13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

1) You read about an entrepreneur: Elon Musk

• What surprised you the most?
• I was not aware of the fact that Tesla's charging stations were solar powered and Tesla owners did not have to pay. I think this is a really smart idea because it decreased the long term investment that is owning a Tesla.
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
• The fact that he respects people that do not give up easily. the example that is given when the reporter did not stop writing the book after being told he would not get assistance, which inevitably leads to Elon respecting his motivation and instead starts helping him.
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
• The fact that sometimes Elon musk can be perceived as egotistical due to his belief that he is in charge of making a better tomorrow.
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
• Although his first companies were a massive success from the beginning, the following companies that he would later work for and make were not as successful at first (SpaceX and Tesla). He did not give up and kept working on his next new idea until it was a success.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

• He’s a man constantly looking to the future, is a risk taker, and does not subscribe to common ideologies. 

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

• When the author delves into the history of San Francisco and other entrepreneurs I did not find it to be extremely relevant to Elon Musk’s story and did not understand what it added.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

• How is he able to cope with all the stress that comes with trying to run 3 different companies.
• How does he stay positive in the face of absolute uncertainty such as when he originally invested in SpaceX, Tesla and solar power and their respective markets went into slumps.

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

• Not allowing others uncertainties to derail your drive to succeed, and constantly giving the maximum effort possible even if going against all odds.

14A – Halfway Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course?

• I keep myself organized, in order to keep track of my assignments. I do not allow myself to do anything until I have finished my assignments for the day.

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

• I am someone who struggles with math, and my freshman year I was failing my precalculus class even though I would study every day for multiple hours on end with a tutor. I ended up getting a C in the class and kept studying for the entire summer break and the next year was then able to get an A in my Calculus AB. 

3) Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

• Organizing yourself and keeping track of everything is key in order to be able to succeed in class. 
• When others give their criticisms they are constructive in order to help you do better on the next attempt. 
• If something is difficult it is because it matters, and that is when you have to work harder. 

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Need awareness interview 1

• What times
• For lunch and dinner 
• Situations 
• Doesn't have a meal ready for those times 
• Places 
• Home 
• Contexts 
• Doesn’t know how to cook proper meals 
• What is the very first thing they do to find a solution to their problem? 
• Make a sandwich instead of a proper meal 

Need awareness interview 2

• What times 
• Breakfast lunch and dinner 
• Situations 
• Doesn’t want to take the time to cook a meal 
• Places 
• Home 
• Contexts 
• Is busy doing homework and activities that they do not find it important to cook 
• What is the very first thing they do to find a solution to their problem? 
• Go out to eat at a fast food restaurant 

Need awareness interview 3

• What times 
• Dinner 
• Situations 
• Doesn’t eat breakfast or lunch 
• Places 
• Home 
• Contexts 
• Being that they are eating out for all their meals, they believe intermittent fasting will help mitigate the adverse health effects. 
• What is the very first thing they do to find a solution to their problem? 
• Stay hungry for most of the day until they go eat dinner which is usually a large fast food meal. 

• The candidates are fully aware of their problems but tackle their situations in manners that are not ideal for their health. They do not perform information searches as they believe that they are handling their current situations in the best way with their limited options.

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1. You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?
1.  I am a college student at the University of Florida. I use to manage a wholesale shipping company, and I would love to use that experience in order to improve the quality of living for students and parents.
2. What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 
1. A food delivery service that allows parents to ship pre-cooked or pre-prepared foods to students.
3. Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?
1. Students that wish to eat better but don’t have the time or energy to cook for themselves. Parents that are worried that their students are not getting the right nutrition necessary to be effective in class.
4. Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 
1. For some, constantly eating out can take a toll on their body and leave them lethargic, my company would give them the same ease of use as going out while providing the benefits of cooking at home.
5. What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 
1. Currently, the only companies that allow people to send food are grocery stores. The problem with this method is that you can only send ingredients or their prepackaged TV dinners. With my company, people will be able to deliver food that has already been prepared or even cooked facilitating the cooking process for the receiver.
6. I believe these five elements fit together well. This company has the potential to help students by offering a healthier alternative to dining out. Additionally, due to the food being pre-prepared, students that live in dorms with limited cooking appliances are still able to benefit. The company would be an efficient and reliable way for students to start eating healthier.

Pitch

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Interview 1:

• Who: college student with busy schedule that finds time to cook for themselves every day.
• What: the student does not mind cooking every day, instead enjoys eating better meals that do not leave them feeling sick.
• Why: They do not enjoy eating out due to the effects it has on them, therefore they instead cook every meal themselves.

Interview 2:

• Who: college student that is focused on their athletic career.
• What: They prepare their meals several days in advance in order to maintain a strict diet to achieve their nutrition requirements.
• Why: their athletic career surpasses their want for a meal that might be quick but not as nutrient dense.

Interview 3:

• Who: college student that frequently visit home.
• What: Frequently visits home because their parents send them back with large quantities of food.
• Why: Does not enjoy cooking for themselves and instead prefers to make a trip twice a month in order to pick up the food.

Interview 4:

• Who: college student that enjoy eating out.
• What: eats out for every meal, every day.
• Why: although the student does not like to cook the student does enjoy eating fast food for every meal as they get free food delivery so they don't have to go get it.

Interview 5:

• Who: college student with meal plan
• What: they have already paid for however much food they are going to eat for the semester/
• Why: the convenience factor of not having to go far to a restaurant and not having to pay at time of service?

Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary
College students that are not happy with their current dining situations.	College students that follow certain diet plans or have meal plans.
A food delivery service that would supplement students meals in order to break the monotony of constantly eating out.	A food delivery service that would replace students need to constantly eat out.
Constantly eating out can have unfavorable side effects, leaving many to miss home cooked meals.	Some do not mind eating out as they never have negative side effects.

8A – Solving The Problem

1. Selected opportunity
1. College students do not always get adequate meals in their busy day to day life.
2. Product/service so that we can fully understand what you intend to sell to your customers and so that we can provide sufficient feedback to you.
1. A low-cost food delivery service which would have centers in which parents/guardians can deliver food either cooked or frozen to their student’s college campus.

7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1. Pick an opportunity you would like to pursue. From this point forward in the class, many of these exercises will be related to a specific venture you want to start. Here's where that path starts. 
1. College students getting adequate meals.
2. Clearly state the opportunity you have identified, including the who, what, why. For instance, "Hospitals in the United States are unable to easily, efficiently bill Medicare for drugs they distribute because of the logistical challenges in linking a drug given to a patient and the patient's bill." 
1. The who: College students and Parents
2. The what: College students struggle to eat well balanced quality meals, leading many parents to worry.
3. The why: College students have strenuous schedules which can leave little time for them to prepare meals.
3. This is your 'hypothesis' about the opportunity. It is a statement of your belief related to an opportunity. I'd like you to test the boundaries of the hypothesis by pushing and prodding each of the three elements. That means:
1. Testing the who: Are there others who have this need? Or, does everyone in your current 'who' share the need? 
1. Not everyone in the current who shares the need, there are some students that do not have issues with preparing quality meals within their time restraints, additionally some students do not mind eating out.
2. Testing the what: What are the boundaries of the need? For the example above, the questions you'd ask could include, "Are all drugs a challenge, or just some drugs?" "Are all patients a challenge, or just some patients?" "Is it just Medicare, or does it include Medicaid or private insurers?" Etc.
1. Are all college students struggling to prepare meals
2. Do all parents concern themselves with where their children eat
3. Is cooking for one at home cheaper than eating out
3. Testing the why: Not everyone will perceive their need the same way; here, I'd like you to test the boundaries of the 'why' -- for the people who have the need you have identified, what are the range of whys that they offer? Does the "why" you have identified hold for everyone? For the example above, maybe some hospitals will see their need rooted in logistics, maybe they'll blame government bureaucracy, maybe they'll blame the nurses and doctors. 
1. For some college students it is cheaper to eat out
2. Some college students do not want to prepare their own meals
3. Some college students find the time to cook for themselves
4. In Part 1, you must interview five people. These interviews must be lengthy enough for you to get the information you need. In these interviews, you want to ask questions that try to capture the variation in the whos, whats, and whys, and your objective is to test the boundaries of your opportunity hypothesis. 
1. Interview 1
1. What is the exact nature of the need?
1. Student can not cook in dorm
2.  How are they currently addressing their need?
1. Dining pass and eating out 
3.  How satisfied are they with this solution?
1. They are moderately satisfied with their current solution. (6/10)
2. Interview 2
1. What is the exact nature of the need?
1.  They are tired of cooking every day
2.  How are they currently addressing their need?
1. Student comes home from class and cooks every day
3.  How satisfied are they with this solution?
1. They are highly satisfied with their current solution. (7/10)
3. Interview 3
1. What is the exact nature of the need?
1.  Student is too lazy to cook everyday
2.  How are they currently addressing their need?
1. Reheating precooked frozen meals 
3.  How satisfied are they with this solution?
1. They are highly unsatisfied with their current solution. (3/10)
4. Interview 4
1. What is the exact nature of the need?
1.  Student is on a tight budget
2.  How are they currently addressing their need?
1. Eats budget foods ie. hotdogs, sandwiches, chips
3.  How satisfied are they with this solution?
1. They are highly unsatisfied with their current solution. (3/10)
5. Interview 5
1. What is the exact nature of the need?
1.  Student is on a tight budget
2.  How are they currently addressing their need?
1. Finds discounts and special deals online for fast food delivery services
3.  How satisfied are they with this solution?
1. They are find their current solution to be passable. (5/10)
5. Include your write-up of each step in your assignment. For step 4, please summarize what you find. Given your interviews, what do you know about the opportunity that you didn't know before?
1. There are many different reasons as to why the need exists, but I feel as if many of the needs can be tackled in similar fashions.