Week 8 Reading Reflection

I found the term "angel investors" to be very funny and very surprising too actually. I think most of the chapter was rather confusing because the author used too many terms that I was not familiar with. A question I would ask the author given the chance is, what is the best way to get people to invest in your company. I would also ask the author if he recommends equity or debt financing. I do not disagree with anything he said.

Half-way Reflection

1. Some techniques that I've developed are to constantly check the Canvas site to make sure I don't miss anything, and also to be willing to do whatever an assignment is asking of me. At the beginning of the course I skipped a couple things because I didn't want to do them but now I have accepted that I'm going to put myself in uncomfortable positions no matter what.

2. I thought about giving up towards the beginning because it seemed like this class would be a lot of tedious and irrelevant work, but I stuck with it because I was somewhat interested to see if this class could help me develop some skills I didn't know I had.

3. Three tips I would give are: 1) Be willing to do all the assignments, 2) Don't do the bare minimum, 3) Take everything seriously and you will get the best out of the class

Free Money

I went to Social 28 and just hung out in front of the building because I always see people walking by there on my way home. I also went into the parking garage because there wasn't as much foot traffic when I did this at night. I'll approach just about anyone that I can find because it's getting late. I think I'll just start the conversation with a simple "excuse me" because it makes it sound like I need help with something and most people will be willing to stop just in case. I think I'll be able to get about 4 out of 5 because it is kind of sketchy to hand someone a dollar bill at night for free.

I think this was actually pretty hard because I'll be honest in saying that I did this at 8 the night it was due so I was trying to walk a fine line of trying not to look really sketchy because there weren't that many people walking around. The two interactions that I filmed were pretty easy though, except the second guy actually turned around after seeing the camera and asked us why we were filming it so I had to try to play that off without telling him exactly. My predictions were wrong because I was successful with all 5 dollar bills because I guess they felt like they had to because of how big the pay it forward culture has taken off, so they felt obligated to help me out. I didn't really make any assumptions about people, I just kind of had to talk to everyone, but I did try to predict how they would react so I could use the recording.

Week 7 Reading Reflection

The thing that surprised me the most in this week's reading was the amount of different approaches to market segmentation, I knew some of the ways but this reading exposed me to several new ones. I don't really understand why companies continue to use market segmentation if it clearly has underwhelming results. Given the chance, I would ask the author about which companies have and haven't thrived through the use of market segmentation. I would also ask why he believes companies still continue to use market segmentation today. I did not disagree with anything in the reading this week.

Elevator Pitch No. 2

The feedback that I received was helpful because it helped me realize that I need to better clarify what it is that I'm actually producing. One of the comments addressed how hard it would be to make this universal such as for cars, houses, rooms, and everything else that uses a key. I just wanted to make sure that I clarify that as of right now that is not the vision of my product, if the initial product is successful it's a way to expand and keep the business growing, but it isn't the initial purpose of the product.

Week 6 Reading Reflection

I was surprised that the author relied so heavily on SWOT analysis being the main key as to how you should start a business. I always felt that SWOT analysis wasn't enough to make something become successful, but I do believe it is somewhat helpful. I found the assumption that uncertainty is low to be really confusing this week. I always thought markets and businesses were unpredictable. I would ask the author if his view on the forces has changed since he wrote the book. I would also ask if he believes the forces can be used interchangeably throughout all markets. I do not disagree with anything he said.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1. I believe that I'm a strong leader as I've been in leadership positions in many organizations and teams throughout my life and have developed very strong leadership skills. I'm also very persistent and if I set my mind to something I'll make it happen. I think this business idea is a very strong idea and cold be huge if I can develop it, which means that I'm aspiring to become more technologically savvy to produce and maintain this idea.

2. What this product is offering is a way to create one less thing to worry about for college students. You don't need keys anymore, just remember your phone.

3. My demographic is all college students that live in dorms, but especially stressed out students, or ones that are constantly having to ask the front desk for their spare key to open their door.

4. It's a hassle and embarrassing to get your spare key because you forgot your other keys. It also costs money to get new keys if you lose your originals or lock yourself out too many times.

5. What sets me apart from other people is my drive to succeed. Like I said before it takes a lot for me to stop pursuing something I set my mind to.

I think these elements gel together really well to create something successful. However, I know this technology already exists so I would have to look into any patents or other legal entities that could stop me from producing this technology. I think that if I could find a way to produce this app that it could prove to be very fruitful with my drive to succeed.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

The thing that surprised me the most in the reading was that there are so many different factors that go in to starting a successful business. I was a little confused with the terms dynamic solidity and dynamic liquidity. I would ask the author if a person can be successful if they learn about how to run a new business by themselves on the fly. I would also ask the author if a business could succeed after failing if they continue selling the same product. I didn't disagree with anything the author wrote this week.

Elevator Pitch No. 1

My business idea is what I like to call Key On-the-go. It's a widget for your smartphone that, partnered with the proper scanning device, will allow college students to access their dormitories and their rooms by using the bluetooth on their smartphones.