Final Reflection

     I was excited to sign up for this class because I was looking forward to learning about entrepreneurs and what they do to be successful. I never dreamed that I would become an entrepreneur at the end. This semester, I acquired skills like organization techniques, personable manners, talking to strangers, and thinking like an entrepreneur. It was exciting, but sometimes I was scared. For some assignments, I really had to get out of my comfort zone and become a person I never thought I could be. Sometimes I was successful and other times I was humiliated, but I learned so much along the way. The experience I will remember for years to come will be the free money assignment where I had to hand out free money to strangers. I know I write about this is on my blog all the time, but I was really embarrassed about how badly I failed this exercise. It taught me about accepting failure and learning from it. I am most proud of finding an entrepreneur on my own and interviewing him. It was such an educational and inspirational experience that I will never forget. I do see myself as an entrepreneur. I remember over spring break, we were walking on the beach, and although I don't remember exactly what problem I identified, I remember identifying it, and thinking to myself that I was becoming an entrepreneur. To the students who will be taking this course in the future, I would say to not be afraid and don't fall behind. A lot of these exercises will make you do things you would have never done, but it gets easier. In order to foster the mindset, make sure to practice it every day. It's like going to the gym. You need to work the muscles every day to see results. Innovative thinking should be something you do every day, and if you practice it enough, you will have an entrepreneurial mindset. This class was fun, and I will always remember everything it taught me.

Week 15 Reading Reflection

1) The biggest surprise for me during the reading were the dangerous issues and hardships that the author's company went through while trying to expand his business with other countries. It's incredibly inspirational how dedicated the author is to his company and his customers.

2) One part of the reading that was confusing to me was how companies focusing on micro financing could help people get out of poverty. I have never heard about this before so it was a little confusing getting to know about it.

3) If I were able to ask two questions to the author I would first ask him why he had such an immense passion to work with foreign countries where small businesses could be unprofitable as opposed to other countries? I would then ask how he learned awesome people skills and if he could help me out.

4) I did not disagree with anything that the author stated during the article.

Elevator Pitch No.4

 This will be my third attempt at an elevator pitch and my last one for this semester. The feedback I got back from my peers from my last elevator pitch was overall really nice. Some people were worried about my competitors and how my product is different from others. My product is reliable, affordable, and better than my competitors. Hope you enjoy my last elevator pitch.

Venture Concept No.2

Venture Concept       

        Most of the objects and services we use in our daily lives are electronics, but all electronics have a small battery life compared to the amount of time we use them for. However, outlets are limited in most public places, and this causes people to be upset at the lack of services a building is providing. Therefore, a lot of people have this need, but I plan on targeting people in Universities and airports. University students constantly use their laptops and other electronics to complete assignments. Businessmen who travel all the time and need to do work on the go need to have a dependable outlet that works all the time. Overall, this product I have come up with will eliminate the problem(the absence of outlets) that these people face while doing work in public places. Our world is changing to an electronically dependent environment which creates this opportunity that I have chosen to work with. This opportunity is pretty large considering the demand to have a person’s electronics charged at all times, especially for college students. Having one’s computer die during an important quiz is not exactly the best thing to happen because most teachers blame it on the student and not the electronic. Another important aspect is Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is one of the most common services needed in the world right now. Every public and private business in America understands the importance of having free wifi for customers. Students and businessmen need a reliable connection to the internet in order to work. As a student, I know that an unreliable internet connection can lead to not being able to watch a class lecture or complete a quiz. This combined opportunity is important because of the great need of a power connection and internet connection. This window of opportunity is closing fast considering the amount of portable chargers for cellphones there are in the market and technological advancements are improving greatly. So it is only a matter of time before companies will be selling the portable chargers that I am offering to my customers. 

           The innovation I have created is a portable charger with outlets on it that will serve as a way to charge any electronic with a plug. It will be light, and easy to carry around in a case. This product will also be a Wi-Fi hotspot which is very important because crowded places like libraries can be hard to get an accurate Wi-Fi connection. It will provide a reliable connection for all students and businessmen. A second company would organize all the wifi providers so that the Pod would get a better connection. My product has a dome like shaped with up to four outlets on it and is called the Pod. The Pod will be sold privately to Universities and airplane companies in bulk for a cheaper price. I want to add a cool aspect to the pods by selling customized pods that are designed to match logos and colors of companies. For example, if I were selling pods to the University of Florida, I would make ones that are blue and orange. I would paint a gator on them too. It will make the pods more fun to use. As far as working them, the customer simply plugs in their charging chord to any electronic the device will charge or start working. The most important thing of the Pod is that it is a chargeable device. A power chord will be given to the customer and they can be charged at home or a dedicated location in the library. Customers can take the pods with them to any place in the library or airport. To the companies that buy them in bulk, a censor will be added to the Pod that will set a buzzer off once it leaves a building so they are not stolen. For the  individual customers who want to to buy the Pod for their own personal use they will be available on the website. They will be sold for seventy-five dollars individually. Additional designs and shipping will be added fees, but otherwise it is a pretty affordable device for those who want it. 

          Customers would switch to my product because it will be a reliable internet connection and a way to have their electronics constantly charged. People won’t have to worry about forgetting their charger at home or where the nearest outlet is. It is just very necessary for the technology dependent life we have adapted to. The competitors are the companies that sell portable chargers for I-Phones, but customers will come to find that the Pod works for all electronics(lamps, hair straighteners, blow driers,ext.) Customer experience and support is important for this business concept because if there are glitches, University libraries will not want to invest in the product. Price points have a role in my business concept because I will use it to find a way to charge the companies I will be selling a lot of Pods to. I would organize my business by making it a small office with ten salesmen, a team of accountants, and a team of engineers dealing with the advancement of my product. 

          Being a college student, I understand the importance of a reliable internet connection and outlet; therefore, other competitors cannot relate to college students like I will. I also have connections with a marketing expert who sells computer advancements to schools. The next step in my venture would be to create a Pod that is waterproof. It will be a new device that will be even better for the customers. In five years, I want to have a large building and be selling devices all over the world. In the next decade, I want to be coming up with new ideas and discovering new opportunities to tackle. This venture was really important in developing my skills as en entrepreneur. I will always look back at it and use the same techniques I learned to develop my ideas. 

Feedback:

     The feedback I received from my peers was helpful. One person said that the pod should eliminate the amount of devices a person has to keep with them. This being said, it will be easily portable in a case or any backpack. Another peer said that it would be challenging to have a wifi hotspot in the Pod. Now, I don't know much about wifi hotspots, but I can create the pod to be able to have the same wifi hotspot ability of an smart phone or computer. The final feedback I got was again about the wifi hotspot. They said that it would be difficult to work with every Wifi provider, unless there were a second company that was able to organize all the wifi hotspots and make sure they will provide better connection. I guess this company will get some profits for doing that job, but I am still selling a device that makes college life and airport life easier. 

What did I Change?

       I really didn't want to change my whole idea, but the Pod will come with a case that makes it easy to carry around in backpacks. I will work with a second company that will help my business work better with every Wifi provider and so that people using the Pod will get a better internet connection. I look forward to further comments from my fellow peers.