I changed my speech style to reflect my personality more. This meant some more smiling and even a bit of joking around to truly feel comfortable when I went in to film the final stage of the video. That being said, I truly felt in my element in this recording thankfully.
Friday, March 29, 2019
22A - Elevator Pitch No. 3
21A - Reading Reflection No. 2
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Scott Adams
1) The general theme and/or argument of the book was to invite failure in to your life and to pick its pocket in order to embrace the challenges it presents.
2) The book allowed for me to adjust my business perceptions in accordance with the coursework at hand. This means, that the course balances out with the required reading to make for a streamlined narrative.
3) The exercise would involve writing down your top 10 failures and then comparing them to lessons you have learned in the present day. That would allow for the growth to be visualized.
4) The biggest "aha" moment was when I realized how the potential for failure meant that opportunity could be found in every corner of your life.
1) The general theme and/or argument of the book was to invite failure in to your life and to pick its pocket in order to embrace the challenges it presents.
2) The book allowed for me to adjust my business perceptions in accordance with the coursework at hand. This means, that the course balances out with the required reading to make for a streamlined narrative.
3) The exercise would involve writing down your top 10 failures and then comparing them to lessons you have learned in the present day. That would allow for the growth to be visualized.
4) The biggest "aha" moment was when I realized how the potential for failure meant that opportunity could be found in every corner of your life.
Friday, March 22, 2019
20A - Growing Your Social Capital
Erik Rodriguez (Deloitte - Technical Consultant)
1) Background in Industrial Engineering with a focus on technical design.
2) Market Expert due to knowledgeability about the market and focus at hand.
3) Networked with due to UF Alumni connection.
4) Networked and had occupational interview. Allowed me to gain information and him to give back to his school.
5) This person will serve as an alumni connection that can hopefully mentor me.
Jane Selegean (BAML - Software Engineer)
1) Background in app development and software engineering.
2) Domain Expert due to years of acquired skills that are directly applicable to product creation.
3) Met this summer at tennis club back home in New York.
4) Had an additional occupational interview that served as a friendly intro and a networking opportunity for both of us.
5) Hopefully aim to have Jane mentor me and offer career and business idea advice in the future.
Paul Quinones (Eyeview - Process Engineer/Marketing Consultant)
1) Varied background in merging engineering solutions with marketing applications
2) Marketing Expert due to expertise in said field. Has valuable skillset applicable to marketing outreach.
3) Met at same tennis club as the one above.
4) Had a conversation at the tennis club that was very amiable and informal. Received a lot of career-wise, and was able to give tennis advice at the same time.
5) Paul would be a great mentor to have and offer technical advice that would help grow the business in the long term.
This experience taught me that the best way to network was in an informal setting. Formal settings are great, but slightly rigid if you re really trying to get to know someone. That being said, I also learned the value of asking thoughtful probing questions in order to build up and foster a stronger networking bond. In the past, I went up with trivial questions that did not really allow for me to secure lasting connections.
This experience taught me that the best way to network was in an informal setting. Formal settings are great, but slightly rigid if you re really trying to get to know someone. That being said, I also learned the value of asking thoughtful probing questions in order to build up and foster a stronger networking bond. In the past, I went up with trivial questions that did not really allow for me to secure lasting connections.
19A - Idea Napkin No. 2
1) You. I am an innovator and believer in creativity as a means of identifying business opportunities to leverage. This allows for me to use my talents for resource development and product design to pinpoint potential entrepreneurial pursuits. These skills work in tandem with my aspirations of becoming a principled business leader and I see my business playing the role of a driven, personal pursuit in my life.
2) What are you offering to customers? I am offering a service guaranteed to allow for students to get from off-campus to on-campus in a timely fashion. Think of it as a UF-backed ride-sharing app that functions similar to Uber or Lyft.
3) Who are you offering it to? I am primarily offering this service to UF students, UF faculty, and campus employees. These three potential customer groups seem to have the most promising results in terms of garnered interest going forward.
4) Why do they care? The solution/service I am poised to offer allows for a reliable form of transportation to and from campus for UF-affiliated persons. That being said, the need is present in the population of Gainesville. Therefore, plausible cause for the service to exist is present.
5) What are your core competencies? The major core competencies of my business are that we believe in two major factors: 1) timeliness and 2) reliability. Thus, the two major cornerstones of my business coincide with valued preconceptions with my selected customer pool.
I believe these elements fit together effectively in order to build up a skeleton of the service that is, at the end of the day, aimed towards productivity in one's life. Transportation and punctuality concerns are issues common to the setting of Gainesville. Thus, the fact that the core competencies coincide with the reasons why the customers care means that the service has a sense of profitability already inherent.
Feedback:
- Try to incorporate my core competencies into the "Why?" of my business plan
- Make an effort to present a needed value to the pool of customers
2) What are you offering to customers? I am offering a service guaranteed to allow for students to get from off-campus to on-campus in a timely fashion. Think of it as a UF-backed ride-sharing app that functions similar to Uber or Lyft.
3) Who are you offering it to? I am primarily offering this service to UF students, UF faculty, and campus employees. These three potential customer groups seem to have the most promising results in terms of garnered interest going forward.
4) Why do they care? The solution/service I am poised to offer allows for a reliable form of transportation to and from campus for UF-affiliated persons. That being said, the need is present in the population of Gainesville. Therefore, plausible cause for the service to exist is present.
5) What are your core competencies? The major core competencies of my business are that we believe in two major factors: 1) timeliness and 2) reliability. Thus, the two major cornerstones of my business coincide with valued preconceptions with my selected customer pool.
I believe these elements fit together effectively in order to build up a skeleton of the service that is, at the end of the day, aimed towards productivity in one's life. Transportation and punctuality concerns are issues common to the setting of Gainesville. Thus, the fact that the core competencies coincide with the reasons why the customers care means that the service has a sense of profitability already inherent.
Feedback:
- Try to incorporate my core competencies into the "Why?" of my business plan
- Make an effort to present a needed value to the pool of customers
Friday, March 15, 2019
18A - Create a Customer Avatar
My customer avatar stands at 5 foot 9 inches, 170 pounds, and is your average joe. With black hair and a soft smile, he is a modest spender and prefers to save when he can. Some of his hobbies include jogging with friends, playing basketball at the YMCA, and volunteering at a local homeless shelter.
The car that he drives is a Honda Civic and he watches both the Bachelor and the Bachelorette since he likes to keep up with both versions of the show. He is a family man and has two bright children. A boy and a girl who keep him on his toes. Neither are adopted and both like to read the Harry Potter series! That being said, average joe supports the Miami Dolphins and purchases season tickets each year as that is his favorite team to watch play.
I actually am also a big Miami Dolphins fan too! I think that when it comes to creating the customer avatar, we like to base certain qualities on ourselves and our own personal convictions. At the end of the day, we are our own first customer. I think having stuff in common with the avatar allows us to relate more to the customer and understand the needs that we are presented with as an entrepreneur.
17A - Elevator Pitch No. 2
2) Most of the feedback I received from the last speech allowed for me to see myself for what I truly was when it came to an unbiased report on my speaking skills. I did not realize that I was sometimes monotone in the way I spoke, which can give a feeling of a lack of energy and passion. Also, I was able to better understand how tone of voice and voice inflection best affect the overall positioning of the speech.
3) The only thing I changed based off of the feedback was to exhibit more passion in my speech. This time around I felt like I was actually candid in my approach to the speech. This allowed me to find myself as a speaker.
Friday, March 1, 2019
16A - What's Your Secret Sauce?
1) Extensive go-kart driving experience has made me adaptable and able to adjust quickly.
2) Growing up with tennis has taught me to adjust under pressure and lead a team.
3) My multi-lingual background has afforded me with the chance to expand my horizons.
4) Very open to differing opinions!
5) Values family over everything, when it comes to core values.
Interviews: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12wKQ27J_x2hKBm93E1zlkLFqOLTcPqK_2htCBFDGgNo/edit?usp=sharing
Anthony: Believes in me as a representation of the capabilities of growth.
Donna: Sees me as a catalyst for openness to experience with leadership skills.
Alex: Views me as an adaptable person with an energetic presence.
Donovan: Understands me as an individual at heart.
Brandon: Similarly views my ability to adjust as a virtue.
Reflection:
Funnily enough, I see myself similar to how the others that I was fortunate enough to interview see me. These matched views mean that a certain level of consistency is present, which warrants a trend in the information presented. This essentially means that the comparisons here are relevant. Therefore, I wouldn't make any corrections to the list given the similarity between the outward and inward views.
2) Growing up with tennis has taught me to adjust under pressure and lead a team.
3) My multi-lingual background has afforded me with the chance to expand my horizons.
4) Very open to differing opinions!
5) Values family over everything, when it comes to core values.
Interviews: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12wKQ27J_x2hKBm93E1zlkLFqOLTcPqK_2htCBFDGgNo/edit?usp=sharing
Anthony: Believes in me as a representation of the capabilities of growth.
Donna: Sees me as a catalyst for openness to experience with leadership skills.
Alex: Views me as an adaptable person with an energetic presence.
Donovan: Understands me as an individual at heart.
Brandon: Similarly views my ability to adjust as a virtue.
Reflection:
Funnily enough, I see myself similar to how the others that I was fortunate enough to interview see me. These matched views mean that a certain level of consistency is present, which warrants a trend in the information presented. This essentially means that the comparisons here are relevant. Therefore, I wouldn't make any corrections to the list given the similarity between the outward and inward views.
15A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2
Segment: Students, Affiliates of the school, and Campus workers involved in school activities
Interview 1: Involved a neighbor of mine who is studying Biology currently at the University of Florida. During our initial conversation I brought up price point as a suggestion for an alternative evaluation. This brought out questions of how the information would be sought out in order to help figure out the behavior of the buyer. Still, quality and style seemed to both be equally important in the inherent value of a product. This means that this segment is more opposed to online services which allow them to gain a full overview of said product. In this case the 'rightness' of a purchase did not seem to impact the overall buyer behavior.
Interview 2: In this second case, the interviewee was my Public Speaking professor. Intangible services fall in line with the expectations of this customer segment as they are less materialistic, but still equally value quality and price over values such as 'rightness' or feasibility. However, even with all this being considered, the customer segment here believed in a commitment to excellence and a price point that worked within budgetary concerns in order to stand out from a list of alternatives.
Interview 3: Third choice of interview subject was Pat from Broward dining. In this scenario, Pat acted as a catalyst for the discussion regarding overall product resourcefulness. Indeed, price-point mattered somewhat. Still, quality and styles seemed to emerge as the true victors in the race for customer clarity.
Summary of report/conclusion: Overall, when weighed against the various customer segments talked about in this discussion post, quality and style seemed to be at the forefront of understanding buyer behavior. Each customer is different in the end, and various decisions govern the end goal of the purchase. Still, through analysis we can better seek to understand why some decisions occur over others.
Interview 1: Involved a neighbor of mine who is studying Biology currently at the University of Florida. During our initial conversation I brought up price point as a suggestion for an alternative evaluation. This brought out questions of how the information would be sought out in order to help figure out the behavior of the buyer. Still, quality and style seemed to both be equally important in the inherent value of a product. This means that this segment is more opposed to online services which allow them to gain a full overview of said product. In this case the 'rightness' of a purchase did not seem to impact the overall buyer behavior.
Interview 2: In this second case, the interviewee was my Public Speaking professor. Intangible services fall in line with the expectations of this customer segment as they are less materialistic, but still equally value quality and price over values such as 'rightness' or feasibility. However, even with all this being considered, the customer segment here believed in a commitment to excellence and a price point that worked within budgetary concerns in order to stand out from a list of alternatives.
Interview 3: Third choice of interview subject was Pat from Broward dining. In this scenario, Pat acted as a catalyst for the discussion regarding overall product resourcefulness. Indeed, price-point mattered somewhat. Still, quality and styles seemed to emerge as the true victors in the race for customer clarity.
Summary of report/conclusion: Overall, when weighed against the various customer segments talked about in this discussion post, quality and style seemed to be at the forefront of understanding buyer behavior. Each customer is different in the end, and various decisions govern the end goal of the purchase. Still, through analysis we can better seek to understand why some decisions occur over others.
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