes from after the first initial upfront cost of getting all the bikes.

Who? UF students and visitors all fall inside the boundary. However, students who already have a bike or scooter fall outside the boundary because they already have a method of transportation that works for them around and to and from campus.

What? This need this solution is trying to fulfill is a way to get to and from campus that is more reliable and safe than walking or trying to catch the bus. This solution also tries to fulfill the need of people trying to get from one side of the campus to the other in a short period of time. 

Why? The need of people inside the boundary is different than those who are outside because the need of the people outside have already been fulfill by a bike of their own or a scooter. However, someone with a scooter might still use the bikes on campus because the scooter parking is on the outside of campus and where they need to go in all on the inside of campus. 

Interview Findings:

After changing my idea of solving the problem, I found this idea makes a lot more sense. This caters to more people's needs as it fulfills people who do not have a car at school can still get around campus. People thought the bike idea was a neat way of solving the problem as people who lived in big cities before said their downtown area had rental bikes that everyone loved to use. This is positive news because if they are successful in other areas it makes me hopeful they can work here. UBike seems like an ideal idea in potential consumers eyes as they view this options as affordable and efficient. 

Inside the Boundary

Who is in it: UF students, faculty, and visitors (2 miles radius)

What the need is: safe and efficient to and from / around campus

Why that need exists: limited parking and other transportation method

Outside the Boundary:

Who is not: people living beyond the 2 mile radius or have a scooter or bike

What the need is not: a bus system or inconvenient 

Alternative Explanations: other methods of travel

Solving the Problem

My problem is there is limited parking on and around campus making student have to find alternative methods to get to classes on campus.

My solution is creating a parking app that allows people to see where around and on campus where spaces are available. This would help people who drive on campus to find a parking spot without driving all over to find the available spaces. The app would stretch to show parking available on campus but also around campus near midtown and downtown. The app would be for scooter and cars making it useful for majority of UF students. For scooters the app would say what percent full the scooter parking area is to allow that to go to a spot where they do not chance getting a ticket because they are not in a space.

Testing the Hypothesis Part 1

My Opportunity

Who: UF/Gainesville Parking 

What: There is limited parking on and around campus making people waste time trying to find parking

Why: There is such little parking and the available spots are scattered around campus making people drive all around to find an open spot, 

Interview 1 (a girl living off campus in an apartment)

She does not drive for class because there is no where to park that is convenient for her classes so she rides the bus. At night she has club meetings to go to and for those she drives because parking is lifted. She think Gainesville city parking convenient and if she did not have a pass with her apartment complex she would get a city parking pass because it would allowed her to park in various spots around town and closer to campus. She believes that there has to be a quicker way to solve this problem besides putting up a parking garage that will take a whole year.

Interview 2 (a guy who lives on campus at a fraternity house)

He is only a sophomore so he has only lived on campus at his time here at the University of Florida. He think the parking is not hug problem partly because he has a scooter and it does not affect his time getting places as he does not have a car at school. When he drives with his friends and comes back to park on campus he says they have to park in the garage behind Hume sometimes because parking on fraternity row sometimes runs out. He has no real opinion on Gainesville city parking just because he does not have a car.

Interview 3 (a grad student living far off campus)

She lives off campus and farther away because she wanted cheaper rent. For her graduate program she does not have many classes on campus and the ones that she does only are two days a week. She says she has trouble getting there and just takes the bus because it is free and the most convenient options with parking out the window. She says the bus ride takes her about 30 minutes so she definitely believes there must be a solution to this parking problem. She is did not go to UF for her undergraduate program so this situation is all new to her.

Interview 4 (a guy living behind midtown)

He lived on campus for the first year and these past two years have lived behind midtown. He said he realized how bad of the parking is on campus so that is why he specifically moved to a location convenient for him to get to his classes. He has the city parking decal and he raved about how useful it is. He said he can go to other places behind midtown to visit his friends and he can park his car close to them. He said he never taken a bus even when he was on campus so he was not sure how efficient they are as a way of transportation for commuting students. 

Interview 5 (a girl that lives south of campus)

She lives far from campus because of the rent prices and her financial ability only allows her to be far from campus because of the rent prices increases. She has a car and can only drive it in the evening time which she complained about because she wants to take her car to campus to make it more accessible to get to campus. She says the bus has a stop by her apartment complex  just the bus schedule is hit or miss with the time she has to leave. I asked her about Gainesville city parking and she said she has thought about the option but did not want to pay for a decal she would use like 3 days out of the week.

I see a opportunity in the parking situation at the University and I am realizing the solution has to be immediate rather than a whole year for another garage that is place in a location not really useful for student commuting to campus.

Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Regulatory Opportunity #1
Legalizing of Marijuana for Recreational Use Across America:

The legalization of marijuana has been all over the news for the past few months as many states has approved it for recreational use. This is a huge opportunity for anyone that is in the medical marijuana field as some of their business can increase as their customer base expands. I believe that the customer with this opportunity is anyone currently smokes marijuana. This customer base is a lot of college students and middle aged people. I think this is a rather easy opportunity to exploit if you are looking to enter into the business of selling recreational marijuana.
I saw this information and saw this as an opportunity because I am surrounded by people would be a customer if marijuana was legalized. Since I see how big of a market this opportunity can have, I believe you can see it as a opportunity rather than another changing trend in society.


Regulatory Opportunity #2
Data Privacy Law

I found this on pwc website a new law has been passed in California called the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA). This act allows consumer to get a copy of all their personal information collected about them, allowing a new breakthrough when it comes to personal privacy. This a potential opportunity for technology companies to help develop a copy of peoples information that has been collected. I think the technology industries are the many customer than can capitalize on this opportunities as they are able to obtain reports about protection privacy in a quick fashion. I feel like this is a fairly difficult opportunity to exploit because with this law I feel like it would be government employees help regulating this law. I see this as an opportunity because we are reaching the age of technology where everyone is worried about their privacy as technology invades every aspect of their life,

Economic Opportunity #1
Tax Cut and Jobs Act

This happened a couple years back but it takes awhile to see the effects of a bill that is passed. This act was passed back in 2017 which was on of the first things Trumps did when he got in office. I found this story from thebalance.com which broke down what the act was and what it meant for different groups of people based off of financial status. This might be a potential opportunity for any potential entrepreneur as with the tax cut people have more disposable income to spend on their wants. I feel like the customer of this opportunity is any one with more disposable income due to the tax cut.

Economic Opportunity #2
Stock Market Predictions

The stock market has a lot of change throughout the year but is always a hot topic of discussion during the beginning of the year about what experts predict will happen. I read about the predictions on Forbes to grasp a deeper understanding of the opportunities for investment this year. Experts say that the market has a two-thirds of a chance of a 10% increase. This is a potential opportunity for investors or novice investors to get their feet wet in investing. I feel like this opportunity is easy to exploit if you read up on where you are trying to invest and the predictions experts have made.