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