30A – Final Reflection

What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

Probably the most formative experience during this class is the one I gained from 22A Growing your social capital, in which I had to speak to people that could be my allies and business partners, it pushed me out of me comfort zone. My most joyous was 29A Venture Concept 2 because it was all the work I've been doing all semester put into one document, it was really rewarding. The one I'm most proud of is my last elevator pitch because I feel like it showed my growth.

At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

I definitely think that I have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset because of all the exercises I have done and been through in order to grow my idea to its fullest potential. I think this class has strengthened me and made me a better business student.

What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

I would recommend that everyone in this class use their time wisely and make schedules for themselves, because sometimes the assignments take a long time. In order to do this I think it's best to look at the assignments on Monday, and then schedule out when you are going to complete them and make sure you stick to that schedule. 

29A – Venture Concept No. 2

1. Easy Seating

Opportunity: My opportunity lies within the libraries on campus and I seek to eliminate the wasted time and energy college students exert while looking for seats to study in. The people who have this need are college students, especially those who study in groups, who need a seat to sit in in the library but don’t want to walk around all of the desks and through all the floors looking for the perfect spot. The nature of this need comes from the desire for convenience and the hatred of wasted time. College students, more than other demographics, hate wasting their time and live for easy solutions, my opportunity will bring convenience to their lives. The forces that create this opportunity is the lack of a system already in place in the library that can tell students where people are sitting. Also, another force is how large Marston and Lib West are, because of their size it is annoying to walk around looking for seats and becomes a huge waste of time really quick, because of their size it gives the perfect opportunity to create this system. This market can be defined as UF students who live in Gainesville, but also tutors and other people who use the library for their own needs. The ages can be around 18-26, depending on the year of the student. Currently, customers don’t really have a satisfying way to deal with this need, they just walk around the library until a spot is found, I don’t think they are loyal to this way of satisfaction. I think this opportunity is really big because this isn’t a problem that will go away overnight, it needs someone to intervene and create a system. This window of opportunity will be open for as long as Marston and Lib West are running.

Innovation: My idea is a system in Marston and Lib West that will make it easier and more convenient to find seating. It will be a system of sensors within the chairs of the library that can register when a seat is occupied, and on a website it can show UF students which seats are occupied or vacant on each floor of the library. The sensors will register weights of 70 lbs and above so as not to mistake backpacks or books as students using the seats. Also, the information for this system will be found on the website in which UF students already use to rent rooms at the libraries so it is not confusing and I’m not adding another element to students’ lives. I would be selling this idea to the students and be getting donations and funds from them in the sake that this idea alleviates some of their wasted time and frustration.

Venture Concept: My innovation will solve and address the opportunity I identified because it will allow UF students to look online and see where they can sit instead of walking around aimlessly. Now they can find the perfect spot just by looking on their phone, saving so much time and wasted energy. Customers will buy my innovation because they hate wasting time. I think customers would use this product because right now there are no alternatives, they need a system. There are no competitors at the moment. The weaknesses and vulnerabilities are the costs. I think customers will help a lot with the fundraising.

I think what will make it hard for my competitors to copy my idea is my prior experience with fundraising and raising money for a long period of time in order to achieve a goal. I worked for 18 months to raise money for women’s shelters across the Tampa area by selling stickers, collecting money, and collecting supplies to donate.

I don’t know what would be my next venture, probably something targeted at the convenience of college students too because I think it is a really good area to exploit and gain opportunities from.

Within five years of my venture, I hope I’d be in other schools by now, not just on UF campus, I feel like this idea can help a lot of schools nationwide, because every school has libraries and students that want fast seating. I want to sell my product after 10-15 years to someone else after I have hopefully expanded across the states and possibly even to other countries.

2. I actually didn't receive any feedback on what I should change in my venture concept so I didn't really change it much, the only changes I made are for what I'm going to do in the future. I stated I am going to sell my product in 10-15 years.

3. I changed it and said I am going to sell my product because I don't know the state of society and technology so I may be a bust in the future, that is why I want it out of my hands and I just want to be in the business when it is growing and thriving.

4. 

28A – Your Exit Strategy

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children?

My business is going to start in the libraries within the campus of UF, and then hopefully over the years I'd like to expand my business to other schools in the states, and maybe even out of the country. I will probably keep my business for about 10-15 years and then sell it. 

2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

I have chosen this exit strategy because I don't know what libraries will look like in 10-15 due to the fast movement of technology in our society. Obviously students will need a place to study, but I just don't know if that will be in the libraries in the future. That is why I want to sell my business and make profit while I can.

3) How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? For instance, has it influenced how you have identified an opportunity? Has it influenced your growth intentions or how you plan to acquire and use resources?

I don't think my exit strategy influenced how I made my concept or how I identified my opportunity. If anything it just reflects my idea, because my idea is about convenience and my exit strategy benefits the convenience of me. I just want to expand my business and make it big before I sell it.

27A – Reading Reflection No. 3

1. What was the general theme or argument of the book?
I read How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big. by Scott Adams The theme is that you shouldn't be discouraged or get down because of your failures, because in the end they are helping you find success and solutions to what you've been failing at. He also talks specifically about tips and strategies for finding success, and tips for being happy and your best self. 

2. How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
I think this book really emphasized what Prof. Pryor talks about in lectures a lot, which is your first attempt is never going to be a success, businesses and entrepreneurship is about trial and error and I think this book reflects that perfectly. This book reflects in class how we learn to take our failures and make them into lessons.

3. If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
If I were to design an exercise for this class, I would have people track their failures each day for a week in a journal, and at the end of the week look back at the journal and see if they could derive any lessons or positives out of them.

4. 4. What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

One of the biggest surprises I experienced when reading this story is the parts where Adams talked about being your best self and how it's okay to put yourself first at times if it'll benefit you. I just wasn't expecting to read something like that in this book, I really enjoyed it.

26A – Celebrating Failure

1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time. 

One time I failed this semester was on a Saturday morning at 10 AM when I had an interview at the Chipotle on University. I go out almost every Friday to clubs or parties with my friends, but I knew this Friday I couldn't go out because I had to be well-rested for my interview. My first mistake was letting my friends convince me to go out. I told them I'd go out with them but I wouldn't drink because I had my interview. My next mistake was then drinking, I let my friends convince me to drink which I should not have. My final mistake was drinking so much that I ended up blacking out and not remembering a majority of the night. Apparently I ended up home at about 7 AM and showed up to the interview still drunk. Needless to say, I did not get the job.

2) Tell us what you learned from it.  

I learned that I shouldn't let my friends convince me to do things that I know I shouldn't be doing in the first place. I think lesson was about self control. 

3) Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn't it? It's embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failure (emotionally, behaviorally). Finally, talk about how this class has changed your perspective on failure -- are you more likely to take a risk now than you were just a few months ago?

I don't think that failure necessarily has to mean a bad thing, I think that they can be learning experiences and means in which to find the right solution. At times though, I do get down from failure and I let it affect my attitude, which I shouldn't. Behaviorally, I tend to shut down when I fail. this class has definitely made me more open to taking risks and possibly failing. 

25A – What’s Next?

Existing Market
Step 1: Talk about what you think is what's next in terms of products and services for your venture.
I think what's next is taking my idea out of UF and spreading it to other universities across the United States. The opportunity I'm looking to expand in isn't one that just happens at UF, it happens at colleges nationwide. That's why I want my idea of implementing a system into libraries in which you can know what seats are occupied or taken at all times to be in libraries all across the United States.

Step 2: Interview three customers who are already part of the market you have identified, and ask them what they believe is next for a venture like yours. Describe to them your business, and simply ask "What should we be doing that we aren't planning to do?" Next, ask them about your ideas of what customers might want next. 
The people I interviewed believed that my idea could make it nationwide because it is a problem that plagues all colleges across campus. They said they thought it was a good idea to start at one school, UF, to test how it goes and then to go across the rest of the states with my idea. They said that convenience is a thing that people want all around the world and that need isn't going to go away until a system is put in place to help them.

Step 3: Based on your own expectations and the feedback you received from customers, set a path for the future. In two to three paragraphs, describe what makes the most sense for your venture in terms of growing in your existing market.
I think what makes the most sense for my venture in terms of growing my existing market is to go to new schools around the country and show them my results that I've had at UF. I would probably starts at schools like USF and FSU because they are close and I could easily get that done and show them what I did at my school.
Next I would go out of state and make my way across the country to spread my idea. I would gain money from the schools in Florida and that would allow me to go all across the country and spread my idea to the different libraries across the nation. It's even possible that I don't have to just do college libraries, but could do regular libraries as well.

New Market
Step 1: Identify a radically different market from what you're currently planning to target. If you're currently targeting B2B, think about going after a B2C market. If you're currently targeting an affluent part of society, think about targeting a very poor part of society.
A radically different market from what I'm currently planning to target would be people without a need for convenience and people who already have a solution to wasted time and energy, such as people who rent rooms in the library.

Step 2: Once you have identified a radically different market, describe how you think your venture concept might be able to create value for people in that market. You may have to get creative with this -- that's OK -- and perfectly welcome!
My venture might be able to create value for people in this market because there could be times when all the rooms in the library are already rented and they didn't get the chance to grab one, in this instance they would have to use my product to find a nice place to study in the library.

Step 3: Interview two people from this new market. Again, describe to each interviewee what your concept is. Then, ask them how they think your business might be help to meet customers like them. What kinds of adaptations to the product/service mix do they think you should make to be successful in this new market? 
I interviewed people who rent rooms in the libraries and asked them what they do in the cases in which there are no rooms available for the times that they want. They said they just sit in the regular spots in the library. I then asked them if they had to sit regularly in the library, would they use my product to find seats? They said yes because it would save them time and be able to find them convenient seats. So, my product could be used for this group of people, but only if their first solution for the problem of convenience didn't work.

Step 4:  Reflect, in two to three paragraphs, on what you learned about this new market. What surprised you the most? Were any of your expectations/assumptions correct? Does this new market, on second thought, appear to be as attractive as your existing market? And so on. 
I learned from this new market that I am even able to target people who aren't necessarily in my own targeted market, it only happens when their first solution doesn't work, but at least it happens. I can extend my opportunity to them and grow my business. 
This market isn't as attractive as my existing market because they aren't guaranteed to use my product every time, but it is still surprising they would use it at all. My expectations and assumptions about this new market were definitely incorrect.

24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Easy Seating

Opportunity: My opportunity lies within the libraries on campus and I seek to eliminate the wasted time and energy college students exert while looking for seats to study in. The people who have this need are college students, especially those who study in groups, who need a seat to sit in in the library but don’t want to walk around all of the desks and through all the floors looking for the perfect spot. The nature of this need comes from the desire for convenience and the hatred of wasted time. College students, more than other demographics, hate wasting their time and live for easy solutions, my opportunity will bring convenience to their lives. The forces that create this opportunity is the lack of a system already in place in the library that can tell students where people are sitting. Also, another force is how large Marston and Lib West are, because of their size it is annoying to walk around looking for seats and becomes a huge waste of time really quick, because of their size it gives the perfect opportunity to create this system. This market can be defined as UF students who live in Gainesville, but also tutors and other people who use the library for their own needs. The ages can be around 18-26, depending on the year of the student. Currently, customers don’t really have a satisfying way to deal with this need, they just walk around the library until a spot is found, I don’t think they are loyal to this way of satisfaction. I think this opportunity is really big because this isn’t a problem that will go away overnight, it needs someone to intervene and create a system. This window of opportunity will be open for as long as Marston and Lib West are running.

Innovation: My idea is a system in Marston and Lib West that will make it easier and more convenient to find seating. It will be a system of sensors within the chairs of the library that can register when a seat is occupied, and on a website it can show UF students which seats are occupied or vacant on each floor of the library. The sensors will register weights of 70 lbs and above so as not to mistake backpacks or books as students using the seats. Also, the information for this system will be found on the website in which UF students already use to rent rooms at the libraries so it is not confusing and I’m not adding another element to students’ lives. I would be selling this idea to the students and be getting donations and funds from them in the sake that this idea alleviates some of their wasted time and frustration.

Venture Concept: My innovation will solve and address the opportunity I identified because it will allow UF students to look online and see where they can sit instead of walking around aimlessly. Now they can find the perfect spot just by looking on their phone, saving so much time and wasted energy. Customers will buy my innovation because they hate wasting time. I think customers would use this product because right now there are no alternatives, they need a system. There are no competitors at the moment. The weaknesses and vulnerabilities are the costs. I think customers will help a lot with the fundraising.

I think what will make it hard for my competitors to copy my idea is my prior experience with fundraising and raising money for a long period of time in order to achieve a goal. I worked for 18 months to raise money for women’s shelters across the Tampa area by selling stickers, collecting money, and collecting supplies to donate.

I don’t know what would be my next venture, probably something targeted at the convenience of college students too because I think it is a really good area to exploit and gain opportunities from.

Within five years of my venture, I hope I’d be in other schools by now, not just on UF campus, I feel like this idea can help a lot of schools nationwide, because every school has libraries and students that want fast seating.

23A – Your Venture’s Unfair Advantage

1. Experience working in a long term group to raise money: For 18 months I worked with five other girls and created plans, schedules, and tactics in order to raise monetary and physical donations for different women's shelters in the Tampa area. We did bake sales, collected donations, and sold stickers in order to raise money for the women.

• Valuable: This is extremely valuable because it proves that I can work hard in order to achieve a goal.
• Rare: This isn't that rare as other people are able to do the same thing.
• Inimitable: Some aspects of this can be imitated, but others such as us selling stickers cannot be because we created a unique design.
• Non-substitutable-I could have hired people to do the same task for me, but I like hands-on better.

2. Opportunity of my product: I think my opportunity is really good because it looks to eliminate wasted time and I think that is something everyone is on board with.

• Valuable: This is valuable because everyone hates to waste their time.
• Rare: This isn't rare because there are thousands of products that seek to make things more convenient for others, but mine is the only one that would help specifically in Marston or Lib West.
• Inimitable: I don't think this could be done in another way by other people, I think mine is the most efficient.
• Non-substitutable- This cannot be substituted in a way that would be more efficient than my system.

3. Social Capital with Study Edge- I talked to people at Study Edge that helped me understand more about the convenience that college students seek.

• Valuable: This is valuable because it was a firsthand look into someone that works within the opportunity I am seeking.
• Rare: This isn't rare, anyone can talk to them.
• Inimitable: I don't think anyone at UF really has the experience and knowledge Study Edge tutors have on college students.
• Non-substitutable- I think that the knowledge that I gained from Study Edge that cannot be matched.

4. Social Capital with librarians- I talked to librarians at Marston to find out more about how college students operate in libraries because this is where I seek to use my opportunity.

• Valuable-I think this is valuable because they work where I want to expand my business.
• Rare- This isn't rare because anyone can talk to the librarians.
• Inimitable-I don't think this is inimitable because these librarians can see firsthand how college students behave.
• Non-substitutable-I wouldn't trade the information I learned from the librarians for anything else.

5. Being a college student myself-I know firsthand how we hate wasting time and hate the current system or lack thereof in the library.

• Valuable- I think this is valuable because I can relate to my costumers.
• Rare-Not rare at all
• Inimitable-You have to be a college student to really relate.
• Non-substitutable-Without this experience, I wouldn't even have an opportunity

6. Social Capital with students- I think students would get behind my idea

• Valuable-Yes because I need them for this idea to thrive
• Rare-no
• Inimitable-No, because they are the ones that would use my product
• Non-substitutable-Without them I wouldn't have an opportunity

7. Knowledge of a system-throughout this semester I have fine-tuned how I want my system to be put in place in the libraries

•  Valuable-Yes because it helped me with my idea
• Rare-Not rare, anyone can make a system
• Inimitable-My system can be copied
• Non-substitutable-I wouldn't change it

9. Publicity- I can put out posters around school and make an Instagram page, because that is how news gets spread about things that go on around campus.

•  Valuable-Yes because it will help get the word out
• Rare-No
• Inimitable-Yes
• Non-substitutable-It'd be my best bet to get the word out

10. Social capital of other entrepreneurs- I talked to other entrepreneurs in order to help me with how I'd get my idea of the ground.

•  Valuable-Yes, it helped me create my idea more specifically
• Rare-No
• Inimitable-No, they have experience so they can relate to my problems
• Non-substitutable-I wouldn't trade the information they gave me

After doing this VRIN I'd say that my best resources are my contacts at Study Edge and at the library because they experience college students everyday, especially in my opportunity circle which are college students looking for convenience and looking to not waste any of their time anymore. I think the advice that I get from them can help me with my opportunity.

 

22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3

A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. Describe what stood out to you as important, what feedback surprised you the most, what feedback you think was outright wrong or silly or amazing and inciteful. 

What stood out to me the most was the comment that in my last video that I needed to make more eye contact and it was easy to tell that I was reading off a script which I was oops;) So this time I didn't use a script and tried to make it more personal. I enjoyed reading the feedback of people who said they would actually use my idea and they thought it was a good solution.

 What did you change, based on the feedback?
Like I said before, this time I didn't use a script, I just went off memorization and spoke more freely. I think this helped me be more personal and show more interest in my idea. I am definitely more comfortable on my third time filming this than I was the first time. My time was longer this time since I wasn't reading off a script and I had to think about what I was saying more but overall I think I improved thanks to the feedback from other students.

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

I read "The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users" by Guy Kawasaki

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

This book was about the emphasis on social media that businesses should focus on in order to get their name out their more, advertise their brand, and gain more attention.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

I think this book definitely connected with what I am learning in class because it focused on the stress of social media in order to promote your business and in class we have been learning about how to get your name out their and how to attract attention to your business. I think it enhanced what I am learning because it went into more specifics than the class usually does and focuses on topics more in depth.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

My assignment I would create for this book would be to make a social media page, either Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram for the opportunity we have been using for most of our assignments and use specific strategies and tactics from this book in order to make your page successful.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

My biggest surprise I learned from reading this book was that Pinterest is the second most popular website used to promote oneself. I would have assumed Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram because I do not hear people talk about Pinterest often at all.

20A – Growing Your Social Capital

One person must be a domain expert in your industry.

1) Who they are and what their background is.

I talked to a person who works at Study Edge as a teacher, I am choosing not to put their name in this post as Study Edge is used by a lot of UF students. They teach various math courses the Study Edge building and have experience teaching and have a degree in mathematics.

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

This person fills the domain expert slot because they work also to serve the convenience of college students. A lot of the people I know, including myself, use Study Edge to study for exams that I did no work for over the semester but need to cram the information in my brain before the test. This is convenient because instead of wasting time during the semester when I can just get it done in a couple hours because of Study Edge. I am also looking to work for the convenience of college students with my product, so I think this Study Edge contact works well. 

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

I found this person at a Study Edge review I went to the other day for an exam I have coming up. I talked to him after the review and asked about his business.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

This person talked about how, especially with college students, people want convenience and fast things so that's why his business is so successful. We talked about how no one wants to waste their time and energy when there is a better alternative. He helped me realize more about the convenience of people.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

I feel like this person will be useful to me because he can teach me about what consumers want, especially college students. He will help me exploit my opportunity.

 One person must be an expert on your market.

1) Who they are and what their background is.

I chose a librarian for this role, they've been a librarian for over ten years at UF.

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

This person is a market expert because they have been doing "research" on college students for over a decade and sees their behavior.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

 I just went to Marston and asked around for a librarian I could talk to about my product.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

I talked about how college students behave in the library and she said that she sees a lot of students wandering around looking for seats for them and their friends a lot of the time, looking annoyed and stressed out. She helped me learn more about their behavior.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

Having this person in my network will enhance my ability to exploit my opportunity because she gives me an insight on my consumer behavior and their habits.

One person must be an important supplier to your industry.

1) Who they are and what their background is.

I interviewed a Starbucks worker at Marston, she's worked there for a couple months. 

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

This person is a supplier because they literally sell to people studying at Marston.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

I was at Starbucks buying a drink and I talked to someone cleaning the condiment bar.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

I talked to this person about how college students act and we talked about how they have Tapingo at the Starbucks and how that's based on college students wanting convenience. 

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

This person will help in my network and enhance my ability to exploit my opportunity because they work exactly where I would place my product and see college student behavior.

Finally: Reflect. This experience requires you to do a little 'targeted networking.' How will this experience shape how you participate in any future networking events? Did this experience differ from your networking experiences in the past? How?
This experience helped shape how I will participate in future networking events because it allowed me to see the power that having contacts has and how important it is to know people in your industry. I've never really networked in the past so this was an interesting learning experience that I think I really benefited from.

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1.  You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?
My name is Teagan Levee. I'm a freshman at UF and as of now I'm majoring in general business and either minoring or getting a certificate in Spanish. I'm minoring in Spanish because I love the language and love learning about new cultures, I want to learn more languages in my life. I like convenience so that was a big inspiration for my business. I want my business to make the lives of college students easier than before, eliminating wasted time and energy. From my feedback I've found that this idea will play a major role in a lot of people's lives because my consumers, like me, also don't like to waste time and value convenience. My feedback was a lot of people relating to me about the time they've wasted looking through the libraries for seats and how they would value a product like the one I am putting forward.

2. What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs)
I am offering to customers convenience. My product would offer a way to know which seats are currently occupied or vacant at Marston, so that people with large study groups can know beforehand if they can find a table or not. I am offering consumers something that will conserve their energy and time, because instead of searching throughout the whole library for a table, and sometimes not even finding one, now they will know where to sit. From feedback, I've also tweaked my idea to be presented on the website in which students can rent rooms at the library so that there wouldn't be a need for an extra app or website, making it even more convenient. Also I developed the idea that I will use sensors in the chairs so that it will register when people sit in them, registering weights of about 70 lbs or more so that backpacks aren't counted as people. I chose this instead of switches that people would turn on or off when they sat down or got up because in my interviews people said that they could easily be forgotten and chairs could register as occupied when they are vacant and vice versa.

3. Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?
At first I geared this idea towards to UF students on campus who enjoy to study in groups, mostly during midterm and finals weeks when the library is the busiest. They will be aged 18-22 usually and have a focus on their academics. They all have the goal of having a calming and nice study place to get work done. After interviews I realized that this product will also be used by people who live off campus who want to use the library, either during times when they are on campus in between classes, or just at times when they want to use the library in general. I also realized that this product doesn't have to be for study groups, it can be for singular people who just want to find a place to sit quickly, rather than walking around for a long time.

4. Why do they care? My customers care because everyone hates to waste time and energy for nothing. I'm sure they would much rather prefer simply looking at a website and seeing what seats are available in place of the current system, which is going on all of the floors of the library and walking around all the rooms until seats can be found. This was my first response in Idea Napkin No. 2, and I've found that this is the main reason and concern of consumers using my product, I wouldn't change what I said and feedback has backed that up.

5. What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 
I think what sets me apart from everyone else, is that I am actually a student who has experienced this problem, so I can relate to how it's a "bug" and be able to offer a solution that would actually work. The thing that frustrates me the most is when people made products that they wouldn't actually use in their everyday life so they don't care if it works as well as it could or not, but with my product I would use it and I would strive to make it the best. I think that my feedback helped me realize that this idea is really important to me and creating a more convenient and easy way of studying is a goal I have that I want to share with everyone at my school.

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

My customer is a typical student at UF, probably lives in the dorms and that's why he/she needs to study in the library. My customer can be of any gender, it doesn't matter. My customer is a regular student who enjoys Netflix, going out, but also knows when it's time to study and get schoolwork done, that's why they use my product to know when seats at the library are being occupied or are vacant. They are between 18-22. I said it's probable that they live in the dorms, but they could be a student who lives in an apartment that has time to kill in between classes and wants to study at the library before their next class or club meeting.

I have in common with my avatar that I live on campus and I like to go to the library to study, while maintaining other activities outside of studying. I think that this avatar can relate to a lot of students at UF. I have similar interests of watching Netflix and going out and share the same age range.

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

Reflection: Most of my feedback was really useful, especially the people that said I spoke too fast. Whenever I have a presentation or am nervous about something, I tend to speak really fast and not notice it until someone else points it out so it was very helpful and informative to see the comments that said I spoke too fast.

What did I change? I changed the speed of my voice, and this allowed me to, I think, get my points across better because in my last post someone said they had to rewind the video because I was speaking too fast. I also added more details into my presentation that I didn't have before but I since developed from doing the other exercises.

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

Five ways in which I think I have Human Capital:

1. Time Management-In high school, I worked 40 hour work weeks while being in a rigorous academic program with lots of homework, tests, and time needed to study, but I always ended up getting my stuff done on time while being supervisor of a smoothie shop because of my time management skills. I would make schedules for myself and make sure I was making the best use out of the free time I had.

2. Driven-I am a very driven person and I don't stop until a goal is completed. I hate leaving a job halfway done and always want to finish my work. I think this works in my favor and allows me to be a stronger person.

3. Empathy- I am a very sensitive person, and sometimes this works against me, but for the most part it allows me to relate with others on a more personal level and be able to create stronger bonds. I feel like my empathy and sensitivity is a strong trait to have that allows me to see more human connections.

4. Exploration- I like to try new things all the time and am not afraid about taking on a new challenge or doing something I've never done before. This allows me to experience new opportunities and learn from them while strengthening myself.

5. Leader- I think that being a leader allows me to be stronger because it allows me to take responsibility for my choices and stand behind them. 

Interview the five people who know you the best.

https://soundcloud.com/user-340846047/sets

Reflect on the differences

My friend Anita commented on the same thing that I did about how I have good time management, especially with my job and being in IB. My friend Lei talked about how I was a positive impact in her life and have a good heart and that wasn't something I was expecting. I wouldn't make corrections to my list.

15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Report findings and draw conclusions:

These interviews made me narrow down my idea more because at first I wasn't sure if I should have buttons that people press or sensors in the chairs that let people know when seats are being used in the library. All of the people I interviewed favored the idea of sensors because buttons could cause problems. In my first interview, a girl said that it's possible that people will forget to press the button when they sit down or possibly even forget to turn it off after they leave, making the seat appear used when it's vacant in reality. So this is why I think that I've narrowed my product into sensors that sense the weight of people sitting in chairs in the library. But this brings me to another problem that my second interviewee brought up. This boy said that there needs to be a weight minimum on the sensors because he goes to Marston a lot and says that very often people put their backpacks on chairs next to them. This would cause the problem of seats on the website appearing used, when they are just filled by a backpack. So, I think that I would need a weight minimum of somewhere around 90-100lbs on the sensors to know when an actual person is sitting in the chair, not just someone's belongings. My interviewees liked the idea of the vacancy/occupancy appearing on the Marston website where people rent rooms because that avoids the extra step of having to download a separate app or going to another website. I've also been hearing about people avoiding the problem of not finding a seat in Marston by renting rooms, so I wanted to ask my interviewees about this. One boy says that he tries to rent rooms but a lot of the time they are already reserved so he has to end up sitting in the library regularly. This made me feel more confident with my idea because, although renting rooms is a solution, it cannot always be done and a lot of times the rooms are already going to be reserved. Overall, I learned a lot from my interviews and they helped me narrow down my idea.

14A – Halfway Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 

For this course I've learned to look ahead. Some assignments take a couple hours, whereas some are really quick. In order to know when I'm going to do each assignment, I look at the assignment ahead of time and depending on the difficulty, I set a schedule for myself and when I'm going to do it. Also, for the Cupcakes I've learned to take notes on the information I think would be most important on the test. 

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

I've wanted to give up before and instead just sleep or go out, but then I just think to myself about what is more important, spending a hour or two on homework or wasting my time doing something unproductive. I feel like this course has allowed me to put things into perspective more.

3) Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

1. Make a schedule for yourself and stick to it.

2. Know what you can and cannot do, and base your workload off of that.

3. Join the GroupMe, help and get help from others!

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

1. You read about an entrepreneur: I read about Steve Jobs

• What surprised you the most?

One of the things that surprised the most about Steve Jobs was his use of LSD. Before reading this I wasn't really aware about Steve Jobs' story so it just surprised me a little and I thought it was an interesting fact to include.

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

What I admired the most about Jobs was his mindset of not giving up, no matter what obstacle or hindrance that got in the way, he kept going until he could finish what he set out to finish.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

In the book it sometimes seemed like Jobs had trouble working with others, and to be an entrepreneur I think that's a huge problem, teamwork and communication is necessary.

• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Yes, at first Jobs' businesses and ideas didn't take off, but like I mentioned earlier he had the mindset of not giving up and that's what allowed him to become successful.

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

I noticed his perseverance and his attitude of never quitting until his goal has been reached. Having this way of thinking really was, in my opinion, what made him have his success.

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

I was confused about his family situation, and why he didn't see his family over college.

4.  If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

"How did you maintain the mindset of perseverance despite the obstacles?"

"Were there any moments of self doubt were you almost quit?"

 

5. ) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

Steve Jobs' opinion of hard work is setting goals and achieving them no matter how much time, effort, or resources it takes. I definitely share this opinion, especially if it is a product that you have passion for.

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Pick a segment:

For my segment I chose people who live off of campus, but use the library during the day. 

Report the findings of your search: 

I decided to choose this segment for my interviews because, from my earlier research, I found that most people who would benefit from my product would be people who live on campus since they usually use the library late at night, and that's when I assumed it was most busy. But, from my interviews with this segment I found out that the library is also very busy during the days when midterms and exams draw near. I found out that people who live off campus usually go to the library in between classes rather than going back home to their apartments, and in the library they sometimes have a hard time finding seats and have to search all the floors and rooms. This segment said that they would benefit from a website which tells them which seats at the library are vacant or occupied.

Draw conclusions:

From this segment, I've learned that my possibility for consumers is bigger and that more people than I assumed previously share the same need and would like an opportunity to eliminate this bug. I would describe this segment as all having the need of convenience and a desire to not waste time when it could be solved by an easy website being made. 

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1. You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life? 

My name is Teagan Levee. I'm a freshman at UF and as of now I'm majoring in general business and either minoring or getting a certificate in Spanish. I'm minoring in Spanish because I love the language and love learning about new cultures, I want to learn more languages in my life. I like convenience so that was a big inspiration for my business. I want my business to make the lives of college students easier than before, eliminating wasted time and energy. 

2. What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs)

I am offering to customers convenience. My product would offer a way to know which seats are currently occupied or vacant at Marston, so that people with large study groups can know beforehand if they can find a table or not. I am offering consumers something that will conserve their energy and time, because instead of searching throughout the whole library for a table, and sometimes not even finding one, now they will know where to sit.

3. Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common? 

I am offering this to students who attend UF that like to study in groups, especially during the times of finals and midterms when the library is really busy. During this whole product idea I've been saying it's for Marston but it could easily be applied to Newell or Lib West too. This is probably for students who live on campus, since they are the ones that use the library more during the night, but it can also be for students who live on campus and use the library during the day. All of my customers have in common the need to know where to sit and if it's even possible to fit their study group, with my product I am providing them with that.

4. Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service

My customers care because everyone hates to waste time and energy for nothing. I'm sure they would much rather prefer simply looking at a website and seeing what seats are available in place of the current system, which is going on all of the floors of the library and walking around all the rooms until seats can be found.

5. What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has?  

I think what sets me apart from everyone else, is that I am actually a student who has experienced this problem, so I can relate to how it's a "bug" and be able to offer a solution that would actually work. The thing that frustrates me the most is when people made products that they wouldn't actually use in their everyday life so they don't care if it works as well as it could or not, but with my product I would use it and I would strive to make it the best.

In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others.  

I believe that these elements all fit together because I want to create a business that will alleviate stress to college students, that I can relate to on a person level. I think that being the same age demographic and in a similar situation as them, allows me to become a better entrepreneur because I am able to put myself in my consumers' shoes. I think my prospective customers and the reason for why they care about this product, will make them buy into it and seek to find out more about it.

10A – Elevator Pitch No. 1

rip me

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who: Through my interviews I have found people who, on the outside, seem as they would fit into my audience who needs this opportunity, but in reality they don't. I have found people who avoid the problem entirely by either studying in their dorms. These people don't need the opportunity that I can offer because they made opportunities for themselves. I found this out in my first set of interviews so I asked more people about it, and a lot of people seem to study in their rooms during midterm and finals weeks to avoid this problem. Also, what I found out from my first set of interviews is that people tend to rent rooms around the time of midterms and finals as well. These people, students who live on campus and need to study, seemingly would be part of my opportunity audience, but find their own solutions.

What: This need doesn't guarantee spaces in the library for students to study, it just guarantees them to know what seats are going to be available for them or not.

Why: I don't think the causes of the need of the outliers is different than people who are inside of the boundary, because at the end of the day, both groups just want a peaceful place to study. 

   

                                             Inside the Boundary                     Outside the Boundary

Who:                                   UF students who study                   UF students who rent study 

                                                  in Marston                                rooms or use their dorms

What:                      To know which seats are occupied             Guaranteed spots in the library

Why:                       The library gets very busy                   Some people rather have a guaranteed                                                                                 place rather than go to the library, so they use their dorms

8A Solving the Problem

1. Students who study in groups of more than three people cannot find seats in Marston around midterm and final weeks.

2. The idea is to create an app or a website in which students can see which seats are available and when they are taken in the library, such as how students can see which washing machines and dryers are being used in dormitories.

• This could be done on an app, but preferably on the website where UF students can already see which study rooms are being used at Marston. This would make things much smoother and easy because students wouldn't have to go to a new website. The knowledge of where people are sitting and which seats are available can be taken by sensors or by buttons that people press when they are seated. It would just have to be a system where their seating can be known electronically and directly sent to the website so others can know the availability.

7A Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Marston website to see available seating

• Opportunity: 
• Students at UF, usually around the time of midterms and finals, cannot find seats in Marston for study groups and waste their time looking because there is no way to know the availability of seating.
• The who: UF students who study in Marston
• The what: They are unable to see the seating availability in Marston
• The why: The wasted time and effort used because of the lack of availability
• Testing the who: Not only people at Marston have this problem, but also people at Library West. On an even bigger scale, this happens at college campuses across the United States and possibly even the globe. However, since I am a UF student I am looking to solve this problem for UF.
• Testing the what: This problem really only occurs during midterms and finals and it doesn't happen every day. Just when it does happen it's a huge annoyance and waste of time.
• Testing the why: I think that this opportunity is justified because it can stop the waste of time and effort because of the lack of a system to check the availability of seating.
• Interview #1: 
• In this interview I found that this person studies with a group of three other students and in fall 2018, she could not find space for four seats together in Marston and got super frustrated. I asked if they would like a form of knowing which seats were being used up at Marston at a certain time and she said thought it was a really good idea. She says it's not a huge problem but is definitely an annoyance.
• Interview #2:
• In this interview I found out that this person just rents a room at Marston to avoid the problem of not finding good seating arrangements. This person completely avoids the problem by finding a new solution and doesn't seek the opportunity of a system in which it can be known that people are sitting in specific seats.
• Interview #3:
• In this interview, I found out that this person chooses to study in his dorm study room during finals and midterms to avoid the chaos of Marston. Again, this person is using another way of avoiding the problem entirely and thus doesn't need to seek an opportunity of a system in which it can be known that people are sitting in specific seats.
• Interview #4: 
• In this interview, I interviewed a group of five people who have the similar problem of the girl I interviewed in the first one. They have huge trouble finding seats in Marston around midterm and final time. They also would like a system in which they could know the availability of the seating. They find it extremely frustrating walking through the library with their backpacks, ready to study, and can't even find a place to sit down and actually start studying.
• Interview #5:
• This interview was with someone who studies at Marston, but they study alone. This person can always find at least one seat at Marston and never finds the problem said in the problem statement. This just emphasizes the fact that the "who" in this opportunity is definitely groups of students, not just one person.
• Given your interviews, what do you know about your opportunity that you didn't know before?
• I know that some people can completely avoid their problems by either renting a room or just studying in one's own dorm study room. Also, I know that this opportunity has to only be targeted to groups, instead of solo studiers, because solo studiers will almost always find a seat to study, even in the most busy times of the semester.