Friday, May 31, 2019

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Alternatives to fur and leather

  • Opportunity:
    • Every day, hundreds of thousands of animals are violently killed for the sole purpose of using their skin for fur and leather products. This industry is not only cruel but it is bad for the environment and the working conditions are not suitable for people to work in.
    • The who: People who want leather or fur products
    • The what: They want the products but don't want to contribute to the negative effects
    • The why: Alternatives will provide better working conditions and won't be as bad for the environment 
  • Testing the who: Everyone who wears leather or fur or wants to wear it will have this issue. The "who" is not only limited to people purchasing the products, but it will benefit people who work in the conditions where they are producing leather or fur and are being poorly paid and working in awful environments. This will also benefit the animals who are killed for these products. 
  • Testing the what: The boundaries of this need will be that new materials might need to be developed in order to be comparable to the quality of real leather and real fur. It might cost more money in order to develop these materials and it will take more time. It will also cost more money to be able to pay workers a reasonable amount while having them work in good conditions. 
  • Testing the why: Why people wear fur and leather is because of the quality and appearance of it. People don't consider the environmental and humanitarian impact that goes into the creation of fur and leather. This opportunity will shed light on the fact that fur and leather are not ethical and will peak the interest of people who have leather shoes and products, etc. 
  • Interview #1:
    • This interview was conducted with a female student who said she mostly wears leather shoes and she doesn't consider it an issue. She said that she knows that an animal will have to die for the shoe but she thinks eating meat could be considered just as wrong, and therefore, doesn't consider it an issue. She mentioned that she has never given leather alternatives a thought because the quality is not the same and it isn't as easily attainable.
  • Interview #2:
    • In this interview, I talked with a male grad student. We discussed the fact that leather and fur are extremely detrimental to our environment, as well as cruel for animals. He seemed to care more about the fact that there is a large environmental impact, not so much about the ethics of the industry. He is an engineering student who tries to budget while in college, so leather is not something he thinks very much about. He said he owns a few leather products, but would reconsider the materials of his shoes next time he decides to go shopping. He said his main concern when buying products is the price, so if the alternatives are priced well, he will buy them.
  • Interview #3:
    • In this interview, I decided to talk with someone who had a vegan pin of her backpack. I asked her several questions about what her opinion was about the leather and fur industry, and she didn't even seem to be aware of the environmental impact. She said that she had a vegan diet but sometimes if she found a bag or pair of shoes that she really liked but were made with some leather, she might consider buying them. She was surprised to find out that the working conditions for people producing leather were very poor and she said she would be very interested in buying a good leather alternative. 
  • Interview #4:
    • I interviewed a sophomore journalism major. She is in a sorority and works closely on The Alligator magazine as well as some on-campus magazines. She has a passion for humanitarian efforts and tries to write mostly about injustices. I informed her of how the leather and fur industry drastically underpays its workers as well as forcing them to work in awful conditions. She said she was surprised by this fact, as she frequently wears shoes and bags with different types of leather. When asking her if she would be willing to switch to an alternative she said she was very open to it and said it would be an important industry to educate people on. She seemed to believe in the opportunity. 
  • Interview #5:
    • This interview was conducted with a library staff member who has been working in the library for 6 years. He is an older man who doesn't shop or think about material items much. I asked him what he thinks of the leather industry and he didn't have much to say about it other than it was a "necessary evil." I proposed the idea of an alternative to leather in order to cut down on the environmental impact of leather and he said he would prefer to buy items that had less of an impact on the environment. He said he wouldn't go out of his way to make the switch but if it were in front of him, he would buy a faux leather. 
  • Given your interviews, what do you know about the opportunity that you didn't know before? 
    • The interviews gave me a new perspective on the idea of faux leather. I wasn't sure if people would be willing to make the switch considering the wide availability of leather and the number of trendy companies and items that are made with leather that young people want to buy. The interviews let me know that not everyone, like #1, is willing to make the switch due to the inconvenience and price of a leather alternative. I also learned that people would make the switch for different reasons like #3 would switch for ethical reasons but #4 for humanitarian reasons. Overall, the interviews led me to believe that an opportunity exists here if you play off of peoples sympathy towards animals and the working conditions. 

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Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Trend: The U.S. GDP grew 3.9%

  • https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-gdp-current-statistics-3305731
  • An opportunity might exist since the economy is growing in the U.S. Employment will rise, but inflation will not occur since the growth is not extremely rapid. It is proven that with a rise in GDP, comes a higher employment rate if the growth does not result in inflation to occur. 
  • The prototypical customers are those who might be unemployed and with the growth in the economy recently, they have the potential for employment. The opportunity is relatively easy to exploit, being that the economy is growing at a steady rate. 
  • I saw this opportunity because there is such a focus on economic growth in America, that when it occurs, it is considered a huge deal in the political and economic spheres. 
Economic Trend: America's Humongous Wealth Gap is Widening Further

Regulatory Changes: An opportunity for NYC's online and urban growth

  • https://www.forbes.com/sites/andriacheng/2019/05/28/ikeas-new-manhattan-planning-studio-spells-growth-and-potentially-missed-opportunities/#506091ef640e
  • An opportunity might exist here since IKEA opened up a panning Studio, a smaller format than its traditional stores, tailored to city centers on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. This could be an opportunity advantage for other large retailers to do that same. 
  • The customer for this opportunity is prototypical, or anyone who resides in a large city and finds it difficult to have a personal experience when shopping. This is an easy opportunity because of the number of cities in the world and the number of people wanting to shop. 
  • I saw this opportunity because I personally love shopping and thought this would be good for me to utilize in the future. 
Regulatory Changes: An opportunity to delete fake or unused social media accounts

  • https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2019/05/24/facebook-deleted-more-than-2-billion-fake-accounts-in-the-first-quarter-of-the-year-infographic/#6b6a588d67e3
  • An opportunity to expand on the fact that there are so many fake or unused accounts on Facebook and Instagram exists here. There are so many spam accounts that aren't even run by real people, there isn't a point to them. You can't interact with them so it defeats the point of social media and contributes to the fact that it is a toxic environment.
  • The customer is anyone who uses social media and gets frustrated with bot accounts liking or commenting on their pictures. It is an easy opportunity to exploit because mostly everyone with an Instagram account deals with this. 
  • I saw this opportunity because I deal with it daily. Robots or fake accounts commenting on my pictures is uncomfortable and makes the internet feel like an unsafe environment. 



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Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Identifying Local Opportunities

I chose the Sun Sentinel newspaper
1) BSO alleges man shot girlfriend, pointed gun at deputies
2) Buzz kill - Bar owners: Lively vibe in downtown Delray under threat
3) 14% of Floridians are living without health insurance
4) Woman hit by car while crossing the street
5) Despite health risks, many use septic tanks - People still refuse to make switch to sewer when it's available
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Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Forming an Opportunity Belief: A Twist on Opportunity Identification

In this post, I will discuss a belief I have from which an opportunity can be taken.
1) I believe that there should be a simple way to find your phone when you've misplaced it somewhere. 

 2) There isn't an easy way to locate your missing phone. It's extremely frustrating when you set your phone down somewhere and walk away and just can't remember where you placed it. Everyone who owns a phone has misplaced it one time or another. This need comes with anything you own that's important to you, but misplacing your phone is the most common and frustrating item to lose. There is an app called "Find My iPhone" which exists for Apple users who lose their phone. The app can be accessed from another Apple device and if the phone is on, it sounds an alarm on the missing device and also lets you where it is on a map; however, this only works on Apple products, when the phone is on and is an all-around time-consuming process. There is a 99% chance that an opportunity to make an easy way to find your phone exists.
  • Prototypical customer #1: a student at the Starbucks in Library West 
    • How often do you find yourself misplacing your phone? 
      • "Probably at least twice a week, sometimes more depending on where my heads at that week"
    • Do you find that losing your phone is an issue you wish you could solve?
      • "Yes, I waste a lot of time looking for my phone."
    • How long have you had a phone that you've been misplacing?
      • "I've had a phone for about 8 years, and have probably been losing it ever since my first flip phone"
    • What kind of phone do you have and how are you currently dealing with finding your phone when you lose it?
      • "I have a Samsung and I usually have to tear my house apart to look for my phone, there's really no other way to find it."
    • Have you ever been really inconvenienced by losing your phone? 
      • "Yes, there have been times where I've been late to class or work because I can't find my phone. It's one of those little things in life that really bothers me.
  • Prototypical customer #2: faculty member working at Marston Library
    • How often do you find yourself misplacing your phone? 
      • "I'm pretty good about keeping my phone on hand, so maybe 3 times a month."
    • Do you find that losing your phone is an issue you wish you could solve?
      • "Yes, it's annoying but it's not something I consider a huge problem in my life."
    • How long has losing your phone been an issue?
      • "I've had a cell phone for about 10 years"
    • What kind of phone do you have and how are you currently dealing with finding it?
      • "I have an iPhone and when I can't find it for more than like 10 minutes, I go on my laptop to Find my iPhone."
    • Have you ever been seriously inconvenienced by losing your phone?
      • "Yes, I can say I've probably missed some phone calls and been late to things by losing my phone."
  • Prototypical customer #3: graduate student teaching ENC1102
    • How often do you lose your cellphone?
      • "Maybe once a week."
    • Do you wish losing your phone was an issue you could easily solve?
      • "Yes, I think there should be an easier way to find a missing phone."
    • How long has losing your phone been an issue?
      • "I've been irresponsible since I was born and have been losing my cellphone since I got my first phone in 2008"
    • What kind of phone do you have and how are you currently dealing with finding it?
      • "I have an iPhone and usually use a friends phone to go on Find my iPhone or if no one's around, I'll tear my house apart until I find it."
    • Have you ever been seriously inconvenienced by losing your cell phone?
      • "Yes, I lost my phone for a week once and it was the worst week of my life."

  Reflection: All three people I talked to lose their phone about once a week or more, which makes this a big issue. Everyone seemed to deem losing their phone a very inconvenient experience that they would like to have an easy fix for. From talking to everyone, I learned that my belief and opportunity were valuable and I was reassured that this is an issue that most people deal with and don't have an easy fix for. 

 Summary: My original opportunity belief didn't change much. The people I talked to all found losing their phone an inconvenience and it's something that they legitimately deal with on a weekly or monthly basis. Entrepreneurs should completely adapt to customer feedback and change anything that doesn't seem viable for people. If someone had said they don't lose their phone, then I would redirect my focus and adjust my opportunity. It's important to realize that customer feedback is more valuable than anything because they are the people who will be buying your product and using it in their lives. 
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Tuesday, May 21, 2019

My Entrepreneurship Story

In this post, I will be discussing a time when I was exposed to entrepreneurship and how the experience influenced me. In 2016, I went with my dad to a convention he had for work. I wanted to come along because I find the field he works in very interesting, and also it was being held in Los Angeles so it was a win-win for me. At the convention, my dad introduced me to the owner of his company and we talked about how he came from nothing and built a successful business. He was the first successful entrepreneur I had ever met and it was inspiring to hear about someone who didn't have a specific industry focus and no experience in owning a business, yet he became so successful at it.

I enrolled in ENT3003 because I am in Innovation Academy and it was the next class required for me to take to be on track for my minor.
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Monday, May 20, 2019

Bug List

In this post, I will be writing 20 things that bug me in life and then answer why these things are done.

1. The Starbucks drive-thru lines aren't uniformly efficient, some are way slower than others.
Why? Starbucks employees are all trained differently and some stores might be newer than others so they are still trying to get a good system.
2. My dog always stops to pee at the same spot under a hydrangea tree that always has a swarm of bees flying in it.
Why? He smells another dog who peed there and the dog probably peed there because my dog did and it's a recurring cycle.
3. My mom always calls me at 11 a.m. when I am in class because she forgets that I have class at 11, yet I am always reminding her.
Why? She has a busy schedule and might not remember when my class is or she isn't aware of the time she is calling at.
4. My phone has a sensor on the screen and I constantly unintentionally turn on the flashlight just by holding my phone.
Why? The sensor is valued by iPhone users because of the convenience, and it just so happens to be easy to turn the flashlight on.
5.  It bothers me when the ice in my drink melts and it looks like the drink is still somewhat full but it's mostly just ice water and a light gross taste of the drink I ordered.
Why? Ice is needed to keep the drink cold, but due to the molecular qualities of ice, it melts if it's not at a constant freezing point.
6. The humidity and heat are so high in Gainesville in the summer that I am running out of clothes to wear to class that will keep me cool while walking to class.
Why? The hemisphere is closer to the sun during the summer and Florida is even closer, so obviously it's going to be hot and I can't afford to buy new clothes all the time.
7. People will go out of their way to cut me off in traffic, yet go way slower than I want to go.
Why? They were trying to get in my lane because they need to turn soon, but they maintain the pace they prefer to drive at.
8. When I'm watching TV and I think I found the perfect volume, but a commercial comes on and it sounds like I turned up the TV to full blast.
Why? The commercials and TV show/movie are made with different volumes and aren't cohesively edited.
9. When the lawn mowing service starts mowing outside of my window at 7 in the morning and wakes me up.
Why? They have a schedule and a set of places they map out for the day so my building is probably one of the first on their list.
10. It bugs me when I turn up the volume of my music while wearing headphones and I can still hear people talking in the library.
Why? People go to the library with their friends to motivate each other to do work so they are inevitably going to talk to each other.
11. When the writers of a TV show take a completely different turn than I wanted or expected and ruin the show for me.
Why? The writers don't live to please me, they write to make the show interesting and fulfill their creative needs.
12. When my dog decides to take a nap on my pillow with his dirty sweaty body and I have to change and wash the pillowcase.
Why? He is tired and the pillow is comfortable.
13. When I am at a drive-thru and the person in front of me has a long complicated order that holds up the whole line.
Why? They don't feel like making the effort to park their car, get out, and go inside to order.
14. When I am right in the middle of doing something important for school and my wifi stops working.
Why? The connection was shorted or someone in my building is using up all of its capability.
15. Telemarketers who call me while I am in the middle of doing something important on my phone and I lose my focus.
Why? It's their job to call random numbers at all hours of the day.
16. The noise my silverware drawer makes sounds like nails on a chalkboard and disturbs me every time I need a fork.
Why? The screws or drawer pull is rusty and needs some oil.
17. If I have plans with someone and we don't communicate well, the plan isn't set up well and we don't have a good time.
Why? We're busy and didn't give the plan much thought or energy.
18. When I am doing my eyeliner and one eye looks like Jeffree Star himself did it and the other eye looks like I did it with my foot so I have to redo both until my eye is red and irritated.
Why? I have shaky, uncoordinated hands that aren't conducive to doing intricate lines of makeup.
19. If I am not sure how much to water a plant and think I am doing a great job until one day I come home to see all the leaves brown and drooping.
Why? I probably over watered the plant and now it's waterlogged.
20. When I go through the hassle of hanging up pictures on my wall and I finally come down to see how my hard work turned out and they aren't hanging symmetrically.
Why? I didn't take the time to measure out how far apart they were and adjust them accordingly.

Reflection: I didn't find this very difficult as there are so many little things that happen throughout my day that mildly bug me, so I made mental notes of them. I found it somewhat challenging to come up with reasons why these things are done because when you're annoyed at something, it's hard to think of it from another perspective.
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Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Test

Test post
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