Final Reflection

ENT3003 offered me many new experiences over the summer term. Some of the highs I experienced were the completion of interviews. I dreaded doing the interviews, but the ones I did I enjoyed doing, even if I did not get credit for them. Just the practice of approaching new people is enough to make it worthwhile. I had fun interviewing my family and friends, because there was minimal pressure and a level of comfortability too. I really liked reading the books too. In fact, I plan on reading some more of the books from the list in the near future.

I feel the experience that stick out to me as the most formative was the idea napkin exercises and the bug list exercise. The bug list really got me thinking of new opportunities through personal and societal “bugs”. The most joyous experience for me were making the elevator pitches. They took longer than I expected, but I had fun making them. The experience I am most proud of accomplishing is the making it real exercise. Putting my venture concept on a resume really makes me think I can really do it.

Honestly, I have felt like I had an entrepreneurial mindset from when I was younger. I was always thinking of new ideas and being creative. Some of the things I thought of before now exist. But I never followed through on any of my ideas, because that part of the mindset was not developed yet. Thanks to ENT3003 I now feel my entrepreneurial mindset has developed substantially.

One recommendation I have for future ENT3003 students is to not get hung up on your first or even second concept. I came into this course with a concept that I never even brought up and ended with having tested three different opportunities.

To perform their best, I recommend future students start their assignments early. Get a couple of assignments done early so they are not trying to cram everything into one weekend. And also to watch the lectures and take advantage of as much of the extra credit being offered.

To foster the entrepreneurial mindset, I recommend students take initiative to read more about entrepreneurs. And to pick one who is creating now and follow their ventures. Also keep thinking about ways to make life better, easier, safer, etc. As one lives life they can discover opportunities.

 

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity:



I found newly graduated or soon to graduate students to either have or presume they will have the need for my application. But my application is for everyone and will work for current college students and adults too. The transfer student, the foreign exchange students, the established working man or women can benefit from the use of my application. We are all social humans by nature and we seek adventure and friendship.



Environmental Change



When people find themselves in new areas due to:

·         Work Related Move

·         Family Decisions

·         Cost of Living

My Market/Demographic

·         Metropolitan Areas

·         Twent-one - Thirty-five years old

·         Male or Female

·         All Ethnicities

·         All Religions

Current Customers



Customers satisfy their need to connect with a myriad of outlets provided by the university. Some potential customers do use application to try and make connections, but I feel some of those applications have earned a bad rapport. An application to connect others easily becomes an application to find a date. Current students are able to find others to connect to by joining clubs and organizations, but outside of school friend finding becomes harder.

I download applications I have never heard of for fun. If I can create a good design and limit any glitches and confusion my application downloads will grow.



Window of Opportunity



Millennials and the next generation are my focus. Some Millennials are leaving my demographic in a few years, but many will be entering too. And the idea is to catch them early. The good news is this segment will always be around, looking for ways to use their energy and youth.



Innovation:



My venture concept is of incremental innovation, but still serves a great purpose. My innovations to a phone and tablet application is to have a video profile. I feel the video makes one feel more invited to connect and will encourage a higher rate of compatibility and friendship. Right now the application is a free service. However, I will look to make money through advertising and sponsorships. I will have a banner of ads running along the bottom or top of the screen and on the messaging chat box. I do not intend the ads to become a nuisance, but maybe a small fee of $3.00 a month can provide the user with an ad free environment.



Venture Concept:



I have come up with an idea for a phone and tablet application. The name of my application is ALike, because the purpose is to bring people together based on interests and an even more specific level.  A user will be able to log in to my application and set up a profile for other members to see. One difference is the user profile will be a video profile. Now the user has the opportunity to truly express themselves and show or explain their interests and goals. Once the user has set up their profile they are free to explore the application for other users with similar interests. To make the search easier my application will be broken up into different categories. One category will be for people interested in painting and ceramics. While another category will be for those interested in skydiving or kayaking. Once one finds someone to make a connection with they can request their friendship. Once the friendship is accepted they can begin to use the integrated messaging system to communicate and then become best friends.



My competitors would be

·         Facebook groups

·         Sites like craigslist

My competitor’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities are that they can be overlooked by the majority. Craigslist has a bad image on itself, because of reliability issues and unsecure content. Also with Facebook groups, people can become distracted and not utilize the group to its full potential.



The customer experience is the main objective. I want to provide a safe and fun environment for people to connect through. Then after the connection I want the user to be able to provide feedback to help with providing a better experience. I feel providing both single and group connections will benefit most personalities and wants.



ALike will provide exceptional customer service to the users. All feedback will be taken seriously and we will contact users if there is any potential risk. We will take the initiative and reach out to our users first to create a channel of communication.



Instead of being a website and relying on users to use a search engine to find us ALike will be a mobile application. Since everybody carries their phone around with them ALike can be readily available with one push of a finger.



For ALike to be organized as a business to support ongoing production I will have to open two different departments.

·         Customer Support/Service

·         Tech Support

A user can communicate by phone, chat, or email. I imagine thirty employees scattered throughout the US to start and then go from there.



Behind the scenes in different locations there will be a team to make sure ALike is glitch free and responsive for all users. I imagine ten employees to start will be sufficient depending on growth. I will also have a team of advisers who will work with me and brainstorm creative ways to provide users the best experience possible. My advisory board will be made up of five people.



Three Minor Elements

1)      I believe my most important element is the team. ALike will have a team who wants to help people live fun and exciting lives.

2)      The next new service will be to promote group outings at specific destinations. For example, ALike sponsored skiing in Aspen, white water rafting in Wyoming, and sunset painting in Key West.

3)      In five years I imagine I will give up majority ownership and control over ALike. As an entrepreneur I see myself investing in other people concepts. I also want to think up new concepts. This first concept has helped me create a vision and get a real sense of the entrepreneurship process.

Feedback:

I only received one comment on my venture concept no.1 post and he was supportive of my venture concept. He thought my video profile was new and could become a trend in the near future. My roommate also mentioned social media platforms are leaning more towards the use of video. Look at SnapChat, they are eighty percent video based, at least. I did enter the Thunderdome and I received plenty of comments on my venture there. Many people mentioned they were outside my target audience so my app would not help them. A change I made was to incorporate group hangouts. I see Tinder is getting into that market, but one can only join a group if they are in a group of their own. My idea would let individuals and groups come together. Maybe the change will encourage older parts of the market to join ALike. People’s main concern was ALike might become another dating site. I have no control over how people intent to use ALike and maybe relationships form. I would hope so if not romantic relationships causal friendly relationships with one another. As far as my venture concept no.1 post, I left the content the same.

Making it Real

My Resume

My Exit Strategy

I do plan to hand over majority of power over to someone else in about five years. But this person must share the passion I do and want only the best for ALike.

I chose to give up a majority hold on ALike, because I want to go on and come up with other concepts. I want to keep working and providing for the world. This is why I still want to have a say when it comes to ALike’s future, but still available to find other opportunities I can exploit.

My exit strategy has only become a recent thought of mine. My search for opportunity, desire to grow, and my allocation of resources were not influenced by my exit strategy. I came into this concept with the focus and attitude to give a strong effort for my concept to succeed.

Venture Concept No.1

ALike

Opportunity:

I found newly graduated or soon to graduate students to either have or presume they will have the need for my application. But my application is for everyone and will work for current college students and adults too. The transfer student, the foreign exchange students, the established working man or women can benefit from the use of my application. We are all social humans by nature and we seek adventure and friendship.

Environmental Change

When people find themselves in new areas due to:

·         Work Related Move

·         Family Decisions

·         Cost of Living

My Market/Demographic

·         Metropolitan Areas

·         Twenty-one - Thirty-five years’ old

·         Male or Female

·         All Ethnicities

·         All Religions

Current Customers

Customers satisfy their need to connect with a myriad of outlets provided by the university. Some potential customers do use application to try and make connections, but I feel some of those applications have earned a bad rapport. An application to connect others easily becomes an application to find a date. Current students are able to find others to connect to by joining clubs and organizations, but outside of school friend finding becomes harder.

I download applications I have never heard of for fun. If I can create a good design and limit any glitches and confusion my application downloads will grow.

Window of Opportunity

Millennials and the next generation are my focus. Some Millennials are leaving my demographic in a few years, but many will be entering too. And the idea is to catch them early. The good news is this segment will always be around, looking for ways to use their energy and youth.

Innovation:

My venture concept is of incremental innovation, but still serves a great purpose. My innovations to a phone and tablet application is to have a video profile. I feel the video makes one feel more invited to connect and will encourage a higher rate of compatibility and friendship. Right now the application is a free service. However, I will look to make money through advertising and sponsorships. I will have a banner of ads running along the bottom or top of the screen and on the messaging chat box. I do not intend the ads to become a nuisance, but maybe a small fee of $3.00 a month can provide the user with an ad free environment.

Venture Concept:

I have come up with an idea for a phone and tablet application. The name of my application is ALike, because the purpose is to bring people together based on interests and an even more specific level.  A user will be able to log in to my application and set up a profile for other members to see. One difference is the user profile will be a video profile. Now the user has the opportunity to truly express themselves and show or explain their interests and goals. Once the user has set up their profile they are free to explore the application for other users with similar interests. To make the search easier my application will be broken up into different categories. One category will be for people interested in painting and ceramics. While another category will be for those interested in skydiving or kayaking. Once one finds someone to make a connection with they can request their friendship. Once the friendship is accepted they can begin to use the integrated messaging system to communicate and then become best friends.

My competitors would be

·         Facebook groups

·         Sites like craigslist

My competitor’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities are that they can be overlooked by the majority. Craigslist has a bad image on itself, because of reliability issues and unsecure content. Also with Facebook groups, people can become distracted and not utilize the group to its full potential.

The customer experience is the main objective. I want to provide a safe and fun environment for people to connect through. Then after the connection I want the user to be able to provide feedback to help with providing a better experience. I feel providing both single and group connections will benefit most personalities and wants.

ALike will provide exceptional customer service to the users. All feedback will be taken seriously and we will contact users if there is any potential risk. We will take the initiative and reach out to our users first to create a channel of communication.

Instead of being a website and relying on users to use a search engine to find us ALike will be a mobile application. Since everybody carries their phone around with them ALike can be readily available with one push of a finger.

For ALike to be organized as a business to support ongoing production I will have to open two different departments.

·         Customer Support/Service

·         Tech Support

A user can communicate by phone, chat, or email. I imagine thirty employees scattered throughout the US to start and then go from there.

Behind the scenes in different locations there will be a team to make sure ALike is glitch free and responsive for all users. I imagine ten employees to start will be sufficient depending on growth. I will also have a team of advisers who will work with me and brainstorm creative ways to provide users the best experience possible. My advisory board will be made up of five people.

Three Minor Elements

1)      I believe my most important element is the team. ALike will have a team who wants to help people live fun and exciting lives.

2)      The next new service will be to promote group outings at specific destinations. For example, ALike sponsored skiing in Aspen, white water rafting in Wyoming, and sunset painting in Key West.

3)      In five years I imagine I will give up majority ownership and control over ALike. As an entrepreneur I see myself investing in other people concepts. I also want to think up new concepts. This first concept has helped me create a vision and get a real sense of the entrepreneurship process.

Celebrating Failure

I have failed a few times this semester. Not only in this class, but in other classes and outside activities. I dropped my first course while here at The University of Florida. I studied and put in much effort, but come the exam I fell apart. I lost confidence and the knowledge to execute the problems. I really was unable to grasp the material no matter how many problems I worked out. The class grade was to be based on two exams and on the first exam I completely bombed. I knew I had failed so the grade did not surprise me. Because I was not surprised I was not hurt and distraught over the situation. I do have to admit I failed to prepare and keep up with the work, because I know I still have to work on my time management skills. Next semester I will take this course again and dedicate the appropriate amount of time in order to be successful. Now, I will know what to expect from the course. Also I can continue to work on the material from this semester to better prepare myself. I am no stranger to failure and I tend to be a risk taker in many aspects of my life. You should see me play NFL Madden. I am always trying to convert on fourth down. But academically I do not intend to risk having to drop another course.

Amazon Whisperer

My current revenue drivers for my mobile application are individual sponsors and advertising agreements. I plan to have the advertising to be hobby specific. A hiker will see advertisements for hiking shoes while an artist will see advertisements for brushes and paints. As well as any offline sponsored events.

The next thing my customers may want is a big meet and greet with one another. A networking event, but will have platform to break the ice with. I believe a monthly networking party will improve the users experience. Customers will be asked to pay for this event out of pocket.

I found an application, Events, on Amazon that displays events within a determined radius. This application will notify a user of any festivities are going on in your area.

There were no customer reviews on this application on Amazon.

Instead of having a separate application for events I would incorporate that feature within ALike. The events page can display ALike events as well as other local festivities.

I feel users will enjoy ALike more with this added feature. With an events tab users will likely keep ALike on their phones for the long-term.