13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight:

1. You read about an entrepreneur:

The thing that surprised me the most was he started selling Japanese shoes first and if the partnership remained good then we may have never seen Phil Knight make Nike. Crazy how the ending of one relationship lead to the creation of the world's number one sports brand. The thing I admire most from Phil Knight was he trusted his partners and believed in them. At times, these CEOs and big time inventors end up in huge super fights with them and usually involves bad feelings. Phil knight kept the ones he trusted close and they rewarded him. The part I least admire about him was the fact that he often doubted himself. He was referred to as shy, and an introvert. Thats one thing I don't admire. I think you should be confident about yourself and carry yourself as such. Phil Knight encountered multiple failures through out the book. He was deep in debt, but he kept fighting and continue to push. Lawsuits with his former partners in Onitsuka, manufactoring issues and a large fine from US customs were part of the major problems he faced. The company kept fighting and eventually hit. 

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

He shows great persistence, work ethic and knowledge. He keep going and pushing through every barrier. He knew what he had was special and needed the world to have it. By jumping on a plane and going to Japan, he shows great initiative to get stuff done. 

3. One part of the reading that was confusing was remembering who all the people were who was close to him and what their significance was. 

4. Question 1: Did you think Nike would be this big? Asking because I really want to know if he truthfully fully knew what he had created and what it had the potential to be. 

Question 2: How many pairs of shoes do you own? The owner of nike has to own a lot of nike gear!

5. I think he was all about it. We see him hop a plane and go to Japan and is willing to just grind. I do share the same work ethic, currently working in the football office puts my office hours way high and I love working to continue to better myself.

 

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

By performing these interviews we continue to define the buyer market and their needs. In this segment the best fit for my product would be people who live in major cities and don't own a car or need to get around faster than car because of traffic. I interviewed a family friend who lives in Miami who has a car, my friend who also lives in Miami with no car, and my uncle who lives in Tampa.

My first interview with my family friend who lives in Miami who has a car, he kept telling me that the public transportation in Miami is terrible and the only real option is to sit in traffic. He said at dinner and in the morning would be great times to use a new subway system. At night he said it would help people get around the city safely. He touched on how he has tried to research public transportation options but they are not practical. It would also be a huge help for work.

My second interview with my other friend in Miami shows the massive need for a subway or other metro system in Miami that is efficient. He only gets around on buses which takes hours and aren't practical. I asked if he would use a subway system, and he responded that he has looked into whether or not the city was looking into it. He thinks the tourists alone would benefit. He said he would want it to be cheap as thats what he looks for.

My third interview with my uncle in Tampa, brought up the fact that they don't have a subway or any metro rail system. The only ways to get around or bus, car or walk. This is a major need for a major city that has a large population and many tourists. He said getting around downtown would be a big help and any metro or rail would elevate a lot of traffic. He said safety would be a concern. 

In conclusion, I continue to find out what the buyer field is and I feel pretty confident that a need exists. There are countless number of cities that would benefit form some sort of rail system or subway system. One thing that brought up would be price, which all three interviews touched on. Most say that it would be great for people who work and tourists. More we interview the more we learn.

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1. Who are you? I am currently a student at the University of Florida. I currently work for the football team and I am a highly motivated worker. This business Idea will help me in large cities and help the transit system where I'm from.

2. What are you offering to customers? I want to build a new form of public transportation or build a subway in every major systems. These new subway systems will solve everybody's problems.

3. Who are you offering it to? People who live in major cities or will travel to major cities. People who commute to work. Trying to eliminate people using cars to get around.

4. Why do they care? If we take major cities as example then we see how efficient these subway systems are for people to get around and would remain cheaper than most other options.

5. What are your core competencies? Other transit options would be options but we would be faster and cheaper and allow for people to be more efficient.


I think my idea is sound because we have a model based on other cities. If we look at Atlanta or New York, they have a system which achieves the goal of our project. We look to bring the city together and make travel around the city easier. New cities are waiting for a new system and this is for them.

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who:
Are there certain people or certain businesses that, although they share a lot in common with the others in your opportunity, nevertheless fall outside the boundary? Why?

Yes there are definitely people who share the same opportunity however fall outside the boundary. Some people, even though public transportation would benefit there lives will not give up there car pr are not in favor of public transportation and therefore will never use it and therefore end up outside the boundary. 

What: 

At what point does the need you identified differ from another need? (Is thirst the same as hunger? Or is the desire to appear fashionable the same as the desire to be loved by others?)

I think the point where it becomes another need is if it is difficult to get to the subway. The subway needs to be easily accessible and have multiple stops of the need becomes the same. 

Why: 

Is the underlying cause of the outsiders' need different than people who are inside the boundary?

I don't think the need is that much different because everybody is looking for better transportation and travel methods. The only way there isn't the same need is if they do not go far and there is no need for any change. 

Summary of Interviews:

After conducting interviews, I now see that not everyone may be in need of this product which is the subway. They alluded to the fact that if you don't live in a major city then the surrounding areas probably wouldn't have much use for it. The main problem seems to be that there doesn't seem to be much use or that they prefer to just drive their own car. 

Inside the boundary
Who is In a. People in Major cities
What the Need Is a. Subway or another transportation would alleviate pressure on roads and give people better
Why the Need Exists a. ]There is an abundant of people and traffic is building up in major cities. Outside the boundary Who is Not a. People who live on the outskirts of the major city What the Need is Not a. Transportation such as subway because car is more efficient  Alternative Explanations  a. They don't ever really travel that much therefore don't need a change.

Solving The Problem - Assignment #8

Opportunity: The opportunity that exists is one that involves the University of Florida and its lack of parking and therefore the lack of methods for students to get around campus. There is the obvious methods of cars, scooters, bikes and other methods including the bus, however students continue to struggle with time efficient ways of getting around. If you ask the majority of students they would be inclined to say that they would be in favor of new transportation methods. 

Product: The product that I had in mind would involve a service of carts that would shuttle students around campus. It would require students sign up for a monthly service and would almost have the same platform as Uber but with carts that could drive through campus and roads for students to get to class and around campus. This would limit the amount of students with cars/scooters which would alleviate the amount of people who need parking spaces. Instead of paying for each ride, there would just be a subscription so you could just hop on and off. You would have to increase the number of carts as members went up. We could track the rides and show where the carts are in the area and even request a pick up. 

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1 - Assignment 7

• Opportunity: Currently there is only a few major cities that have public transportation other than buses and other generic choices. In most of those cities buses is not performing up the standard of other options. Personally believe that subways above or below the ground is the way to go. More cities need subways or better options.
• The Who: All Citizens of major cities.  

• The What: There are not many options for public transportation and subways should be installed/built in every major city.

• The Why: People are waiting hours on hours to get around the city and subways are the most efficient way to get around.

• Testing The Who: I think this is a world issue. Obviously more cities are in more need than others but this is a major problem. The world population continues to grow and traffic isn't going away. As more people flock to major cities, the traffic will continue to increase.
• Testing the What: Everybody needs to get around but some people prefer not to ride subways because of safety and other reasons. 
• Testing the Why: People lives are being affected with the amount of traffic. In Los Angeles, about 10 million people and are constantly faced with hours of traffic. Miami is the same. Things need to change and more options, specifically subways. 

Interview #1:

• I decided to interview a 21 year old from Los Angeles. The first question I asked was whats the worst part about Los Angeles and his response was the traffic. He has family that is located across the city and he says it takes an extra hour just to deal with the traffic. When I introduced the idea of a subway he said that the entire city would be behind the idea. Some issues he mentioned would be where they would build it.

Interview #2:  

• This interview was with my dad who travels regularly all over the state and around Miami and Ft Lauderdale. He discussed how he is not as much of a fan of his job due to the fact that he has to drive everywhere. He brought up the idea that he would love for there to be a subway "like his favorite city - New York." 

Interview #3:

• Next Interview was with my friend who lives in New York. My questions was tailored around the idea of whether she was a fan of the subway system or not. The surprising fact about tis interview was the fact that she didn't use the subway and was not a fan of it.  She says the security for the subway is not ideal and is scared of the possibility of a crash. 

Interview #4:

• The fourth interview was with my Grandpa. The main point of this interview was to see if my grandpa would be able to adjust to the changes. My grandpa alluded to the fact that he has had the same routine for the last 5 years and had no interest of changing. He mentioned that he thinks that subways would help to take some of the traffic away from the streets. I asked if traffic bothered him and he said he likes the drive. 

Interview #5:

• The last interview was to my brother who lives in Miami. He came to the same conclusion that my friend from LA came to. They need better options and when I brought up subways he became excited because he thought I was saying they were in the process of building them. 

Review:

I think the one major thing I didn't realize about this is how tough it would be to build these subways. People who I interviewed that lived in major cities kept bringing up the point of not enough room for these subways to be built. Although this idea is a great one, major planning needs to be done. 

Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends - Assignment 6

1. eBay drops PayPal as first choice for payments - http://www.bbc.com/news/business-42905465

• Ebay has decided to drop PayPal as their main payment processor and instead decided to use a Dutch firm Ayden. This is a major move as most people do not have a Ayden account but rather a PayPal account. An opportunity exist for this new company to gain more costumer and also for another platform to pick up PayPal as the their main processor. Think this is a great opportunity for these companies to grow and get new customers who are typically people who are involved in online transactions. 
• I have sold a lot online. I was involved in buying and selling shoes in high school and Ebay was the best way to facilitate this business. PayPal was pretty easy to use and I believe there is an opportunity for somebody to scoop them as their main processor. 

2. Venezuela's Health Care System Ready To Collapse Amid Economic Crisis- https://www.npr.org/2018/02/01/582469305/venezuelas-health-care-system-ready-to-collapse-amid-economic-crisis

• I think there is an opportunity in the Venezuela for some reformed economic system. More companies have the ability to go there and stimulate economic growth. The entire country is suffering from this economic crisis which will make things cheaper. Companies are constantly looking for places to create cheaper production. 
• I don't know how easy this is to exploit but this idea caught my eye because the country is in need and more companies could help stimulate growth. 

3. Church gun bills teed up in Florida House, Senate - http://www.gainesville.com/news/20180202/church-gun-bills-teed-up-in-florida-house-senate

• Opportunity exist that would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to carry guns at churches and other religious institutions. 
• After all of the massacres that has taken place at religious places it makes sense that this bill pass, which is currently being brought to the floor of Florida House. 
• Anyone who attends church will want to know the outcome of this. 
• I fortunately have never been involved with gun violence but this is a major issue and should be able to pass. 

4. Train carrying Republicans hits lorry in Virginia killing one - http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42894295

• An opportunity exists because there has been an increasing amount of train accidents and its beginning to catch peoples eye. Also member of congress were on this train.
• Customers are the ones who ride trains or live near trains. Things could change. I think that this opportunity is easy to exploit because trains need to be changed and can be changed relatively easy. 
• I have never actually been on a train but I can see more and more accidents happening which will cause things to change.