Friday, January 31, 2020

5A Identifying Local Opportunities

Opportunity #1
“Sewage spilling to Middle River after another pipe break in Fort Lauderdale”
Essentially, the story is that a sewage pipe in Fort Lauderdale broke, causing disgusting substances to flow into a local river, creating a toxic smell in the local area as well as reducing opportunities for recreation near the river.
The problem in the story is that there is a trend in Ft. Lauderdale of old sewage pipes breaking and sewage leaking out everywhere.
The who in this scenario is the residents of South Florida because they have to deal with the smell. In addition, another important who is the local government, which is charged with keeping this pipes in good shape. It is on them to fix the problem that had been neglected.
Opportunity #2
Overall, the FBI is threatening to take away people’s drones if they get in the way of the big event, the Super Bowl, which is happening down in Miami this weekend.
The problem is that as technology has improved, advanced recording technology such has drones has reached the hands of the common man. The FBI wants to make sure that people know they cannot interfere with large community events because these drones could be see as violent threats.
The who in this scenario is the FBI who is charged with keeping everyone at the game safe from drones and drone users who need to know how to not cross the boundary of just enjoying some cool, new tech.
Opportunity #3
“Stripper Bowl: Adult clubs are going big (and tiny) for Super Bowl weekend”
Miami is a city famous for partying and there are very few parties bigger than the Super Bowl. In anticipation of the big event, Strip Clubs are ramping up their marketing and expecting a big, profitable weekend.
The problem is that the Super Bowl is a family event and seeing so much advertising for inappropriate material can take away from that family-oriented reputation that the event has built up over the decades.
The who is this case is people attending the Super Bowl who do and do not want to visit strip clubs. The other who in this story are the strip club owners who want to take advantage of the traffic in the party city and make an extra buck.
Opportunity #4
“Helicopter in Kobe Bryant crash wasn’t certified to fly in poor visibility”
In summary, the tragedy that struck the sports world this weekend should have never happened because Kobe Bryant should have never been cleared to go in the helicopter because of the foggy weather.
The problem is that clearly there needs to be stricter safety regulations for private aircraft within the United States. Without stricter regulations, accidents like this can continue to happen.
The who in this story is wealthy people who often fly through private aircraft, but more specifically NBA legend Kobe Bryant and the other eight victims of this terrible crash. If there are stricter regulations, maybe these nine people never go up in the air on this fateful day,
Opportunity #5
“Rick Scott destroyed evidence that would have cleared defendants in nursing home manslaughter case, lawyers say”
Essentially, current Senator of Florida and former Governor, Rick Scott, is being accused of burying evidence that would have exonerated people in an old court case.
The problem here is that it shows the corruption of two American systems. On one hand, it shows the faultiness of the American judicial system to punish the guilty and not the innocent. On the other hand, it shows how high status and political office can allow someone to have enough influence to change the conviction in the court case.
There are multiple whos in this story. To begin with, there is Rick Scott, who is the source of the problem and is the perpetrator of the corruption. In addition, there are the defendants who were wrongfully treated by the American judicial system and should have been proven innocent if not for the corruption in the American political/judicial system.


4A Forming an Opportunity Belief: A Twist on Opportunity Identification

1) I feel like young people take really poor care of their hygiene. They party all night and then come home and pass out. Also, they are very busy and can sacrifice their personal hygiene for a certain task they need to complete. I feel like there is an opportunity to create a product that improves personal hygiene while also fitting into the impulsive, fast-paced lifestyle that people currently live. 
2) The unmet need I am addressing is a solution for personal hygiene, specifically dental hygiene, that fits the on-the-go, rapid lifestyle of young people today. The person who has the unmet need is anyone but more specifically 16-30 year olds. I feel like this need has always existed, but has been emphasized more today as young people live in an age with more and more instant gratification from advancing technologies. There aren’t a ton of mobile, quick, easy-to-use personal hygiene devices. I am 70 percent sure this opportunity exists. I think a great product/business would be some sort of mint that someone could eat, which dissolves or releases a fluid that then cleans/whitens teeth and freshens breath. 
3) The prototypical consumer would is any busy student that wants to stay hygienic while living an active, fast lifestyle. 
4) Interview #1: Parker Hershkowitz 
What is the exact nature of the need?: Parker has a lot of early-morning classes that he sometimes wakes up late for, and is always in a rush for class. Sometimes he cannot brush his teeth until after his morning class. When do they become aware of the need -- that is, do they experience their need all the time or only sometimes?  Parker experiences this need sometimes, but would use the product more often if he had the choice. How long have they had the need? He has had the need ever since he started college. When did they first become aware of their need? Why? He first became aware of the need when he was late to class because he had to go through his whole morning hygiene routine after waking up late. How are they currently addressing their need? How satisfied are they with this solution? He is currently addressing this need by trying to wake up earlier, but sometimes he catches himself unsatisfied with how he takes care of himself. 
5) Interview #2: Spencer Steinfeld 
What is the exact nature of the need?: Spencer goes out a lot and sometimes he is so tired when he gets back that he simply doesn’t have time to brush his teeth and use mouth wash thoroughly. When do they become aware of the need -- that is, do they experience their need all the time or only sometimes?  He becomes aware of this need when he wakes up in the morning and feels gross. How long have they had the need? He has had the need ever since he started college. When did they first become aware of their need? Why? He first became aware of the need when he was waking up with a disgusting taste in his mouth from the night before after not remembering to use mouthwash. How are they currently addressing their need? How satisfied are they with this solution? He is currently addressing this need by trying to be more efficient with his time and improve his hygiene practices, although he is not happy with his current situation. 
6) Interview #3: Taylor Kogan 
What is the exact nature of the need?: Taylor has a lot of class all day and although she has great personal hygiene, she wishes there was a way she could keep up her standards on-the-go with her busy schedule. When do they become aware of the need -- that is, do they experience their need all the time or only sometimes? She only experiences this need on days in which she has back-to-back double blocks of class. How long have they had the need? She has had the need since her busy schedule started in sophomore year of high school. When did they first become aware of their need? Why? She first became aware of her need when she wanted a way to clean her teeth after lunch in high school but didn't want to bring a toothbrush to school like a “crazy person.” How are they currently addressing their need? How satisfied are they with this solution? She is currently addressing this need by brushing her teeth after every meal but is unsatisfied with this solution because it is inefficient and does not fit her busy schedule. 
7) After conducting these interviews, I still believe that much of the opportunity is still there. I believe the opportunity is ever broader than I thought and one idea is versatile enough to suit multiple types of needs. Entrepreneurs care about money at the end of the day. If enough of their customers are giving a certain type of feedback, they should adapt their business to fit that feedback.

3A Your Entrepreneurship Story

When I was in middle school, I was treasurer of my school’s National Junior Honor Society. In order to raise funds for the club, we would sell items that correlated with certain holidays. For example, on Hanukkah we would sell gelt. On Valentines Day, we would sell heart-shaped lollipops and roses. This trend carried on throughout the school year. Even though I was very young, this club’s fundraising transformed into a small business that included coordinating with larger companies to supply us with the product. It was this position that got me interested in the field of business and made me excited to learn more about it in higher education. Although this was a non-profit, it still got me excited to one day further delve into the world of entrepreneurship. I enrolled in this class for two main reasons. To begin with, I signed up for this class because of the restricted elective requirement for graduation. In addition, I signed up because I had heard it was a good class to learn about the business world in general. While other class might teach you models and vocabulary words, this class adds on to that with real world wisdom and advice. I hope to just be introduced to the world of business and come out with a general knowledge of the way things work in the world of business by the end of this class.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

2A Bug List

  1. There is never anywhere to sit at UF Libraries during finals season. The reason this exists is because Library West is the only 24/7 library on campus so everyone goes there and it is very crowded and almost impossible to find somewhere to sit.
  2. There are too many homeless people loitering around The Standard in Gainesville. The reason this exists is the lack of police in the area and the lack of education that these people are given that there are resources to help with shelter and food.
  3. The Miami Marlins play in Miami-Dade county, but the majority of their fans live in Broward and Palm Beach. This makes commutes to the games much longer and decreases overall attendance. The reason this exists is because the Marlins are trying to pander to the local Hispanic audience, but the market has simply not reacted well.
  4. My favorite sub shop, Larry’s, is closing down at the end of the semester. The reason this exists is because an apartment building company is buying the land to build more apartments which apparently there is not enough of in Gainesville.
  5. Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays. I eat Chick-fil-A all the time, but I can never eat it on Sundays because the restaurant is closed due to the various religious and political beliefs of ownership.
  6. Commercials during football games are especially irksome. Sometimes it feels like there is a five to one ratio in terms of commercial time to game time. The reason this exists is the capitalist nature of American sports.
  7. The WIFI in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is very spotty and always needs to be reconnected every time. The reason this exists is because in such a large place, it is difficult to establish consistent connection throughout.
  8. The fire alarm in my building bugs me. Everytime someone cooks and there is too much smoke, everyone must leave the building. This happens very often and is very disruptive to my day-to-day schedule.
  9. The location of Southwest Recreation Center is extremely inconvenient. The gym itself is very nice, but it is not centrally located and the only way for me to get there is by bus which can so long that I end up not having any time to work out.
  10. The fact that almost every business class takes up two blocks. I much prefer a one period class more often in the week than a two period class twice a week. The reason this exists is because of scheduling and rooming conflicts within Heavener.
  11. The school bus stop in my neighborhood. Whenever the elementary school bus stops in my neighborhood it stops traffic for like 15-20 minutes and everything gets very backed up and congested. The reason this exists is because for whatever reason the bus needs to take up both lanes to ensure the safety of the students.
  12. My contact prescription. My contact prescription is so unique that they don’t make daily contacts in it, so I have to buy two-week pairs, This makes the maintenance on them much more tenuous. 
  13. The new online-ticketing system for Gator football games. This new system randomizes where everyone sits, whereas, I used to be able to show up to the box office early to get better seats. The reason this exists is to make a more fair system, but no other sports works this way so I do not see the need for it.
  14. The fact that Study Edge does their own lectures. I understand using Study Edge as a review supplement, but many people do not go to their actual UF classes and learn through Study Edge alone. In my opinion, I don’t see what the point is in getting a UF degree if you are just going to go to Study Edge. The reason this exists is because UF lectures are very long.
  15. The lights on West University Avenue take way too long to change. This leads to a lot of illegal crossing which is very dangerous. The reason this occurs is because West University is a very busy street with a lot of traffic.
  16. The advising office at Heavener is way too small. There are 50,000 students at UF with many of them in the business school, waiting for an appointment can take weeks. The reason for this is that UF does not put enough financial resources into its advising office.
  17. There are portable chargers for iphones but not my laptop. In today’s age, I am with my phone just as much as my computer but with no way to charge it on the go. The reason this exists is because it takes much more energy to power a laptop than a phone.
  18. Sharpening your pencil to the ideal point. Electric sharpeners are great but I never know how long to keep my pencil in there for. A sharpener that stopped automatically would be awesome. The problem here is that the technology doesn't exist apparently.
  19. The Ubers are gameday are incredibly expensive, which seems like price gouging to me. There needs to be a cheaper option for students so that they are not constantly taken advantage of by an unfair system. The reason this exists is because Uber sees an opportunity to make more money off of people’s needs.
  20. The graduate students at UF participate in the same Intramural leagues as undergraduates. This means that 18 year olds might be playing basketball against 30 year olds. This doesn’t seem fair to me and the problem exists because of a lack of organization from UF rec sports.

Reflection: This assignment was rather difficult as I had to look at the world from a different perspective. In order to discover different bugs, I basically went through my daily routine in my mind and pointed the several, small things that seemed to annoy or bug me. It really took me some time to think about the nuisances that bothered me and why they exist. For the most part, they existed because of a lack of effort to correct them.