1) Opportunity:
SmartSofas.
2) The who: All people who have a sofa facing or close by to a TV in their homes.
The what: Sofas need to come with an implemented control remote to the TV. That is, the sofa must be able to connect itself to the TV or be an accessory that comes with the purchase of a brand-new TV.
The why: Everyone has experienced being comfortable in bed, watching TV, slowly falling asleep to the point that all is needed is to turn off the TV, until realizing that you have no idea where the control remote is (probably has fallen in between the pillows), forcing you to move around and wake back up. The only way to prevent this is to have a control remote that is stuck to the sofa, so 1) it would never get lost and 2) the user will never deal with having to wake back up again.
3) Testing the who: While this product will mainly focus on people who have TVs in their bedrooms and living rooms, businesses could also be consumers as one could sell this product as a cheap "luxury" product that will drive their employee's morales up.
Testing the what: Do all control remotes get lost? Does this happen to all people or certain people? Could this be used in any other setting?
Testing the why: I think that everyone will see the why because I could not imagine anyone that would prefer having a control remote that moves around rather than one that just sticks to your sofa. Mind you, the target market for this will be users who watch much TV, not a sofa that is not for TV watching.
4) Interviews Summary: From my interviews, I received a lot of positive feedback about my product. I also received new ideas such as expanding the use of the SmartSofa and adding refrigerators, a connection to Wi-Fi, sound systems and connecting it to platforms such as Spotify, etc. After using this product, not a lot of people think they will opt back to using a control remote, that you may have to get up to try to get rather than to just have it installed in your Sofa that you are laying down on.
5) What do I know now that I did not know before: I learned that many people like the idea of a SmartSofa, as well as the thought of expanding the product into new areas so it can have alternating versions and updates to keep the consumers purchasing more and more products as the years go on and becoming loyal customers.
Friday, May 31, 2019
6A- Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends
Economic
1)
Opportunity: Cryptocurrency implementation in websites such as Amazon.com. For their to be the option to "Purchase using Bitcoin," for example.
a) Where I found it: I have invested in the stock market and have read financial books that discuss Bitcoin an other cryptocurrencies and their use within society.
b) Why I think this is an opportunity: Cryptocurrency has been on somewhat of a rollercoaster the past few years. However, if placed on a graph, cryptocurrency would have a mostly upward trend over the past decade. This leads me to believe that, one day, cryptocurrencies would be used as regular currency.
c) Target Market: Anyone interested in having a more global currency that can be used in many markets all around the world.
d) Easy or Hard?
Hard. Not the implementation, but to gather the trust and use of many people within a society would be difficult.
2)
Opportunity: Implementing high school services that increase students' understanding of financial and economic markets and how to manage yourself and strategize.
a) Where I found it: I read an article on the New York Times as well as my personal observations of people my age.
b) Why I think this is an opportunity: I have noticed throughout the years that a vast majority of recently graduated high school students do not know simple economic tasks such as: setting up and efficiently managing a bank account, performing taxes, etc. There is an opportunity of creating cheap services that would appeal to millennials who are looking to increase their expertise in how to handle life financially.
c) Target Market: Millennials and anyone looking to get better at life through finances.
d) Easy or Hard?
Easy. This is just like setting up and running any other business.
Regulatory Changes
3) Opportunity: The potential of the passing of the use of recreational marijuana in Florida.
a) Where I found it: I watched a YouTube video a few weeks ago talking about the possibility of this bill passing.
b) Why I think this is an opportunity: I think this is an opportunity because the law has not been passed yet which means that there are no competitors. Once the law is passed, there will be many people wanting to get in this industry.
c) Target Market: Recreational marijuana users and wanters.
d) Easy or Hard?
Easy because this would be like setting up any other business, but hard because it will be hard for the bill to pass.
4) Opportunity: States such as Georgia and Alabama have implemented laws banning abortions.
a) Where I found it: Many people have been talking about this recently and it has been a topic on the news as well.
b) Why I think this is an opportunity: This is an opportunity because this is a topic that generates a lot of emotion from people due to its sensitivity. Therefore, a lot of support could rise from this.
c) Target Market: People who are pro-choice.
d) Easy or Hard?
Hard because it is such a sensitive topic.
1)
Opportunity: Cryptocurrency implementation in websites such as Amazon.com. For their to be the option to "Purchase using Bitcoin," for example.
a) Where I found it: I have invested in the stock market and have read financial books that discuss Bitcoin an other cryptocurrencies and their use within society.
b) Why I think this is an opportunity: Cryptocurrency has been on somewhat of a rollercoaster the past few years. However, if placed on a graph, cryptocurrency would have a mostly upward trend over the past decade. This leads me to believe that, one day, cryptocurrencies would be used as regular currency.
c) Target Market: Anyone interested in having a more global currency that can be used in many markets all around the world.
d) Easy or Hard?
Hard. Not the implementation, but to gather the trust and use of many people within a society would be difficult.
2)
Opportunity: Implementing high school services that increase students' understanding of financial and economic markets and how to manage yourself and strategize.
a) Where I found it: I read an article on the New York Times as well as my personal observations of people my age.
b) Why I think this is an opportunity: I have noticed throughout the years that a vast majority of recently graduated high school students do not know simple economic tasks such as: setting up and efficiently managing a bank account, performing taxes, etc. There is an opportunity of creating cheap services that would appeal to millennials who are looking to increase their expertise in how to handle life financially.
c) Target Market: Millennials and anyone looking to get better at life through finances.
d) Easy or Hard?
Easy. This is just like setting up and running any other business.
Regulatory Changes
3) Opportunity: The potential of the passing of the use of recreational marijuana in Florida.
a) Where I found it: I watched a YouTube video a few weeks ago talking about the possibility of this bill passing.
b) Why I think this is an opportunity: I think this is an opportunity because the law has not been passed yet which means that there are no competitors. Once the law is passed, there will be many people wanting to get in this industry.
c) Target Market: Recreational marijuana users and wanters.
d) Easy or Hard?
Easy because this would be like setting up any other business, but hard because it will be hard for the bill to pass.
4) Opportunity: States such as Georgia and Alabama have implemented laws banning abortions.
a) Where I found it: Many people have been talking about this recently and it has been a topic on the news as well.
b) Why I think this is an opportunity: This is an opportunity because this is a topic that generates a lot of emotion from people due to its sensitivity. Therefore, a lot of support could rise from this.
c) Target Market: People who are pro-choice.
d) Easy or Hard?
Hard because it is such a sensitive topic.
5A- Identifying Local Opportunities
1)
Title: Chief outlines efforts to curb gun violence
Link:
Summary:
Gainesville Police Chief Tony Jones conducted an information session of about 40 people discussing the city's increasing use violence, and its willingness to diminish or possibly stop all gun violence crimes.
In session, he listed about 7 of the 24 incidents reported over the past year involving gun violence and the city of Gainesville. He noted that a lot of these incidents occur because lawful gun owners get their gun stolen and that there is an unwritten rule not to "snitch."
Problem:
There has been too many gun violence cases in the past year due to stolen firearms and failure to report the incident prior of its occurrence.
Target Market:
Mainly police officers and lawmakers, but everyone living in the community is affected by gun violence.
2)
Title: Teresa Mullin: Churches can make a difference with mental health
Link:
Summary:
Teresa Mullin described how, unlike many other diseases and conditions, mental health illnesses are less known for AND less supported. Mullin went on to claim and explain the different ways that one can help a person who is suffering from mental illness. These ways include: setting up programs that facilitate communication and treatment of people suffering, publicly praying at church services.
Problem:
People suffering from mental health illnesses are not receiving proper care and attention, when they should be receiving some of the most, considering their state.
Target Market:
Mental health doctors and anyone suffering from a mental health illness.
3)
Title: Juan Zapata: End UF's involvement in modern slavery.
Link:
Summary:
Juan Zapata briefly interrupted UF's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' commencement ceremony and spoke his opinion. He went on to describe how incarcerated workers are forced to work in the fields and perform "grunt" works for very little pay. This is a problem because, it creates a slavery-like system were prisoners are forced to do tough tasks with little compensation, while eliminating the possibility of creating living wages for Florida residents who need the work and money. UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Services reportedly steals labor from incarcerated workers, allowing their profit margins to increase.
Problem:
Departments such as UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Services are utilizing slavery-like systems to cut costs for their company.
Target Market:
Florida residents with lower than proper living wages, lawmakers, and incarcerated workers.
4)
Title: Rental measure would funnel poor people into poor housing.
Link:
Summary:
The city of Gainesville Commission's Rental Housing Committee is planning on introducing energy-efficient regulations on their rental homes. While this seems like a good idea, Kayla Sosnow claims that this will make it rather unaffordable for landlords, which would drive the rent price up and forced low-income people to live in low-income homes. This is especially a problem in Gainesville, Sosnow claims, because of the city's large number of historic homes in the historically black neighborhood.
Problem:
New energy-efficient regulations will cause Gainesville's rent price to go up forcing low-income people into low-income homes or out of Gainesville in its entirety.
Target Market:
Landlords and anyone looking to rent or lease a home.
5)
Title: Memories of the good times haunt woman after divorce.
Summary:
A divorced wife writes a letter to a close friend of hers, explaining how saddened she is by the missing presence of her ex-husband, whom she still loves. The ex-husband was a drug addict and she was tired of "living off the edge" with him.
The close friend responds the letter with another letter explaining how she understands why she is upset but explains to her that she must move on, and that her ex-husband will do no good if he returned to her life. She also suggested that she should receive help through communication.
Problem:
Psychological programs are too expensive for people too afford. People that need to talk about some of their issues do not even see therapy as an option because of its high costs. Also, society has the false perception that only the "crazy" are worthy of psychological therapy.
Target Market:
Psychological therapists and anyone needing someone to talk to about their problems, issues and thoughts.
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
4A- Forming an Opportunity
1. Beginning Point- With Tesla implementing their cars and ideas into modern day society, we will slowly see mankind transition from driving cars into owning and riding self-driving cars. Because of this, there will be many people who will not be able to afford one of these cars, or simply they do not need the vehicle as much as it costs. An opportunity exists since there needs to be an Uber-like system that delivers self-driving cars at customer's requests and takes them wherever they choose as would a taxi or a Lyft.
2. Belief Description- The unmet need is that civilians and residents who cannot afford a self-driving car or do not use it as much (such as a resident in Manhattan) still need a way of transportation that is self-driving, in order to adapt to what would be every-day life.
A lot of people have this need, but is mainly for people who: desire to go from one place to another without taking their own self-driving car, people who cannot afford cars, people who live in metropolitan cities and do not feel that their use of the car will satisfy the cost of the self-driving car.
This need is new, and actually not yet real, because self-driving cars have not been fully implemented in every day society as of yet.
To meet this need now, people are: taking Uber, Lyft, or taxi, or finding another way of public transportation.
I am about 60% sure that this opportunity exists.
3. Prototypical Consumer- Consumers for this service include many demographics. Some of these include: teenagers who want to go to parties and/or a friend's house and have no ride, citizens who cannot afford cars, citizens who live in large metropolitan cities (such as Manhattan) and would rather have this service than paying full-price for a vehicle that they will seldom utilize, etc.
4. Interviews- The decision to interview a total of four people (two male and two female) ranging from elementary school ages to elders was made in order to get many points of views on the subject due to their different personalities.
5-6. Reflection- I learned just how difficult it would be to implement this service, since the costs of strictly licensing and rights to laws could exceed revenue itself, and that is not even including manufacturing, labor and other service costs. Surprisingly, the older interviewees were more reluctant to implement the service, due to them questioning on how this service will even be implemented. The younger interviewees were more hopeful and open to the idea of making the future more future-looking.
7. Summary- The original opportunity is still there. This service will be implemented at some point due to the fact that not every civilian will own a car; therefore, it is just a matter of figuring out the legal rights which might be easier said than done.
I do believe that the new opportunity is more accurate than originally simply because I have a better idea of what it would require as well as some thoughts that others would think and say about the service that I did not even think about previously.
I think that entrepreneurs should take consumer feedback VERY seriously, and always try to make their business as efficient and better for the consumer. However, it is true that there are things that go on inside the organization that a consumer does not know; therefore, the entrepreneur should try to adapt to the consumer's needs while keeping a firm structure and knowledge of the things he or she can and can not change.
2. Belief Description- The unmet need is that civilians and residents who cannot afford a self-driving car or do not use it as much (such as a resident in Manhattan) still need a way of transportation that is self-driving, in order to adapt to what would be every-day life.
A lot of people have this need, but is mainly for people who: desire to go from one place to another without taking their own self-driving car, people who cannot afford cars, people who live in metropolitan cities and do not feel that their use of the car will satisfy the cost of the self-driving car.
This need is new, and actually not yet real, because self-driving cars have not been fully implemented in every day society as of yet.
To meet this need now, people are: taking Uber, Lyft, or taxi, or finding another way of public transportation.
I am about 60% sure that this opportunity exists.
3. Prototypical Consumer- Consumers for this service include many demographics. Some of these include: teenagers who want to go to parties and/or a friend's house and have no ride, citizens who cannot afford cars, citizens who live in large metropolitan cities (such as Manhattan) and would rather have this service than paying full-price for a vehicle that they will seldom utilize, etc.
4. Interviews- The decision to interview a total of four people (two male and two female) ranging from elementary school ages to elders was made in order to get many points of views on the subject due to their different personalities.
5-6. Reflection- I learned just how difficult it would be to implement this service, since the costs of strictly licensing and rights to laws could exceed revenue itself, and that is not even including manufacturing, labor and other service costs. Surprisingly, the older interviewees were more reluctant to implement the service, due to them questioning on how this service will even be implemented. The younger interviewees were more hopeful and open to the idea of making the future more future-looking.
7. Summary- The original opportunity is still there. This service will be implemented at some point due to the fact that not every civilian will own a car; therefore, it is just a matter of figuring out the legal rights which might be easier said than done.
I do believe that the new opportunity is more accurate than originally simply because I have a better idea of what it would require as well as some thoughts that others would think and say about the service that I did not even think about previously.
I think that entrepreneurs should take consumer feedback VERY seriously, and always try to make their business as efficient and better for the consumer. However, it is true that there are things that go on inside the organization that a consumer does not know; therefore, the entrepreneur should try to adapt to the consumer's needs while keeping a firm structure and knowledge of the things he or she can and can not change.
3A- My Entrepreneurship Story
Hello,
My name is Diego Parra, born in Caracas, Venezuela, and I am a student taking ENT3003. My reason for taking this class is mainly to complete my electives in order to fulfill the requirements needed for my major (Sport Management). From this class, I hope to get a deeper understanding of HOW to create a business and what are the necessary and legal steps that are required in order to create a profitable business.
I have tried entrepreneurship a couple of times before. Back when I lived in Gainesville, a cool business idea would pop into my head every now and then, which I would tell my friends and then we would investigate ways that we could potentially turn the idea into a business. My friend who initially told me he was interested in this project and I would attend the Big Idea Competition. However, after some weeks of trying to come up with things and realizing that it was going to require a lot more work than expected, we both realized that entrepreneurship really was not our passion and then we discontinued the project.
Another time that I was involved in entrepreneurship was when I was hired as one of the first employees of a new business. I will not name the company but it was a collegiate-athlete recruiting platform. In summary, clients (typically high school students) would pay for our service and we would do the best we can in order to secure that athlete a college scholarship in athletics. In this experience I learned how little people trust new businesses and how hard it is to get clients once you start.
My name is Diego Parra, born in Caracas, Venezuela, and I am a student taking ENT3003. My reason for taking this class is mainly to complete my electives in order to fulfill the requirements needed for my major (Sport Management). From this class, I hope to get a deeper understanding of HOW to create a business and what are the necessary and legal steps that are required in order to create a profitable business.I have tried entrepreneurship a couple of times before. Back when I lived in Gainesville, a cool business idea would pop into my head every now and then, which I would tell my friends and then we would investigate ways that we could potentially turn the idea into a business. My friend who initially told me he was interested in this project and I would attend the Big Idea Competition. However, after some weeks of trying to come up with things and realizing that it was going to require a lot more work than expected, we both realized that entrepreneurship really was not our passion and then we discontinued the project.
Another time that I was involved in entrepreneurship was when I was hired as one of the first employees of a new business. I will not name the company but it was a collegiate-athlete recruiting platform. In summary, clients (typically high school students) would pay for our service and we would do the best we can in order to secure that athlete a college scholarship in athletics. In this experience I learned how little people trust new businesses and how hard it is to get clients once you start.
2A- Bug List
1. The shower that one uses once you walk out of the beach is completely inefficient. How many times has it happened that once washes all the sand out of your feet and ankles, just to step down on an inevitable floor of wet sand.
- This exists because as people wash the sand out of their body, it goes to the floor and overtime it will accumulate.
2. Batteries for drones last way too little (approximately 25 minutes per pack).
- This occurs because much power and energy is required to connect a control remote to a flying object that can be directed where to go at all times.
3. Sweater/hoodie strings. The strings that go around the hoodie of your sweater (the ones that allow you to tighten or loosen the hoodie) often slip out of the hoodie itself, and it is really annoying to try to put the string back into place.
- This occurs because there is not an easier way to pass a string through a hoodie hole.
4. Cop Cars. Way too many of them are wasting their time and being inefficient trying to pull people over on the highways, instead of being present at dangerous places and keeping civilians safe.
- This occurs because there needs to be regulation on speed that cars travel at on the highway, before people start taking advantage and it starts to become dangerous.
5. This may sound weird, but I wish I could pee in bed without it being disgusting. I hate how sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night or morning and all I want to do is stay cozy in bed but my bladder can't take it anymore. If only there was some sort of design that could possibly absorb and dissolve any liquids that spill on the bed.
- This does not exist because people find this idea weird or maybe tolerate it more than I do.
6. When your TV remote gets stuck in between the couch pillows and you cannot find it.
- This occurs because it is easy for the control remote to be misplaced due to the fact that one is so engrossed in the TV and moving around a lot.
7. Love bugs on the windshield. Love bugs love to fly around the highway and get killed by cars traveling over 70MPH. For some reason the windshield wipers don't remove them and they are stuck there until you properly wash your car.
- This happens because love bugs are very sticky, so they are likely to stick to your windshield after crashing into it.
8. iPhone screens and how they easily break.
- This occurs because Apple designs screens that tend to break easily in order for a consumer to spend in repairing, as well as to make it better for touch-screen.
9. Dog hair shedding. We all love dogs, but some people can't even welcome them into their home due to the fact that they do not like the fur being all over the place, or them being allergic.
- This happens because it is natural for a dog, and any living thing that has hair frankly, to release some hair.
10. Clothing for Florida weather. Living in Florida for so many years now has taught me one thing: it is impossible to dress for the winter.
- This is an issue because, during winter, a morning could be 40 degrees while the afternoon can be 80, making it impossible to dress appropriately.
11. Not being able to tell whether a text message is serious or joking.
- This is an issue that I am sure everyone has experienced sometime, when they do not know if the person they are text messaging or writing to means what he or she is saying or if it is a joke. This happens because one cannot express much emotion through just words.
12. Fingerprints on your iPhone screen.
- Everyone likes a clean screen, but constant use of it means that you are constantly making your screen dirty, simply by touching it.
13. Urine on the toilet seat.
- This occurs because, mainly men, fail to urine in the toilet bowl and accidentally spill on the seat, and they do not clean it either.
14. Price tags that won't come off.
- This is a problem because price tags are designed to be hard to take off in order to prevent stealing.
15. Customer Service Automated calls.
- You just want to talk to a person, but unfortunately, it is a job that can be automated and the demand for customer service communication is way too high.
16. Not enough chips in a bag.
- Supposedly this occurs because the air inside the bag protects the chips from turning into crumbs, however, it drives us all mad when we buy less than what we expected.
17. Road construction/repair.
- How many times has it happened that one is delayed or forced to take another way due to construction in roads and/or highways. This happens because highways and roads need constant maintenance in order to function properly and not have holes.
18. Cyclists on the road.
- This happens because cyclists need to cycle somewhere, and they do not have another place to do it other than a normal street where cars drive by.
19. When a textbook definition uses such complex words that they are not actually giving me the definition.
- This happens because textbooks need to build credibility by making themselves sound smart and knowledgeable. Because of this, they use plenty of words that MOST people do not understand.
20. Dog owners who do not clean up after their dog.
- This occurs because some people think it is nasty to pick up their own dog's poop or think they are above everyone else.
Coming up with this list was rather difficult and it was a task that took me a couple of days to complete. I had to leave my home and constantly remind myself to look for things that do not work as right or that really annoy me. However, after plenty of days, I came up with the list above of the things that I consider life bugs.
- This exists because as people wash the sand out of their body, it goes to the floor and overtime it will accumulate.
2. Batteries for drones last way too little (approximately 25 minutes per pack).
- This occurs because much power and energy is required to connect a control remote to a flying object that can be directed where to go at all times.
3. Sweater/hoodie strings. The strings that go around the hoodie of your sweater (the ones that allow you to tighten or loosen the hoodie) often slip out of the hoodie itself, and it is really annoying to try to put the string back into place.
- This occurs because there is not an easier way to pass a string through a hoodie hole.
4. Cop Cars. Way too many of them are wasting their time and being inefficient trying to pull people over on the highways, instead of being present at dangerous places and keeping civilians safe.
- This occurs because there needs to be regulation on speed that cars travel at on the highway, before people start taking advantage and it starts to become dangerous.
5. This may sound weird, but I wish I could pee in bed without it being disgusting. I hate how sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night or morning and all I want to do is stay cozy in bed but my bladder can't take it anymore. If only there was some sort of design that could possibly absorb and dissolve any liquids that spill on the bed.
- This does not exist because people find this idea weird or maybe tolerate it more than I do.
6. When your TV remote gets stuck in between the couch pillows and you cannot find it.
- This occurs because it is easy for the control remote to be misplaced due to the fact that one is so engrossed in the TV and moving around a lot.
7. Love bugs on the windshield. Love bugs love to fly around the highway and get killed by cars traveling over 70MPH. For some reason the windshield wipers don't remove them and they are stuck there until you properly wash your car.
- This happens because love bugs are very sticky, so they are likely to stick to your windshield after crashing into it.
8. iPhone screens and how they easily break.
- This occurs because Apple designs screens that tend to break easily in order for a consumer to spend in repairing, as well as to make it better for touch-screen.
9. Dog hair shedding. We all love dogs, but some people can't even welcome them into their home due to the fact that they do not like the fur being all over the place, or them being allergic.
- This happens because it is natural for a dog, and any living thing that has hair frankly, to release some hair.
10. Clothing for Florida weather. Living in Florida for so many years now has taught me one thing: it is impossible to dress for the winter.
- This is an issue because, during winter, a morning could be 40 degrees while the afternoon can be 80, making it impossible to dress appropriately.
11. Not being able to tell whether a text message is serious or joking.
- This is an issue that I am sure everyone has experienced sometime, when they do not know if the person they are text messaging or writing to means what he or she is saying or if it is a joke. This happens because one cannot express much emotion through just words.
12. Fingerprints on your iPhone screen.
- Everyone likes a clean screen, but constant use of it means that you are constantly making your screen dirty, simply by touching it.
13. Urine on the toilet seat.
- This occurs because, mainly men, fail to urine in the toilet bowl and accidentally spill on the seat, and they do not clean it either.
14. Price tags that won't come off.
- This is a problem because price tags are designed to be hard to take off in order to prevent stealing.
15. Customer Service Automated calls.
- You just want to talk to a person, but unfortunately, it is a job that can be automated and the demand for customer service communication is way too high.
16. Not enough chips in a bag.
- Supposedly this occurs because the air inside the bag protects the chips from turning into crumbs, however, it drives us all mad when we buy less than what we expected.
17. Road construction/repair.
- How many times has it happened that one is delayed or forced to take another way due to construction in roads and/or highways. This happens because highways and roads need constant maintenance in order to function properly and not have holes.
18. Cyclists on the road.
- This happens because cyclists need to cycle somewhere, and they do not have another place to do it other than a normal street where cars drive by.
19. When a textbook definition uses such complex words that they are not actually giving me the definition.
- This happens because textbooks need to build credibility by making themselves sound smart and knowledgeable. Because of this, they use plenty of words that MOST people do not understand.
20. Dog owners who do not clean up after their dog.
- This occurs because some people think it is nasty to pick up their own dog's poop or think they are above everyone else.
Coming up with this list was rather difficult and it was a task that took me a couple of days to complete. I had to leave my home and constantly remind myself to look for things that do not work as right or that really annoy me. However, after plenty of days, I came up with the list above of the things that I consider life bugs.
Monday, May 13, 2019
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