1. The biggest surprise to me while reading the Harvard business review article was that someone who makes on $10/day is considered in the lower middle class in India. I wasn't aware of this situation.
2. The part of the reading that was most confusing to me was when the author spoke about the incorporation of technology. It seemed odd to me that technology would be useful in a situation where people were borrowing such small amounts of money.
3. 2 questions that I thought of for the author while reading were
Did you ever consider giving into the pressure that the gangs were imposing?
What made you so passionate about implementing microfinancing in India?
4. A part of the reading that I not necessarily thought the author was wrong about but simply disagreed with was the part where they mentioned how microfinancing is the solution to poverty. In my opinion, the solution is education, however, I value the difference in opinion.
My most formative experience as well as the experience that I will remember most in the years to come was the "My Unfair Advantage" assignment. This assignment really made me realize how important it is to set yourself apart from competitors and to also be aware of the things that set you apart so you can capitalize on it.
My most joyous experience was receiving some of the positive feedback where people told me that they could tell I was passionate. That was something I took a lot of pride in.
Now, at the end of the semester, I can most definitely see myself as an entrepreneur. This class involved such intricate planning of our product and presented us with the chance to go out and get to meet real entrepreneurs which increased my confidence that I truly can be an entrepreneur.
Yes, I definitely believe that I have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset.
One recommendation I would make to students who will be going down this path in the future would be to not only write out each assignment in your planner, but to actually read through all of the the assignments far in advance to the due date. Some of the assignments took much more time and planning than others and I wish I had been more prepared in advance for these types of assignments.
In order to better foster the entrepreneurial mindset, I would really take the assignments where you go and talk to entrepreneurs very seriously and try to learn as much as possible.
The feedback that I received on my last elevator pitch consisted mostly of people telling me to work on my body language. I don't like public speaking and for some reason have really struggled with filming these videos but I tried my best. Most people liked my actual commentary but told me to simply work on how I present myself.
What I changed this time due to this feedback was trying to act more relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera. I'm not sure I did any better but I definitely tried my best to and even recorded multiple takes.
The potential customers are essentially anyone who eats at a restaurant or visits a retail store.
The nature of the need is customers are currently not getting the type of technological experience that they desire when visiting restaurants or retail stores. Technology is increasingly being integrated in our everyday lives and this is increasing the desire for people to use technology wherever they go.
There aren't any environmental changes effecting the need for my product.
The market is defined geographically as the entire US, but starting more in bigger, urbanized cities.
The market is defined demographically as basically anyone who is old enough to buy food or products themselves and operate basic technology effectively.
The opportunity is huge and has continued to grow since expanding my product from solely restaurants to also incorporate retail stores.
The "window of opportunity" is definitely prime right now and will continue to decrease slowly as more competitors enter this field, which is why I need to act on this as soon as possible.
Innovation
The innovation of the product has stayed the same for the most part, however, it has changed in regards to the expansion of the product from solely restaurants to also being incorporated into retail stores. The price that people will pay will cover the price of designing the system for that particular business as well as the implementation and customer service. This price varies per business depending on how many employees, restaurants there are.
Venture Concept
The opportunity presented from the implementation of my product includes lowering wait times and increasing rewards for customers.
Customers will not exactly have a choice to "switch" to this product, because the business will ultimately decide whether or not to utilize this service/product
The competitors for this product will be any other company that uses touch screen interfaces in restaurants or stores, however, my product will have a competitive advantage because it will be consistent among all platforms.
Customer support will be a huge advantage to using our product/service because we pride ourselves on having the best customer care and ensuring that the businesses and customers are fully satisfied.
My "business" to promote customer satisfaction will originally consist of a team of about 25 people who will travel to the businesses who implement our product and ensure that there are no glitches and that everything is working properly. From there on, the number will increase as necessary.
3 Minor Elements
Our most valuable resources will be our employees and their knowledge consistently being up to date.
The next step for our venture is to expand into more restaurants within the US and even outside of the US depending upon our level of success.
What's next for me? I will hopefully be still working with NoWait and helping it to continually grow and be successful.
Part 2: Feedback Summary
Most of the feedback that I received consisted of concerns for how I will differentiate myself among competitors. People also seemed to be very concerned how my product will effect available jobs for humans.
Overall, however, I received mostly positive feedback and people seemed to mostly agree that they would find my product helpful and would use it.
People said that if they could change anything about my product they would include more options to leave feedback and to expand on the mobile application that coincides with my product.
Part 3: Impact of Feedback
Due to the feedback I received, I began to emphasize more and more how my product will not decrease jobs, it will only increase efficiency. This helped people not to be as concerned about this. I also decided to talk more about the mobile app that I plan to make as a compliment to my product. I addressed in multiple assignments what my intent for the app was and how it would enhance my product overall.
A time this past semester that I failed involves a different course here at UF- business Finance. I have never been very good at accounting or finance, but I never expected to struggle so much in Finance because I am usually very good at math and I had acquired many tips for success from students who had previously taken this course.
I seemed to have done everything that I could to succeed in the course, however, it didn't help and I ultimately had to end up dropping the course and will have to retake it this fall. It has been hard to come to terms with dropping the class because of all of the time and money that I had invested into it, however, I know that this is ultimately the best decision for me and that I can work even harder when I retake it.
2)
I learned a lot from this experience over this past semester. I learned that you can prepare for something as much as possible but still come out unsuccessful, so you always need to aim for success but prepare yourself for the possibility of failing.
I also learned that it is okay not to be great at everything. I am an information systems major and am very good with classes that pertain to my major and that is all that matters. I don't have to be great at every class in the business school and I have to accept the fact that sometimes you just can't be the best at everything.
3)
As it mentioned in this assignment description, failure really is hard, however, I feel that I learn the most about myself when I fail and how I cope with the situation. I have always come back better than before every time I fail and I am sure that I will do the same in this situation. I will learn to work even harder and learn that even when I think I am giving something my all there is still more in me that I can give.
This class has changed my perspective on failure because it has opened my eyes to many different situations where people have failed and then ultimately become successful. It has helped me to realize that success is not possible without risk and risks can be worth it. I would say that I am more likely to take a risk after this course than before this course 4 months ago.
1. The biggest surprise that I had while reading Chapter 14 was that your emotions can actually effect how valuable you believe your company is. I always thought that value was only in terms of numbers or dollars, but never considered the idea of emotional bias so this was extremely surprising and interesting to me.
2. A part of the reading that was confusing to me was the concept of control factor. I understand that you want to have as much control as possible in a company, however, I didn't understand what the author meant when they mentioned that even if you know you are investing in 49% of a company, it depends on who owns the other 51% to determine how valuable this investment truly is. Again, I always think in numbers and to me 49% seems like it should just be 49% despite the other investors.
3. Two question I would ask the author are
Why are there so many valuation methods that exist and how do you determine which one is the most ideal?
What is an example of how a letter of intent can be non-binding and binding at the same time?
4. There wasn't anything I read this week that I thought the author was wrong about.
1. The exit strategy that I chose is to stay with the business for as long as it is successful and then either retire or sell the company depending on how profitable/successful is was.
2. I chose this exit strategy because I have dedicated a lot to this idea and I want to see it through. If the idea is ultimately unsuccessful, I choose to stick with it and see it through and vice versa (if it is successful, I want to stick with it and not sell it off)
3. As I think more and more about it, my decision has been present throughout my entire concept. I have mentioned in several assignments how passionate I am about this project and that I am excited about hiring a team that is just as passionate. I can see how if this were something that I would not want to stick with in the long run I would sell it, but since that is not the case, I want to stick with it and that has been extremely evident through many of my posts.
Part 1
To briefly describe my product, it is a touch-screen interface that will allow people at restaurants to view pictures, ratings, and reviews of food items before ordering. This allows people to be more confident in their order choices and to ultimately enhance their experience.
Customers can also order food, refills, request items, etc. on the screen to decrease wait time. The new idea for what's next that I have consists of two parts and each person touches on both parts, which, is why there are only 3 videos, not 6.
This platform will be offered in retail stores too and not just restaurants. (Exactly what it will offer is yet to be determined)
All stores/restaurants that use this device will keep track of customer loyalty points/rewards through our system. This will allow users to keep track of all of their loyalty points in one place versus having to keep physical loyalty cards for each individual store or restaurant.
Part 2
My first interview was extremely helpful because I learned that customers really love to have their opinions heard. It was mentioned that after payment, customers should have the option to rate their server, their food, and their overall experience as well as leave any comments they desire. She liked my idea of loyalty points.
My second interview was not as helpful, although she did mention that she liked my new idea so that is good to note.
My third interview actually was the most helpful because she brought up an entirely new idea which I had not previously thought of. She said that customers should have a chance to "check in" on Facebook or similar things on other social media in order to receive a discount. This will also provide us with free publicity as well as the restaurants and stores.
Part 3
Moving forward, I believe it would be a good idea to go forward with the new market and new idea that I had proposed. Each person that I interviewed agreed that keeping track on loyalty points jointly is a good idea and one that consumers would like and benefit from. They also liked the idea of moving into the new market of offering this system in retail stores and not only in restaurants.
I will now include the idea of "checking in" on Facebook and work more on incorporating social media in general. I am glad that the third person I interviewed mentioned this because it is something that I had not thought of previously and I think that I could capitalized on this aspect well.
1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?
The biggest surprise for me while reading was that some companies choose to withhold from strategic planning because they believe that the cost is too high. In my opinion, the benefits of investing in strategic planning far outweigh the costs. Without strategic planning, the entire company could be affected drastically.
2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
The part of the reading that explained how moving from a one person business to a bigger business can be the most difficult thing because people can rely too dependent upon that one (or two) person. I don't understand how this is a bad thing if that person is still the most powerful person in the company, because they should still be extremely valued anyway.
3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?
Which form of failure (moral, personal, or uncontrollable) is the most common and most difficult to recover from.
Even though you listed the steps to inspire innovation, how can you truly stimulate innovative ideas in people who are naturally not that creative?
4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?
No, there wasn't anything in this chapter that I disagreed with the author on.
