Final Reflection

2) 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?

Definitely the first set of interviews was the most formative experience for me. They were incredibly stressful; it was the beginning of the semester and I was not yet comfortable conversing with random strangers about something I had no idea whether or not they would be interested in. It definitely became easier with each successive set of interviews. It really lends legitimacy to the idea that growth only occurs outside of your comfort zone. I really enjoyed having fun with the original brainstorming assignments. Looking back perhaps I was a bit too flippant, but I enjoyed those assignments. I am most proud of the fact that I have simply made it to the end.

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

I do see myself as an entrepreneur, but I definitely still have quite a ways to go. The entrepreneurial mindset is one that can be continuously developed; I am determined to continue to progress in this skill set. I am proud of the fact that I have discovered in myself an ability to accomplish tpes of tasks that I previously thought would never be something I was capable of.

4) 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?

This class is, like is said over and over (perhaps because its true of just about everything), exactly what you put into it. If you do the bare minimum to simply meet the requirements in order to check off those declarations, you won't get anything out of it. If, however, you put in the time and the effort, there is massive potential to grow.

Don't procrastinate if you want to be successful. Once I switched over to completing my assignments about a week in advance, I never missed another point. Working a little bit ahead is the biggest favor you can do yourself.

Finally, embrace the awkwardness of the interactions. If you feel uncomfortable, you are learning.

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity

Netflix and other such services have steadily increased the rate at which people watch through television series. Waiting week by week per episode is a thing of the past. People find a series that they are interested in, and proceed to binge watch it in a matter of a couple weeks or even days. This is leading to an emerging problem that has really always existed but never on this scale: the feeling that one has run out of things to watch. This applies to basically every form of modern media; books, movies, video games, people are burning through them at a faster rate than ever before. Traditional methods of discovering new material are no longer sufficient to satisfy this overwhelming demand, and I believe that my product is aptly timed to answer this emerging need. The window of opportunity is currently wide open, but it will only remain so while there is no other service that addresses this. If this idea is to be acted on now, there is no telling how huge the possible payoff could be. This is essentially the opportunity to introduce a completely new service to the American market, the largest demographic of consumers in the world.

The need I am referring to is very real. Ask just about any college student, movie buff, or avid reader. Everyone has had a time in their life where they simply felt like there was nothing to read/watch. This is a problem of perception and awareness; one that can be easily solved if only there was an organized system for achieving that purpose.

Innovation

The product that I am offering meets the aforementioned need. My idea is Storybored.com, a website and app that will revolutionize the way that people watch, read, and play through story media. The idea is simple and proven to work. Very much like how Pandora had such a massive impact on the music industry with its Music Genome Project, we hope to make an impact through a similarly functioning algorithm. When creating an account, users will input genre interests and a few past favorite series of theirs. The system will then generate some suggestions, and as users work their way through the suggestions there will be a rating system available to provide feedback. The system will take into account the feedback and use it to increase the accuracy of future suggestions. The best part is that this venture requires little in terms of building a database or getting licensing; we are not providing the media, merely suggesting it. 

I think the only difficulty in implementing this innovation will be to convince users that it is worth their time to check it out. This means that streamlining the signup process as much as possible will be of the utmost importance. Furthermore, we will need to attract the attention of the “early adopter” demographic. This will mean advertising on services that already employ similar structures (Pandora, Spotify, etc.) and possibly on places like YouTube. We need to target the young demographic first, and then expand outward.

This is a prime opportunity as there are currently little to no competitors in the market. My ideal team would mostly consist of those that I have already worked with on the project, and I do not foresee the need for a larger staff until the idea really takes off. As what we are selling is not a physical product, packaging, transportation, etc. are basically a non-issue.

Three Minor Elements

The main element that sets this venture apart is that, as stated above, I believe it meets a need that is not currently being met at all. People rely mainly on friend’s recommendations and general hearsay to decide what they want to read/watch. There is no organized system quite like this on the market at the moment.

Another key advantage here is my team. I believe that between the coding skills and network connections we have, my team is aptly prepared to meet this new market with a product that would stand out regardless of it being the first. I think I have a uniquely talented group of individuals to collaborate with.

As far as what next, the direction that Storybored will be taking if it takes off, is to expand into the actual story media industries. I believe that if we can establish enough brand recognition, that if consumers begin to associate our seal with quality material, we can begin doing some sort of “editor’s choice” program, where books that we find of particularly high quality, have universal appeal, or is highly rated on our app/website.  I believe this to be the most logical expansion of our brand into a household name.

Depending on the success of this venture, I could see myself staying with the company for quite a while. After ten years or so, I see myself possibly exploring other options. In all honesty, I do not see my career as being defined by a single company, and would probably like to switch avenues after an extended period of time. I envision myself as a successful agent of business, in whatever form that may take. I envision this company as my starting point, not my endpoint.

Conclusion

To reiterate, I believe that Storeybored is tapping into a huge potential demographic due to the meeting of an emerging unmet need. The technology to create such a website has existed for a while now, as evidenced by companies such as Pandora, but no one has applied it for this purpose. The opportunity is there, we have the technical prowess, and the business model is viable. I see no reason not to give this venture a chance.

Feedback:

The feedback I have received has not really lead me to change anything. Overall response to the idea in its latest iteration has been overwhelmingly positive, and I think that most people agree that it is an innovative idea for a venture. I did take a moment to add some clarification as to the database, and where/how we will be making these suggestions.  The responses have definitely reinforced my ideas about where the strength of this venture lies (it is a completely unmet need in an emerging market).

Week 14 Reading Reflection

1.  Something in this reading that surprised me was the amount of resources that companies today dedicate to being innovative. I already knew that there was a push in modern business to promote innovative ideas, and that corporations were realizing that entrepreneurship wasn't needed to just start a business, but also keep it alive. I just didn't realize the extent to which they invest in it, with teams and such specifically dedicated to it. You always think of corporate only looking at and accepting hard data, but I guess data is starting to show a payoff in this type of investment.   
2. I find the idea of structured corporate entrepreneurship a little confusing. How exactly does one set the boundaries on such a hard to define activity. Who is to say whether or not the I-Team is being productive? How do you evaluate something like that? I definitely feel like this would be a challenge to implement.
3. Two questions I would ask the author:

• Is structured creativity possible? 
• Is the type of entrepreneurship seen within corporations the same as that seen within individuals? 

1. I do not disagree with anything that I read in this chapter. I honestly did not know much about corporate entrepreneurship going in, so it is difficult to have a different opinion.

Going for Google Gold

1) A discussion of your general approach and strategy to search engine optimization (SEO). What were some of the activities you did for each blog post to pursue SEO? 

I was not focused on SEO for this blog. I viewed this blog as more of an archive for my entrepreneurial journey, and I doubt it holds any real interest to anyone other than myself. For this reason, I did not spend much time trying to promote it.

2) What were your keywords. How did you select those keywords? Did you change or refine your keywords through the semester?

I probably included the words "business" and "entrepreneurship" about a thousand times over the course of this blog. I also included the phrase "story media" in just about every post that I discussed my venture idea in. I did not really change my keywords throughout the semester; we learned about the importance of keywords for SEO very early on in this class.

3) How did you use social media to enhance your SEO efforts? What your your surprises or general impression of using social media to improve your blog's profile? Was social media generally receptive of your blog, or did it get ignored?

I am not a very heavy user of a social media (I didn't even have a Facebook until about halfway through this semester), so admittedly I have not promoted my blog through social media at all. I imagine that social media is a very effective means of promotion, but I was not overly concerned with this aspect of the blog.

4) What was your most "viral" post? In other words, which post obtained the most traffic? Why do you think?

I guess my first "idea napkin" got a bit of attention due to the fact that I literally took a picture of a napkin and posted it. Other than that, I don't really feel like any particular post got that much attention. I think people were attracted tot he post because it was sort of unique and stood out from the other posts.

5) Finally, did you make it to the first page of Google results for your keywords? If not, what page of results did you make it to?

I cannot find my blog on google unless I specifically enter the address and title. I was not focused on optimizing my blog for visibility. This is an error in hindsight.

Very Short Interview with an Entrepreneur, Part 2

My impression of my initial interview is that it seems unoriginal and forced. I was so focused on simply completing the assignment that I did not stop to consider the originality or thoughtfulness of my questions. Despite this, I do remember and see that Mr Lennon gave insightful answers, and I am appreciative of that.

Once again I conducted a phone interview with Mr Lennon. It went as follows:

Was there anything that happened in your entrepreneurial journey that made you seriously consider quitting and just finding a regular job? 

Well, early on it was certainly difficult. I wasn't always confident that the I was going was going to work out. We tend to have these concrete goals for ourselves, and the thing is, its really hard to set realistic ones for yourself when there is so much you don't know. When things are that uncertain, and you don't really know where you are headed moving forward, it is certainly easy to get discouraged.

What has been the most rewarding part of the experience for you?

The uncertainty is double edged sword. Sure, it discourages you sometimes, but it was also one of the main sources of excitement for me. That's probably been why I have been able to stick with this thing for so long; I never know what I will be doing tomorrow.

Is there a single piece of advice that you could give me that you feel is *the* most important?

Honestly just be ready to be not ready. The better you are at existing in uncomfortable situations, the better you will be at adapting to the world of entrepreneurship. Flexibility and perseverance cannot be overvalued. You can have everything but one of those and still fail. 

Reflection:

I did not really pick up on a sense that Mr. Lennon felt that I had progressed. I can understand this, I d not know him very well, and even I find it hard to measure changes in myself sometimes. I have grown significantly in my professionalism over the course of this semester. I do not know whether it shows, but I internally I certainly feel the difference.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

1. I wasn't really surprised by much in this reading. I was previously unfamiliar with the material, so it wasn't very possible for me to go in with preexisting expectations. I will say that it was nice to see the applicability of things like SWOT analysis and other such exercises that I already am familiar with, as I believe that these would be key components of any feasability study. 
2. I was confused by due diligence evaluation, tangible book value, price to earnings ratio, etc. All of these terms are new to me considering my unfamiliarity with the stock market. 
3.  Two questions that I would ask the author:

• What is the most important component/statistic to evaluating the overall strength of a company, in your opinion?
• What is the best way to increase investors confidence in your business?

4. I really can't disagree with the author about anything in this section. I know very little as far as this topic is concerned.

Celebrating Failure

During the last semester I tried and failed to get into FLA, the Florida Leadership Academy. Not only did I fail to get in, but the reason that I failed was due to a very good friend and coworker of mine lying about sending in a letter of recommendation. My application was thrown out before even being considered.
For a while I was very bitter about this. Instead of being happy for my friends who got in, I was jealous and annoyed and was thinking along the lines off "well if he/she got in surely I had a chance!". Looking back I am not very proud of the way I acted during this time.
Over time I have managed to get over these hostile and negative feelings. I like to think I learned from the experience. I know that in the future, if something is truly that important, you cannot let it all come down to a single person to determine whether or not you succeed. Always have a backup, always be prepared for the worst.
Coping with failure has always been difficult for me. I tend to take it personally when I do not meet a goal. This class has helped me to recognize that failure is not a bad thing; it is a natural part of the learning process. Success is achieved through failure, as long as one does not let a failure hold them back. This mindset has led me to adopt a new perspective on taking risks. Every risk taken is an opportunity for growth, regardless of the outcome.

My Exit Strategy

1. As far as my plans for myself in relation to this company over the long term, I definitely don't envision myself staying for my entire career. More than likely, I will stay for 5-10 years (assuming its success) and then move on in search of another opportunity. I don't like the idea of staying in one place my whole life, and even considering the excitement of staring and running my own venture, I wouldn't want to limit myself to only that experience.
2. I really value variety in my life. As exciting as any one thing may be, I do not want to have anything that obligates me to stay in the same spot. I enjoy the ability to move from place to place and explore options. Establishing a successful venture would be a huge accomplishment, but one that I would eventually leave.
3. I do not believe that the aforementioned mindset has affected my decisions in any kind of way. Not wanting to limit myself to one thing does not change my dedication to what I am currently working on. Perhaps it is something I should have taken more into account early on, considering the process of transferring responsibility of the venture to someone else, but I do not believe that is a critical consideration at the moment.

What's Next

Interviews:

Reflection

As far as new vs existing markets are concerned, I believe that we are already targeting such a wide range of people that it cannot really be limited to a distinct market. Very early on in defining this business model, I realized that limiting my audience simply to avid book readers going through enough material to warrant a service such as this was a little too limiting. I was forced to expand my idea into other venues of media: television, movies, and video games. Honestly, I am much happier with this route that the idea has taken, as I feel it has very universal appeal rather than limited, and is much more innovative and forward thinking. It is because of this early expansion, however, that I am left with little else to expand into post-launch.

I speculated in my previous post about the possibility of moving into more public endorsement avenues. Respected institutions with brand power can often dictate the larger success or failure of media. Once my venture's brand has been well established, it is possible that this sort of staying power by association will be acquired. This offers a new venue of interaction; we will no longer be a purely business to consumer company. This will involve business to business interactions. I see this as the most logical next step/market expansion. I do not believe that without some kind of crazy circumstance, any other market could be reasonably breached with the service we offer.

Week 12 Reading Reflection

1.  I definitely found it surprising that apparently a lot of companies fail due to lack of planning. I feel like, if anything, I over plan things like this. I can't imagine taking the risk of stepping out into a business venture without examining every possible angle. 
2. I did not find anything in this chapter to be confusing.
3. Two questions for the author:

• What are the benefits to categorizing failure?
• Is there a way to evaluate how well planned out an organization is? Who's to say when lack of planning is responsible for a failure? 

1. Something that I disagree with the author on a little is the last segment. I do not believe that a company has to continue being innovative to survive. To truly succeed, some sort of unique innovation is indeed necessary in the beginning, but once a company has established a loyal customer base and maintains a dependable, reliable brand, I feel like they can survive indefinitely. McDonald's has thriving off of their original fast service innovation for more than half a century.

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

Netflix and other such services have steadily increased the rate at which people watch through television series. Waiting week by week per episode is a thing of the past. People find a series that they are interested in, and proceed to binge watch it in a matter of a couple weeks or even days. This is leading to an emerging problem that has really always existed but never on this scale: the feeling that one has run out of things to watch. This applies to basically every form of modern media; books, movies, video games, people are burning through them at a faster rate than ever before. Traditional methods of discovering new material are no longer sufficient to satisfy this overwhelming demand, and I believe that my product is aptly timed to answer this emerging need. The window of opportunity is currently wide open, but it will only remain so while there is no other service that addresses this. If this idea is to be acted on now, there is no telling how huge the possible payoff could be. This is essentially the opportunity to introduce a completely new service to the American market, the largest demographic of consumers in the world.

The need I am referring to is very real. Ask just about any college student, movie buff, or avid reader. Everyone has had a time in their life where they simply felt like there was nothing to read/watch. This is a problem of perception and awareness; one that can be easily solved if only there was an organized system for achieving that purpose.

Innovation

The product that I am offering meets the aforementioned need. My idea is Storybored.com, a website and app that will revolutionize the way that people watch, read, and play through story media. The idea is simple and proven to work. Very much like how Pandora had such a massive impact on the music industry with its Music Genome Project, we hope to make an impact through a similarly functioning algorithm. When creating an account, users will input genre interests and a few past favorite series of theirs. The system will then generate some suggestions, and as users work their way through the suggestions there will be a rating system available to provide feedback. The system will take into account the feedback and use it to increase the accuracy of future suggestions.

I think the only difficulty in implementing this innovation will be to convince users that it is worth their time to check it out. This means that streamlining the signup process as much as possible will be of the upmost importance. Furthermore, we will need to attract the attention of the “early adopter” demographic. This will mean advertising on services that already employ similar structures (Pandora, Spotify, etc.) and possibly on places like YouTube. We need to target the young demographic first, and then expand outward.

This is a prime opportunity as there are currently little to no competitors in the market. My ideal team would mostly consist of those that I have already worked with on the project, and I do not foresee the need for a larger staff until the idea really takes off. As what we are selling is not a physical product, packaging, transportation, etc. are basically a non-issue.

Three Minor Elements

The main element that sets this venture apart is that, as stated above, I believe it meets a need that is not currently being met at all. People rely mainly on friend’s recommendations and general hearsay to decide what they want to read/watch. There is no organized system quite like this on the market at the moment.

Another key advantage here is my team. I believe that between the coding skills and network connections we have, my team is aptly prepared to meet this new market with a product that would stand out regardless of it being the first. I think I have a uniquely talented group of individuals to collaborate with.

As far as what next, the direction that Storybored will be taking if it takes off, is to expand into the actual story media industries. I believe that if we can establish enough brand recognition, that if consumers begin to associate our seal with quality material, we can begin doing some sort of “editor’s choice” program, where books that we find of particularly high quality, have universal appeal, or is highly rated on our app/website.  I believe this to be the most logical expansion of our brand into a household name.

Depending on the success of this venture, I could see myself staying with the company for quite a while. After ten years or so, I see myself possibly exploring other options. In all honesty, I do not see my career as being defined by a single company, and would probably like to switch avenues after an extended period of time. I envision myself as a successful agent of business, in whatever form that may take. I envision this company as my starting point, not my endpoint.

Conclusion

To reiterate, I believe that Storeybored is tapping into a huge potential demographic due to the meeting of an emerging unmet need. The technology to create such a website has existed for a while now, as evidenced by companies such as Pandora, but no one has applied it for this purpose. The opportunity is there, we have the technical prowess, and the business model is viable. I see no reason not to give this venture a chance.

The Amazon Whisperer

Describe the revenue drivers you currently include in your business concept for this class. Revenue drivers are the different ways you make money. 

My main idea for a revenue driver would be advertising, like most other forms of media. As I am not selling a physical product, or even selling a service, I think my main revenue source would have to be selling targeted advertising space to other companies. I was not planning on doing any sort of membership or service fee, I was planning on basically making the product free to consumers.

Describe what kind of product offering you believe should be next. What's the next thing your customers want?

Other than purchasing the books, movies, and shows that they may have discovered on my app/website, my concept does not lend itself to supplemental material. Perhaps I could offer a membership to get rid of ads? Seems like a common thing to do.

Describe how this "next" thing will enhance your existing product/service offering. Does it improve the user experience, does it increase customer switching costs, does it foster customer loyalty, etc.?

If I were to go the membership route, the "next" thing would definitely foster customer loyalty, although as it stands I am creating a new market without much competition.

So for this next part since I didn't really have a related product I decided to go with whatever random thing I could find:

Go to Amazon and try to find a product that is similar to the one you want to offer next. Describe the product. Include a picture of the product.

This is 984 cpm(clicks-per-minute) Uranium ore. While not very similar to my product, it is definitely an interesting amazon find.

What are the customer reviews for the product? What, exactly, do customers not like about the product? What do they like about it?

Customers seem to dislike the inherent risk associated with purchase of the item (radioactivity, CIA involvement, etc). They do seem to like the fact that it is affordable, and one of a kind.

Describe what design/usability changes you'd make to the product. 

I would probably come up with more classy and probably secure packaging. Looks a little risky to ship as is.

Describe why you think this product would make a good addition to your current product/service offering.

I think I have already noted that this part of the exercise is a little irrelevant.

Week 11 Reading Reflection

1.  I did not find much of this weeks reading very surprising. I have actually learned quite a lot about the innovation aspect of starting a business through my Creativity in Context class. Still, it was cool to see the information reiterated.
2. I found the distinct classes for types of innovation a little confusing. I have never liked the idea of classifying types of innovation; innovation is not something you can necessarily categorize into a box. For instance, would the assembly line be a business model innovation or a technological innovation?
3. Two questions for the author:

• What separates entrepreneurship from innovation? I have heard some speakers use the words almost interchangeably. Can't entrepreneurship be seen as innovation, or vice versa?
• Do you believe that it is possible to over innovate? It is often said that certain musicians or artists were ahead of their time, is such a thing possible for a business?

1. I don;t think I really disagreed with any part of the reading. I don't like categorizing innovation, but other than that I agree with what the author had to say.

My Unfair Advantage

My Resources:

• My Alpha Kappa Psi Network

Limited to members of Alpha Kappa Psi. Not extremely rare, but provides opportunities that others might not have. Fairly valuable. Very comparable to any other fraternity/sorority network, with a slight advantage considering its business emphasis.

• Finance Background

As a major in finance I have a little bit of insight into the interworkings of companies. I can help the venture remain economically viable. This is a common and easily replicated skill set.

• My team and I's programming ability

As I mentioned in the last post, I have a talented programmer in my network. I am also fairly skilled at coding. These advantages are fairly hard to come by and extremely valuable considering the industry my product would be entering. However, these skills are not unique.

• A unique idea

I do not believe there is an idea like mine currently on the market. This allows us to essentially bypass dealing with competition, and instead simply focus on gaining the interest of consumers. This is a rare and hard to replicate advantage.

• University Start-up Resources

As a student at the University of Florida I have access to all the start-up specific resources, such as the spaces reserved for emerging business ideas at infinity hall. College campuses are also extremely conducive to the development of new ideas; I have direct access to the very demographic that usually adopts new ideas first. Not a very unique advantage but it is significant.

• Good Salesmanship

I am a fairly effective salesman. I am good at making people feel relaxed and comfortable around me. This is a fairly unique, but easy to replicate resource that simply takes practice.

• Good Leadership

When I believe in an idea, I am very effective at seeing it through. I have the ability to organize others to accomplish a task. This is also not a super unique skill, and is easily replicated.

• Well read

This wouldn't normally be that significant of an advantage, but considering the business idea and my team it is considerable. This is an easily replicated skill and not so unique skill.

• Musical Ability

My brother and I are musicians. I do not know if this would necessarily aid the venture, but it is a legitimate skill set and I am running out of ideas. It is a hard to replicate and somewhat uncommon skill.

I think that the most significant entry on this list is definitely the programming ability. A lot of these other resources are simply circumstantial and fairly common. I could not reach the 10 minimum entries on the list, which does lead me to worry a little about the viability of my venture. 

Growing My Social Capital

Domain Expert:

    Philip Rashan is an expert in computer coding and programming. When provided with an idea he has the technical prowess to make it a reality. I met Philip online about six months ago through an online card game tournament. We have continued to collaborate on small projects and shoot ideas to each other ever since. I have shared my idea with him and I know he would be willing to work on it with me.

Market Expert:

   Katherine Lawler is an avid reader and marketing major. She has participated in numerous book clubs and other venues that would expose her to my target demographic. I have known her for about a year and we have recently established a solid working relationship, and as of last week we are already collaborating on another project. I believe that Ms. Lawler could keep me in contact with my target demographic, grounding my idea and providing valuable and accurate feedback. 

Supplier:

Matthew Roberts is also an expert in computer coding and programming, but has inside connections as far as server hosting services are concerned. Robert's father is in hosting services, and through this connection perhaps I could secure a cost advantage over competitors.

Reflection:

While I think this experience was certainly valuable, I do not think it will influence my method of networking in the future. Sure, it is important to seek out connections in relevant fields, but at the same time you never know what might be relevant in the future. I think trying to specifically make connections in those areas that are immediately useful is not the way to go, rather you should foster and grow as many long term connections as you can, Who knows, your friend from that one business class ten years ago might be the key to getting your foot in the door somewhere in the future.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

1. A part of the reading that I found surprising was how much the reading dwelled on the technical aspects of accounting. It seems redundant given the majority of the class will already have taken, or be taking a class specifically addressing this topic.
2. A part of the reading that I found confusing was product-driven philosophy. To focus on making a product efficiently before marketing seems backwards. How can you focus on making a product when you don't even know whether or not it will sell? It seems unnecessarily risky. 
3.  Two questions for the author:

• What would be the impact of a country like China switching from a standard like the US dollar to the Euro?
• What financial metric is the most essential to an accurate valuation of a company?

1. Its not so much a specific section that I disagree with the author on, its more of a general contention with the idea of the chapter as a whole. I would never try to argue that finances are not an important part of the entrepreneurial process; actually, as a finance major myself, I believe that this topic is universally applicable. I just don't know if it is necessarily part of the specifically entrepreneurial skill set. Its kind of like how the ability to walk is key to any job, but you won't find many job tutorials teaching you how. I don't believe finance falls under the entrepreneurial skill set, although it is an invaluable part of the process.  

Week 9 Reading Reflection

1. I was a little confused by the term guerrilla marketing. I wish that the author had gone into more detail. Couldn't anything be considered guerrilla marketing?
2. I wasn't particularly surprised by anything in this week's reading.
3. Two questions I would ask the author:

• Does innovative marketing pay off? It seems like the biggest companies stick to tried and true tactics, and it definitely works for them..
• Pricing strategies or product developement: both are crucial, which is more so?

1. Something that I disagreed with the author on in this week's reading was the idea that income divides people. Income is no more divisive than any other aspect of living, we simply make it seem that way with how we treat income as a society.

What's Your Secret Sauce

What I think of my human capital:

• I know that I have strong analytical thinking skills, From games, to class assignments, to jobs I have worked, I am always the person that wants to break down and analyze the activity. 
• I am good at making decisions under pressure. When I am stressed I tend to become even more focused. I do not let it interfere with the task at hand.
• I am a good mediator, and do not let personal bias affect decisions in which I feel that it would be destructive. I am good at examining the merits of both sides of an argument without taking into consideration my personal feelings. 
• I know what I don't know. I am always willing to defer judgement to those who know better, and do not let pride get in the way of a successful project.
• When a leader is necessary, I am more than willing to take charge. While I prefer to work and contribute to a group under others, I also have noticed that I preform especially well in environments where I have the control and responsibility.

What my family thinks of my human capital:

What my friends think of my human capital:

It seems that my interviewees as a whole basically agree with my self assessment. Funny enough, I disagree with my dad as far as mathematical ability is concerned; I do not feel I am particularly good at it. I would also like to add that I feel there are some inconsistencies simply because I haven't really been with my family since I have started college, and I believe I have changed quite a bit. I do not think I am nearly as quiet or reserved as I used to be.

Idea Napkin No. 2

I couldn't not do another actual napkin:

and as per request:

1. I am still Jacob. I still think I'm good at solving problems and troubleshooting ideas. I still seek success, and my faith in my idea as a tool to acheive it remains unchanged.
2. My service still allows for more enjoyable media consumption. It suggests titles when you run out (like Pandora or last.fm)
3. My customer base is everyone that either watches a lot of TV, reads a lot of books, or watches a lot of movies. Is there anyone that doesn't cover?
4. This still stands to eliminate the "nothing to watch" problem.
5. I still believe that the idea's strength lies in catering to/facilitating a whole new level of convenience (laziness).  

My opinion of how the components of my idea napkin mesh has not changed. I believe that by creating them for the purpose of this assignment they have an inherent tendency to compliment one another. My confidence in the last piece of the idea napkin has changed significantly> I no longer see it as the weakness. If anything, I now see it as a strength.

Feedback Memo:

The majority of the feedback simply requested that if I was to do something like write the idea napkin on an actual napkin, that I type it out as well in order to make sure it is easy enough to read. I did this, as well as clarify what I am proposing at Mr Fussel's suggestion. Overall, I believe I fixed any issues that were previously addressed.

Half-Way Reflection

Some things that I have learned in this class:

1. Tenacity is a skill. It is not a personality trait or something you are just born with. It is the practiced ability to keep on even after failure. Many times while recording videos I would make some mistake that meant I had to start all over, or maybe even interview a new person. With enough practice though, you develop a mindset that simply isn't satisfied until the job is done. Interviewing strangers is definitely difficult, but you will adapt to it if you force yourself to. Just push through, the beginning is the hardest part (of the first half).
Organization (as with everything) certainly helps to keep up with the workload. Scheduling out your time so that you know when you will be available to complete each activity is an invaluable skill to have.

2. Tenacity is about attitude. I already touched on this above, but tenacity really is just a refusal to see failure in a negative light. Be encouraged each time you do something wrong; if you are always doing it right on the first try you aren't actually learning anything and the course is of no benefit to you. On that note, it is also important to try to complete each exercise to the best of your abilities, rather than just the bare minimum. I myself have struggled with this, but I can tell you in hindsight that I got a lot more from the experiences where I went beyond what it took to just click the true button in the declarations.

3. Three tips:

• Allow yourself ample time to record the elevator pitches. Each time it ended up taking me nearly twice as long as I thought it would to get a decent take. Don't be fooled into thinking it is a sixty second exercise plus video editing.
• Try to work ahead. In this course you have the freedom to work as far ahead as you want (within reason) due to the style of exercises you complete. Many times last minute things have come up that prevented me from returning to my computer to complete an assignment. Twice I have saved myself by simply doing one or two assignments in advance. Be tenacious.
• In developing an excitement about the work, I found it really useful to picture the course as a checklist. Each time you make that declaration, you are one step closer to course completion. 

Free Money

I walked the street around Marston and Rawlings Hall. I tried to split my approaches between both genders. I simply said "Hi, would you like a dollar?". This was my entire strategy. I expected to give away maybe two dollars.

As you can see, I gave away none. Giving away a dollar was way harder than I expected, and I am glad. My assumptions were correct in that I knew a significant amount of people would turn down the dollar out of suspicion. Nobody likes being approached when they have another place or purpose in mind. People were actually way more polite than I expected though, I thought that a few would just ignore me. Everyone at least acknowledged me enough to say no.

Elevator Pitch 2

The main feedback I received for my last pitch was that I try to slow down the speed at which I was talking and make my pitch less of an information dump. For this rendition I tried to force myself to slow down, as well as simplify my explanation of the product so that instead of having to pile in so many words in sixty seconds, I have more time to pace my speaking. I do notice that my closing was a bit awkward in retrospect, but overall I believe this to be a more solid rendition of the pitch.

Interviewing Customers No. 3

My interview strategy was simple and straightforward. I wrote out my idea on an index card and handed it to random people after they had agreed to be filmed. Their reactions were then recorded.
This is the card I handed out:

Reactions:

My responses were mixed. I received enthusiasm from some and sarcasm from others. Overall, I do not really feel like this will affect my plans for this project much, however I will keep in mind the fact that I have my work cit out for me as far as convincing people that this is a good idea. Something else I noted is the confusion with some of my interviewees. I need to continue to improve the way I describe my business to others. 

Idea Napkin No.1

I took the title literally:

I believe that the five elements work together in so much as I made them that way. I believe that the most disjointed/unconnected point is the first. My goal is only met in the sense that it is a venture and any venture can bring success. I realize that the "Core Competencies" aspect is a little weak, but overall my opinion of my idea is the same.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

1.  A part of the reading that I found surprising was the statistic on new firms. Since the 1990s, approximately 1,500 new businesses are started every day. That number is absolutely insane to me. It really makes one realize the importance of making sure your idea is unique and actually meets an unmet need, otherwise it will simply be swept away in the enormous tide of new businesses all vying for a spot in the market. Ventures must be distinguishable to succeed.

2. Part of the reading that I found a bit confusing was the passage on growth of sales. I previously thought that growth was always a good thing. It seems a bit strange to me that certain entrepreneurs would want their start-ups to stay small simply for the sake of control. Does rapid growth naturally equate to loss of autonomy?

3. Two questions I would ask the author:

How does one learn to make objective evaluations? Self-bias is very strong, would it be better to rely on others to evaluate your business idea?

What should be the timeline for profitability? How long should an entrepreneur be ready to sink money into a venture before making money from it?

4. I didn't really disagree with the author anywhere in this chapter. He gives a well laid out basis for start-up pitfalls and considerations, including some that I hadn't really even considered as a possible issue (such as legality of a new business. Sinking time and resources into a venture and then having it turn out not even be legal could ruin a potential business owner). I found the chapter informative.

Elevator Pitch: Storeybored

Opportunity: People rely mainly on friend's recommendations and manual browsing in order to find new entertainment media.

My proposal: Storybored, the app/website that suggests new entertainment media for bingewatchers and avid readers alike. Inspired by the music service Pandora, Storybored utilizes an algorithm that takes into account a multitude of factors such as length, author/director, genre, style, theme, etc in order to find movies and books that you will always enjoy.

Week 4 Reading Reflection

1. The first thing that really stood out to me in the reading for this week was in the characteristics of a corporation that facilitates entrepreneurship. According to the text, small flat organizations are best suited for facilitating entrepreneurial ideas and growth. The reason this stood out to me is that this is already a characteristic I was seeking out in companies I hope to work for in the future, without even knowing that this layout was fundamental for innovative thinking. Where as this was just more of a personal preference before, it will likely be a requirement for companies I seek out from now on.

2.  I was a little confused over the idea that the global economy is an emerging thing in business. It's repeated several times throughout the text like it is something new. The global economy has been around for awhile now, and this recent increase of respect for the entrepreneurial mindset seems independent of it.

3. Questions I would ask the author:

• Is the facilitation of entrepreneurship critical to a corporations survival? Is it possible for a company to exist without it?
•  It seems that most of the characteristics that motivate entrepreneurial thinking within a company involve being more open and non-hierarchical. Is rigid organization inherently bad for innovation?

4. An area in which I disagree with the author is that standardization inhibits creativity and innovation. I believe that creativity is not simply about doing things the way they weren't meant to be done. Creativity can survive and thrive within a regulated atmosphere. It is a practiced skill.

Customer Interviews No. 1

So, for my "potential business opportunity" I figured I would try something like a Pandora, but for books instead of music. I personally love to read on recreationally, but one of the biggest struggles is often just finding that next good book, especially if you churn through them fairly fast like I do. Once friend recommendations run out, you're often at a loss, and that's assuming you're friends who read have the same taste in books. This would be a system that, like Pandora, feeds you a steady stream of books that are random but at the same time tailored to your preferences. You would simply "seed" the suggestions by inputting a few books and author's that you really loved, and then it would create a feed for you. Each time you read a book on the suggestions, you would rate it in order to provide the system feedback to continue customizing the suggestions to you personally. You could even create multiple feeds, so that you could switch genres or whatever. This would meet the need of book-lovers everywhere.

 Questions:
1. Name
2. Year
3. Major
4. How often do you read recreationally?
5. Have you ever felt like you ran out of good books?
6. How do you normally go about finding a new book?

Video:

I apologize for the lack of editing. I'm an entrepreneur not a director.

Reflection:
So, being completely honest, I wasn't really confident in my idea at first, I just needed something to complete the assignment. However, as I progressed through the interviews and realized that my target audience was not only larger than I expected, but could also easily be expanded, I became much more confident that this was at least a feasible start-up idea.

Interviewing was definitely uncomfortable at first, but got easier and more natural as I went along. I will say that enlisting the aid of a peer to help film and work together with took a lot of the pressure away. It would have been noticeably more difficult by myself.

Top 5 World Problems (Number 4 Will Shock You!)

Problems  (from worst to less worse)

1. Global Warming

2. Nuclear Weapons

3. World Hunger

4. Apathy

5. War

Solutions (from most implementable to least)

1. Apathy

2. Global Warming

3. World Hunger

4. Nuclear Weapons

5. War

 I had a difficult time coming up with an order for this list, as I feel all of these are huge problems. In the end, I mainly decided the order through their greatest possible detrimental impact. For example, global warming and nuclear war are both at the top as both are capable of rendering the planet uninhabitable. Global warming is placed above as it is steadily and progressively becoming a bigger issue, whereas we have avoided global annihilation in the form of nuclear holocaust for more than half a century. World Hunger is next due to the sheer number of consistent deaths it is responsible for. In that sense I realize that I should have put disease on this list, but it wasn't in my original list of world problems so, an oversight on my part. Apathy is next just because I believe it is the source of basically all problems. War is the last as, while it is indeed the cause of many deaths and a massive horrible problem, it is essentially inherent to humanity. I do not feel it is an issue so much as a condition.

I put apathy as the easiest to solve because, let's face it, all of them are really hard to solve or they would have been solved already. I feel like the apathy issue could be addressed soley by government programs, unlike the rest of these problems. Global warming, like apathy, can be addressed through government intervention but would require world coordination the likes of which has probably never been seen before. It is feasible, but unlikely. World Hunger is where I feel this list first dips into the unsolvable. I feel like global resource distribution will always be an issue. Likewise, nuclear weapons have been created and will never go away. As I stated above, I feel war is simply part of the human condition. While it truly is a terrible thing, I see it as part of who we are.

A relevant picture. 

(Apathy)

Week Three Reading Reflection

1. Something that surprised me in this week's reading was the passage on commitment, determination, and perseverance. I realize that commitment is important both personally for the entrepreneur and for potential investors (you don't what to put your money on something that even the creator doesn't believe in), but what I didn't expect is that the text suggested that making personal sacrifice for a venture could actually look good in the eyes of an investor. I have always seen investing as a thing where you want to look as confident and secure as possible; the idea that a potential investor would view mortgaging one's own house to start a venture (and thereby making oneself very vulnerable) as a positive was startling. It makes sense the more I think about it, but it initially took me aback.

2. I was confused that the author included "low need for status and power" in the bullet list of common entrepreneurship traits; I wish that had been expanded upon. Isn't one of the driving factors behind entrepreneurship the want for independence, answering to no one but yourself. An entrepreneur is his/her own boss. The kind of person driven to become an entrepreneur seems the exact kind of person that seeks power and independent recognition.

3. Two Questions I would ask the author concerning this chapter:

• Could an individual believe or hold to an external locus of control and still be an entrepreneur?

• It has been stated many times already that failure is a learning opportunity. Is it not also possible to learn from success? 

4. The section about the "dark side of entrepreneurship" was a little silly to me, and a place where I disagree with the author, An entrepreneur accepts the inherent risk of their field. The fact that an individual is willing to accept these risks and move forward, this is not a "dark" or dangerous behavior. The riskier the move, usually the greater the rewarded. If an entrepreneur fails in his venture, it doesn't mean that his decision to go for that particular venture was a negative one.

Identifying Local Opportunities

Chronic relationship posting is exhibitionist

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8761341815870?p=AWNB

Facebook is a never-ending stream of unwanted information. People use it to keep in touch with old friends, but the amount of irrelevant and unnecessary information about other's lives that you are constantly flooded with is unwanted. It needs a filter.

Who has the problem? Anybody that uses Facebook.

Counseling and Wellness Center leaves much to be desired for students

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A6288B66B6B0B8?p=AWNB

The article summarizes the writer's experiene in trying to get an appointment with a psychiatrist. Apparently, this was a difficult and inefficient multi-step process in which the patient would not receive actual care for weeks, and this was only bypassed b the writer through getting in touch with Dean of Students Office.  

Who has the problem? UF students with mental health needs.

More than 300 march to say: Hands off our parks

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A9388BC0BA7E30?p=AWNB

Residents are opposed to opening up state parks to activities like hunting and ranching in order to make them self-sufficient. More than 300 showed up to protest the proposal. There is still the underlying problem, however. How can we make the State Parks self sustaining?

Who has the problem? Local government/community

Color me happy: the rise of adult coloring books

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A5A876E8449418?p=AWNB

Not so much a problem, but an opportunity. Coloring books for adults are an arising business opportunity, a market that is new and growing.

Reitz to house new startup businesses in Fall

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A789134B4DFB60?p=AWNB

Not necessarily a problem, but definitely an opportunity. The hatchery is holding a competition for potential student businesses, the winner gets $25,000 in funding to try to make it happen.

Who has the opportunity? Us

Very Short Interview No.1

Yesterday I interviewed Bill Lennon, owner of Image One and County Business Systems Inc. Lennon has run these businesses as is own for his entire professional career.  As a former intern at Image One, I was curious as to Mr Lennon's outlook on business and the world of entrepreneurship. I asked him the following three questions and recorder his responses:

Q: What, in your own words, is an entrepreneur?

A; I think an entrepreneur is an independently motivated individual willing to take risks. They go out on their own.

Q: What skills do you think an entrepreneurship course should teach?
I actually just read a book on this called The E Myth. There are processes behind all businesses, its important to be trained and aware of these processes before you even consider a venture. Take me for example: I know the technical aspects of my business. I went to school for it. What I wasn't ready for were all the financials, the logistics. I knew my trade, but I had to find people to help me manage the other stuff. Its also important to realize that you'll need help. As much as you think you know, you won't know everything.

Whats the most important trait of an entrepreneur? The ability to take a "no". If you are the kind of person that enjoys doing the same thing every day, its not the route for you. If you like doing something different, being unsure about what's going on tomorrow, you need to have that adaptability too.

I found the final part of the second response to be that which spoke to me the most. Its a commonly repeated piece of wisdom, but to know your own weaknesses and to realize when to accept the help of others is certainly a trait of a strong leader. Ones own professional prowess is all well and good, but no one can handle all aspects of everything.

World's Biggest Problems and My Answers to All of Them*

• Refugees. There is a reason its being referred to as a "crisis". So what do we do?

Obviously the solution here is to form an independent refugee state funded by the UN. In essence, UN membership would pend on proportional contribution to the upkeep of the established international refugee haven, the incentive for this being that in the long run it prevents any one or small group of countries from bearing the brunt of the refugee burden. It takes a more experienced mind than mine to know the full implications of forming such a state, but how hard could it be?

• World Hunger. People are starving, almost 21,000 die every day to hunger related issues. 

It has been said that world hunger is a problem of distribution rather than a lack of resources. For example, 40% of food produced in the US is thrown away uneaten even though 1 in 6 Americans struggle to put food on the table.  I believe a legitimate way to reduce waste is to re-evaluate our use/sell-by dates, which are arbitrary anyway. So much food is thrown out just because it passes an assigned date by a day or two, when in reality its perfectly good and probably will continue to be so for awhile. A price incentive system could also be implemented to encourage consumers to buy older food first.

That, or we just start eating the poor people. Which actually brings me to the next issue...

•  Overpopulation. People are being born at an exponential rate. We will eventually reach a point where the Earth will lack the resources to sustain us. In fact, if the entire world went expended resources at the rate of the US, we would need 5 Earths to support us.

The previously mentioned solution would work as a pretty effective culling measure. Alternatively (as some might be averse to the practice of cannibalism) I feel the best course of action is either to expand our civilization outside of the boundaries of Earth through space exploration, or to continue to find new ways to harness the Earth's resources (global technological initiatives and investment).

• Global Warming. The Earth is heating up and a large majority of scientists agree that it is caused by people. 

The solution here is simple and we have the technology to do it, unfortunately the problem lies within the politics of implementation. "Green Earth" initiatives are expensive, and unfortunately there is really no currently existing method of forcing a country to curb their carbon emissions. The solution of this problem would basically require the creation of a global non-affiliated agency with the power to enforce climate initiatives. Its never going to happen.

• Terrorism. Individuals that rise up and commit violent acts against populations as a whole, leading to the deaths of countless innocents. How do we stop it?

While some countries have attempted a very straightforward approach, such as declaring war on it(because apparently you can declare war on a concept), I believe that this is an issue that must be treated before it begins (i.e we must stop the creation of new terrorists). I feel that once a terrorist organization exists, it is too late to simply wipe it out. Ideas, unlike governments and nations, cannot be warred against effectively because they have no boundaries, supplies, or limits in general. Ideas fail when individuals cease to hold them. It is for this reason that I believe that the best and only real way to end terrorism is to aid the countries that are producing terrorists. Turning countries into war zones in the name of eradicating a terrorist cell only serves to create more terrorists in the long run. 

Alternatively, we implement terrorist licenses. If we can't eradicate it, we should at least regulate it.

•  Wealth Distribution. As a capitalist, I believe income inequality is healthy. However, the degree to which wealth has accumulated at the top(especially within a global context) is a bit too extreme.

Well, other than the more obvious solutions but impractical solutions(global communism hooray!) I suppose a good place to start is the investment in developing economies. Oddly enough, I feel that this is a mutually beneficial possibility that is being completely overlooked by investors. Sure, sending money to Fejfkekfhwue so they can create a power grid sounds like a risky allocation of resources, but I personally feel that this is a hugely untapped source of potential.

• The fact that at any moment a fairly small amount of people could decide to end the world due to nuclear weapons. Its more than a little unnerving. 

I suppose the only way to fix this one is to develop some sort of defense mechanism that could adequately defend from a nuclear weapons, because at this point we know how to make them so they aren't going away. This would be accomplished through increased defense spending. Alternatively I suppose we could dismantle every single one and then celebrate the occasion with a mass burning of all materials to do with nuclear weapons, and then end the celebration with the execution of anyone who already knows how to make them. Too much of an emotional roller coaster to be practical.

• Labor abuse. Its no secret that big corporations take advantage of less developed countries lack of regulation to acquire ludicrously cheap menial labor. Unfortunately, this cheap labor results in the downright horrific treatment of workers (hence the sweatshop stereotype).

Unfortunately the US cost of living has basically eliminated the possibility of cheap menial labor jobs. More and more developed nations are eliminating the need for non-skilled workers through technological advancement. I think the only real answer to this is a global education initiative. We have to train these people with a useful skill. Either that or we can destroy our automated assembly lines and go back to hand-making stuff (it's what the Luddites would have wanted).

• War. Armed Conflict. Whatever you want to call it, its like humanities oldest problem: when we group up we get angry at other groups then start killing each other. 

Such an ancient problem is obviously rooted in who we are as a race right? I beg to differ. I wonder if we have ever tried to hug it out. I mean it. Just...like get everyone together and force them to hug. It's worth a shot right?

• Apathy. I believe that the majority of people don't bother to try to make a difference and stick to doing whatever it is they have always done because they believe that nothing can change, that the world is too big for an individual to effect in the grand scheme of things.

This can be traced back to quite a few causes, but I believe that this is largely because influence has been so highly concentrated at the top of the pyramid and is less dispersed as society has progressed. I don't mean this in the sense that our lives are dictated more by people on top than they ever have been, in that way we are more free today than people really ever have been. I mean that the nation shaping, Earth moving, global decisions are made mostly by a relatively small group of people that most feel incredibly disconnected from. It is this sense of disconnection that causes them to not exert the influence that they do have. I believe the best way to do this is more promotion of opportunities for citizen involvement(kind of like the way clubs/student organizations are so vigorously promoted at college). The nation stands to gain quite a lot from this, if only just a more informed voting populous and higher voter turnout.  

*note: many of these answers are satirical or have satirical elements. They are not meant to be taken seriously. Please understand, I am also not making light of these issues. They are real and we all need to work together to solve them. I was simply having fun with an assignment. 

Reading Reflection: Week 2

     To start off, I was surprised to learn in this weeks reading that entrepreneurial endeavors are actually a whole lot more successful on average than we tend to believe. I too held to the notion that the majority of start-ups are doomed to failure, but according to the text most new businesses actually have a success rate of a little over 50%. Sure, its still very risky when our consider the alternative of  a regular salary paying job, but considering the possible rewards and the actually not-so-dismal chances, going out on our own now seems to me a fairly appealing prospect.

     On that note though, I was a little confused by the characterization of the individual entrepreneur in this text. The author constantly refers to them as "risk-takers", while at the same time discussing how overly emphasized this aspect of entrepreneurship is, that in reality entrepreneurs do whatever they can to mitigate risks. While not perhaps strictly contradictory, I felt as though I was reading a mixed message.

     Two questions I would ask:

• Wouldn't the Venture Opportunity school of thought simply fall under the "unique people"category in the Strategic Formulation school?

• When did the term "entrepreneurship" originate? We know that it is derived from the French meaning"to undertake", but when did it actually become a stand-alone term?

     Something I disagree with the author on is the notion that entrepreneurship is an acquired skill. In other words, I disagree with with his disagreement on "entrepreneurs are born, not made". I believe there is an element to entrepreneurship that is simply innate, that only people with a certain personality possess. Practice can improve anyone's skill in basically anything, but I also believe that some people are simply born to do certain things (i.e. they are talented). I have friends that will always be better than me at certain things, regardless of the time time spent practiced, and vice versa. I believe this applies to all things actually. There is both learned and innate ability.

Bug List

Bug List

• The shower curtain in my bathroom keeps falling

               The springs are worn out

• Card Decks come with Jokers that are almost never used

               Jokers are used in a couple of obscure games and rule sets

• My roommate leaves his dirty dishes everywhere

            He knows I will eventually get fed up with it and wash them for him

• Every phone has its own unique charger. It sometimes feels like I have the tools to charge every phone in the world but my own.

            Companies do this on purpose to force you to buy their brand specific products

• People who have access to clean tap that buy bottled water. It feels excessively wasteful on multiple levels.

           People believe that bottled water is somehow "purer"

• I seem to lose my keys at least once a day.

           I rarely set them down in the same spot

• Locks in general. I feel that over the long term they slow down the owner more than they ever will any thief.

           People have been conditioned to believe and fear that the second the leave something               unattended it will be swiped or tampered with

• My car always has one too few cup-holders.

          I guess I carry around too many cup like objects

• I correct auto-correct way more often than it corrects me

         Auto-correct is completely unfamiliar with colloquial language

• When I sleep under the covers, I am too hot. When I sleep on top of them, I am too cold.

          Florida in the winter

•  Diamonds are intrinsically worthless but through artificial supply manipulation and clever marketing (both in the past) they have been made into an astronomically expensive necessity that is a required purchase of any man who plans on getting married.

         De Beers historically had a monopoly on the diamond market

• Shirt sizes seem to be completely arbitrary

          Different brands and styles are meant to have different fits

• When I am unable to watch a Youtube video not because the video won't load, but because the ad wont load.

          Ads are necessary for Youtube's revenue, if they won't load the users need to refresh the page and load another ad for the benefit of the site.

• When I am punished by Pandora for skipping a song that it had just played 10 minutes ago, and again a half hour before that.

          Pandora has a tendency to play ads when you hit the skip button, regardless of circumstance

• Zero tolerance policies and similarly treated laws. Context is always important and each individual case requires discretion.

          If you treat an act harshly enough in every case, supposedly it will just stop happening

• When a song gets stuck in your head but you can;t remember the title, artist, or any lyrics

           Catchy beats

• That every store on the planet has a membership program which the cashier is required to pitch to me as part of their job, even if I am only buying a single item.

           The companies are trying to build repeat business/customer loyalty

• My computer always automatically  restarts while I am doing something incredibly important that can't be interrupted.

         I ignore the day in advance notice.

• McAfee anti-virus seems to be as annoying as any virus I have ever had in the past.

          It spams notifications at a rate of about once per 30 minutes that pull me out of all windowed tabs. 

• The first time I completed this assignment my work didn't save even though I hit the save button like thirty times, and I only now have finally finished it all over again at the cost of about an hour of my life.

          I didn't save it in an alternative document

Reflection

I found this assignment really difficult at first, but once you get into a certain mindset you suddenly recall all the things that were frustrating you just a few minutes ago. I find it kind of interesting that it was so hard for me to complain at first, as I see myself as a sort of whiny person in general. I can see how this activity correlates with the entrepreneurial mindset. In order to come up with innovative solutions to problems, the first step is to be able to identify them. Other than the fact that I had to recreate the above list from scratch, I enjoyed this activity.