1) You. I am Christian Frisone, a sophomore here at UF from the Florida Keys. I am very creative and open-minded which I feel is a very good tool to have in the field of entrepreneurship. I have also been told I am an effective and efficient multitasker. As far as my experiences go, I have been exposed to acts of entrepreneurship that involved my father and one day I hope to run a business or create my own that not only is successful but can actually help improve peoples day to day lives. My business would play a large role in my life because as of right now I would still be one of the ones to benefit from it as well. The business is for students such as myself to be able to prepare themselves for life too so this would carry on to be a part of my life even after school.
2) What are you offering to customers? The product/ service would be an app or program to educate students on how to live on their own and take care of themselves when they are in college. It will show students how to cook, clean, schedule/plan, budget, shop, etc. Many of those things students come into college having no knowledge of how to do either because the high schools never taught them how or their parents never really showed them how. This will take off an immense about of stress that has been drowning students over the years as well as improve their health as they will be eating better and having better overall hygiene.
3) Who are you offering it to? Think about it from the perspective of a high school student about to go to college, we've all been there. You just spent the first 18-19 years of your life with your family, under a roof, having dinner on the table and in many families laundry is also done for you. Then all of sudden you pack all your bags and leave all of that behind as you go live on your own with all these other people you do not know and having to take care of yourself. Now obviously every student did not grow with the same childhood but overall that is what most students have and it is what most students came from in my interviews. What all these students have in common is that they are all leaving home to go live on their own and take care of themselves for the first time and for a lot of them, they are clueless on what to do. This is to educate and teach these kids how to become adults and take care of themselves while they pursue their degree.
4) Why do they care? Customers will care about this solution because when you don't know how to cook, clean, budget and save, or even schedule your day/week correctly, than your life along with college and classes will be a very big struggle and cause stress levels that can actual be very unhealthy for students. With just the simple small purchase of the app or program, they will not only be assisted, but more importantly be TAUGHT how to do all those things and make their life easier not even just for college but for life in general.
5) What are your core competencies? What sets this apart from everyone else is that it has everything in one. You could go download a cooking app or taking a cooking class and do the same thing for budgeting and cleaning and everything else but that involves the purchase of several different applications and classes that also take up more space and time. With this app/program, you have everything in one. I believe that is what we have that others don't. If I had to put it into a term I would probably say convenience.
I believe that these elements fit together because they make sense and have a group of people with a unmet need and a logical and realistic solution that can meet that need. Yes, there are things that need to be fixed and some loose screws that need to be tightened but I do believe this is still an opportunity that can work. I would say if there are any weak aspects it would be the customers that already have knowledge of all or most of those factors and can just teach it to their friends, however, I feel that more students would find it more convenient to have it on their phone or just have it taught by experts who can make sure whatever is taught is long-lasting.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Friday, September 27, 2019
9A- Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2
Who: After branching out my interviews to some different people, I found out that juniors and seniors fall outside of the boundary and recently the sophomores have been close to the boundary since many of them have learned by then at least some stuff about how to take care of themselves. However, the solution could still be used for many factors even after freshman year. Also, I found out that students who are from close by cities or even the city the university is in, are more outside of the boundary. This is because they are always so close to home so they can go home whenever they want and have some more direct family assistance. This is not in every case but in most. When I interviewed the juniors and seniors, they said that living on their own still remains difficult not because they do not know what to do or how to do it, but more because they have packed more on their schedules. When speaking to the close-by instate students, I found out that they go home at least once or twice a month where some go to have their laundry done and some go to have their parents stock the up on groceries or bring back cooked food. However, when I asked both types of students if they thought such an app or program would be useful, they did say they saw a huge opportunity that exists there.
What: In multiple interviews, I was told that this need is so widely shared from students all over the country and that it actually affects how they do in school and their actual health. While there is a need to take care of yourself in general for your whole life, this is more about the younger generation making that first transition on their own which really has an effect on their academic and hygienic performances. In my interview with a in state student, they stated that their parents were taught how to take care of themself and live on their own before they even left the house but they were completely unprepared.
Why: For the people on the inside and outside of the opportunity, the cause of the need is not really different. Both are caused by leaving their homes and families and living on their own and having all these new responsibilities stacked on them. The difference is between how much certain students really have the need when you compare it to first and second year and out of state students to junior, senior, and instate students.
Inside the Boundary
Who is in: Freshman and sophomore college students, far away or out-of-state students. What the need is: Prepare and make students more knowledgable on how to live on their own in college.
Why it exists: Many students are not prepared by their parents or by their high schools on how to cook, clean, handle, finances, schedule, etc. and students go into college thinking all they have to worry about is taking care of school.
Outside the Boundary
Who is in: Juniors, Seniors, Graduate students, Close-by and instate students.
What the need is not: They don't have the need of being clueless on how to take of themselves completely on their own or being so new to the situation.
Alternative Explanations: They have either learned from preparations or learned from experience and for the instate or close by students, they are always going back home to feel more secure and get away from some of that stress and responsibility as well as get assistance from their family.
What: In multiple interviews, I was told that this need is so widely shared from students all over the country and that it actually affects how they do in school and their actual health. While there is a need to take care of yourself in general for your whole life, this is more about the younger generation making that first transition on their own which really has an effect on their academic and hygienic performances. In my interview with a in state student, they stated that their parents were taught how to take care of themself and live on their own before they even left the house but they were completely unprepared.
Why: For the people on the inside and outside of the opportunity, the cause of the need is not really different. Both are caused by leaving their homes and families and living on their own and having all these new responsibilities stacked on them. The difference is between how much certain students really have the need when you compare it to first and second year and out of state students to junior, senior, and instate students.
Inside the Boundary
Who is in: Freshman and sophomore college students, far away or out-of-state students. What the need is: Prepare and make students more knowledgable on how to live on their own in college.
Why it exists: Many students are not prepared by their parents or by their high schools on how to cook, clean, handle, finances, schedule, etc. and students go into college thinking all they have to worry about is taking care of school.
Outside the Boundary
Who is in: Juniors, Seniors, Graduate students, Close-by and instate students.
What the need is not: They don't have the need of being clueless on how to take of themselves completely on their own or being so new to the situation.
Alternative Explanations: They have either learned from preparations or learned from experience and for the instate or close by students, they are always going back home to feel more secure and get away from some of that stress and responsibility as well as get assistance from their family.
Friday, September 20, 2019
8A- Solving The Problem
For the opportunity of making more first year college students prepared and knowledgeable about how to take care of themselves, I would propose to develop a program or app that could tell them everything they need to know at a moments notice. Now I know everyone wants to use an app and it gets tiring but it doesn't even have to be an app, but rather a program or advisory seminar that goes around to universities and teaches the first year students the basics of how and what to do. However, if it were an app, think about it like this: It would contain simple step by step instructions on how to write checks, open accounts, handle your finances overall and even budget you weekly with reminders and alerts so you don't go over your limit for the week and spend wisely. On the same financial note, for things such as grocery shopping or supplies shopping, you tell the app the store you are going to and it will pop up all available coupons and deals that the store is providing at the moment and it will tell you which ones financially make the most sense and save the most money as well. It would have a list of easy to make and healthy recipes to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for themselves that require only minimal ingredients and time but are better than your everyday basic ramen noodle or pizza roll diet. This app or program would also contain a schedule formatter that you could input your classes and times for club and sports meetings or whatever you need and it will set reminders and alarms on when to leave and also when to eat, relax, take a breath, etc. Even for the simpler stuff that still some students do not know how to do, it would contain simple step by step instructions on how to work a laundry machine with some dos and don'ts as well, maybe even some simple tips on the proper way to make your bed or an organizer for your desk, books, or room overall. This would also apply for transportation as well in giving you the best possible options to get to wherever you need to go and can track all the busses in the area as well. Now it sounds all over the place because of the subjects that do not really correlate, but they all have to do with living on your own and taking care of yourself with no help at all and that is the goal here. There are obviously some more things that would be included and some things that need to be fixed about it but I believe it has a really strong foundation to be extremely useful for students who are scared, worried, anxious, stressed, and clueless about their first year away from their normal lives.
7A-Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1
1) An opportunity that I would like to pursue is one that I mentioned in one of my previous assignments last week. The opportunity would be primarily first year college students but also second year students who don't know how to live on their own. Every year, millions of students who are only 18 or 19 years old leave their homes and families to attend universities for at least four years. Most of those students however, have little to no basic knowledge of how to take care of themselves without any help which leads unnecessary stress, unhealthy diets, unbalanced schedules, and poor financial action on their part. This is an unmet need that I believe most students have that can be and should be addressed for the millions of students every year attempting to get a degree.
2) To clearly identify the opportunity, millions of first and second year college students every year from across the country are uneducated on how to take care of themselves and live on their own because they have spent their whole lives living with their families and have had little to no assistance in the at home to college transition.
Testing the who: There are not many others who have this need outside of college students just because they are the ones making the transition from being taken care of (for the most part) to being on their own. However, you could make the argument that students who go right from high school to work could also have this need in which it would definitely apply to them as well.
Testing the what: Not all students have zero knowledge of how to take care of themselves, many probably know a couple things obviously but when you have classes and extracurriculars will they be able to properly put them to action along with all other factors necessary to live on your own? Do all students need to know how to take care of themselves completely? Perhaps not, there are kids who prefer or can afford to eat out every night or have easier class schedules or prefer to take their clothes home every couple weeks to their parents to clean, however, once again many cannot do that especially if they are out of state.
Testing the why: There are some high schools that I have heard about that do have a small course on how to be on your own and also some parents do make sure they teach their kids the basics so they are prepared, however, the majority of kids are not prepared.
4) Interview #1:
First I interviewed a freshman here at the University of Florida who came from Maryland. When asked about the adjusted lifestyle since the 800 mile move from his family, he said he definitely has had trouble so far doing everything on his own because his parents usually took care of the essentials like dinner, laundry, transportation etc. Additionally, he said that while he knows it will take time before he gets the hang of everything, he finds himself calling his parents every day to ask advice or instructions. He said he has been living off of microwaveable foods and Uber eats for most of his meals and while that isn't the worst thing, it is burning a whole in his wallet. Overall he stated that although he is still surviving first year college life, he wishes he was a bit more prepared coming in.
Interview #2:
In this interview, I spoke to a recent UF graduate about how her freshman year experiences went and if help of some sort would have been needed or preferred. She stated that although she was super excited to live on her own away from her family and home, she definitely got some unexpected obstacles of responsibility that she wasn't ready for. She said she had a lot of trouble scheduling her days out and would be eating breakfast at 12 pm, lunch at 5 pm, and dinner at 11 pm or whenever she had a spare moment. She said she lived in an apartment her first year and had to ask her parents how to write a check to bring to the front office for rent. This is something that could be aided by the use of an app or program that could show this first year student how to balance her day to day schedule and be knowledgeable of her finances.
Interview #3:
For this interview, I spoke to a student who is about to embark on her first year of college to see what her expectations are and how much she already knows. When asked about how prepared she is for her first year of college and first year away from home, she said she was very excited but extremely nervous because she isn't used to completely taking care of herself. She stated that she wasn't sure if she would be able to do everything that her parents were able to do for her on a daily basis with school and a part time job that she plans to have her first year. She also stated that with her cooking experience, she would be, "definitely living on ramen noodles." Overall she said that it will be a learning experience the whole way, but she hopes to get some help from upperclassman in the process to make it easier.
Interview #4:
For the next one, I interviewed another freshman from this year to see how prepared they were for living on their own. She is about 400 miles away from home in the Florida Keys. She admitted that looking back on the last 18 years of her life before going to college she was definitely spoiled. She said she had to call her parents while grocery shopping so they could tell her what to get and the first time she did laundry she overfilled the washing machine and it almost broke. "There is a lot of responsibilities you have on your own that you don't think about when you are at home with your family," she stated. She said she had a lot of trouble handling her finances to begin with as well because she kept running out of money every week until her parents started setting her limits and told her to learn how to budget. This is one of the more common problems first year students come across when living on their own.
Interview #5:
For the last person, I decided to interview a sophomore to see if anything changed from first year to second by pure learning experiences. This sophomore was only a couple hours away from home so he whenever he would go home (which was about once or twice a month) he would take his laundry and his parents would stock him up on food as well to help him adjust. He said they didn't want to just throw him in the deep end immediately because he would've been all over the place trying to do everything on his own. He said now that he has had a full year under his belt, he has developed a regular routine and schedule for himself and has become much more knowledgable about self care and especially finances as he said he wasn't even sure how to set up a savings account when he was a freshman. Overall, he said that he wished he was more prepared going into school or during that first year because it would have saved him a lot of stress, time, money, and mistakes.
5) Interview Reflection:
After the interviews, I realized that I opportunity is still there and is shared by so many students whether they are closer to home or not. I did notice that the ones closer to home (driving distance) were definitely less lost in the first year process but only because they never were away from home for too long, at least in the first year. Students who came from out of state were much more unprepared and in need of assistance during that first year period where they had no one to rely on but themselves. Some students are going to be better prepared than others and it really all depends on where they are coming from and how they spent the first 18 years of their lives, but overall, regardless of who you are or where you came from, being on your own in college is a whole different lifestyle that many students are not prepared for and it can really place unneeded obstacles in the way on the path to a successful first year.
2) To clearly identify the opportunity, millions of first and second year college students every year from across the country are uneducated on how to take care of themselves and live on their own because they have spent their whole lives living with their families and have had little to no assistance in the at home to college transition.
- The who: First and second year college students
- The what: Minimal knowledge of living on their own and taking care of themselves in college
- The why: No efficient or effective assistance or program to teach them how
Testing the who: There are not many others who have this need outside of college students just because they are the ones making the transition from being taken care of (for the most part) to being on their own. However, you could make the argument that students who go right from high school to work could also have this need in which it would definitely apply to them as well.
Testing the what: Not all students have zero knowledge of how to take care of themselves, many probably know a couple things obviously but when you have classes and extracurriculars will they be able to properly put them to action along with all other factors necessary to live on your own? Do all students need to know how to take care of themselves completely? Perhaps not, there are kids who prefer or can afford to eat out every night or have easier class schedules or prefer to take their clothes home every couple weeks to their parents to clean, however, once again many cannot do that especially if they are out of state.
Testing the why: There are some high schools that I have heard about that do have a small course on how to be on your own and also some parents do make sure they teach their kids the basics so they are prepared, however, the majority of kids are not prepared.
4) Interview #1:
First I interviewed a freshman here at the University of Florida who came from Maryland. When asked about the adjusted lifestyle since the 800 mile move from his family, he said he definitely has had trouble so far doing everything on his own because his parents usually took care of the essentials like dinner, laundry, transportation etc. Additionally, he said that while he knows it will take time before he gets the hang of everything, he finds himself calling his parents every day to ask advice or instructions. He said he has been living off of microwaveable foods and Uber eats for most of his meals and while that isn't the worst thing, it is burning a whole in his wallet. Overall he stated that although he is still surviving first year college life, he wishes he was a bit more prepared coming in.
Interview #2:
In this interview, I spoke to a recent UF graduate about how her freshman year experiences went and if help of some sort would have been needed or preferred. She stated that although she was super excited to live on her own away from her family and home, she definitely got some unexpected obstacles of responsibility that she wasn't ready for. She said she had a lot of trouble scheduling her days out and would be eating breakfast at 12 pm, lunch at 5 pm, and dinner at 11 pm or whenever she had a spare moment. She said she lived in an apartment her first year and had to ask her parents how to write a check to bring to the front office for rent. This is something that could be aided by the use of an app or program that could show this first year student how to balance her day to day schedule and be knowledgeable of her finances.
Interview #3:
For this interview, I spoke to a student who is about to embark on her first year of college to see what her expectations are and how much she already knows. When asked about how prepared she is for her first year of college and first year away from home, she said she was very excited but extremely nervous because she isn't used to completely taking care of herself. She stated that she wasn't sure if she would be able to do everything that her parents were able to do for her on a daily basis with school and a part time job that she plans to have her first year. She also stated that with her cooking experience, she would be, "definitely living on ramen noodles." Overall she said that it will be a learning experience the whole way, but she hopes to get some help from upperclassman in the process to make it easier.
Interview #4:
For the next one, I interviewed another freshman from this year to see how prepared they were for living on their own. She is about 400 miles away from home in the Florida Keys. She admitted that looking back on the last 18 years of her life before going to college she was definitely spoiled. She said she had to call her parents while grocery shopping so they could tell her what to get and the first time she did laundry she overfilled the washing machine and it almost broke. "There is a lot of responsibilities you have on your own that you don't think about when you are at home with your family," she stated. She said she had a lot of trouble handling her finances to begin with as well because she kept running out of money every week until her parents started setting her limits and told her to learn how to budget. This is one of the more common problems first year students come across when living on their own.
Interview #5:
For the last person, I decided to interview a sophomore to see if anything changed from first year to second by pure learning experiences. This sophomore was only a couple hours away from home so he whenever he would go home (which was about once or twice a month) he would take his laundry and his parents would stock him up on food as well to help him adjust. He said they didn't want to just throw him in the deep end immediately because he would've been all over the place trying to do everything on his own. He said now that he has had a full year under his belt, he has developed a regular routine and schedule for himself and has become much more knowledgable about self care and especially finances as he said he wasn't even sure how to set up a savings account when he was a freshman. Overall, he said that he wished he was more prepared going into school or during that first year because it would have saved him a lot of stress, time, money, and mistakes.
5) Interview Reflection:
After the interviews, I realized that I opportunity is still there and is shared by so many students whether they are closer to home or not. I did notice that the ones closer to home (driving distance) were definitely less lost in the first year process but only because they never were away from home for too long, at least in the first year. Students who came from out of state were much more unprepared and in need of assistance during that first year period where they had no one to rely on but themselves. Some students are going to be better prepared than others and it really all depends on where they are coming from and how they spent the first 18 years of their lives, but overall, regardless of who you are or where you came from, being on your own in college is a whole different lifestyle that many students are not prepared for and it can really place unneeded obstacles in the way on the path to a successful first year.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
6A- Identifying Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends
Opportunity #1: Economic
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/032216/are-we-baby-boomer-retirement-crisis.asp
I believe an opportunity exists here because there are over 76 million baby boomers out there and so many of them have little to no retirement savings which is causing a crisis. What led me to this was actually a conversation I had with my uncle who is a baby boomer where he was talking about how many of his friends have not saved enough and he was trying to find some ways to help them out so I decided to look this up specifically to get some more info about it. The customers for this opportunity would be baby boomers and also just people in general who are struggling to save up for their retirement or just beginning to do so. I believe there is an opportunity that exists here because it involves such a large amount of customers who are all struggling with the same problem. This opportunity may also not be as hard to exploit just because it is such a common unmet need among so many people, however, it does include factors such as the stock market which is very difficult to control or predict sometimes.
I saw the opportunity just because I was already aware of the problem after discussing it with my uncle and getting personal info and feedback from him about it. I also know a lot about social security benefits because I used to receive some from and my grandparents do and I know that there is less and less in the pot every year for social security.
Opportunity #2: Economic
https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/gx/en/insights/industry-trends/2018-oil-gas.html
I believe there is an opportunity that exists here because oil and gas is one of the key necessities all consumers need. As research has shown, the price of oil is rebounding to up to 70$ a barrel. Increased US exports has caused the activity levels of oil and gas to go up and supply is very limited. Many people have been sticking to the belief that supply is easy to bring up and demand will flatten out but that just isn't the case. The customers with this opportunity is essentially any US citizen since oil and gas are vital to everyday needs and operations for the most part. This opportunity is relatively easy to exploit just because these resources are so universally needed by everyone and is one of the backbones to our market.
I saw this opportunity because I understand how important gas and oil are to the economy and I also have followed the decrease in supply for them over recent time which has caused a lot of chatter and potential problems to US citizens.
Opportunity #3: Regulatory
https://www.businessinsider.com/plastic-bans-around-the-world-2019-4
I definitely believe that there is an opportunity here because eco friendly products are popping up every day now and in todays world if innovation is linked right to products that help the environment especially with climate change being such a big deal recently. Plastic bags are one of the leading products of pollution and are used by so many people everyday so the fact that they are being banned means there will have to be better and more eco-friendly things to take its place which is why I believe there is a lot of opportunity in this. The customer for this opportunity is US shoppers of any kind whether it be at the grocery store or the mall. Also the manufactures of the bags have a problem since they are the ones who make money off of them as well as the store and company owners who now have to find a new product to give to their customers. This opportunity is relatively easier to exploit because plastic bags are so widely used not just in this country but around the world.
I believe I specifically saw this opportunity because of my background of living in the Florida Keys for most of my life. Everything there is about keeping our oceans clean and protecting our environment because everything we do revolves around it especially our economy so we try to be as eco friendly as we can.
Opportunity #4: Regulatory
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/09/11/donald-trump-wants-to-ban-flavored-vapes-discourage-young-people-from-e-cigarettes/2284270001/
This is kind of a different opportunity than others at least in my opinion because e-cigarettes were kind of like the opportunity previously as it was the alternative to smoking tobacco but now they are causing harm as well especially to young kids and they are getting banned. I still believe there is an opportunity here though just because in the market of young kids and teens, they are always looking for something to create a trend with. The source of all this comes right from our very own backyards since so many kids our age are using vapes and e-cigarettes. Lately however, more and more incidents and evidence of extreme harm to kids caused by these e-cigarettes have been coming up. The customers to this opportunity would be the young teens and kids who abuse these e-cigarettes as well as actual smokers who use them in efforts to quit smoking. The actual companies such as JUUL who sell these vapes have a big problem now as this is a market potentially worth up to 20 billion dollars. This is a relatively easy opportunity to exploit just because it is such a large market that literally runs off of peoples addictions however, because of its negative effects and the harm it has been causing it will always have that negative view towards it for awhile as well.
I saw this as an opportunity just because I see it everyday with my friends and how everyone seems to use them and I am always thinking about how it will change and I am always seeing more and more e-cigarettes come out all the time.
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/032216/are-we-baby-boomer-retirement-crisis.asp
I believe an opportunity exists here because there are over 76 million baby boomers out there and so many of them have little to no retirement savings which is causing a crisis. What led me to this was actually a conversation I had with my uncle who is a baby boomer where he was talking about how many of his friends have not saved enough and he was trying to find some ways to help them out so I decided to look this up specifically to get some more info about it. The customers for this opportunity would be baby boomers and also just people in general who are struggling to save up for their retirement or just beginning to do so. I believe there is an opportunity that exists here because it involves such a large amount of customers who are all struggling with the same problem. This opportunity may also not be as hard to exploit just because it is such a common unmet need among so many people, however, it does include factors such as the stock market which is very difficult to control or predict sometimes.
I saw the opportunity just because I was already aware of the problem after discussing it with my uncle and getting personal info and feedback from him about it. I also know a lot about social security benefits because I used to receive some from and my grandparents do and I know that there is less and less in the pot every year for social security.
Opportunity #2: Economic
https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/gx/en/insights/industry-trends/2018-oil-gas.html
I believe there is an opportunity that exists here because oil and gas is one of the key necessities all consumers need. As research has shown, the price of oil is rebounding to up to 70$ a barrel. Increased US exports has caused the activity levels of oil and gas to go up and supply is very limited. Many people have been sticking to the belief that supply is easy to bring up and demand will flatten out but that just isn't the case. The customers with this opportunity is essentially any US citizen since oil and gas are vital to everyday needs and operations for the most part. This opportunity is relatively easy to exploit just because these resources are so universally needed by everyone and is one of the backbones to our market.
I saw this opportunity because I understand how important gas and oil are to the economy and I also have followed the decrease in supply for them over recent time which has caused a lot of chatter and potential problems to US citizens.
Opportunity #3: Regulatory
https://www.businessinsider.com/plastic-bans-around-the-world-2019-4
I definitely believe that there is an opportunity here because eco friendly products are popping up every day now and in todays world if innovation is linked right to products that help the environment especially with climate change being such a big deal recently. Plastic bags are one of the leading products of pollution and are used by so many people everyday so the fact that they are being banned means there will have to be better and more eco-friendly things to take its place which is why I believe there is a lot of opportunity in this. The customer for this opportunity is US shoppers of any kind whether it be at the grocery store or the mall. Also the manufactures of the bags have a problem since they are the ones who make money off of them as well as the store and company owners who now have to find a new product to give to their customers. This opportunity is relatively easier to exploit because plastic bags are so widely used not just in this country but around the world.
I believe I specifically saw this opportunity because of my background of living in the Florida Keys for most of my life. Everything there is about keeping our oceans clean and protecting our environment because everything we do revolves around it especially our economy so we try to be as eco friendly as we can.
Opportunity #4: Regulatory
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/09/11/donald-trump-wants-to-ban-flavored-vapes-discourage-young-people-from-e-cigarettes/2284270001/
This is kind of a different opportunity than others at least in my opinion because e-cigarettes were kind of like the opportunity previously as it was the alternative to smoking tobacco but now they are causing harm as well especially to young kids and they are getting banned. I still believe there is an opportunity here though just because in the market of young kids and teens, they are always looking for something to create a trend with. The source of all this comes right from our very own backyards since so many kids our age are using vapes and e-cigarettes. Lately however, more and more incidents and evidence of extreme harm to kids caused by these e-cigarettes have been coming up. The customers to this opportunity would be the young teens and kids who abuse these e-cigarettes as well as actual smokers who use them in efforts to quit smoking. The actual companies such as JUUL who sell these vapes have a big problem now as this is a market potentially worth up to 20 billion dollars. This is a relatively easy opportunity to exploit just because it is such a large market that literally runs off of peoples addictions however, because of its negative effects and the harm it has been causing it will always have that negative view towards it for awhile as well.
I saw this as an opportunity just because I see it everyday with my friends and how everyone seems to use them and I am always thinking about how it will change and I am always seeing more and more e-cigarettes come out all the time.
Friday, September 13, 2019
5A- Identifying Local Opportunities
1.
Florida plant squeezed, no more juice processing
To continue a very large and recently growing trend, another orange juice-processing
plant has terminated its processing department. In Orlando, Florida, Southern Gardens
Citrus has stopped the processing at its plant just a month before the growing
season of this year starts, and it this is not the first of this news to be
reported recently. As of the last couple decades, the amount of citrus processing
plants has decreased from to seven where it was originally at 30. This has been
mainly due to the citrus plants struggling to fight two strong diseases, citrus
greening and citrus canker, as well as taking a hard blow from the devastating
damage done by Hurricane Irma in 2017. These have caused the plants to process
juice well below their quota which has in turn forced them to shut down one by
one.
Problem: The problem is
that 23 processing plants have had to shut down due to disease and hurricane disaster
which has caused a sharp decline in the citrus juice and products being
available to the U.S. consumers. There is no telling how many jobs will be lost
and how many companies will lose money as well as how much money will be lost.
People: Citrus plant employees, distributor
stores, citrus and juice companies, citrus and juice consumers.
2.
‘We’ve
had enough.’: Students organize protest on Fraternity Drive
A group of University of Florida students have gotten
together to address safety issues on campus, specifically the lack of blue
lights on fraternity row. Scattered throughout the UF campus are Blue Light Emergency
Phones, which are blue telephone structures that students can click a button
and instantly contact the police who will also receive your location wherever
the blue light is. The students main fight is for their right to speak on these
safety issues and have more of a say as last spring, the student government did
not succeed in passing the resolution to put blue lights up and down fraternity
row. Four female students will be partnering up with the National Women’s
Liberation on September 17 to create a stronger protest in the fight for change
in the UF student government and the blue lights shortage on fraternity row.
Problem: The
problem here is all about UF student safety. There is an entire section of campus
where there is no way to contact any help for emergencies and this area is more
than susceptible to have emergencies in that area. This goes for females and males
because you never know the situation or who can be involved when problems arise.
People: UF
Student Government, UF students, Fraternity row residents, National Women’s
Liberation members.
3.
‘They’re asking me for the
impossible.’ Bahamians say customs agents won’t let them fly to U.S.
Hundreds of Bahamian citizens have been denied by U.S Customs
and Border Protection at the international airport in Nassau. Previously the agency
has only required clean police records to travel over, but now the agency is requiring
some to have visas in order to travel. The ones who actually made it over to
Miami have been told they are only allowed to stay for two weeks. CBP agents
have also been requesting multiple documents proving income, property
ownership, bills, etc. However, most those documents were destroyed or washed away
in the storm making it impossible to provide such things. Officials have also
told the few who made it over to the states that they are not allowed to enroll
their kids into any schools. Many peoples bags made it to the states, but
because of the unexpected new regulations and rules, the citizens aren’t.
Problem: Bahamian
citizens have already lost everything from Hurricane Dorian, and are now being
turned away by the U.S when trying to seek refuge. The original regulations
have not been asked of and instead, impossible regulations are being required
by the CBP officials forcing Bahamian citizens to go back to the ruins of their
homes.
People: Bahamian
citizens, CBP officials, US government officials, tourists/travelers, airline
workers.
4.
Fake hostage situation at Daytona airport had red
flags, sheriff says
At the Daytona Beach International Airport, a call was made
to the sheriff’s office from a man who claimed he had three flight attendants who
worked for British Airways hostage and was going to kill them if he didn’t receive
$20,000. The man went by the name of the “John Raizes”, however, there were
some questionable characteristics about the call. Two facts that didn’t add up
were that British Airways does not fly out of Daytona Beach International Airport
and the airport was not even open during the time of the call. Just to be sure
the office had men search the airport and found no threat. They refer to these
fake calls as “swatting” and it happens quite often, sometimes there are still casualties
in them.
Problem: There
are hoax calls that happen all the time around the US and even though they are
not real hostage situations they are still very serious and life-threatening. Before
this one, a serial swatter by the name of Tyler Barriss performed a fake call
that ended up leading to the death of a Kansas man. Barriss was sentenced to 20
years for the role in the killing. This is a serious matter and better
precautions need to be taken to stop more of these from happening.
People: Law
enforcement officials, Daytona airport employees and officials, indirect victims,
travelers.
5.
Vote to
double parking rates in Miami Beach during big events delayed until October
A potential law in Miami Beach has recently been postponed until
October that would double the parking rates during high volume periods of time
such as spring break, winter break, etc. Parking could reach up to $50 a day if
this law was passed, and in most cases could increase by 100%. As of now, the
voting for the law is on hold as they are trying to find a way to not affect
employees and locals as the law is not targeted for them.
Problem: The city commission of Miami Beach is trying
to double the fares of parking to make the prices very unreasonable for tourists.
They receive enough revenue every year from them and now they are just trying
to scrape up all the extra dollars they can get and now it will also affect
employees who park there and work for these places as well as locals who go
there every day.
4A-Forming an Opportunity Belief
I believe there is an unmet need for students to have the knowledge needed to live on their own in college. Throughout the country every year, hundreds of thousands of 18 and 19 year olds leave the homes and family's they have lived with their whole lives to go live completely on their own while going to school for at least the next four years. Year by year, students go through incredible amounts of stress from school alone, and many of them go to their dorms and/or apartments and don't even know how to take care of themselves. They don't eat as much or eat very unhealthy foods just because they have no idea how to cook anything for themselves. They will let their laundry pile up for weeks until their next opportunity to go home comes along and they will take it to their parents to do for them. Many students also have a hard time planning our their own schedules when they have to do it all on their own this time which usually leads to them mixing up important activities like class, work, study time, laundry, socializing, etc. As of now, most students are doing the bare minimum to take care of themselves which is one of the main reasons so many college students get more stressed, sick, depressed, and busy. Students could benefit so much from having a quick guide or course on how to start the process of living on their own or even an app on all things college kids need to know for living on their own with reminders and tips. College students need to have a way of being more aware of how to take care of themselves especially in their first year. I am 80% sure that there is an opportunity out there to make college students more knowledgable of how to be on their own and more independent.
What was the feeling you had first coming into college, knowing you were on your own and taking care of yourself for the first time?
"I was really excited to be on my own and start a new chapter in my life and even though it has been challenging I still am excited because I know I will adjust to it all eventually."
What was the feeling you had first coming into college, knowing you were on your own and taking care of yourself for the first time?
"I was extremely excited but very nervous because I wasn't sure if I would be able to do everything on my own."
What was the feeling you had first coming into college, knowing you were on your own and taking care of yourself for the first time?
"My feeling when I first came into college was excitement. I was excited to be on my own and experiencing the college life. I’ve loved it so far!"
The Prototypical customer to this unmet need would be primarily first and second year college students who are still very new to living on their own and taking care of themselves.
Interview #1: Billy Butler- Freshman
How has your lifestyle changed since you transitioned to college away from home?
"My lifestyle has definitely been different since coming into college. You spend your entire life with the same people and in the same places and then it all just goes away and you are on your own."
"I was really excited to be on my own and start a new chapter in my life and even though it has been challenging I still am excited because I know I will adjust to it all eventually."
Have you experienced any challenges in planning your own day to day schedule with things such as school, work, clubs, home responsibilities, etc.?
"It’s been a little hard to plan my days because I feel like there is so much more I am responsible for now, but I’ve figured out a schedule now that helps me accomplish all my tasks."
When did you first come across your first obstacle of living on your own? What was it?
"When it was dinner time on the first night and I didn't know how to cook myself the same meals my parents always made."
How are you adjusting to the large change in your life of being with family to being on your own? Have you had increased stress?
"I have definitely felt more stress with all the extra responsibilities I have now, but I slowly feel myself adjusting every day."
Would having a course on basic independent living or app with tips and reminders be at all beneficial to a first or second year college student?
"It would definitely speed up the process of getting used to taking care of yourself because learning from experience every day can be very frustrating and time consuming."
Interview #2: Blake Lacey- Sophomore
How has your lifestyle changed since you transitioned to college away from home?
"Even in my second year it is still different, i've gotten better at a lot of things like cooking but there are always still things I struggle with."
"I was extremely excited but very nervous because I wasn't sure if I would be able to do everything on my own."
Have you experienced any challenges in planning your own day to day schedule with things such as school, work, clubs, home responsibilities, etc.?
"For sure, even though it gets better as time goes on I still always end up packing too many things together and leaving myself no time for certain things I need to do."
When did you first come across your first obstacle of living on your own? What was it?
"Probably the start of the first week of classes when I had no idea where to go or when."
How are you adjusting to the large change in your life of being with family to being on your own? Have you had increased stress?
"At the beginning I had a lot of stress, but now I have adjusted much more and been able to reduce a most of that stress."
Would having a course on basic independent living or app with tips and reminders be at all beneficial to a first or second year college student?
"As a first year student yes, I feel it would definitely make the adjustment much smoother and easier."
Interview#3: Katie Robinson- Freshman
How has your lifestyle changed since you transitioned to college away from home?
"My lifestyle has definitely changed since I’ve moved to college. I walk everywhere now and find that I have more free time to do things."
"My feeling when I first came into college was excitement. I was excited to be on my own and experiencing the college life. I’ve loved it so far!"
Have you experienced any challenges in planning your own day to day schedule with things such as school, work, clubs, home responsibilities, etc.?
"I have experienced some challenges planning my schedule for my day. I’ve found it to be somewhat hard to balance time to exercise, study, socialize and still get a good night of sleep."
When did you first come across your first obstacle of living on your own? What was it?
"My first obstacle of living on my own was when I had to set up my furniture in my room on my own... I didn’t have my dad there to help me put everything together but I was able to figure it out on my own."
How are you adjusting to the large change in your life of being with family to being on your own? Have you had increased stress?
"I’ve adjusted pretty well to not being with my family all the time. It gives me more independence and I’m forced to figure things out on my own which is good. But I enjoying calling my mom and dad to visit!"
Would having a course on basic independent living or app with tips and reminders be at all beneficial to a first or second year college student?
"It would be very beneficial because it would help with the adjustment to college life."
Reflection: After the interviews, I learned that my opportunity definitely still exists and is possible. There are a lot of students out there that have the same problems and it really takes a toll on their stress levels and health coming into college. I do still believe students would benefit from some sort of program to help them adjust to the college transition. I was not very surprised by much about my opportunity besides maybe realizing there may already be small things that students use to help them transition but not anything efficient or reliable.
Summary:
A lot of my original opportunity is still there I believe. I did realize that many students learn from experience pretty quick within their first couple weeks and start to adjust more and more each day but that still did not stop them from stating that having help to start the process would be very beneficial. As far as accuracy, I would say my opportunity is around the same as it was at the beginning, maybe a little less but overall in the same area. I think entrepreneurs should adapt opportunities based off of customer feedback because they are going to be the ones buying you product or using your idea which really in the end determines if you were successful or not. If the customers give great feedback then stay around where you are and if they give back negative feedback than you should maybe look at touching up on a few things in order to please the customer and be more successful.
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