Week 8 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

Until now, I had never actually thought there were any advantages towards debt financing, being a college student all I hear about is debt so I just assumed there could be no good from it and that it was only a temporary fix to a problem. Now I know there are good uses towards it.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

This part wasn't explicitly stated in the reading, but I just want to understand how business owners determined whether or not to use debt financing or equity financing. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

-How does one determine whether or not a venture capitalist is asking for too much power by way of the money they are able to contribute? I simply want the author's opinion on the matter.

-What helps a corporation finally decide to go public? In what situations is going public the correct move? I don't exactly understand what is "better". For example, why hasn't SpaceX gone public? Why isn't Publix public? 

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

Being that I rather inexperienced on the topic, I don't particular have anything to say against the author. He obviously knows what he is talking about, and to me he seems credible.

The Twenty Percent

1) Find a business owner and talk to them about their customers.

The entrepreneur I decided to interview was Collin the Chief of Everything over at NewScooters4Less! It only made sense to contact one of the most relevant scooter companies here in Gainesville with the idea I had for the course. I have set in on several presentations by Collin about entrepreneurship and if you haven't done that, I highly recommend you find out the next meeting he will be at. Unfortunately he had a tight schedule so I was not able to meet up with him person to person, but he made a video talking about all the questions! The link is below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrlgbpXjpCc&feature=youtu.be

2) Next, go and talk to 3 'target customers' -- using the demographics/psychographics the entrepreneur described.

The target customers were of course students at the University of Florida. Turns out if you tell people they do not have to be recorded, there's a good chance they will say no. 

Who do you think their target customers are?

In this case all three 'target customers' responded with the same answer. "Students at UF". For this particular business, it's pretty easy to realize that without UF, NS4L would go out of business in a heartbeat.

What are their customers' unmet needs?

-response 1- "I think a lot of people just like the idea of convenience. I know with my friends, they don't necessarily need to have a scooter, it just makes life easier. Uhh but also I can understand that for people who live off campus why a scooter makes much more sense. Regardless I want one"

-response 2- "Getting to class if you don't live in a dorm. I hate the buses here. RTS is just awful sometimes. Before coming here, never in a million years would I have thought I would own a scooter. Now I have one and I love it. I'm living at the retreat next year so it'll really be useful then."

-response 3- "Unmet needs are definitely just ease of transportation. There's parking everywhere for them and they help people get to class or wherever they need to go in Gainesville."

Where do they find their customers? What are their customer's demographics?

I put these two questions togother becuase collectively I got virtually the same responses. Each person for both questions said something along the lines of 

"they find their customers around UF and their demographics are simply college students." Any age, regardless of gender.

What kinds of media do their customers consume? 

Again all 3 people said the same thing "Social media is king"

I would say the entrepreneur definitely understand the customers needs, otherwise NS4L wouldn't be so relevant and ultimately wouldn't still be in business.[

Half-way Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a skill
Something that the course will help you understand is to never give up. Through ups and downs with interviews, ideas, assignments, it will let you realize that in order to succeed as an entrepreneur you must be persistent. This class is an easy A, for sure. However, if you truly want to be an entrepreneur you must be willing to go the extra mile with the course so you can gain the true experience the course is intended to give.

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude
When I was trying to track down people to talk to and get serious advice for whatever the assignment was. You become tempted to just find people to give you simple answers, yet these kinds of responses provide no constructive criticism. Also, people are going to tell you bad things about your idea or your product. Take it to heart. Listen to the customers and use it to your advantage, not to your downfall.

3) Three tips
- Be persistent. If you have an idea you truly think has the potential to be successful, then work towards making that dream become a reality. Have a positive attitude and understand that the life o an entrepreneur is not easy, but if it is truly for you then you will forever be happy.
-Absolutely absolutely absolutely use criticism to your advantage and take advice from people with more experience seriously. It will only help you in the long run.
-Never forget the true goal, the drive to be successful will mold your actions into a path that will lead you towards success. There will be bumps in the road, not only for the course for more specifically for life. Just remember to always be persistent.

Free Money

Where will you go?
 I went to a local ice cream shop in Orlando  (I was home for a night) for a one attempts. I did one with my neighbor who I barely ever talked to when I lived at home. For the rest I was at the Daytona Speedway for the Daytona500 and I did it there.

What kind of people will you approach?
First come first serve for the most part. I approached people who looked friendly and nice.

What will you say to get the conversation started?
I simply said "Excuse me, would you like a dollar for free?"
What is your plan for the conversation?

My plan for the conversation is to mention the free dollar, ask how their day is going, how they are doing and stuff like that. Then proceed to say I'm just trying to spread good vibes to people for the day!

I gave away all five dollar bills without issue. Overall people seemed very pleased to be able to talk someone in a genuiney happy way. A dollar is a dollar. It's not much, but the idea behind me giving the away the dollar made people happy, which made me happy. Mental notes that I'll keep from this exercise is that I always need to make the customers happy. Giving away the dollars was as easy as it got, predictions were correct, and I didn't really have predictions about people.

Week 7 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

The idea it was suggested that traditional demographic traits such as age, sex, and income no long said enough about market strategy. Suddenly for some reason Yankelovich deemed it necessary to dive deeper into customers needs and wants for marketing.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

The article mentioned the success and failures of psychographics, yet continue to say it doesn't cast doubt on the validity of segmentation. It seems the author was contradicting himself at this point.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

What made you decide traditional demographic traits were no longer sufficient? It's the basis of the whole article so it'd be interesting to see what that was about.

What situation would a company need to be in to be able to take full advantage of this article? Just would want to see the author's response in relation to start ups.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

That traditional demographic traits were no longer sufficient in every field. I am sure there are some areas were traditional style demographics are completely sufficient.

Customer Interviews No. 3

For this round of interviews, I did what was asked, and was pleasantly surprised at the feedback I got. I gave them the note card that outlined the business concept of scooter covers and each time I got good responses to the idea. Some criticisms but overall everything was good. I didn't ask to many questions besides that unless they had questions about it. Purpose of that was to try and get a look at what the customer was thinking and go from there. Although I don't plan on making this my life career, I have learned that people are definitely willing to have covers for scooters. Someone to needs to supply that demand.

Week 6 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

I by no means was expecting the author to somehow relate different industries based off of the underlying structure of them. Also how it was stated that industries forces are intense, making a profit is difficult and if the forces are benign companies can make a profit much easier. I would have never known that so it was very interesting to read about.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

The overall point seemed vague at first, and how exactly different industries have different factors in terms of profitability was slightly confusing. I understand some industries are difficult to enter (common economics) however once the author went in depth I became a bit lost for awhile.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

If it is so clear that is difficult to enter certain industries and make a profit, then why are companies trying to do just that? 

How exactly can some industries be so much more profitable than the airline industry for example. Airlines chug out billions in profit annually.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

There was nothing I exactly disagreed with. However, several of the things that were stated I do not particularly agree with either. Im not one to formulate opinions based off of one article, especially when things involves economics.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1) You.

My name is Anan Samuel Lagana. I am half American half Thai. I'm a freshman here at the University of Florida majoring in Business Administration with a possible goal of a minor in entrepreneurship. Some of my talents include being skilled at tennis, golf, and downhill long boarding. I am able to make connections with people relatively easily. Some of my experiences are working as a sales associate at Brookstone, running a concession stand, and as a Database Systems Administrator at Culinary Systems, Inc. My goals in life can be narrowed down to one thing: being happy. To go into more details, I hope to own my own business (do not like the idea of working in a cube or under someone in a repetitive lifestyle), I hope to have a family of 2-4 kid and a wonderful wife. Hopefully having the financial stability to be able to provide my family with the life is accustomed to, making sure my parents are good to go, and of course loving what I do. If I started a business regarding scooter covers, I would without a doubt expand it to deal with more things. Whether it is becoming a scooter dealer or having more innovative products in similar industries. It would completely change my life.

2) What are you offering to customers?

An all purpose weather cover for scooters here in Gainesville. Protect against the elements for scooters stored outside, thus increasing the longevity of the scooter.

3) Who are you offering it to?

College students. Specifically college students who own scooters. All my customers are college students, because college students make up the vast majority of the people who will buy scooters.

4) Why do they care?

Customers will pay money for my product because they spent a minimum $1000 on a brand new scooter and they'll want to protect their investment. If my product can ensure that the scooter will last longer, then customers will be willing to pay it.

5) What are your core competencies?

With weather covers already in existence, I will win out with reliability, price and ease of use. I have the ability to talk to scooter owners and dealers in regards to scooters.

The elements go together relatively well however there is one aspect of my product I need to solve. How do I prevent the covers from getting stolen? Or make them cheap enough to the point where if they are stolen, people won't fret over buying another one. Aside from that everything falls into place. There are scooters in Gainesville, there aren't many scooter covers.

Interviewing Customers No. 2

My opportunity is as simple is this: hundreds (perhaps thousands) of scooters around Gainesville are parked outside with no form of protection on them. Thus I should create a product that will do just that. After the first round of interviews, I realized I should've asked people what exactly they would want in a weather cover. So that is what I did. As far as fine tuning who I interviewed, I did not change much just yet. I stuck to walking around a dorm and interviewing people who were looking to purchase a scooter or who were interested in it. Then I proceeded to get their feedback on the potential product. If we have a round three of interviewing, I will undoubtedly go to actual scooter owners. Not potential scooter owners. I asked very similar questions however I made sure to ask what the potential customers wanted in a weather cover. After 10 interviews, I still think it's a decent idea. Certainly not what I plan to do with my life down the road, but it is indeed and opportunity that has yet to be seized. Their are already weather covers in existence, yet for some reason there are hardly any weather covers on scooters around campus. Three tips I would have for future students about interviewing people are 1) Don't be shy. As a potential entrepreneur, people skills are essential to success. 2) Be prepared to have interviews go in all sorts of directions, not exactly following your questions. 3) Be polite and explain your situation and most of the time people will have no issue sparing a few minutes to answer a few questions.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

Nothing specifically came as a surprise (although the 600 thousand new firms and 375 patent applications per year initially surprised me, in hindsight it made sense), however the all the little details combined were almost overwhelming to me. The finite details of a new venture start up and all that needs to be accounted for. It almost makes me feel as if I don't want to leap into the whole mess (likely because I still have to learn all the details to everything).

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

The feasibility approach and its specific activities were confusing simply because I do not understand many of the criteria that were stated. I have yet to learn about finance and marketing feasibility in school therefore I was not able to properly understand many aspects of the feasibility approach. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

-With all the steps needed towards a venture start up, do you think it is worth it to leave a steady income in order to start up a company?
-Is it crucial that an entrepreneur understands every aspect of things outlined in the chapter? Or is "learning by doing" okay as well?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

In regards to the "Phases in New-Venture Start-ups", the author says the Poststart-up Phase ends with the venture is terminated or the entity is no longer controlled by an entrepreneur. I disagree with the latter portion. An entrepreneur can have complete control of his/her company and still have it deemed successful.

Elevator Pitch No. 1

The opportunity I saw was that there are scooters all over Gainesville, usually outside. However almost none of these scooters have any kind of protection on them from mother nature. This causes scooters to deteriorate very quickly. My solution is the Protectoscoot by Lagana & company. The Protectoscoot is an all purpose weather cover for scooters. Unless other weather covers on the market, the Protectoscoot goes on and off in a matter of seconds and easily fits right into the storage compartment. It's cheap yet reliable and will undoubtedly increase the longevity of your scooter.