Identifying Local Opportunities - Assignment 5

1. Wild turkeys are terrorizing a Florida neighborhood, and the law is on their side 

• http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/169AD7F192D1EAB8?p=WORLDNEWS
• A local community in Orlando is being affected with a take over by Wild turkeys. The community officials have said that they have battled with multiple different types of animals but never Wild turkeys. They say that they are mean and aggressive. The locals can not take them out or hunt them because the season doesn't start till march. Officials have been called in to deal with it.
• Wild turkeys, who are nasty and aggressive, is over running a local community and disrupting daily life. The locals don't know what to do. 
• The locals in the town are the ones being affected by this. 

2. A Florida county will shut its schools after flu outbreak hits teachers and students

• http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/169AABB4946AE208?p=WORLDNEWS
• A school district in the Florida panhandle is closing two elementary schools due to a flu outbreak which has 1 out of 5 kids calling out of school sick. Over 30 kids have died from the flu and the whole state is on watch. 
• The problem is that kids are getting sick and the flu is getting passed from person to person. This is spreading from person to person and causing a larger issue. 
• The children and their parents are the ones who have the problems, also everyone at the school. 

3. UM football - Neck injury ends CB Young's career - UM cornerback Malek Young's football career is over because of an injury he got against Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl.

• http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/1699AF91C6FE11D0?p=WORLDNEWS
• A football player who plays for the University of Miami will be forced to retire after he suffered a injury in the Orange Bowl. He was a major part of the Miami defense and will be missed by his teammates and coaches.
• He will have to find something else to pursue as he was a good player and was bound for the NFL eventually.
• The player and his family have the problem because a dream and profession was taking away that fast.

4. Transportation - The government shutdown could cause delays at MIA

• http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/169959D45EA40268?p=WORLDNEWS
• Due to the government shut down, there may be larger lines at the Miami international airport. This is because there may be fewer TSA employees, even though they are considered essential. There will be less due to overtime. Overtime pay will hold back the airport.
• The government being shut down is affecting the country and the MIA airport is one of those things. 
• The passengers will be affected with longer lines and the TSA will have to pay the employees more. 

5. Third person hit by Brightline train since its debut

• http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/1698B175630CC358?p=WORLDNEWS
• This is the third accident for the new train, although the people went around the safety gates, senators have called the train to be looked at for safety reasons. The train continues to rack up deaths which isn't good for them 
• The train is being investigated for safety which could be bad for the train and its future.
• The people who own and operate the train and the community face this problem because of jobs and the actual use of the train. 

Forming an Opportunity Belief - Assignment 4

I believe that there is serious issue that the University of Florida students face on a daily basis. There seems to be an opportunity to solve the fact that its tough to get around traffic and lack of parking if you own a car and not a scooter.

What is the Unmet need? - Lack of ways getting around and parking if you don't own a scooter.

Who has the need? - Students who attend the University of Florida.

Where did the need come from? - The overwhelming amount of students and it continues to expand.

What are people doing to meet this need now? - They continue to walk or ride the bus to get away from driving their cars.

How sure am I that this opportunity exists? - 65%

Prototypical Customer #1 Interview - Student at UF who doesn't own a scooter

• What is the exact nature of the need? I need other ways to get around campus because there is no where for me to park my car and the bus doesn't fit my schedule. 
• Do you experience the need all the time or only sometimes? - I experience everyday and realize that I need to find an alternative option to my car. 
• How long have you had this need? - Since I came to school here two years ago. 
• When did you first become aware of this need? Week 2 of my freshman year when I realized I was going be late for class because the bus wasn't going to come in time and I had no way of getting there.
• How are currently addressing this need? - I bought a bike to get around the money it costs for a scooter but I'd prefer they build more parking. 
• How satisfied are you with the current solution? - A bike does its job but its even tough to park at my apartment building which makes it practically impossible to park anywhere and makes my care useless. We need more parking or better/cheaper transportation methods. 

Prototypical Customer #2 Interview - Student at UF who owns a scooter 

• What is the exact nature of the need? - Even though I drive a scooter, there is still a select few number of spots for parking scooters. They need to add more options for us, but having a scooter makes my life 10x better. Parking off campus for scooters is good; however, the cost of parking decals is expensive.
• Do you experience the need all the time or only sometimes? - You can always get lucky and go at the right time of day but when campus is busy (which is most of the time) it is tough to park and makes life harder so I would have to say more often then not.
• How long have you had this need? - Since I bought a scooter a year and a half ago.
• How are you currently addressing this need? - I hate to say it, but I often park my scooter in a non designated area and hope for the best. The school should pay for parking tickets.
• How satisfied are you with the current solution? - Well, I'm broke. There is high risk when it comes to parking illegally which is tough for my financial situation. 

Prototypical Customer #3 Interview 

• What is the exact nature of the need? I don't see that big of need because I thin the campus is that far from where I live and its very to walk to class and any other place I need to go. 
• Do you experience the need all the time or only sometimes? - I think I experience it sometimes but I was so turned off by the traffic that walking became my method of choice and it works for me. But I can see how it exists.
• What do you think about campus expanding to add more parking? I think that this will cause more clutter and actually hurt the situation. 
• What would you do? Require people to not drive at all and make campus all walking and biking to create more room for buses and add more buses. 
• Why not ride the bus? - The times didn't suit me that much and wanted the exercise. 

REFLECT:

I think its very clear that there is an issue and a lot of students are facing the same problem. What was most most shocking was even the people with scooters were saying that the parking needs to change. One person gave up completely and just decided to walk which was the thing that made me think that this is a major issue that needs to addressed and there is a large opportunity. 

How much of your original opportunity is still there?: I think the opportunity is alive and well. My interviews reiterated exactly what I thought and even made me feel more strong about it. 

How much do you think entrepreneurs should 'adapt' their opportunities based on customer feedback?: I think its a little of both. Its a feeling that gets you thinking but if you are the only one then you don't have much of an idea. You need feedback to make a viable idea that then develops. 

Your Entrepreneurship Story - Assignment 3

Entrepreneurship has been a staple of my family for as long as I can remember. My dad, "the author, expert sales trainer, consultant, keynote speaker, and serial entrepreneur", introduced me to the business world at a very young age. My dad is the founder of On the Ball, which is a company that invests time and talent in emerging businesses and corporate teams to help them grow. I've watched my dad grow a number of businesses and be involved in many deals. He gives me the passion to pursue a career in business. I have had the opportunity to sit in on meetings and begin to learn the process of what being an entrepreneur is all about. Recently my dad wrote a book, called the Confessions of a Serial Salesman, which is a set of rules that my dad uses that he believes makes people more successful. In my opinion, the coolest deal my dad did was a partnership with Lebron which obviously had its perks. 

The reason I chose to take this class was because I believe it would be beneficial for me to continue to learn what being a entrepreneur is about because I have a passion for it. 

Bug List - Assignment 2

1. When I wake up in the middle of the night, and the only thing I want is a glass of water, but the Brita is sitting in the fridge with no water in it. This is a bug that many people probably face on a day to day bases because the size of the Brita isn't overly large and people don't want to fill it up everyday.

2. My laundry room in my apartment building only has three washing machines ands bugs me when they are all in use, which means I can't do my laundry. This is a bug because there isn't enough room in the building and the room where the laundry is done is rather small which limits the amount of machines they can have.

3. On 13th ave, the side streets always have can't turn right on red during the day. This is a bug because traffic gets so backed up on 13th so they put don't turn on red so they can control the flow on all the roads, but they have it when it isn't busy as well which bugs me.

4. I had to call my credit card company and was left on hold for 25 minutes, I hate being kept on hold for a long time. This is a bug because they may have a high volume of callers and not enough workers to handle the calls.

5. Waking up, ready to work out, and my headphones are tangled in 15 knots. This is a bug many face and I seem to battle everyday. The cords are not meant to be tangled and people just jumble them up.

6. The line at chipotle on University ave around dinner time is a major bug. This is a bug because when the line gets long, it goes all the way out the door and the restaurant always seems to be shocked with the amount of people and aren't prepared.

7. Not enough machines at the gym to use. This is a bug because the gym owner never accounts for the new customers and the volume of users the machines have which leave people standing around waiting.

8. When the message continues to pop up on my phone that says I'm out of space and need to delete stuff. This is a bug because the software takes up a lot of room and forces us to delete stuf. Need more space!

9. At work we have golf carts, there seems to never be keys for them and thats a major bug. This is a bug because maybe people forget to return the keys and the golf carts need the special key.

10. I work for the football team for the school and when people call me to ask for insider stuff or important information that I know. This is a bug because they think I will tell them sensitive information because they are my friends.

11. My roommate every night will turn off the air in our house when its warmer out. This leaves my room hot and I get sweaty. This is a bug because the vent is located closer to his room which makes his room colder than the rest of the house.

12. When the line of people waiting at style cuts located on University ave for a haircut. Most of the time they only have two people working which leaves a lot of costumers to sit around and wait longer times.

13. The wifi at my apartment is terrible and never fully works. This may have to do with everybody in the entire apartment having to plug their wireless router in the same major internet and causes it to slow it down. Can't withstand 

14. When people have no awareness and just talk on the phone loudly in a quiet place. At Starbucks waiting in the line, the lady was louder than the entire place.  This is a bug because people live in their own world and don't really take other peoples wants into account.

15. When my roomate have a party at our apartment and don't clean my thing up for days. This is a bug because they have never needed to clean up after themselves therefore I have to do it. 

16. The team meeting room is always frigid and we are forced to wear a sweater to be comfortable in there. The building seems to always be cold and something that has to do with the whole building. 

17. The service in the football stadium is horrid and forces me to go outside when I need to make a call. This is a major bug and probably because offices being practically under the stadium.

18. The traffic around 5 around the school and down university makes the drive home double the time. There needs to be more options to get out of campus. There isn't a lot of room to build so its tough to get around.

19. Downtown Gainesville is home to many homeless people, I gave money to one of them and returned to the same space a couple days later and he asked me again and got made when I wouldn't give him money. The bug is that there is a high homeless population and there is nothing they can do.

20. When my roommates takes shampoo and body wash and doesn't replace it. The bug exists and many people deal with it. 

This process was really eye opening and even tough to do. What helped was being able to put things down along the week. One thing I found myself doing was trying to find ways to fix the problems. Its hard to think of the "bugs" because thats just not how you look at the world. I really enjoyed the exercise because it helps to identify other bugs down the road. 

The First of Many.

I look forward to posting on here throughout the semester.