16A - What's Your Secret Sauce

What's Your Secret Sauce?

1. Determination- I always have ambitious goals for myself and I always have a motive to work towards it. I always put my work first and rarely procrastinate.
2. Honesty- I am incredibly honest with people, sometimes too much. Also, I am very honest with myself and my ability. If I don't know something or can't do something I will admit to it. That way I can learn and innovate.
3. Competence- If there's a subject at hand, I will do what it takes to be fluent in it. I've self taught myself three instruments, read books on a myriad of subjects for fun, and love to learn. I keep a lookout for competent people when looking for group-mates or future business partners.
4. Self-Dependence- I do fairly well at doing my own thing. Often if a professor cannot teach something to me I'll figure it out one way or another. 
5. Leadership- When the time comes, I'm not afraid to take lead during a presentation, group project, or any scenario. 

Interviews

Reflection

Listening to the closest people in my life, they all said similar things about me. They said I had a great drive and am organized, determined, and ready for success. I am humbled to hear these things be said and thought about me, and I hope to continue to do well. I agree with what they said and wouldn't change anything.

15A - Figuring out Buyer Behavior Part 2

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior Part 2

Findings and Conclusions:

In the interviews, I learned that there are a few ways I could have the segment I chose, people who'd like to help homeless people but do not have a lot of money or resources, contribute to their need through my business. My friend Taylor suggested using a means of crowdfunding to help get my business going. I could use crowdfunding to evaluate my business idea, get feedback from customers, and see how plausible the business truly is. Doing this, people can provide money for my business as a small means of indirectly helping the homeless. Essentially a charity of sorts. From the module in class, I could pick from a donation based , a lending based, and equity based crowdfunding vehicle. All of which are for different businesses in different stages. 

Also, the interviewees all stated that the need at heart is to help the homeless. What matters to the customers is the self efficacy felt with helping homeless people, and that the firm actually does help the homeless. Essentially, the business just has to work accordingly. 

My friend Viren also suggested lobbying to politicians to see if my business idea could be implemented using state and local funding. In Key West, I could get the attention of locals to see if they agree and would want to contribute to the business. Whether in a form of investment, employment, or lobbying, my business can take off in Key West through word of mouth and being politically in favor. 

Again, what matters most to this group is seeing their dollar be used accordingly. If my business does a good job at finding those in need, providing for them, and improving society as a whole, then the customer will evaluate their contribution with a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment. 

14A - Halfway Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a competency.

Throughout academia, I've always been lucky to stop myself from being a procrastinator. Procrastinating is a task that seems so inviting and pleasureful, but it's one you must avoid. In ENT3003, or any college class for that matter, procrastinating on assignments has a high correlation with you being screwed. Personally, I made myself a schedule of when to do each segment of ENT3003. For example, I take notes on the modules for the cupcakes on Monday and Tuesdays, and then the other assignments the rest of the week. Then, the cupcakes and peer reviews on Friday. So I personally use a schedule and force myself to not sin by procrastinating.

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude.

Earlier in the semester, I spent tons of time perfecting my elevator pitch. After completing the assignment, I soon realized I didn't stand in the video, which was a requirement. I was very frustrated because I had to redo the entire assignment, and I personally do not like recording myself doing an elevator pitch very much. But, I want a good grade in the class so I pursued and fixed it nonetheless. If you ever feel like "giving up" in a college class then do it, don't suffer through the class whilst not retaining any material. It's a waste of precious young adult time and money. Get your work done and look over the directions to ensure your assignments can be valid.

There are many times during the semester where I'm haunted by ENT3003 assignments during busy testing weeks in Calculus 2. But if you work diligently and ahead, it will not be a problem. Having this class on my schedule helps me maintain an organized, procrastination-lacking way of life.

3) Three Tips:

1. Do not procrastinate, always work on a determined schedule using a planner.
2. Have some sort of passion behind Entrepreneurship, if you don't care, don't take it!!!
3. Make the most of this class, it has a lot of potential for eager students to get their hands on the ropes of being an Entrepreneur. 

13A - Reading Reflection

I recently finished the biography on Elon Musk called "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" by Ashlee Vance.

1)
What surprised you most ?

Most of my teenage life I have been inspired and in awe of what Elon Musk has accomplished. Having built an Aerospace titan and electric car company, he is working diligently to make the impossible, possible. All of this of course, is common knowledge nowadays. What truly shocked me was how outright ambitious Elon was. In his undergraduate summers, he would take road trips with his brother, Kimbal, in their beat up 1970s BMW 320i, driving from UPenn to San Francisco and would go to random start ups seeing if they needed interns. I personally would not think of trying something that radical for summer plans. When Elon wanted something he got off his rear end and got it, no questions asked. Whether it was whilst a 3rd grader reading encyclopedias, or pursuing the 2nd Generation Tesla Roadster, Elon would succeed no matter who told him otherwise. It's cliche, but Elon's bulletproof drive is unmatched.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

Similar to the last question, what I admire most about Elon Musk is his drive. If he wanted to learn about x, y, and z tomorrow he'd have textbooks on the subject today and be an expert by tomorrow. If he wanted to learn he would dissect every viewpoint of it and seek its flaws and strengths. Breaking everything possible down to fundamental physics, Elon is a physicist at heart and an engineer with his hands. That said, Elon's drive is, as expected, immense. Elon Musk will succeed and will execute no matter how many times he must try.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

I can't honestly say that I dislike Elon Musk's management style which pursues efficiency, conscientiousness, and biology as a means of having his companies succeed. The curse words, insults, and curt firings are required when your goals are as ambitious as Musk's. Requesting the minds greatest and brightest engineers, coders, analysts, and many others, means that working less than 16 hours a day and not succeeding doesn't cut it. This technique obviously has meant Musk has a lot of bad blood and has burned some bridges here and there. This cut-throat style may be my least admirable trait of Musk, but I see it as being as necessary as anything about him.

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

Man did he, all of Elon's life has been a serious struggle and he's managed to handle it. From a rough childhood, to constant bullying, to failing companies, to lawsuit after lawsuit. Again and again, Elon got back up stronger than before, learning from his mistakes and ensuring that failure is never an option. On multiple accounts Tesla was nearing bankruptcy (they were also nearly claimed by Google but were saved by a matter of days), as well as SpaceX not launching a rocket successfully for nearly a decade. Zip2 and Paypal weren't necessarily fairy tale stories either, but he ended up with payouts in those businesses.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

Ever since he was a child Elon Musk was gifted at recalling information. He also adored reading. Moving onto encyclopedias after finishing his local library at the age of 9, his braniac, fact-ridden self was not the best recipe for deep friendships in youth. Also, Elon's passion as well as his immense intelligence means he can pick up anything instantly. His academic history and competency in his companies are proof of this. He is also never afraid to point out criticisms when needed. Elon is never concerned with personal feelings when his company is at hand.

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

It was reading about Zip2 and Paypal because when these companies were garage start-ups they went through employees like nothing. A new name and description of their next coding whiz was on every page so it can be hard to keep track of names. However, Elon also has many loyal employees who are mentioned throughout the book.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? why?

I am not sure if I could actually come down to just two questions for Elon Musk. Being the ambitious Tony-Stark like business mogul he is, I could talk to him for hours. He inspires me as someone interested in business, and as a human in general who has loved space since I can remember. First I'd ask him, will you ever feel truly fulfilled and happy in life? Elon being optimistic in gaols, but slow to appreciate his own success, would have an interesting answer. Another would be, since he's such an avid video game fan, would he ever consider getting into the field of creating video games?

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

In an interview with Elon Musk, I once heard him say, "You have to work twice as hard as your competitors." Which in literal terms sounds silly or hopeful. But it's true. This biography is littered in moments of Elon never shutting down. Since the beginning he slept at his desk and would work past his employees. Nowadays, he works half of the week at SpaceX, and the other at Tesla, flying between Los Angeles and San Francisco hundreds of times. All in all, I assume Musk would say that hard work is getting out of bed with a sense of purpose, and working your all to help grow your company towards new horizons. I myself, comfortably agree with this position on the meaning of hard work.

12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

Choosing A Segment: 

For this assignment, I went with a segment of people looking to help the homeless who did not have the money/resources to do so. The first one (Ben) is a finance major like myself, who has ambitious goals and an entrepreneurial mindset. The second one (AJ) is my younger brother who is 14, and finally (Indrajit) is another finance major student who is hoping to get into International Business. All three believe that helping out the homeless will be beneficial to society. 

Interview Info:

When I interviewed Ben we talked awhile about how this need can be solved. The need for homeless people to be helped is everywhere yet rarely anything happens to help them. Ben brought up how he liked my idea for helping the homeless. However he was concerned on funding for the project much like I was. It all sounded very hypothetical, as if this wasn't an attainable goal. 

Speaking with my brother was much more optimistic. He recognized that these people deserved better and he wanted to know ways to help. Having worked with a local soup kitchen, he knew the need was there. Furthermore, AJ liked my idea for the need, he thought it was cool to see how they would have to work jobs as compensation for living in the neighborhood. However, he was also concerned on how it would be paid for. He asked if it would be the government or someone rich and I said anything was a possibility. 

My interview with Indrajit went a similar route. He agreed that the people needed to be helped but only if they made up for the expenses with work in return. He also told me about how his parents' work was heavily concerned with real estate costs in tourist heavy regions. So as the conversation carried on we reached the similar checkpoint as the last two interviews. How will this be funded? Again, I stated we could lobby to politicians or seek funding from a philanthropic wealthy person.

What I learned:

I realized rather quickly that everyone ultimately feels a need to help homeless people. However, the demand for this is very low. Similarly to world peace or curing hunger, everyone ideally believes in it, but its massive presence as a problem makes it very hard to achieve. As such, my interviewees agreed that it should be done, but the  amount of conversation concerning funding points to the fact that it's not everyone's priority. Any ambitious attempt being made on this subject is looked at in a bad eye because of the multitude of problems in society at the moment.

How I would describe this segment:

It's safe to say that I am not the first college student who has devised a plan to help the homeless people. Many ambitious thinkers hope to find a solution to his problem, yet many fall short. It's definitely a need everyone is aware of, but its intense expenses and mass presence makes it very hard to tackle. Everyone wants to help the homeless, but many do not have the means to actually do so. 

11A - Idea Napkin

Idea Napkin

• Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

• My name is Zach Wilson. I am a freshman at UF and I'm a Finance major who's not quite sure what they want to pursue. I play 4 instruments, love music, and love working on my car. I know how to use many programs and can work well in groups. My business is my opportunity to be a leader and a role model. Being the oldest sibling, my entire life I have managed to be a good role model to my younger brother. In this same way, I hope to be a role model to the homeless people that I assist.

• What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

• I am offering to customers a chance to restart. A chance at the game of life to begin and get back on one's feet. For those in need, they will be granted housing, sanitation, and food in return for labor and volunteer work. These people will get a chance to restart their lives no matter how down and out.

• Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common? 

• I am offering this product to people who cannot afford to live in Key West. Some may have lost to unemployment cycles, or they may have mental health issues that stop them from working. A multitude of reasons can turn a person homeless. However, all/most of them are unemployed, making no income, with no substantial net worth. These people will be given another chance.

•  Also, this product can be sold to local governments of cities who also would like to help the homeless in their respective locations. The product can be uniquely designed for any city.

• Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

• I'd like to think that homeless people in desperate need would want to be helped and would feel obliged to do the volunteer work as an incentive for living in the housing. However, if they would not like to comply then someone else can take that opportunity to be helped. Considering that the homeless people do not pay for this product, someone else is. Hopefully, the taxpayer's dollar will be used to fund this program, or someone feeling rather philanthropic will assist in the matter.

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

• My core competencies consist of giving the homeless people housing, whilst giving them a more unique/personal experience when they live in an individual home rather than a giant facility. Furthermore, the homeless can personalize and decorate their houses to individuate themselves even more. Rather than this being a bland government program, it will be a passion-driven experience in pursuit of bringing people a better life.

• In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others. 

• I believe that in concept my business is a good, wholehearted idea. However, when looking at the expenses, it is a costly feat. My parents have run an appraisal company in Key West for the last 20+ years, when I told them my plan they said it was "ultimately unfeasible in Key West." Due to the high costs of land, materials, service, etc, this project would need a philanthropic Venture Capitalist to take off with no real hope for getting one's money back.

10A - Elevator Pitch

Here is my elevator pitch.

https://youtu.be/8FSsXmH51FE

9A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who: During my interviews, it was clear that many people struggle to afford housing in Key West, however not all of them end up homeless. My market is meant for people who are purely homeless in Key West and cannot support themselves. However some people outside of this market include people who have multiple jobs, people who live in affordable housing, and people who move away because they can't afford it. I interviewed people from Key West who worked multiple jobs, and lived in affordable housing. They discussed how hard it is to scrape by with many hours in multiple jobs, as well as having to live in the limited affordable housing that is available. If they didn't work as hard as they do, this interviewee wouldn't be able to afford the rent.

What: This need is for people who have nothing at all. People who are down and out and need to be picked up back on their feet. This is not necessarily for people who are having trouble with bills, but more for substantially homeless. This is not an extension of affordable housing, but an attempt to help the lives of many in the Keys.

Why: People inside the boundary of the need and outside the boundary of the need both cannot afford housing in Key West. However, there is a multitude of reasons for substantially homeless people, whether it is mental health, lack of skills required in the labor force, or other reasons, the lack of money to afford rent is why these people have the need.

Inside the Boundary               Outside the Boundary

Who:                            Homeless People                       People living in affordable housing, people                                                                                             who move away because they cannot afford                                                                                             Key West 

What:                           To shelter Homeless people      Affordable housing for employed people 

Why:                            These people need help getting  To find new low-skill workers

                                     back on their feet