30A – Final Reflection

I think the "What's next" assignment may have been the most useful assignment because anyone can come up with one idea, but it's the follow up ideas that truly make an entrepreneur. That is how businesses stay relevant and continue to bring in revenue. I will definitely remember the experience of interviewing the experts in my field and building social capital. I learned how to network and that will be useful for years to come. The most joyous experience was seeing my idea come together, step by step. I am most proud of not giving up on certain assignments when they seemed almost impossible to get done or too much work.

I can definitely see myself as an entrepreneur because I have a better understanding of what it takes. I understand how to obtain resources and capital and how put my head down when need be. So, I am definitely closer to the proper mind set.

My main advice would be to not underestimate the work it takes to be successful. The sooner someone understands this, the easier life will be. I would also say that it's okay to let the creativity flow and to take chances. The way to perform best in this course is to much sure you manage time well. It is extremely difficult to conduct interviews in a very limited amount of time if you do not manage your time well. So, preparation is key. In order to foster this mindset, new students should understand that not all the assignments are very easy, so it is key to map out a proper schedule.

29A – Venture Concept No. 2

Through my research I have discovered that part of the workforce, mainly blue-collar workers, have a huge need. It is believed that millions of workers could potentially lose their jobs to the increasing use of artificial intelligence in the workplace. And this is all believed to happen within the next decade. So, my main market includes younger workers who are seen as easily replaceable, but I would definitely not ignore the older part of the workforce. I have also expanded my idea to cover workers that need to adapt to new career fields, whether that is because of artificial intelligence or not. My customers aren’t currently doing anything to solve this need. The only thing comparable is vocational school, but that just teaches students a particular industry. So, I believe this opportunity is huge because it is attacking a huge market and is fulfilling a need that is pretty much untouched. This window of opportunity will be open for as long as artificial intelligence poses a threat to jobs and as long as workers need to learn how to adapt to changing fields and how to diversify their skills.

My idea is to basically create a new type of higher education system that is meant to teach students to face the growing problems of being replaced in the workplace. Our goal is not to teach students about a specific industry or field, but to diversify their skills and make them even more valuable to their current industry or make it so that they can easily adapt to any new industry that they have an opportunity in. I believe this idea is incrementally innovative because we have higher education programs already, but this definitely utilizes a different model. But I do believe that my idea can be revolutionary because it will help empower the people seen as lower class and less educated. These people are seen as replaceable and I would like to change that. This service will be created after much research is done on what employers truly value and how to make humans more useful than artificial intelligence. There will be regional based schools in larger cities that students can attend on a semester basis just like university. We will also provide regional seminars to accommodate those who are still working and can not attend full class schedules. This is not to be seen as a university education. Our revenue will come from the credits that the students choose to take or what seminars they attend.

Customers will utilize my service because they will realize they are not prepared to change industries after being laid off, are not seen as valuable by their current employer, or are being replaced by artificial intelligence. It might be a bit difficult to appeal to my market because they are people that already choice not to take the path of higher education, but I believe once they are shown the need for it they will start to use my service. Then hopefully the reputation will speak for itself. The only competitor is really vocational school, but it is not the same at all. And the weaknesses that I can think of would be getting people that did not want to have higher education get higher education. Also, it will be difficult to assemble a working system and exact formula. But I plan on putting together the best and most qualified team available to combat these weaknesses. Obviously, pricing will be huge to people that probably do not make a lot of money to start with. Distribution will be equally as important because we will need to have locations that are convenient to the majority of our customers. Obviously, with it being a service, customers will need to have a great experience and enjoy coming to us. I couldn’t really say how many employees we need, but we will definitely need enough teachers to support having reasonably sizes classes. I must research the areas that will most benefit my market in order to save money and exploit the best opportunities possible.

Our most important resource will be a teaching system that successfully diversifies our students’ skills and makes them irreplaceable. This would be something that would prove to be very difficult to copy. I believe that research is another huge resource because I need to find the best locations and I need to keep my business affordable to my market. My initial plan was to combat the increasing artificial intelligence found in the workplace that is causing people to lose jobs. But then I plan on expanding to help students learn how to adapt to changing industries. After that, I hope to attack other markets and expand my regionally based seminar system. In five years I plan to be completely consumed by this venture and looking for constant improvements. I want to make my venture extremely efficient and won’t stop until I start seeing true results. After I have really established this concept, I will start to back off and let it run itself. Then hopefully I can turn my attention to looking for other ways to improve people’s lives. 

2.) Most of the feedback I received stated that I need to make sure my price point is good for my market because I am targeting the lower class. This is definitely an important point because I wouldn't want my service to be affordable to the majority of my market. Another point that was made said that I need to do thorough research on the locations that I choose.

3.) Based on the feedback, I just realize that I need to be more specific on my locations and that I need to be very conscious of my expenses in order to keep my service affordable.

  

28A – Your Exit Strategy

1.) I definitely do not plan on selling my business, at least anytime soon. My plan is to run the business and create such a strong infrastructure that I can start to back off of it after 10 plus years. At that point I will have people I trust running the business, but I will keep my baby. It would be ideal if my venture became a family business.

2.) I have selected this strategy because I don't want the foundations of my business to be watered down. I want to remain a part of it and I want to always be able to make sure things are being ran the way I envisioned.

3.) I don't know that my exit strategy has too much influence, but it definitely makes me want to build up a strong management team that can run the business the way I want them to. So, other than human capital, I don't think it has had too much influence.

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

Thinking, Fast and Slow

1.) The general theme of this book is that marketers should focus more on appealing to people's emotions rather than their logic and reasoning. The authors view this through a psychological standpoint through the use of heuristics and biases.

2.) This book connects to this class because it is all about marketing and appealing to emotion which is a major component to running a successful business.

3.) If I had to design an exercise based on this book, I would make an exercise that has students describe a marketing strategy example based off of each type of system 1 bias. So the students would create a situation around each type in order to develop an understanding for each type of bias.

4.) The main theme of the book was pretty surprising because it is pretty common to think that you should appeal to people's logic when trying to market something. But it definitely makes sense that people often rely more on emotion when making decisions, so that is what you should appeal to.

26A – Celebrating Failure

During this semester, I joined the club golf team. I am relatively new at golf, but I'm a natural athlete and figured I could easily pick it up. But after playing and playing and playing, I have failed to get much better. Also, I have failed to qualify for any club tournaments because I keep getting beat out by my fellow club members who have been playing for years and years. So after hacking up the course time and time again, I decided that I did not want to fail any longer and that I need to change my ways.

I learned that it was pretty arrogant of me to just think I can hop into the sport and be good. So after being humbled, I have buckled down, watched tons of videos, and have really started practicing hard. I have finally started to feel like I am breaking through and I am improving, so I learned to appreciate that hard work breeds greatness and to not come into anything thinking I know it all.

Failure is humbling and embarrassing, but I don't believe you can be great without failure. I was embarrassed about being the absolute worst player on the time because I have never been even close to the worst at anything, but I have learned a new appreciation for the sport. Failure has taught me to view things in a different light and it makes me want to overcome it. I am definitely hard on myself after failure, but I believe I am pretty self aware and I know when I need to step it up. I believe that this class has taught me that failure is okay and that a lot of successes come from failures. With these thoughts in mind, I am definitely willing to take more risks because I understand that it is okay to fail.

25A – What’s Next?

Existing Market

1.) After establishing my main business and creating the best education system possible, I believe I can expand into an online type course. But I wouldn't want to make a course that is fully online because I believe this type of education system needs to be more personal. I would like to create this in a way that students aren't stuck in one place and are free to travel and work and still get their education done in a personal way.

2.) The first person that I interviewed believes that my business should consider offering courses on how to actually work with artificial intelligence instead of working to combat it. For example, how to maintenance machines and work with technology. He likes my idea of moving online because online is always more convenient.

The next person suggested that I establish a type of service that will allow my students to network with employers of new industries. Once I establish a reputation, he believes I should do something that helps my students acquire jobs. This person said that he likes that my business will move to online, but he said to make sure that it doesn't wash out what I'm trying to accomplish.

In my last interview, the person suggested that I also offer more specific type classes so that I can move into the vocational schools' market as well. He seemed to be very hesitant about my business using an online platform because he believes this type of education needs to remain very hand on.

3.) After conducting my interviews and coming up with some ideas on my own, I believe I see a path for the future that will be best with for my business. I like the idea of creating an online platform for my education service, but I will definitely listen to my market's ideas. I need to make sure the service stays very hands on and gives my students the education they deserve.

Out of the ideas that were suggested to me, I liked the one about establishing a network that assists my students in finding jobs. I believe that as a higher education service, it is my duty to help my students actually obtain a job with the education that they receive. I'd like to partner with companies that understand what my business is all about and want to be a part of it. Doing this will definitely improve my reputation with customers and bring me even more business.

New Market

1.) I am currently targeting the working class, but in order to expand my market, I can try to target the upper class.

2.) I believe that once I establish my future plan which involves networking and establishing relationships with employers, I will start to involve more upper class people in my business. But my plan would be to create a segment of my business that appeals to higher educated people by holding seminars that help fine tune their skills. It is likely that the more educated are not willing to take yet another form of higher education.

3.) In my first interview, the person believes that if I am able to establish a nice reputation of being able to help my students get jobs then I will be able to adapt to this new market pretty well. He just believes I will need to model my seminars around obtaining more white collar type jobs that more highly educated people are looking for.

The second person I interviewed believes that a seminar system could be useful and successful because it can give people confidence when looking for and applying for jobs. He said that an adaptation I might need to make would be to create seminars that really help people through the application and interview process and also help teach people how to actually apply the skills they learned in college.

4.) I have to admit that I am a bit surprised at how optimistic these two people were about my business. I figured this would be a difficult market to tap into because I know that I wouldn't really want to do more school after already having a form of higher education. But surprisingly, these two liked my idea and said they would consider it. So, my expectations were definitely a little off.

This market, to me, definitely does not seem as attractive as my original market considering I don't believe there is a whole lot I can do with it. But it is nice to know that I will be able to tap into it a little. But the original market will have a lot more potential especially because they are interested in doing full semester long classes rather than just seminars.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Through my research I have discovered that part of the workforce, mainly blue-collar workers, have a huge need. It is believed that millions of workers could potentially lose their jobs to the increasing use of artificial intelligence in the workplace. And this is all believed to happen within the next decade. So, my main market includes younger workers who are seen as easily replaceable, but I would definitely not ignore the older part of the workforce. I have also expanded my idea to cover workers that need to adapt to new career fields, whether that is because of artificial intelligence or not. My customers aren’t currently doing anything to solve this need. The only thing comparable is vocational school, but that just teaches students a particular industry. So, I believe this opportunity is huge because it is attacking a huge market and is fulfilling a need that is pretty much untouched. This window of opportunity will be open for as long as artificial intelligence poses a threat to jobs and as long as workers need to learn how to adapt to changing fields and how to diversify their skills.

My idea is to basically create a new type of higher education system that is meant to teach students to face the growing problems of being replaced in the workplace. Our goal is not to teach students about a specific industry or field, but to diversify their skills and make them even more valuable to their current industry or make it so that they can easily adapt to any new industry that they have an opportunity in. I believe this idea is incrementally innovative because we have higher education programs already, but this definitely utilizes a different model. But I do believe that my idea can be revolutionary because it will help empower the people seen as lower class and less educated. These people are seen as replaceable and I would like to change that. This service will be created after much research is done on what employers truly value and how to make humans more useful than artificial intelligence. There will be regional based schools in larger cities that students can attend on a semester basis just like university. We will also provide regional seminars to accommodate those who are still working and can not attend full class schedules. This is not to be seen as a university education. Our revenue will come from the credits that the students choose to take or what seminars they attend.

Customers will utilize my service because they will realize they are not prepared to change industries after being laid off, are not seen as valuable by their current employer, or are being replaced by artificial intelligence. It might be a bit difficult to appeal to my market because they are people that already choice not to take the path of higher education, but I believe once they are shown the need for it they will start to use my service. Then hopefully the reputation will speak for itself. The only competitor is really vocational school, but it is not the same at all. And the weaknesses that I can think of would be getting people that did not want to have higher education get higher education. Also, it will be difficult to assemble a working system and exact formula. But I plan on putting together the best and most qualified team available to combat these weaknesses. Obviously, pricing will be huge to people that probably do not make a lot of money to start with. Distribution will be equally as important because we will need to have locations that are convenient to the majority of our customers. Obviously, with it being a service, customers will need to have a great experience and enjoy coming to us. I couldn’t really say how many employees we need, but we will definitely need enough teachers to support having reasonably sizes classes.

Our most important resource will be a teaching system that successfully diversifies our students’ skills and makes them irreplaceable. This would be something that would prove to be very difficult to copy. My initial plan was to combat the increasing artificial intelligence found in the workplace that is causing people to lose jobs. But then I plan on expanding to help students learn how to adapt to changing industries. After that, I hope to attack other markets and expand my regionally based seminar system. In five years I plan to be completely consumed by this venture and looking for constant improvements. I want to make my venture extremely efficient and won’t stop until I start seeing true results. After I have really established this concept, I will start to back off and let it run itself. Then hopefully I can turn my attention to looking for other ways to improve people’s lives.

22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3

https://youtu.be/FjcF4WMHrGI

I mostly wanted to get straight to the point rather than have as much fluff as I did before. I also wanted to cut down my introduction. I believe I told the customer exactly what they needed to know in as little time as possible. I definitely felt a bit more comfortable in front of the camera.

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

• My first resource would be my extremely competitive nature.
• This is valuable because it forces me to want to be the best and nothing will stop me from obtaining my goals. It is rare and hard to copy because it is not a quality that you can really just learn. There is not really another human quality that can replace this mindset other than tenacity.
• I believe that I have assembled social connections that are very valuable.
• Who you know is extremely valuable in any field you work in. It is definitely rare to know the right people and it can be copied, but it is very difficult to know the right people. This also makes it very difficult for others to provide this resource.
• I have a skill in teaching that is vital to this business.
• Teaching skills are more than just valuable in the education industry. I believe my experiences have helped me develop this skill and so that will be difficult for others to emulate. Others can offer this, but not many. 
• My creativity will help me develop a way of teaching what I want to teach in a way that is done by no other school. 
• This idea will be of extreme value because it will differentiate us from the basic technical school. It is rare because its our own system and should not be able to be copied. No other school will do it exactly how we do it.
• My idea of teaching how to diversify skills is vital to my business.
• Expanding student's skills will help them combat changing fields and the increase of artificial intelligence. This is a rare goal for any education system. It can be copied, but it is not an established method. 
• Knowing someone in the investing industry will give me the opportunity to mold my company around what my customer's value.
• It is valuable to understand customer preferences. This probably somewhat of a rare connection, but it can obviously be replicated and provided by others.
• I have the ability to sell my ideas to people.
• This is valuable when it comes to establishing and selling your idea to others because you need other people to buy into the company. This is probably a rare ability and can be copied, but not in the exact same way. So others cannot offer this exactly the same.
• Being a finance student will be beneficial when it comes to financial capital. 
• It is as valuable to understand your companies finances and how you're going to finance your idea as it is to understand anything else. This ability isn't all that rare and can definitely be copied. So it can be offered by others.
• My mission to improve the lives of others and to have a system more about the individual is something that separates my idea from current established systems. 
• I believe this idea is very valuable when it comes to accomplishing my goals. It is rare and I don't believe others will be able to mimic the way I do this. Therefore, this can not be offered by others.
• My outlook on efficiency is a form of human capital that I highly value.
• Efficiency is extremely valuable when it comes to get things done well but in a timely manner. I think my mindset may be a little rare, but it is not hard to copy. 

The focus on the student and how to diversify their skills would definitely be my most valuable resource that separates my company from other educational institutions. It's easy to get lost in the mix at a lot of other places, but this focus will make it certain that students will improve themselves. This resource will also improve the lives of our students because they will be well equipped to change job fields and adapt to any new situation or environment. 

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Scott Adams

1.) The book just explained that everything you do and accomplish will be based off your energy. And your energy levels are based off your diet, exercise, and elimination of unnecessary stress in your life. It states that your priorities should be based off of focusing on yourself, then your finances, and then your friends and family.

2.) It taught me how to fix my problems and how to obtain my ultimate focus. It also taught me how to work on myself and obtain the highest energy in order to achieve basically anything.

3.) If I had to create an exercise, I would make one that had students create a list of goals, then later explain how each of these goals could actually hold them back. After that, I would have students explain how they think they can improve on their own wellness.

4.) I found it funny that the book basically said that I should put my finances ahead of my friends and family. I definitely know a lot of people that wouldn't be very happy if I told them I was doing this. The selfish approach that this book took was probably the most surprising thing.

20A – Growing Your Social Capital

1.) The first person that I spoke with teaches at Virginia Tech and is a friend of my aunt. I have never met this person before and he fills the slot of domain expert because he, in fact, knows a lot about education and how to get the best possible results out of students. My aunt recommended that I contact this person because she believed he would be related to my business idea. He did me a favor by taking time out of his busy schedule in order to hear out my business proposal. I don't think he is expecting much from me at this time, but we'll see in the future and I'll be happy to help. I think having this contact could potentially assist me in providing the best education service that I possibly can since I can seek advice from someone who is currently a professional in this industry.

2.) For the second part, I contacted a friend of a friend who works for an investment firm. I believe this person is an expert in the market because he knows all about customer research and how to evaluate if a company has any value or not. This is actually someone that my friend has been recommending that I try to intern with since I am in finance, so this could be mutually beneficial for both of us since he gets an intern and I obtain experience. I think a relationship with this person will help me gauge how much customers value my service and how to really find and understand consumer interests.

3.) My third contact is an important supplier in this industry because he works for a large tutoring service that supplies services to students who are attending university. This person was previously a teaching assistant but moved into the tutoring industry. This person has actually tutored me before and I requested to have a quick discussion with him about my business proposal. He provided advice on how to best reach students and how to make life and education easier for them. In return, I will advertise his service to friends. I believe by knowing this person and seeking out his advice, I will be able to expand my own knowledge on the industry.

I think my networking will have more of a purpose in the future. I will try to meet people who are more directly related with what I'm trying to accomplish. I think this experience did differ from past experiences because I have never really pursued networking the way I did here. I just kind of met the people whom I've crossed paths with. In this exercise, I went out and looked for networking opportunities.

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1.) My name is Mark Midkiff and I am a tenacious worker who is extremely competitive and wants to be the best I can be with everything I do. I believe that I have tons of leadership experience and I mostly excel at leading by example. I have been team captains and have done coaching, which has helped me become a better teacher, as well. I know that if I started a new business, I would become absolutely obsessed with it because that's the way I am with everything I put my mind to. I would want for this business to change people's lives while also bringing in a large profit for me and my family.

2.) My plan is for my business to provide our customers/students with an education that will increase their value in work place environments. We want to diversify their skills and make the irreplaceable. This will help customers adapt to changing career fields and battle the trend of increasing artificial intelligence in the work place. My business is mostly geared towards blue collar workers because they are mostly the ones affected. I consider this to be more than just a vocational school because our purpose is to teach students a variety of skills rather than specific skills for one field.

3.) My target market are is mostly younger, blue collar workers who likely don't have a college education. These students could possibly be changing career fields and realizing they need to diversify their skills. But we are also looking to help the older population looking to make themselves more valuable than artificial intelligence alternatives.

4.) Customers will want my service because we will establish a reputation of a company that looks out for the best for our customers/students. We will be known for increasing our students' values and changing their lives for the better. We will be the easiest alternative for students to obtain a higher education.

5.) We offer a program that is different than any other form of higher education because we do not look to teach students skills in one particular field. We will have multiple forms of education as well to convenience our different types of customers. For example, we will have classes for full time students and seminars for those with jobs and limited time availability.

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

I see my prototypical customer as a male in his mid 20s. He probably didn't attend university, but vocational school is definitely possible. He is from a blue collar hard working family with parents that may or may not still be together. He enjoys rugged, manly sports like football and
nascar, and definitely loves being outdoors. So camping is definitely a preferred vacation.

I would imagine that he would be mostly into classic muscle cars that are customized and having racing stripes. No particular color of preference. He is into shows on Discovery channel and other common American favorites like Friends and How I Met Your Mother. I doubt he has children because he is still relatively young and is trying to establish himself in a career. But I would imagine he would feeler a little more mature that he is because he's probably been working since a very early age. He possibly worked on a farm or in a car shop as a kid, so he's got a great work ethic. He's probably a little conservative when it comes to politics, but there is no real preference.

I'd say that I actually have a ton in common with my avatar. For example, I am from a hard working middle class family and am into many of the same hobbies, especially, football. But I definitely do not like Nascar. The main difference between myself and my avatar is that I am attending university, but that's really the only thing that separates us. I don't think it is a coincidence that I am creating a company that will benefit people that I can relate with.

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

1.) First off, I would describe myself as efficient and I take pride in this because it means that I get my work done with quality and in a timely manner. It also means I am willing to make executive decisions if necessary.

I am an ultra competitive person and that drives me to be best the best in everything I do. Even if I don't become the best, I know I gave it my all.

I believe that I am a fairly convincing person, so that will help me with advertising and getting people to buy into my system.

I have had the experience of tearing my ACL, which was an extremely trying time. It taught me how to get back up when life pushes me down.

I also think I am creative and a good critical thinker, we could help me solve various problems in the future.

2.) 1st: What do you believe separates me when it comes to being an entrepreneur? "You definitely do not take no for an answer, so that helps you persevere when necessary." What skills do you believe I have? "You have a wide array of skills that allow you to adapt to many different situations" What emotions do you see in me that will help me thrive in business? "You are very prideful in your work."
I learned that this person believes that I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. I also learned that I am apparently pretty stubborn.

2nd: What do you believe separates me when it comes to being an entrepreneur? "You're not afraid to take calculated risks." Anything else? "You are good at always finding a way to benefit out of most situations."
Here, I learned that I am good at finding profitable situations. This is definitely a good trait to have in business.

3rd: What do you believe separates me when it comes to being an entrepreneur? "After your internship, it seems that you have a strong basis of how a company runs its financials." Why do you think this is valuable? "It's always great to go into something with prior knowledge." What emotions do you think I have that will benefit me? "I know that you at least poor your heart out into everything that you do."
This interview taught me that, he thinks I am qualified to try starting my own business. It's also good to hear that he believes that I have a lot of heart.

4th: What do you believe separates me when it comes to being an entrepreneur? "You know how to handle conflict very well." How do you think this will help me? "In business, there is always going to be arguments over ideas and it's useful to find a happy medium."

5th: What do you believe separates me when it comes to being an entrepreneur? "I'd say you have a mind for numbers, which will definitely help you on the finance side." Any emotions? "You are very caring and so you'll take good care of your employees and customers."
This interview didn't teach me too much, but it's nice to know that this person saw me as caring.

3.) I see myself as very hard working, and so do others. People see me as manipulative, but I think that's a good thing when it comes to business. I'd say there's some slight difference, but it's mostly the same. The differences are mostly caused be people not knowing my motivations or how I feel about something. I'd probably agree that they are mostly correct. I am pretty content with my list.

15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Interview 1: The first person I interviewed was a 21 year old college student. He said that price definitely matters, but his end goals are what ultimately help him make his decision. This would basically be the style and quality of education that he bases his decision of alternatives around. My product is a service, so it is more likely that the customer goes to my service. He says he would definitely finance this since it will be a pretty large expense. He believes this decision is completely based on his mindset. His career field will be the ultimate decider of if he made the right decision.

Interview 2: The next person I talked to is a general manager of a company branch. He is well educated and does not really have a need for my service. He said that if he was looking at alternatives, at this point, price would be the biggest factor to him. Quality does matter to him, but when you're older it's more about the best price and the most time efficient service. In this case, I think my service would be a top option.

Interview 3: My last interview was with an 18 year old female looking to attend a university. She says she is looking for a form of education that provides the best quality, bang for the buck, and best fulfills her end goals. She plans to finance her education and only her and her family are involved in the purchase decision. If she ends with a job in her dream career field then she will determine that her decision was a success.

The biggest alternative to my service is certainly university. The purchase decision is really mostly the buyers decision and is based on that person's end goals. The post purchase evaluation mostly depends on the job that the customer later obtains.

14A – Halfway Reflection

1.) this course is completely assignment based, so assignments are what makes up the grade. I'm used to usually having to worry about major exams every week, so this has been a bit of a change. I have had to manage my time and pace myself, which is a skill that I have been able to fine tune. I have also had to be patient because some of the assignments are pretty time intensive.

2.) I believe this question is asking about in life, not in class, so this time would be when I tore my ACL. I definitely felt pretty defeated at the time since I could no longer play high school football, but I pulled myself together and rehabbed my butt off. I did this because I still have my whole life ahead of me and I will need a healthy knee to continue to enjoy playing the sports that I love.
I have definitely developed a tenacious attitude from this class because there are certainly a handful of assignments that I haven't wanted to do, but pushed through them anyways. Just wanting good grades and to build a great future for myself have contributed to my tenaciousness.

3.) My first tip would be to just pick a tough end goal and to stick with it. This will always push you to keep on getting your work done.

My next tip would be to always stay ahead. If you get your work done early, you will feel good and you'll never feel like quitting.

My final tip would be to know what you're talking about. If you pick something you know, you'll be more motivated and the class will be so much easier.

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

Elon Musk

1.) I would say that it surprised me to read that Elon Musk was once put in a position that he had to choose between continuing with Tesla or SpaceX. This was surprising to me because as long as I have been being attention, both have existed. I liked that Elon Musk was willing to go out on a limb to achieve his dreams during a time that most entrepreneurs weren't taking many risks. The only thing that I didn't like from the biography was that Elon sometimes doesn't sympathize well with his employees. He definitely faced adversity and he pushed through and always found away. He faced monetary issues and push back from people who thought he was crazy, but he carried on.

2.) Elon Musk is definitely a big time science nerd and knows what it takes to change the world. I would describe him as an improviser and someone who pushes through at all costs. He has a diversified skill set that can be used in lots of fields. Elon Musk possesses a work ethic that few have.

3.) I wouldn't say there was much that confused me, but I found Elon Musk's suspicion of Google's robots to be a little strange.

4.) I would start off by asking him when he realistically expects America to move to having all electric cars because oil companies are so huge in American politics, so it would be interesting to see what he actually thinks. I would also ask him about his castle parties simply because they sound pretty awesome.

5.) I have no doubt that Elon Musk strongly believes in hard work. It is said that he has chewed out an employee for missing an event because his wife was in labor. Elon has also been in a lot of situations where he could've just given up, but he pushed through. I definitely value hard work as well, but Elon is probably a bit more cut throat about it.

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1 Submit Assignment

Interview 1: My segment is focusing more on the currently employed, younger individuals who are interested in regional seminars. This person does admit to having a possible need for my proposed service. He believes that this need becomes most apparent when looking for other possible jobs or looking to improve his overall value to the company. He provided an example of when a company is going through some layoffs. During these times, it's best to present yourself as having an irreplaceable skill set. He says he usually just does research on the internet when he realizes he has an unmet need. He says he would just google search things like increasing your value to companies and other searches similar to that. He has not really talked to friends or family about attending a seminar like this.

Interview 2: The second person that I talked to is very strongly against the idea of utilizing lots of artificial intelligence in the work place. So he does have the problem and realizes that it would be in his best interest to learn the skills of adapting to different career fields. Whenever companies start moving towards an automated workforce, the need becomes more apparent. He says seminars would be helpful in his time of need because he couldn't really afford to be out of work for too long. He says that he mostly just thinks of relevant marketing that he has recently seen when he thinks of the problem, so effective marketing will be important to reach customers like this. He said he would search forms of education available to adults.

Interview 3: This person is an employed blue collar worker, who says he is always looking for ways to improve himself. He also agrees that he needs to diversify his skills because of the trend of increasing artificial intelligence in the work place. He says he does not want to be easily replaceable. He believes this need will be more salient in the pretty near future, but realizes it's something he should start preparing for  now. He commented that he usually solves his problems by searching solutions out on the internet. He would normally search out forms of higher education seminars when looking for things like my solution.

I'd say that people who are in my segment are pretty aware of the issue at hand. They may not be currently doing anything about it, but that's what my idea is for. I believe they would find all the information they needed, if my solution actually existed because I would try to connect my solution to what they told me.

10A – Elevator Pitch No. 1

https://youtu.be/9QZPUPpB4UI

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1.) I see myself as a young ambitious man, who is looking for a way to create a business that both provides me with a living and makes the world a better place. I believe that I have above average leadership skills and I have a talent for being able to teach people more efficient ways to do things. I have been a part of many sports teams and many clubs, which have allowed me to fine tune my leadership skills. I have also done a lot of volunteer coaching that lead to me becoming better at teaching. If I started this business, I see it as something that would take over my life. I tend to become very obsessed with the things I do, which definitely helps me become the best I can be. My view is just that if I'm going to involve myself in something then I am going to put in all the effort I can. My dream for the business would to just know that I am improving the lives of many of my customers and making a healthy profit at the same time.

2.) My company will provide customers/our students with an education on how to make yourself more valuable to businesses during a time that artificial intelligence is expected to take over many people's jobs. The education will consist of ways to make yourself irreplaceable to companies and how to adapt to changing career fields and diversify your skill set. This is more than just a vocational school. Its purpose it to teach students a wide variety of skills in numerous career fields. The business will offer individual regional seminars and whole semester education plans.

3.) My customers will mostly be younger blue collar workers who are looking to make themselves more valuable in the workplace. Most of them will be leaving their first job and are looking to diversify their skills. Although, we are open to any time of customer. We are looking to help the older population as well. Any older customer with similar ambitions is welcome. We aren't expecting many students with college educations looking to work in white collar type jobs.

4.) Customers will pay us money because we will establish a reputable program that looks to improve the lives of customers. We are looking to be an easy way for people to receive higher education and diversify their skills. Our goal is to increase every one of our customer's worth, and for that reason alone, people will care about the business.

5.) Most forms of higher education looks to teach students how to work in a specific career field. My business is designed to teach people how to adapt to changing career fields. My business looks to give people the best variety of skills as possible. It is also the only education system that is teaching people to combat the loss of jobs due to artificial intelligence.

I believe that these elements fit very well together. The purpose of the business is clear and the target customer includes a very large population with a specific goal in mind. My business should have a product that will be of great interest to customers and will have a result that will hopefully improve our society. The greatest challenges will be to create an education program that will efficiently teach everything that I am hoping to teach and hiring a staff that is greatly experienced and have the specific skill that I am looking for.

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Interview 1: This interview was with a 26 year old male. He works at a boat factory and is probably pretty safe with his job, considering his dad owns the company. He expressed that he believes plenty of people fall just outside the boundary because artificial intelligence can't possibly replace all of blue collar workers. That would just be bad for the economy. He believes this problem starts to differ at the point when jobs require more advanced human decision making. So even though my opportunity is meant to affect blue collar workers, some shouldn't have the problem of being replaced by artificial intelligence. He believes this is just simply because humans are needed for certain decisions and are vital to a successful business.

Interview 2: This was with a 23 year old male that works in air conditioning. He is a blue collar worker, but he says he lays outside the boundary because we can't possibly have machines going around and diagnosing and fixing problems with air conditioners any time soon. He believes what we offer isn't quite for him, and that a simple vocational school would be sufficient. This is because, he just needs training in one field not training in how to adapt to changing fields.

Interview 3: My third interview was with a 22 year old male who has a college degree, but is not yet employed. He thinks that he does not share the need that I have identified because he is planning on using his degree to find a job, even though he is currently unemployed. His need differs just because he needs to continue searching, but admits that my idea could help him prepare for getting into certain career fields if need be. This is just because he believes my opportunity is more suited for people who have not had any other previous higher education.

Interview 4: This interview was with a 54 year old man who also works in air conditioning. He says that even though he works in a blue collar field, his over 30 years of experience makes him too invaluable. He does not believe his job will be in jeopardy any time soon. He doesn't think the problem affects those that bring wisdom and experience to the table because those assets are not easily replaced.

Interview 5: My last interview was with a 23 year old female, who is not yet employed. She doesn't feel affected by this problem yet because she doesn't think technology could replace her in many jobs that she would do. But she does say that she can see how this might change in the coming years. She believes this isn't quite her problem because she doesn't see her doing the blue collar type work that could be replaced by artificial intelligence.

	Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary
Who	Blue collar workers who have jobs that can be done by artificial intelligence	Blue collar workers who can’t be replaced, white collar worker, unemployed people, workers, children
What	New skills that include how to adapt to changing career fields and how to become more irreplaceable	The need is not just learning technical skills at a vocational school
Why	It is predicted that over a million jobs will be lost due to the increasing use of artificial intelligence	Artificial is not anywhere near the point of replacing many jobs and just learning one skill does not help make yourself more valuable

The Second-Most Important Part of Entrepreneurship

The problem that I have developed a solution around is the fact that over a million workers are expected to be replaced by artificial intelligence in the coming years.

My solution is to create a chain of educational institutions that specialize in educating people on how to adapt to changing jobs or career fields. Tons of people, mainly in blue collar fields, will be affected by the increasing use of artificial intelligence. So, my solution is a service that will help these people maintain a living. My plan is to have institutions similar to vocational schools and to hold regional seminars for people that can't afford or don't have the time to attend school. I would establish institutions in multiple different big cities in order to appeal to the largest population as possible. These institutions should make the workforce more equipped to work with artificial intelligence and to adapt to changing career fields, if necessary. I am hoping that these institutions will better the world and improve the lives of many. We would find the most qualified people as possible with plenty of experience to teach these courses and seminars in order to make the classes worth it. It would definitely be difficult to maintain a great reputation, but the plan is to help enough people that the service will eventually sell itself.

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1.) Not everyone is meant to go to university, and there are other solutions to this like vocational school, but these solutions do not address the issues that may soon be facing Americans. It is predicted that 1 million jobs will be lost due to technological advances by the year 2026. So my solution is to create a higher education system that teaches students to adapt to changing fields. So it would be like a more diverse vocational school. The goal would to create a multi location chain that holds both classes and mini seminars.

2.) Who: Pretty much any person joining the work force
What: Technology is threatening to replace a million people in their jobs
Why: Technology is a cheaper and more efficient alternative for many businesses

3.) My opportunity has a pretty broad who because it could be anyone entering the workforce or anyone that's seeking this form of higher education. It just depends on the certain mindset and goals people have. It affects mostly young people looking to enter blue collar jobs. And the why should remain consistent because it's just the simple fact that companies are looking to increase their profits through the use of technology.

Interviews

1. 22 year old male: He believes that my who will be very broad. He says it can be basically anybody that is looking to enter the workforce or wants this type of higher education. This person believes that the problem mostly affects blue collar type workers, so those will be the people seeking this solution to make themselves more valuable and able to adapt. Jobs in certain fields will obviously not be replaced by machines any time in the near future. So the why does range, according to this person, because machines are not always cheaper and more efficient in certain fields.

2. 21 year old male: This person believes that anyone could at least utilize my idea of seminars because it is always good to diversify yourself in case anything happens. He believes that people need to look at reality and realize if their job could be done by current technology. If so, then they should look into this form of higher education. This person's answer to the why was pretty similar because it is a shared belief that this opportunity is forming because of the logistics of using machinery.

3. 54 year old male: This interview provided a bit of a different perspective from someone that wouldn't be as affected. This person believes the who is mostly younger people who don't have the skills to compete for white collar type jobs. This person doesn't believe the what is very apparent just yet because he thinks human workers still have so much more value than current technology. So that affects his belief in the why as well, but he does believe that regardless, it is still vital to diversify your skills because you never know what will happen in your career field.

4. 22 year old female: The one female in my interviewing process believed that this issue is geared towards younger people who work in physical labor type jobs. She believes that this is becoming a real issue and could threaten a large number of people's source of income. She understands the why considering companies are in it for the bottom line, but she thinks training people to adapt to this changing trend could do real good in our society.

5. 22 year old male: This person doesn't see this as an issue quite yet, but if it does become one, then it would affect labor workers like assembly line type workers. Technology could affect the people he described and so it would be good to obtain new skills, but he believes human labor is still too important. He also believes that it would be extremely expensive for most corporations to move to a more technology based work force.

5.) After conduction my interviews, I understand that not everyone sees this as a problem that will soon affect the work force, but most people do. Most people think it is something we should be proactive about rather than reactive. So I am pleased to have found out that so most people see this opportunity as I do.

Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

1.) I found my first opportunity on cnbc.com after searching economic current events. I believe an opportunity might exist because the article claims that over one million jobs will be lost due to the use of automated machines by the year 2026. So I believe that a company formed around the idea of guaranteeing jobs to human workers could be popular in the near future. I also think there's an opportunity to establish higher education institutions that are more geared towards preparing students for numerous job changes and how to handle it rather than just preparing them for a single career.

Any type of blue collar worker would be very interested in my first idea and any student not interested in university, but are trying to be proactive when it comes to the changes in economic trends would be customers. I think this opportunity could be easy to exploit when you're talking about my first idea because it appeals to large groups of people. Although, the second idea would be pretty difficult to exploit because I would have to establish a whole new type of education system and have it be accepted by a large group of people.

I saw this opportunity because I am a strong believer in trying to prepare and educate people for the future. I also believe in people keeping their jobs in order to support their families.

2.) After searching economic trends, I found an article that presented an opportunity on thebalance.com. The article described how baby boomers aren't retiring due to the last recession. So I think it would be a good idea to create elderly friendly working experiences that give the older baby boomers the opportunity to work without having to stay in their currents jobs that may be too physically intensive. The company would have products that are not labor intensive and would provide that needed income for these people who were scarred from the recent recessions.

Obviously, any elderly person who still wants to work would be an asset to this business. And any consumer that understands and appreciates the cause will be a customer. I think this opportunity will be somewhat easy to exploit. The only challenge would be finding products or services to develop the company around. 

I like to believe that I come from a very hard working family, so I have a bit of an emotional connection to this. My grandpa worked very hard into his mid 70s even though sometimes it seemed overwhelming for him. But he had no choice because he's an Italian immigrant and never made much money. So I see an opportunity here to help this kind of person.

3.) I found this opportunity involving regulatory changes on nytimes.com. It is a bit of a contrasting idea from my first economic opportunity because it's taking advantage of the artificial intelligence regulatory changes. There is so much regulation on artificial intelligence that I would want to take advantage of creating "dumb" bots. Lots of people are so afraid of artificial intelligence taking over so I believe it would be a good opportunity to create bots that are guaranteed to just do their job and have no form of intelligence.

Anyone looking for automated help that doesn't like the idea of artificial intelligence would be a customer. Or anyone looking for a very simple bot would be a customer. Anything involving bots would be pretty difficult to exploit because technology is always difficult. It would also be difficult to market the technology as almost anti artificial intelligence.

I believe that I saw this opportunity because I looked at it in a backwards view. Most people are trying to just advance technology, but here I would market simplicity. My attitude here is to look out for the welfare of human workers.

4.) I found another social trend that let to the development of an opportunity idea on pewresearch.org. The article I found states that there is an increasing demographic trend of multi generational households. I believe that there is an opportunity to develop a company that designs better apartment style type houses.

Any close knit families looking to live together would be a customer. This opportunity is very easy to exploit because the idea pretty much sells itself.

I can relate to this topic very closely because I grew up in a large tight knit family. I have seen my family renovate houses over and over because most houses today do not suit their needs. I would imagine that houses designed around housing multiple generations would definitely help out families like mine.
 

Identifying Local Opportunities

1.) Closing more than 182 Toys 'R' Us stores shouldn't change Miami, Broward shopping - yet

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/169AAC025933EF50?p=WORLDNEWS

This story is just basically describing that many Toys R Us's are closing down across the state. The story states that these stores aren't closing down in Miami just yet, but it could happen soon. It describes which stores in south Florida are closing and which ones may be in trouble in the near future.

The company is clearly in trouble and so an opportunity may arise for competitors to grab space in this market. The closing of the stores will affect anyone who does shopping at this chain and prefers it over stores like Wal-mart.

The problem affects any family with toddlers and elementary age children.

2.) The XFL is making a comeback. Could it impact Miami?

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/169A8F5894D7FFA0?p=WORLDNEWS

This story describes a football league that actually failed, but the owners are attempting to bring back a new and improved form of this league. The owners want to " give football back to the fans", so their plan is to listen to suggestions and mold their league around what the fans want. Miami was not a part of the original league, but has a rich football history so it could be a consideration. 

This attempt to bring back the XFL comes at a time that the NFL is taking a ton of criticism. People are boycotting the NFL and many others are complaining that the game is too slow, so the XFL is looking to fix these issues. South Florida is known for its football so someone could take advantage of the interest. 

Anyone who no longer wants to watch the NFL, but loves football experiences the problem. Also, anyone who can't really afford to go to an NFL game may benefit from a team being in Miami.

3.)A Florida county will shut its schools after flu outbreak hits teachers and students

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/169AABB4946AE208?p=WORLDNEWS

The country has experienced a huge flu outbreak that has lead to many deaths of children across the nation. After about 20% of a school district's students called out sick, the district decided to close its schools. Various other schools across the state of Florida have closed temporarily in order to be proactive.

The problem is that too many kids are catching the flu when exposed to large groups. Schools are having to close due to the lack of substitute teachers and bus drivers.

This problem affects literally anyone involved with the school system.

4.)  Technology may take the work out of folding clothes, but I'm not done with laundry just yet

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/169737D145E1D818?p=WORLDNEWS

The writer was doing laundry and described it as a very boring chore. She was wondering if there was any alternatives and was surprises to find out that there are many. But she was disappointed to see the price tags of these items and to learn that they wouldn't even do a lot of items that you would find in the laundry. So she hopes people continue doing their own laundry until something more practical comes out.

The problem is that there is no affordable solutions to doing your own laundry. There's not even any real fully functioning solutions. Most of them still have too many issues.

This problem affects anyone who hates doing laundry and is looking for an alternative.

5.) How will Florida's marijuana industry be affected by the change in federal policies?

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/1693BFD44867BFA8?p=WORLDNEWS

This article outlines some of Attorney General Jeff Session's recent comments on the legalization of marijuana. The article says that some investors in the industry are nervous, but others don't think anything will change. More and more companies in Florida are getting medical marijuana licenses because of the large majority of votes in favor of it.

The problem is the uncertainty surrounding the legalization of marijuana with the Trump administration in office.

Anyone who is a user of medical or recreational marijuana will be affected.

Forming an Opportunity Belief

I believe that there is an opportunity to create a more environmentally friendly (biodegradable) form of gum.

This is an unmet need because gum litters sidewalks all over cities and often sticks to peoples shoes. Basically, all of society has this need because it will simply improve the cleanliness of cities and will no longer ruin people's days. This need has existed as long as gum has existed because there is always someone that will just throw it on the ground. Cities will usually hire people to clean up the sidewalks, so society has a reactionary response to meet this need. I want to make more of a precautionary response. I'm 90% sure this opportunity exists because I see it everyday. I am just unsure of the response this product will have or of the competition that will come up.

My customer is essentially any customer that chews gum and is interested in a more environmentally friendly product:

Customer 1: After being asked about the nature of the product, customer one notices that gum on sidewalks is a problem and is unaware of any other product solutions. The customer has only really experienced this need when getting gum stuck on his shoe, which doesn't happen all that often. He believes the need has been there as long as he can remember because he's gotten gum on his shoes for that long. He is somewhat satisfied with this solution because it will solve the problem of having tons of gum on the sidewalks, but fresh gum that has just been thrown away can still cause the same issue of sticking on to shoes.

Customer 2: Customer 2 believed more strongly in the nature of the product than customer 1. Customer 2 says he has become aware of the need whenever walking around any densely populated area. He experiences the need a lot more often because he's more concerned with the aesthetic of the city. But he, of course, also hates getting gum on his shoe. He doesn't really do anything to address the need because cities will usually clean up the streets every so often. Otherwise, nothing is done about it. He believes I have a solid solution, but thinks it should be improved to not be so sticky.

Customer 3: After interviewing customer 3, I'd say she was more like customer 1. She saw a need for the product after I pointed it out, but didn't really think much about it before. She said that gum on the sidewalks doesn't really affect her, but every once in a while she does get gum on her shoes. She can't remember the exact time she discovered the problem, but it was a long time ago. She currently addresses the need just by cleaning her shoes after gum gets on them. She thinks it's a solid solution, but nothing revolutionary.

I learned that this issue doesn't bother everyone as much as it bothers me. Some people do share similar beliefs, but others just don't see it as a huge issue that needs fixing. The people that share my beliefs are usually more concerned with the look of having gum all over sidewalks. I would say the results were pretty surprising because it is such a pet peeve of mine.

Probably a little less than half of my opportunity is still there because just not that many people really care about gum being all over sidewalks. A lot of people only really care when it directly affects them by sticking on their shoes, which does not happen all that often. The new opportunity would be some sort of biodegradable, non-sticking, which covers more of the market.

It is definitely crucial for entrepreneurs to listen to the people in order to understand to what extent their market exists. They should mold their ideas to customer feedback, but should also be careful about constantly changing their product based off of feedback because you can't possibly please everyone and you need to maintain an identity. So it's not always worth constantly spending money to change the product.

My Entrepreneurship Story

Back when I was in the 8th grade, my English teacher tasked us with creating a community service project. My friend, Michael, and I partnered up for this project. After some brain storming, we decided we wanted to create a project to benefit the humane society. So we created a bake sale event that would have all proceeds go towards the Humane Society. Throughout the weeks prior to the event, we put up advertisements at local supermarkets to try to draw in the largest crowd possible. It was an interesting project and I learned a lot, but it was also very difficult.

I enrolled in ENT 3003 because I'm looking to possibly pick up a minor in entrepreneurship. The concept of being my own boss seems extremely appealing because I can create my own schedule and control my own success. My goals for this class are mainly to help develop the skills I need to create my own business. I'm sort of confused about the process of actually becoming an entrepreneur, so I'm hoping to gain some clarity. I am also looking to inspire some creativity and how to think of solutions to common problems.

Bug List

1. Why does my sink always clog when I shave?

Because the hair is gathering in the clog and not allowing the water to drain

2.  Why do I always seem to get gum on my shoe?

Because gum doesn't deteriorate and a lot of people throw it on the ground

3. Why can't I ever find the TV remote?

Because it's not placed in the same place or the dog knocks it off the couch

4. Why does my phone battery get exponentially worse through time?

Because the cells are going bad and the company probably wants me to buy a new one

5. Why do my tires sometimes go flat in the cold?

Because the cold slows down air particles, which decreases pressure

6. Why do I lose my golf balls so easily even though they're just laying in the grass?

Because the balls are sometimes too reflective

7. Why does the traffic on Archer Road get so terrible after 5 P.M.?

Because it is one of the only major roads that leads to the highway

8. Why do my shoe laces untie so easily?

Because there may not be enough friction keeping them from pulling

9. Why is movie theater food so expensive?

Because there is no competition for food within the theater

10. Why do I always lose socks in the wash?

Because they must some how slip through cracks in the machine

11. Why does a Big Mac middle bun always fall out the back side?

I'm guessing because the sauce is slippery

12. Why does my wallet fall out of my sweat pants' pocket whenever I sit down?

Because there's nothing stopping it from sliding out and the pockets are too small

13. Why does my phone or wallet always fall under the seat of my car?

Probably because they're able to fall out of my pocket and there's nothing stopping them

14. Why are there so many Wifi dead spots in my house?

Because the box isn't strong enough to reach some areas

15. Why does Snapchat take up so much battery?

Because there's something about the combination of using the camera and internet that kills battery

16. Why are lines at Midtown so long?

Because the buildings and spaces aren't being utilized efficiently

17. Why do paper plates always stick together?

Because of their packaging and material

18. Why does sliced bread get moldy so quickly?

Because the packaging doesn't help preserve it long enough

19. Why do ceiling panels make such a big mess when you move them?

Because the material is so brittle

20. Why do hats increase hair loss?

Because they tire out the hair follicles

Creating my list of bugs was definitely challenging, but it always got easier when I ran into problems that reminded me of other problems that irritate me. Sometimes it was difficult to come up with a bug that had a justified reason for existence. So it was difficult to think of bugs that might have business solutions behind them. Like stated in the video, the first few were much easier to think of because they were so obvious to me. I think it is good that I was able to come up with a list that had a wide variety of bugs.

Testing

testing