Entrepreneurship

OPPORTUNITY My opportunity is people who would like to have an easier grocery shopping process, and who want to be able to easily plan out their meals to save time and money while shopping for groceries. Why does this need exist?  People need a convenient way to manage groceries.   I think a major market for this type of opportunity is college students and young adults and parents, especially people who are busy and feel like they don’t have that much time for grocery shopping and cooking healthy meals. These are also the people who are more likely to be using mobile apps to streamline aspects of their lives. Based on interviews I conducted, I think that currently people who want to plan their meals will find recipe ideas from different sources and come into the store with a list or an idea of what ingredients they’re going to buy, however no one was particularly loyal to this and they were all open to the idea of using an app to make grocery shopping easier. I thin...

The book that I selected to read for this was  The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users, by Guy Kawasaki. 1. The general theme of this book is social media marketing. It covered a huge range of topics for building social media accounts for businesses and brands. 2.  I feel like the book enhanced what I am learning in the class because it made me reevaluate the way that I represent myself on social media from a business standpoint. It answered a lot of simple questions that I maybe thought I knew but didn't. 3) An exercise for this class based on the book could be to pick a social media platform that you are not that familiar with but interested in, such as YouTube, LinkedIn, Soundcloud, etc. and spend some time creating content and establishing yourself and better understanding that platform. 4. This book really made me realize how much social media can be a 'second resume' for people. In this day and age it is important to represent ourselves well o...

The exit strategy that I would like to make would probably to sell my business in the next 5 years. I don't see this as a business that I would want to do for the rest of my life, and I would rather get money from this and be able to start more businesses in the future. However, since I'm not as invested in this business as I would be if I were actually starting it right now, I can't say for sure what I'd want to do. I do not think my exit strategy influenced how I identified an opportunity, but I think it has influenced my growth intentions. My growth intentions that I defined were more of short-term goals that would happen within the next 2 years of having the business. I think I would like to expand the business to those goals before eventually selling it.

A time this past semester that I failed was taking my first genetics exam. I had studied for days straight beforehand. I had never before put so much effort into a class while receiving such a low grade. Reflecting on it after, I realized that even though I studied a lot before the exam and that usually I'd be fine doing the same thing for other classes, I hadn't put in sufficient work for the rest of the semester until the exam was coming up. Usually I handle my workload in my classes by not doing much work til the exam comes up, then learning everything in the few days before. After genetics I realized this strategy is not going to always work for me, so I changed my approach to actually make sure I'm putting in work and learning along the way.  I think this class has made me more comfortable taking risks, especially with the workshop. I had to put myself out there and talk to businesses to sell my product, and it was nerve wracking for me, but it definitely helped...

Existing Market.  I think the next services in store for my venture are quick grocery delivery. Once users select the meals they want to make and their grocery list is generated, they can select to have them delivered to their home. Also, since I would like to offer the option for people to input groceries they already have and the groceries that are bought will be tracked on the app, the app could alert the user when groceries are going to expire soon.  The customers that I interviewed suggested offering specific meal planning services for people who wanted that rather than selecting their own meals, and to also offer a meal basket service. They also suggested having a type of automatic checkout on the app like the amazon grocery store concept, where items placed in the cart will be recorded and the shopper can walk out of the store with everything being paid on the app. I think it would definitely make sense to partner with grocery stores in the future to offer th...

Resources in my venture: 1. My knowledge of the industry V- This is very valuable in creating a good product R- I don't think this is that rare I- Anyone who wanted could imitate N- Other resources could not provide the same benefits as this 2. Physical space to start the venture V- Valuable, but not extremely necessary as this is an app R- Not rare at all I- Could be copied by anyone N- Can't really be substituted for anything 3. Finances V- Valuable and necessary for the venture R- Not rare I- Could be imitated by anyone N- Could possibly be substituted for services or stock but money would still be necessary 4. Support system V- Helps in staying motivated and on track R- Most people have a support system I- Could be copied N- I don't think this can be substituted 5. Equipment; a computer V- This is necessary for the venture R- Not rare at all I- Yes, it is imitable N- Can't really be substituted 6. Social network V- It is important to...

Venture Concept Write-Up OPPORTUNITY My opportunity is people who would like to have an easier grocery shopping process, and who want to be able to easily plan out their meals to save time and money while shopping for groceries. Why does this need exist? People need a convenient way to manage groceries.   I think a major market for this type of opportunity is college students and young adults and parents, especially people who are busy and feel like they don’t have that much time for grocery shopping and cooking healthy meals. These are also the people who are more likely to be using mobile apps to streamline aspects of their lives. Based on interviews I conducted, I think that currently people who want to plan their meals will find recipe ideas from different sources and come into the store with a list or an idea of what ingredients they’re going to buy, however no one was particularly loyal to this and they were all open to the idea of using an app to make ...

The book that I chose to read was  Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman. 1) What was the general theme or argument of the book? The general theme of the book was analyzing two different modes of thinking; system 1, which our quicker and more emotional size of thinking, and system 2, which is more analytical and logical. 2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003? Reading Kahneman's book made me analyze the way that I think about things in a way that I hadn't before. Our system 1 of thinking is always taking over subconsciously, and is often 'lazy,' because we want to make quick judgements and decisions even when we don't have all information available. I also realized that most of my memories are based on the emotional side of my experiences. The book helped me to realize when I'm using system 1 or 2 which helps me to take a step back and adjust my focus if need be. 3) If you had to ...

I believe that my prototypical customer is a young, mid-20s person working in their first job. They have a busy and fast paced life but they make room for staying fit and they want to have a healthy lifestyle. They are just starting to become interested in learning how to cook better for themselves. They live alone in an apartment with no pets except a beta fish. They make a point to listen to podcasts on the car ride to work everyday in their white toyota camry. They go out about once every other week with friends.

Alternative evaluation: The product that I provide is more of an added convenience that the customers would not have had beforehand. Since it serves a couple purposes such as planning out grocery lists and saving money, this would be replaced by doing those things manually, so price would not matter to them.  I think my segment is more likely to buy things online because I am targeting younger people/people that use technology and apps. I think they will determine if a purchase is a good idea if they realize that they have been using it and it's benefitted their life in some way.

1)  Tenaciousness is a competency.  What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course?  I have established routines for when I will do my work, and I always put schoolwork into my schedule before anything else. I also find it helpful to just go somewhere where there are no distractions, like the library, and knock out what I need to get done. 2)  Tenaciousness is also about attitude.  Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this? I do feel like I've developed a tenacious attitude during the past couple of months. I feel like the biggest reason for this has been establishing more of a routine and waking up earlier and accomplishing something early on in the day, because this helps keep me motivated throughout the rest o...

The book I chose was Elon Musk written by Ashlee Vance. 1) You read about an entrepreneur: What surprised you the most? A lot of things surprised me, but especially how interesting his family is, like his grandfather who took his kids on adventures around the world on his plane. Also the fact that Elon moved across country by himself when he was only 17 and didn't even have a place to stay for certain. I was also surprised that he had been thinking of tackling issues such as solar energy and space ever since he was little. What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? I really admire that he dreams big, and to him, pretty much anything can be achievable with the right amount of work. He's incredibly driven and he wants to help further the human race. He also isn't afraid to go into industries that he has little experience in. What about the entrepreneur did you  least  admire? I think the way he deals with situations and people a lot of the time c...

The segment of customers I have chosen is people who want to plan out their meals every week as a way of being healthier. The people that I interviewed said that their need becomes present before they go grocery shopping, generally around once a week. One of the people I interviewed had been meal prepping as a way to have easy healthy meals, but they were making such similar dishes every time and it was difficult for them to be more creative but still prepare easy meals. The second person I interviewed said that they don't plan out their meals, they just make grocery lists before going to the store. But they said they want to start because they felt it would make it a lot easier to stay on track and it would keep them from wasting groceries. The third person I interviewed said they sometimes scroll through recipes on food websites and will pin them as bookmarks, so that later they can go back and buy the ingredients for those dishes that they want to make.  All three peopl...

1)  You.  My major hobbies/passions include traveling, health and fitness, and cooking. I came up with the idea of this business because I was thinking of things that would be useful for me to use in my life, so I can envision myself using the app for planning out my meals every time I go grocery shipping. 2)  What are you offering to customers?  The app would provide an easy way to stay on top of finances and meal planning as well as making it easier to choose healthy options. It would let people find recipes and select the ones they want to make that week, showing all the information including nutrition information. It would give them a grocery shopping and enable them to integrate what they already have in their kitchen into the app. It would also help them save money by showing coupons that they can pin to the app and use at the grocery store.  3)  Who are you offering it to? The characteristics that my customers would have in common is t...

I decided to change my opportunity~ My opportunity is an app idea that helps people manage their grocery shopping by letting them search from a database of healthy recipes, showing the nutrition information, then giving them a shopping list with everything they need and how much everything will cost. This can help them better manage their budgets by knowing how much they will be spending on their meals beforehand. In addition, they could clip coupons from their local grocery stores to use. Recipe planning apps are not new, but I think that having the aspect of managing and planning out the cost of groceries would be something that sets this idea apart.   I interviewed mostly college students because I believe that this would be a useful tool for that demographic. Generally people liked the idea of being able to have the convenience to select recipes and have a shopping list given to you. One person I interviewed asked if everything would be on the shopping list, even thi...

As I said before " I believe that there is opportunity for a platform sharing company for expensive items that aren't used very frequently, aimed towards college students."  I believe the solution to my problem should be some type of technology that connects students. This could be a website or an app (or both). The good thing about this service is that it would be relatively low cost to make, because I don't need any capital. The way that the company could earn money could be commission based, similar to Uber where a certain percent is taken from each transaction.

The opportunity College students have limited finances and space in their residences, so a lot of them do not have many basic items that they would need occasionally but do not have here at college. I believe that this leads to the opportunity of a sharing platform business for college students to share things or rent things out from other students. The types of items that this is aimed towards is more expensive items that are not used often, such as any tools, art supplies, hammocks, step ladders, cooking items like a mixer or bundt pan, ironing board, etc.  I believe that all college students share this need to a certain extent. I used this opportunity in an earlier assignment where I interviewed people, but I interviewed more people to gain more feedback.  In summary, people who had this problem less were oftentimes people in a frat or sorority, because they already have a large network of people that they can ask if they really need something. Many people had ...

For the opportunities related to economic trends, I found this article: http://blog.indeed.com/2016/06/22/global-economy-employment-trends/ The first trend that caught my eye was " Not enough young people are learning the tech skills needed on the job." This suggests that there is an opportunity because if young people are not learning tech skills, it must be difficult to learn these skills, so I believe something could be created that makes learning tech skills easy. A prototypical customer would be a young or college-aged person. I believe that this is easy to exploit with the right skills. I think that I saw this opportunity because I personally wish that I knew more tech skills, but I'm not sure how or where to go about learning them that would be easy. Tech skills are important to learn for so many different industries so this would help a lot of people at their jobs. The second economic trend that I believe has an opportunity was " Growing interest in fl...

1.  Developer of proposed Bezu/Blue Lotus tower sues city of St. Petersburg https://www.tampabay.com/business/developer-of-proposed-bezublue-lotus-tower-sue-city-of-st-petersburg-20190124/ The company called Driven Ziggy LLC has plans to build a condo in St. Petersburg, however, despite the fact that the building follows all regulations, the plan was overturned in a vote. The company sued St. Pete on account that their company will be harmed if they cannot build the condo. The problem is that if Driven Ziggy isn't able to construct their building so they are going to lose a lot of money if they can't. 2.  Internet buying is killing the malls, reminding some shoppers that malls killed the downtowns https://www.tampabay.com/hillsborough/internet-buying-is-killing-the-malls-reminding-some-shoppers-that-malls-killed-the-downtowns-20190125/ This article is about the fact that shopping malls now are becoming increasingly obsolete. It describes the way things were a few ...

1)  Your beginning point I believe that there is opportunity for a platform sharing company for expensive items that aren't used very frequently, aimed towards college students. 2)  Describe your belief I have realized as a college student that I occasionally need something such as a tool or some type of supplies that I would normally have at home but not here at UF. This includes things like tools, step ladders, art supplies, ironing board, obscure cooking items ( like a bundt pan), etc. Currently to meet the need for things I think that people just ask friends, and if no friends have what they're looking for then they have to buy the item or resort to finding an alternative. I believe that there could be a platform for different students within the same college to rent out their items for money or for being able to use something from another student. I am about 65% sure that this opportunity exists. Interviews 1. Anna Do you ever have a need for random household ite...

I think that the most that I have been exposed to entrepreneurship in my life was last summer when I studied abroad at ESADE, a business college in Spain. Many of the professors there are entrepreneurs themselves, and they talked about their many investments or side businesses. In a couple of the classes I took, we were instructed to work in groups to come up with business ideas in different categories, and it opened my mind to thinking more creatively about the problems in our world. We also visited different startup companies that were inspiring and interesting to learn about. I learned that entrepreneurship is really a mindset. You have to be willing to take risks and you have to have a strong belief in yourself, and you have to be passionate about what you're doing. Studying abroad there helped me realize that I wanted to take more business classes at UF because I feel like being an entrepreneur is very empowering, so in taking this class I hope to build on the knowle...

1. When I go to the gym and it's so crowded I can't use anything. Why? I don't always pay attention to when it will be crowded and sometimes go at peak gym hours. 2. Every time I get a basil plant it dies. Why? My apartment faces inside a courtyard so there's very little natural sunlight, so it's hard to grow plants in there. 3. My cat leaves litter all over the floor and I'm constantly stepping on it. Why? The litter is sticky and gets stuck to his paws, then he shakes his paws off after jumping out of the litter box (the majority always gets on the floor instead of the litter mat). 4. Avocados are so hard to get perfectly ripe. Why? I always buy them when they're hard, and usually they stay hard for awhile until one day they're perfectly ripe. But they very quickly get overripe and mushy. 5. I have too many clothes I don't wear. Why? I haven't gotten rid of a lot of my old clothes just because I have to take the time to do it and s...

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