Identifying Local Opportunities

1. Parenting While Distracted: Smartphone Use Could Impact Child Development
• http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2016-01-20/childrens-issues/parenting-while-distracted-smartphone-use-could-impact-child-development/a49937-1#sthash.k7mZmJTD.dpuf
• "Distractions from your smartphone could cause long-term damage to your children, according to new research looking at the impact of fragmented care on brain development."
• Interruptions of parents while bonding with your children may attribute to their arrested development as a form of neglect as people are frequently distracted with their phones and different technologies during times that are naturally used for human connection.
2. Miami doctor suspended after video of her attacking Uber driver goes viral 
• http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/brickell/article55914035.html 
• Fourth-year neurology resident, Anjali Ramkissoon, is on administrative leave after hitting and screaming profanities at an Uber driver in the Brickell area. 
• Apparently there was some kind of misunderstanding between a fourth-year medical student and an Uber driver after the medical student demanded a ride and became violent, throwing supplies and other items out of the Uber driver's window. 
3. Woman bites off fingers of 89-year-old man
• http://www.gainesville.com/article/20160123/ARTICLES/160129852?tc=cr 
• "Linda Kay Swift, 52, of 1201 NW Sixth St., was charged with aggravated battery on a person age 65 or older, according to an arrest report." 
• Apparently unprovoked and without reason, Swift bit off the fingers of another man in the same home as her... my only question is what provoked this?? Apparently Swift provided no statement as to what motivated her to do so. 
4. Massage parlor employee facing prostitution charge
• http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2016/01/24/massage-parlor-employee-facing-prostitution-charge/79262674/ 
• "A 55-year-old woman is facing a prostitution charge after the Leon County Sheriff's Office said she offered to perform a "sexual act" on an undercover detective" 
• That description is a fairly accurate description of what happened... A massouse offered sexual favors to an undercover detective and got busted... pretty self explanatory... 
5. Two dead after speeding through Cocoa stoplight, troopers say
• http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-brevard-traffic-stop-two-dead-20160124-story.html 
• "Two people who sped through Cocoa, away from a cop and through a stoplight, have died.... Two people died in Cocoa early Sunday morning after they sped away from a cop and blew through a red light, troopers say" 
• Two people in a Nissaan Altima died trying to evade a cop in South Florida after being caught for speeding... Really an awful set of circumstances, but seems like pretty instant karma to me.. 

Week 3 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?
There was not much that surprised me in this reading, but there were several things that I had not previously considered such as the personality types of entrepreneurs and the depth with which the characteristics of entrepreneurs were described.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
I found it confusing how some characteristics that I considered to be key qualities of an entrepreneur could also be the most toxic or destructive qualities of entrepreneurs like perfectionism, the overbearing need for control, and optimism to an unrealistic degree. I find that in my life as well, some of the most destructive behaviors that I possess can also be some of the most constructive when used the right way.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?
What are some of the most dangerous characteristics of an entrepreneurs/how do you change these habits into constructive entrepreneurial behavior?
What characteristics are important to construct a productive team with?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?
There is not a whole lot about this chapter that I can disagree with the author about, but there were several new opinions and viewpoints that made me reconsider traits and characteristics that I may possess that might work either to help me or to hurt me. Also, this chapter made me think much harder about the types of qualitites that I would consider adding to a constructive team and how I would go about forming that team. It definitely was a chapter that was more informative than reflective for me in that I might be able to continue referring to it in times where I might be looking to form a group of people who have traits that can add quality to a team.

Very Short Interview No. 1

For my first entrepreneurship interview, I interviewed a guy named Tom Evans, a British Entrepreneur that I interned for while living in Madrid, Spain. We were working mostly at Google Campus Madrid on his startup company called Start Ups Made In Spain, which aimed to research and address the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem, as it differs greatly from other entrepreneurial ecosystems like the US and UK because of some key cultural/economic distinctions. 
Since college, Tom has been involved in entrepreneurial projects, and went on after college to start up a project through Telefonica's Wayra incubator that is now a full-fledged thriving business before branching off to work on other business ideas. He also is highly involved in entrepreneurial/startup activities in the city of Madrid & helps organize weekly functions to bring entrepreneurs, investors, and other creative and dynamic people together to synergize over coffee and beers on Fridays. 

Here is the VERY short interview that was conducted with him, as he was very short and sweet with his responses: 

• What does it mean to be an entrepreneur?
• It means that you have an idea or you find a problem that annoys you and figure out a way to fix it in a way that you are willing to bet is profitable and to risk your reputation and career and financial stability on that bet and stake all your resources behind it to make your dreams come true.

• What do you think I should learn/what should be taught in an entrepreneurship course?
• How to fail.

• What do you wish you had been taught in school before setting out on your own path as an entrepreneur?
• That most people are nice until there is a big pile of money on the table so you cannot embark on a venture with people you cannot fully trust so finding the right people for the journey is so important. Situations and pressure change people.

• What is the best piece of advice you can offer to young entrepreneurs? 
• Right now is the slowest pace of change you will ever encounter and the best time to be an innovator that has ever existed.

Reflecting on this interview, I think that most of Tom's responses were very appropriate and accurate to his experiences. I think that it is always interesting to hear the responses of different people to the same questions coming to the scene with different experiences, and I think that knowing Tom's stories, these responses were very "him". He is a very candid person (which is responsible for some of his biggest successes as well as challenges) and I think it is very refreshing to see from a new perspective, especially since they were not answers I was necessarily expecting!

Thanks, Tom! 

World's Biggest Problems

This is a tough post to write because there are so many of the world's problems that we complain about day to day, but regarding the biggest of the world's problems there are so few really willing to do much past discussing in terms of affirmative action. Here is my list (in no certain order) of some of the world's biggest problems:

1. Corruption- but how do you go about fixing corruption? The definition of corruption is a philosophical flaw that people perceive, the root cause being perception. The funny thing about perception is that what we perceive is completely and utterly subjective, so what one may consider corruption, others might consider just. The fact of the matter, is that no matter what, we deal with people who have differing views and opinions on what is right and what is wrong with the world, and coming to an agreement on what is and is not corruption is much more difficult than it may seem. Solution.... TBA??
2. Poverty- nearly half of the world's population is affected by poverty. The deficits between the rich and the poor in our world is monstrous any way you look at it. Because the majority of the world functions on monetary systems, poverty restricts access to other necessities of life, having a direct effect on people's quality of life, as well as their survival. Research into economic sustainability and job creation can help improve this issue. 
3. Education Systems- education is undoubtedly the key to global innovation and progress. In the areas of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, the first step towards finding a livable equilibrium is educating the global community. In recent years, there have been huge steps made towards providing access to education, but we are still a long way from where we need to be. We need to keep working towards delivering education opportunities and making it available to all people. 
4. Lack of Access to Safe Water- Water is the source of life in just about every aspect; health, agriculture, business processes, industrial environments, etc. The reasons that people are lacking access to safe drinking water are varied from geographical restrictions to political corruption, but regardless, in any situation, a good quality of life cannot be achieved without it. Solution: more research on sustainable solutions & technological innovation. 
5. Gender Equality- How much progress can the world make if 50% of the population is being excluded from progression? Until people realize that they are working at 50% (wo)man power and recognize the full potential of their respective societies, communities will continue to slowly struggle towards progression. Solution: education.
   
6. Renewable Energy- We are living in a world with limited, and diminishing resources. At the rate that the world is using our resources, there is no way that people can continue living with the same habits and expect for resources not to run out. This is a very scary, very real problem that is approaching swiftly and silently. In order to continue living the way we live, our sources of energy must change. 
7. Waste- I suppose this is also a comment on our necessity to find new sustainable solutions because we are literally trashing our planet. The (less than) half of us who live in the first world are responsible for the majority of the waste that affects all of us. We need to find sustainable solutions, change our usage habits, and encourage recycling. 
8. Political Unrest- Turn on the News for 30 seconds and guaranteed, you will be bombarded with information about war, violence, unrest, etc. People are never going to agree 100% on anything, but I absolutely feel that the majority of these things that are streaming into our consciousness are either avoidable, unnecessary, or both. The reasons for the unrest is another discussion entirely. I think the solution to this is better education, but really, this is very broad issue.
9. Discrimination- Discrimination, in any form is not okay, but it is something that we live with and witness every day. Racism, sexism, religious inequality, and any other form of alienation from society is an issue that begins with education (or lack thereof), and solution needs to begin from the bottom, starting with childhood and improving open-minded, unbiased education that discourages hate. 
10. Food Security- This is another issue that comments on lack of existing sustainable solutions, but highlights a huge opportunity for innovation, especially in the area of agriculture and food science. In recent years, this issue has also been improved dramatically, but there is still a lot of work to be done.