Forming an Opportunity Belief

1. beginning point: My opportunity belief is that there needs to be a way to get a cracked phone screen fixed here on UF's campus.

2. What is the unmet need: It is a commonality for students to crack/shatter their phone screens. The problem is that there isn't a place on campus to get these phones easily fixed. Who has the need? Students at UF who have shattered phone screens or students who have a fluke accident that causes them to break their phone. Were did the need come from? It has always been around. To meet this need, people are needing to travel off campus to Archer Road to get their phones fixed at 3rd party stores such as GatorTech or ubreakifix.

Iteration #1
description: Someone with a small disposable income and who does not have a car or other modes of transportation to get their phone fixed elsewhere.

response: I talked to my roommate Morgan. She said that she has never experienced this need, however, she can see how many students on campus would experience it. She thought having an on campus phone repair service could be very helpful. She is aware that there is no place on campus to fix a phone, so to be proactive, she has invested in a stronger phone case to prevent it from breaking.

reflection: I learned that this opportunity may not apply to everyone and that some people are more proactive than others.

Iteration #2
description: someone who just recently shattered their phone screen and is probably frustrated about it

response: I talked to my friend Nick who recently broke his phone at the gym. He said that this could be a great opportunity because it would be faster and more convenient. If students dropped their phone off, within a few hours, their phone could be fixed. One of the issues of other stores is that it takes a few hours to get the phone fixed, you are left with time to kill in between, and you have to back and pick it up. If phones could be fixed on campus, students could just go to class or a meeting and come back to pick up their phone after.

reflection: I learned that the convenience factor could be something that would really get students on board with this opportunity.

Iteration #3
description: The average joe, who has no opinion on the matter. Just a random person that I could find to ask a few questions.

response: I was in class and asked the girl sitting next to me her thoughts on an on campus phone repair shop. She said that she could see both sides of people going and utilizing it and people who would not. She mentioned that an issue could be the price they would charge - meaning it could be very expensive. A solution she suggested was partnering with the Reitz Union apple retailer.

reflection: Price was something that I was curious about. I really appreciated her idea of partnering with the Reitz Apple retailer.

Reflection
After talking with some people, I came to the conclusion that the opportunity is there, but probably not very accessible or realistic. I think there is a need, but I don't think that people would utilize this service because the logistics and pricing would be difficult. I think there is a tradeoff between listening to your consumers and staying firm to what you want. Listening to others does provide insight to the gaps you may be missing, but staying firm also helps you stick to your original plan. I think it should be a 60:40 rule (60% staying firm and 40% listening to others).

identifying local opportunities

1. Train blocks part of Atlantic Avenue and Saturday night fun in Delray Beach 
link: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/delray-beach/fl-ne-delray-beach-train-atlantic-avenue-20200126-7p4y5pyukzcuzbpf7twzfcbwfq-story.html

Last Saturday night, a freight train got stuck in the middle of Atlantic Avenue. The train blocked off a roadway to downtown's bars, restaurants, and stores. As a solution, people began to jump over and through the train to get to the other side of the street. 

Problem: The train got stuck on the railroad tracks which blocked part of Atlantic Ave (downtown). The train got stuck because its engine broke down. 

Who has the problem: the train and the people downtown that it affected 

2.  5 things you need to know before you go to "Hamilton" in West Palm Beach or Miami
link: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/fl-et-liststory-hamilton-broadway-west-palm-beach-miami-20200123-2ikltgx46zbrtedjxlhpp2lcfi-list.html
"Hamilton" is coming to West Palm Beach and Miami, Florida this month. This article discusses things you need to know before you go and see the play. 

Problem: People don't know certain things before they see this play (how to get cheap tickets, what to do when you get there) 

Who has the problem: people who are uninformed and going to/want to see the play 


3. Frost Warning: How to protect your plants 
link: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/gateway-gazette/fl-cn-gardening-frost-protection-20200129-20200124-fasltonuuzg2pdhzamn2fgli2y-story.html

Florida had a recent cold front, which resulted in drops in temperatures that had an affect on plants. Some South Florida plants can't survive in this weather. This article talks about ways to protect your plants from the weather so that they do not freeze. 

Problem: plants in South Florida are freezing and dying from the cold front 

who has the problem: people who have plants that froze 

4. Schedule more self care in the new year 
link: https://bocanewspaper.com/schedule-more-self-care-in-the-new-year-28862

Self care is something important that we should all do. This article talks about ways that we can all give ourselves more self care and self love (prioritize sleep, self care, exercise daily, eat right, and get organized) 

problem: many of us do not know how to care for ourselves and often neglect it which can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression

who has the problem: most people who do not practice self care  

5. Virtual Reality Training helps humans spot mental health woes
link: https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200123/virtual-reality-training-helps-humans-spot-mental-health-woes

Travis had been posting sad things on social media, which caused his friends to become concerned. There is a virtual reality technology that can mimic scenarios with people struggling with mental health. The simulation can be used to train others in how to act in these situations to get people the help that they need. 

problem: many people do not know how to handle mental help and know how to give someone struggling the right help/advice 

who has the problem: people who are faced in these situations, doctors, health care providers, friends, therapists, etc.  

My entrepreneurship story

My first exposure to entrepreneurship was for an audition at my middle school (BAK Middle School of the Arts). We were prompted to create any imaginary product and an advertisement for it. I created "Dragon Breath Mouth Wash for Dogs" because my dog always had bad breath. It was a really fun project because I was able to create the bottle out of an old spray bottle and used clay to create a dragon head on top. This project made me think about a problem that I noticed and a way to come up with a solution. After I created the actual product, the next step was to create an ad for it. I created a single print ad for it by taking a picture of my dog in a dragon costume and photoshopping him next to the mouth wash bottle. Overall, this was a great experience for me.

I enrolled in this class (ENT3003) because I believe that learning entrepreneurship is a concept that everyone should understand. My parents were entrepreneurs too. I am excited to learn new skills, ways to think about the world, and most importantly, ways to solve some of the world's biggest problems. I am hoping to also gain a different perspective on the business world.

Here is a picture of my dog, Bentley, who inspired "Dragon Breath Mouth Wash for Dogs".

Bug List 2020

Bug list

1.  I live on University Avenue in Gainesville and every night around midnight, cars drive up university with the loudest exhaust sounds. The exhaust sounds drive me crazy of cars revving their engines.

a.     Why does this exist? Some people find the sound appealing and that It shows masculinity and power.

2.  Every time I go for a long distance run (5 miles+) my feet rub against my shoes and cause blisters on my toes and sides of my feet

a.     Why does this exist? Running long distances does cause friction and pressure on the feet – sometimes if shoes are too small or have too much toe space it can cause blisters. Another cause is the type of socks you wear – socks with no cushioning or socks that are too thin also don’t provide much support or protection against the rubbing.

3.  The lines to speak to recruiters at career showcase are too long, especially in the morning

a.     Why does this exist? Everyone wants to talk to the same employers at the same time… people are drawn to the same companies… the O’Connell center doesn’t have enough space for everyone to be there at once

4. I never receive packages on time at my apartment complex because The Standard delays it 2 days past the initial delivery date

a.     Why does this exist? The logistical system at my apartment complex is not efficient and the employees are lazy and do not sort packages when they get delivered.

5. The fan noise in my bathroom is too loud and there isn’t a way to turn it off (there is only one switch for the fan and the light)

a.     Why does this exist? Poor engineering and construction on my apartment complex

6.     My bedroom gets hot in the middle of the night because my fan automatically turns itself off

a.     Why does this exist? To be economically and environmentally friendly, my air conditioner has a setting that will automatically turn it off in the middle of the night and it back on once the temperature decreases

7.     IPhone’s lose their battery life as they get older (iphone 8 dies within 6 hours of use)

a.     Why does this exist? Apple wants to encourage users to buy the newest version the phone, so when they offer software updates for all users, the old phone batteries cannot support the new software, which results in depleated battery lives

8.     Command Strips don’t hold heaver objects (like a big picture)

a.     Why does this exist: the command strips aren’t strong enough and the adhesives do not last long enough

9.     Paper straws bug me because they get soggy fast (within 5 minutes of use) and don’t work – they make it harder to drink things and are almost not worth it

a.     Why does this exist? As an attempt to help save the environment, more environmentally friendly, better than plastic, attempt to reduce plastic consumption

10.   The gym at my apartment is always too crowded, especially around dinner time 

a.     why does this exist? Too many people like to come at the same time (around dinner) and the space itself is small… not enough equipment for everyone to use at the same time (2 stair master machines, 7 elliptical machines, 1 set of each weight of dumbbells)

11.   The Wifi at my apartment is really complicated to connect and it takes 15 minutes to receive network connection

a.     why does this exist? They make the process so tedious and complex so that people don’t share the Wifi with people who do not live there

12.  When you open a wine bottle the wine immediately goes bad even when you put a cork in it

a.     Why does this exist? An opened bottle of wine can go bad for many reasons including: poor bottling, poor corks, storage problems, microbial contamination, the wine was bad to begin with

13.  My dogs harness moves when she walks (it slides in all the wrong directions)

a.     Why does this exist? Dog harnesses are not custom fit to each dog and body type, rather they are a general sized fit that should fit your dog based on size

14.  You can't instantly make iced coffee because it takes too long

a.     Why does this exist? The process of creating iced coffee is long because you need to make hot coffee first and either wait for it to cool down or you can add ice, but it waters the coffee down

15.  Stores don’t sell food in single serving size packs (Pasta, carrots, steamed veggies, meat) – it is hard to make all of the food at once, especially if you only want one serving

a.     Why does this exist? It is cheaper and easier for producers to mass produce items in bulk rather than small individual packaging. Packaging and delivery itself is also cheaper in mass production.

16.  Paying cover at a bar is annoying especially when you have to already wait in line to get in

a.     Why does this exist? People go into the bars already intoxicated and wont purchase anything because they just like the atmosphere – so the bar ends up losing money on each person

17.  There aren’t universal sized chargers for every device (Samsung vs apple vs google)

a.     Why does this exist? It probably sets each company apart from one another so people don’t buy the same chargers to fit every phone and it increases sales and promotes competition

18.  Healthy food at the grocery store (and in general) is more expensive than junk food 

a.     Why does this exist? Fresh food goes bad quicker, and it is more expensive to grow food organically because it takes longer- fast food is cheaper because its faster and labor costs are less expensive

19.  You can’t connect two devices to the same speaker when you are at the beach and hanging out with friends       

a.     Why does this exist? If we were able to connect multiple devices to one speaker, then everyone would try to connect, which would result in chaos and everyone trying to connect to the same one speaker.

20.  My race time is never accurate when I run half marathons because my watch always says something different than what is said on my final time according to the race

a.     Why does this exist? It is hard to accurately track the thousands of runners that come to every race at once. The chip on the race bibs are somewhat accurate, but not 100% accurate

Reflection

I found this assignment to be a bit of a challenge, as I am usually the type of person to think the best of everything and try to find that silver lining. We were asked to identify 20 things that “bug” us in our lives. I had to give myself a week to complete this assignment because 20 “bugs” did not come to mind immediately. Then as the week went on, I began to be more conscious of my surroundings and actually thought about what bothered me. I listed bugs from every aspect of my life from social things, athletic things, health things, and school related things. Another challenge that I faced was really identifying the root cause of why these problems exist in the first place, and more importantly, why they bothered me. Overall, I did enjoy this assignment because it taught me to look at my life a little different than I had been doing before.