30A – Final Reflection

1) Read through your posts from this semester. Recall all of the experiences you've had a long the way -- the highs, the lows -- the fun moments, and the moments of drudgery, and even the moments of dread.

I think the exciting moments was when I conducted all of my interviews. It was fun to interview my friends, family, and random people in the library!  

2) What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

I believe the experience that I'll remember years later would be the 3 elevator pitches I completed. My first elevator pitch was not the best as I never knew how to make a pitch before. My second elevator pitch was much better since I fixed a lot of my mistakes by listening to the feedback I received. My third and final pitch was definitely my best one and I think I have it mostly memorized without any mistakes now!

3) At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

Now that we have reached the end of the semester, I do see myself as an entrepreneur because I created my business idea and have had lots of experience with writing about how I'm going to start up my business during my time throughout this journey. 

4) What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

I recommend that students start their assignments early to perform greatly in this course. I found it helpful to watch every lecture live if you are able to. Watching the lectures live definitely makes the experience more enjoyable while taking this course.

29A – Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity: The opportunity that exists for me is to save lives by creating a product/service that prevents people from texting and driving. This service would be built into new cars that are being manufactured and it would turn off the driver’s phone. You would be allowed to make a phone call if you speak a password to your car's computer system. People would stop looking at their phones while driving and this would prevent car crashes. I could sell this service to not only car dealers, but I would make an app as well to sell to people that don’t want the service built into their car. I believe that this service has a good chance of success because of the number of car accidents that are shown on the news every day.

Innovation: The product/service that I would create would be available to anyone that is interested in it. This service would be a feature added on to cars when you go to purchase one. The service would be built into the car's computer system. The app that I would create would be called SafeDrive. This app would prevent people from looking at their phones while driving and they wouldn’t get distracted. I would charge $2.99 for the app and I believe that a lot of people would benefit from purchasing it. It is an affordable price and could save lives which most important. It is important to follow the rules on the road so this app would also tell you if you’re going over the speed limit. All these helpful features are what make the app innovative.

Venture Concept: I believe that my customers will be attracted to my product/service once they hear about it in the news. I’m hoping that my product/service would become well-known and my app gets on the top 10 list in app stores. If someone is unsure if they want to purchase my app because they’re not sure if the features would be necessary for them, then they can test it out with a 14-day trial option. This option is very helpful in my opinion since it allows buyers to get good use out of the app and they will for sure want to purchase it after finding out how necessary it is to keep. Hopefully, the service is as big of a success as the app. The car dealerships would purchase my service since it’s supposed to be included in their cars.

My most important resource is the skills that I have learned from the courses I have taken. I have learned how to be a better public speaker with a lot of courses I took both in high school and here at UF.

The next step for my venture is to create my app and advertise it around the world. I will always be taking feedback so I will ask friends and family members what they think about it.

In the next 10 years, I hope to have the most downloaded app in the world. I am going to try my best to make the app available on all platforms such as Androids and iPhones.

I received a lot of positive feedback, so I didn’t have to change anything really. One person suggested that I pitch my invention to car companies, and I couldn’t agree more. I think my product/service will become more well known if I make sure I have a large audience. I know it can be tough when I first try to get my product out there, but I will try my best.

28A – Your Exit Strategy

The exit strategy I plan to make is to sell my business in the next five or ten years for a large return. I have selected this particular exit strategy because I believe that I could have some competition with this business once I sell it. Once I have competition, it will be hard for me to find customers and still produce lots of revenue. If my business doesn’t make any revenue when I first introduce it, then I will have to tweak some parts of my business plan. It is not easy to start a new business at first, so that is why it’s ok to learn from your mistakes. I think my exit strategy has influenced other decisions I’ve made in my concept because I have also talked about getting my business started right away in some of my other blog posts. I am hoping to start my business as soon as I graduate from UF. I will play everything by ear and see how it all goes.

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

1)    What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The book I chose to read is called How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Scott Adams. The general theme of the book was to look after yourself and don’t let anyone stop you from achieving your goals. After reading this book, I learned that it is ok to fail a bunch of times, the most important thing is that you tried your best and you will keep on trying until you succeed. This book was very interesting to read since I’ve never read anything like it.

2)    How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

I think this book enhanced what I’m learning in ENT 3003 because the previous assignment that I submitted was about celebrating failure. Failure does not always have to be considered negative.

3)    If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

The exercise I would design is similar to the celebrating failure exercise where students would explain how they have overcome their failures whether they failed inside or outside of school.

4)    What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

I learned that it is ok to sometimes be selfish when it comes to taking care of yourself. It is important to spend some of your own free time to work out, eat healthy, and chase your dreams. The author of this book, Scott Adams states that you should focus on the needs of others once you meet your own needs.

26A – Celebrating Failure

I failed with a few things this semester. I will be talking about how I didn’t make it into a certain organization. This organization is called the Florida Cicerones. I never had an interview before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had thought of some answers beforehand, but all of those answers were of no help. I wish I completed a mock interview a few days before my real interview. Nonetheless, it was a great learning experience since it was my first ever interview. I learned that failing that certain interview shouldn’t keep me from trying again. I think failure is an experience that gives us the opportunity for a second chance in most cases. I don’t usually get disappointed when I fail because I learn from my mistakes and strive to be better. This class has changed my perspective on failure because I believe that I failed my first pitch video and I nailed the last one. I’m more likely to take a risk now than I was a few months ago. I am willing to start my business soon because if it doesn’t work out, I can always learn from the mistakes I make and fix them.

25A – What’s Next?

The existing market for my service can be considered parents that tell their kids to not text and drive. This would be an existing market because these parents already want their kids to stay safe, except they just don’t have the right service provided in the car. I believe that parents would purchase this service, especially for their high school students since they are new inexperienced drivers that just got their license. I’ve seen a lot of my high school friends drive while looking at their phones. I actually have told one of my friends to pull over before since they were texting people while driving and I didn’t want to get into an accident because of this. It is a scary feeling to know that the driver in your car is distracted and could get into a car crash. This is why my service could be a big success for the existing market.

I believe that the new market for my service could be anyone that has a driver’s license. These people could be of any age really. My app would mainly attract college students since a lot of them have trouble staying off their phones while driving. College students would take advantage of this service because it costs a lot less to purchase the app than pay for damages in a car accident. It is common for college students to drink and drive as well so this service in the car would have a feature that prevents the car from turning on unless you can type in a certain word correctly. This feature would be able to tell if a person is drunk or not if the word is typed incorrectly. I think this feature could work, but there are definitely some improvements that could always be made. Everything would be trial and error. I always say that practice makes perfect!

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity: The opportunity that exists for me is to save lives by creating a product/service that prevents people from texting and driving. This service would be built into new cars that are being manufactured and it would turn off the driver’s phone. You would be allowed to make a phone call if you speak a password to your car's computer system. People would stop looking at their phones while driving and this would prevent car crashes. I could sell this service to not only car dealers, but I would make an app as well to sell to people that don’t want the service built into their car. I believe that this service has a good chance of success because of the number of car accidents that are shown on the news every day.

Innovation: The product/service that I would create would be available to anyone that is interested in it. This service would be a feature added on to cars when you go to purchase one. The service would be built into the car's computer system. The app that I would create would be called SafeDrive. This app would prevent people from looking at their phones while driving and they wouldn’t get distracted. I would charge $2.99 for the app and I believe that a lot of people would benefit from purchasing it. It is an affordable price and could save lives which most important. It is important to follow the rules on the road so this app would also tell you if you’re going over the speed limit. All these helpful features are what make the app innovative.

Venture Concept: I believe that my customers will be attracted to my product/service once they hear about it in the news. I’m hoping that my product/service would become well-known and my app gets on the top 10 list in app stores. If someone is unsure if they want to purchase my app because they’re not sure if the features would be necessary for them, then they can test it out with a 14-day trial option. This option is very helpful in my opinion since it allows buyers to get good use out of the app and they will for sure want to purchase it after finding out how necessary it is to keep. Hopefully, the service is as big of a success as the app. The car dealerships would purchase my service since it’s supposed to be included in their cars.

My most important resource is the skills that I have learned from the courses I have taken. I have learned how to be a better public speaker with a lot of courses I took both in high school and here at UF.

The next step for my venture is to create my app and advertise it around the world. I will always be taking feedback so I will ask friends and family members what they think about it.

In the next 10 years, I hope to have the most downloaded app in the world. I am going to try my best to make the app available on all platforms such as Androids and iPhones.

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

Top Ten Resources

1.     Human capital: A good group of employees.

Valuable: 8, Rare: 5, relatively inimitable: 3, non-substitutable

2.     Network: Know people that work for car dealerships.

Valuable: 10, Rare: 8, relatively inimitable: 1, non-substitutable

3.     Public speaking skills: I’ve taken a few courses that enhance these skills.

Valuable: 9, Rare: 4, relatively inimitable: 3, non-substitutable

4.     Publicity: Advertise all around UF campus and high schools.

Valuable: 8, Rare: 6, relatively inimitable: 2, non-substitutable

5.     Unique Application: No other application like this will be available.

Valuable: 7, Rare: 5, relatively inimitable: 3, non-substitutable

6.     Affordable service price: No competitor can beat my price!

Valuable: 9, Rare: 5, relatively inimitable: 2, non-substitutable

7.     Social capital: Employ people that have a wide network of connections

Valuable: 10, Rare: 6, relatively inimitable: 3, non-substitutable

8.     Academics: I’ve learned a lot of different stuff from my courses.

Valuable: 7, Rare: 4, relatively inimitable: 1, non-substitutable

9.     Internet access: The App is available when you have service.

Valuable: 8, Rare: 5, relatively inimitable: 3, non-substitutable

10.  Easy to build into a car: The service would be simple to install.

Valuable: 10, Rare: 6, relatively inimitable:2, non-substitutable

My top resource is my public speaking skills. This resource is very important when meeting new people and hiring different people. If I want to sell my service to someone, I have to be a good public speaker. I am guaranteed to sell my product/service to people if they are entertained with what I advertise to them.

22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3

1)

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. Describe what stood out to you as important, what feedback surprised you the most, what feedback you think was outright wrong or silly or amazing and inciteful. 

The feedback that stood out to me the most was to step back from the camera and I took that into account in this video. I believe I did a much better job in my last pitch compared to my first two. Some feedback that was amazing was to use more hand gestures so I tried my best to do so. 

3) What did you change, based on the feedback?

I changed my voice to sound less monotone. I tried my best to use more hand gestures and step back away from the camera. Stepping farther back from the camera gives the audience a better view of how I'm professionally dressed compared to just seeing my face. Overall, I believe my last pitch video is the best one out of all 3. I've improved significantly since I was able to change some stuff from the feedback provided. 

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

1)    What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The book I chose to read is called The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users, Guy Kawasaki. The general theme of the book was to guide you through building your social media and gaining followers. After reading this book, I learned how to promote my business on social media. Understanding how social media works and attracting customers on it is such a useful skill to have.

2)    How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

I think this book enhanced what I’m learning in ENT 3003 because I’ve learned that marketing is a great way to attract customers. The easiest way to promote your business is by producing advertisements on social media.

3)    If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

The exercise I would design is to create a social media account promoting your business idea and see how many followers you gain as well as how many people interact with your posts. I think students would benefit from this because it is a good learning opportunity on how to build a social media account and get other's attention.

4)    What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

I learned that there’s a lot more to social media than just knowing how to open the apps. Businesses take a lot of time to build their social media accounts so that they can gain clout. I had no idea how much more there was to learn about the art of social media!