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.