Week 13 Reading Reflection

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?

• One thing that I found surprising about the reading was how technical valuation of a business is as a process. Obviously, I had considered it before as a more abstract idea, but to see it broken down like it was in this reading was interesting. 

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

• I found the idea of integrating vertically, backward, or forward in order to improve supply and distribution levels somewhat confusing at first. Thinking about it in terms of product motion helped me understand this concept more. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

• How long is a "reasonable period of time" for a firm to pay for itself?
• How do you account for the human factors and errors of biased valuation of a business, product, or service? Is there a technical way of doing so?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

• I could not find any point where I strongly disagreed with anything said by the author. 

Celebrating Failure

1) Tell us about a time this past semester that you failed -- whether in this class, or outside of this class. Don't spare any details! It'd be even better if there was something you tried several times this semester, and failed each time. 

• (If you don't feel like reading my entire rant, skip to the last bullet point)
• I think that people who go into college and remain with their major either know themselves way too well for their age, or not well enough. I am definitely not one of those students, but this is no indication that I lie somewhere in between with some kind of balanced equilibrium. I was accepted into UF as an engineering major because I had trained myself to smile every time I heard the word, "engineering" because going into college, it felt like the right thing to do. I quickly realized I hated that, so changed, instead to sustainability in the built environment; loved that, but felt like I wasn't living up to my full potential. Then changed to economics, which brings me to ACG2021, Financial Accounting at the University of Florida- the bane of my existence. I hate finance, I dislike math just about as much as it dislikes me, and this particular class is notorious for its"life-destructive" qualities. 
• I was surviving the class, but surviving for a perfectionist is analogous to desperate failure. I went to talk to my counselor about my options because dropping the class didn't sound like a valid option for me, as it would be basically admitting defeat. In the middle of the meeting, my counselor asked me, "Do you even like what you're studying?" I realized then that I never considered that question. 
• Long story short: one meeting with my counselor made me drop my Financial Accounting Class (which I previously considered would be a huge personal failure), turn my life around, switch my major for the third (and final) time, and really do some soul searching about where I wanted UF to take me.

2) Tell us what you learned from it. 

• Through this experience I realized that I was not being honest with myself about who I was, what I wanted to study, and where I wanted to take my life. I have always been drawn to Anthropology but never considered it because it wasn't a technical degree. And the best part, I realized it is okay to live life and make my decisions for me. 

3) Reflect, in general, on what you think about failure. Failure is hard, isn't it? It's embarrassing, sure, but it also means that we have to change something about ourselves. Talk about how you handle failure (emotionally, behaviorally). Finally, talk about how this class has changed your perspective on failure -- are you more likely to take a risk now than you were four months ago?

• Typically people consider failure to be a terrible thing. After a lot of exposure to the entrepreneurial world, my perspective on failure has changed drastically. In the entrepreneurial world, an array of perspectives exist, but all of them tend towards the acceptance-or even encouragement-of failure. Obviously, as I mentioned earlier, perfectionists like myself take failure to heart. Even though learning about entrepreneurs and the necessity of failure, my brain contradicts my heart in these kinds of situations. I know it is okay to struggle through things and not be great at the first swing, but my heart says otherwise. 
• Recently, especially over the last four months, I have been working hard at shifting my actions to convince my heart that failure is okay and necessary at times. I think I have made progress at becoming more accepting of all possibilities, and throughout my life, I have lived with the motto: everything happens for a reason. Now, when I fail, I become reflective and search for a lesson that I might take from every experience whereas before, I would have had difficulty working past it and being okay with "me". 

Week 12 Reading Reflection

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? 

• I was surprised that there was such a differentiation between entrepreneurial and managerial ways of thinking and acting in a business venture. I had never really separated the two in my mind, but seeing it as it was talked about in the chapter gave me some new insight.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

• None of the reading was confusing to me, just very interesting as I can absolutely see the information in this chapter being a valuable resource in my next venture. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

• Can you give examples of times where having a managerial mindset might have an advantage over an entrepreneurial mindset?
• Is there a way to determine what stage of development requires which type of leadership, or is entrepreneurial leadership usually the answer for start-up companies?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

• I might argue that some of the entrepreneurial qualities have strong managerial qualities and there is much more overlap than what the chapter insinuates, but overall I agree with everything stated in the chapter. 

What's Next

Again, you'll need to hit the pavement and talk to potential customers. This time, you'll be armed with your "venture concept" description. Break your post into two pieces:
Existing Market
New Market

Existing Market.
Step 1: Talk about what you think is what's next. You may rely on your analyses from "The Amazon Whisperer" exercise (when you discussed what product you thought might come next.)

The first phase of the project is creating a green environment in Gainesville in the form of a sustainable cafe. The next phase of the project would be to combine a product and a service to make sustainability possible to incorporate at home as well; this would come in the form of A-line vertical gardening structures (they have already been prototyped) that can be purchased. 


Step 2: Interview three customers who are already part of the market you have identified, and ask them what they believe is next for a venture like yours. Describe to them your business, and simply ask "What should we be doing that we aren't planning to do?" Next, ask them about your ideas of what customers might want next. Video or audio record these interviews.

[INTERVIEW1:]

[INTERVIEW2:]

[INTERVIEW3:]

Step 3: Based on your own expectations and the feedback you received from customers, set a path for the future. In two to three paragraphs, describe what makes the most sense for your venture in terms of growing in your existing market.

New Market.
Step 1: Identify a radically different market from what you're currently planning to target. If you're currently targeting B2B, think about going after a B2C market. If you're currently targeting an affluent part of society, think about targeting a very poor part of society.

One of the biggest missions of this project is to leave the world a better place than how I found it (#lessonsfromaGermanmother... thanks, mama). One thing about leaving the world better than you found it is that when you get down to it, it's a lot more complicated than it seems. In this case, the "radically different" sector of my project's market actually aims to include individuals who are not typically considered to be a part of any market; the homeless of Gainesville.

Eventually, once the coffee shop is up and running, I would like to start a work/exchange program to employ the homeless of Gainesville. I don't see how in our forward-thinking university town there are not yet programs in place to encompass the entire community without excluding potential productive energy. I understand there will be challenges that come along with a venture like this, especially legal challenges, but when changing the world for the better, there are some things that are worth the challenge. 

Step 2: Once you have identified a radically different market, describe how you think your venture concept might be able to create value for people in that market. You may have to get creative with this -- that's OK -- and perfectly welcome!

Creative value would be contributed in the form of employment opportunities for individuals that may not be able to sustain themselves otherwise. Like I mentioned earlier, I know that there will be challenges that present themselves with employing homeless or unemployed people, and those challenges usually deter businesses from participating in activities like these, but this is also where I want to differentiate from other companies. I think that it is important to capitalize on opportunity, but creating opportunity for others is a form of capitalization that can hold much higher value in the long run.  


Step 3: Interview three people from this new market. Again, describe to each interviewee what your concept is. 

Then, ask them how they think your business might be help to meet the needs of the community. 

What kinds of adaptations to the product/service mix do they think you should make to be successful in this new market? Video or audio record these interviews.

[INTERVIEW4:]

[INTERVIEW5:]

[INTERVIEW6:]

Step 4: Reflect, in two to three paragraphs, on what you learned about this new market. What surprised you the most? Were any of your expectations/assumptions correct? Does this new market, on second thought, appear to be as attractive as your existing market? And so on.

Unfortunately, I didn't get the opportunity to interview some of the individuals I wanted to talk to for this exercise, although I did receive some good insight regarding moving forward with my current business ideas. The feedback I did receive was generally in line with my assumptions in that there were words of caution shared relating to the employment of homeless individuals, but that overall, it was a great idea with good intentions if executed the right way. 

The most surprising thing about the feedback I received was the different perspectives shared by the college students that reflected their own intended uses of the sustainability cafe. 

Venture Concept No. 1

ENT 3003 Venture Concept Write-Up

Sofia Ortiz


Opportunity
What are the forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity?
Era to era, the forces and changes in the environment transform, creating a unique set of living circumstances. Some individuals take advantage of these circumstances and turn them into opportunities; we call them entrepreneurs. In current society, one of our current concerns is caring for our physical world. The human population is realizing the gravity of the consequences of depleting our world’s resources and like any good entrepre

How is this market defined geographically and demographically?
How are customers currently satisfying this need? And how loyal are they to whatever they use now?
How big is this opportunity?
How long will the “window of opportunity” be open?



Innovation



Explain what it is:
My idea is to introduce vertical gardening techniques to create green and social spaces that bring some life to underutilized spaces in Gainesville. I would like to start by converting an abandoned/neglected building and converting it into a green, sustainable cafe that grows its own produce and has social spaces for people to volunteer, socialize, and study. The next step would be an employment campaign for the homeless in Gainesville and create some kind of work exchange for taking care of the gardens and maintenance around the cafe. Studies have shown that green spaces improve morale, fight depression, and are natural stress relievers. I think it is really important to incorporate this into our daily lives to maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle.

What it does, and
I am providing a service that turns underutilized space in homes and industrial workspaces (like rooftops) into green space, beginning by converting an abandoned building in the city of Gainesville into a zero carbon footprint space and an example of how sustainable technologies can be used to make these dreams a reality. Eventually, this would be a service that employs the homeless of Gainesville as volunteers to help maintain the gardens/sustainable systems put in place by the business.

How it works
beginning by converting an abandoned building in the city of Gainesville into a zero carbon footprint space and an example of how sustainable technologies can be used to make these dreams a reality. Eventually, this would be a service that employs the homeless of Gainesville as volunteers to help maintain the gardens/sustainable systems put in place by the business.

You should also describe how you will make money – in other words, what, exactly, are you selling and for how much? For instance, if I was starting a business to teach people how to play the piano, I would be selling an hour of my time for $50.

Venture Concept



What are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product? How hard will it be to get them to switch?
My general target market would be the community of Gainesville, as this project aims to add value to the city as well as the people employed and supported by the city of Gainesville.

More specifically, the sustainable cafe would be targeting college students as the main source of income

Next would be the middle-aged market, especially young families of Gainesville who are geared towards working to create a sustainable future for themselves and their families.

Finally, this would be targeting corporations (especially restaurants) that can implement the ideas of creating gardens in compact spaces to add value to their products and services by introducing homemade agriculture as well as providing a space that acts as a natural stress reliever, reducing stress as well as increasing productivity merely by improving the aesthetics of the workplace.




Who are the competitors? What are their possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities?
What role does packaging, your price points, distribution, customer support, the customer experience or the business location play (if any) in defining your business concept?
How would you organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of your new product, service, or process? How many employees? What roles are in the venture?

Week 11 Reading Reflection

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?

• I was surprised to see that the author made a line of direct correlation between the misalignment of the innovation strategy of a company with an "innovation strategy," limiting the overall capacity to innovate.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

• None of the reading was confusing, just interesting. This was an easy read. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

• Why is it that senior leaders should be the responsible party for the innovation strategy? 
• I would like a deeper explanation and differentiation between "routine" innovation and "disruptive" innovation and how each is useful in business practices. 

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

• I might disagree with one of the concluding statements that claims only senior leaders can/should take initiative in developing the best innovation strategy for the company; I feel like ultimately, they should be driving the operation, but often times the best information and feedback comes from the bottom of the heap. 

Amazon Whisperer

• Describe the revenue drivers you currently include in your business concept for this class. Revenue drivers are the different ways you make money. 
• Green study space, social venue, sustainable options, healthy & unique foods/drinks, zero carbon footprint
• Describe what kind of product offering you believe should be next. What's the next thing your customers want? 
• The next phase of the project would be to implement a combination of a product and a service focused on making sustainability possible to incorporate at home as well; this would come in the form of A-line vertical gardening structures (they have already been prototyped) that can be purchased 
• Describe how this "next" thing will enhance your existing product/service offering. Does it improve the user experience, does it increase customer switching costs, does it foster customer loyalty, etc.? 
• These A-line structures are self-irrigating and have three times the growing capacity of  traditional horizontal gardening. This would be a way for customers to create their own paradise at home, 
• Go to Amazon and try to find a product that is similar to the one you want to offer next. Describe the product. Include a picture of the product.







•  Obviously, my initial entrepreneurship idea (the sustainable cafe) is not available on Amazon, but my next product offering, the vertical gardening structures already exist, yet are not as advanced as the prototype that I have developed. 
• What are the customer reviews for the product? What, exactly, do customers not like about the product? What do they like about it? 
• There is a variety of different products on the market that aim to make vertical gardening possible. According to the reviews of these products, they generally had great reviews but included criticism stating that the planters were not sturdy, they were difficult to put together, or that they did not fit as many plants as they appeared to fit. 
• Describe what design/usability changes you'd make to the product. 
• My product would come in two versions; one would be an A-line structure designed to fit against walls and along long, flat spaces (irrigation system included). The other design would be a column planter with a spiral planting design and irrigation system that coiled from the top of the system to the bottom of the system, designed for corners and small, rectangular spaces. 
• Describe why you think this product would make a good addition to your current product/service offering. 
• Currently, my sustainability cafe would be founded on the idea of making the world a greener place by creating a green space, but the key of sustainability is making it a viable possibility for everybody. This is not possible without both being the example and teaching others how to do the same. I like to refer to the quote, "if you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime". The same goes for sustainable living. The key is reverse-engineering our lifestyles to consider our own intrinsic well being as well as those around us.