13A- Reading Reflection

13A- Reading Reflection

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

• What surprised you the most?
• What surprised me initially was that this was an autobiography about the creator of Nike. I picked this book because I did not recognize the author’s name and the title is still kind of ambiguous. I began reading and realized it was about Nike and it shocked me because until then I had no idea who Phil Knight was.
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
• I admired that he pressed that, if you are young and you have the time to do something, do it. There is no time like when you are young, and you have the opportunities you might not have when you are older with the gained responsibilities of life.
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
• I think Knight did not talk about all the hardship that he faced. Yes, it seems like a lot did just fall into place for him but there has to be some more things that made it hard for the company initially or in the later years once it was established. He makes it seem like this movie where everything works out which I think can put the wrong mindset in someone who is reading the book.
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
• He did face adversity in getting funding by banks. The banks said that they did not have a enough assets to be secure which annoyed Knight because of course he wasn’t like Ford and other huge companies, he was just starting out and Venture Capital was practically nonexistent. They also struggled with getting their imports in on time, but Knight was not put down by these banks and planned ahead and made secure moves to push the company forward.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

                I believe that Knight was adventurous. The fact that after college he traveled the world is amazing and brave. He was able to visit Japan and that is where he found what inspired him. If he never traveled the world and took that brave step to do something that some people would look down on as “lazy for not starting your career right away” he would never be where he is today because he would never had been able to make the call to the CEO, Mr. Onitsuka.

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

                I was a little confused when he talked about the first part of when Nike arose with the international trade and the complexities of getting the product places and the laws, taxes, and exchange rates but I think for the most part I was able to get the jist of what he was saying.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

                The first question I would ask is what events he ran in at the University of Oregon and what his times were. I ran in high school and continue to run now and knowing the competitive atmosphere and the immense talent you have to have to run for UO, he must’ve been pretty good. The second question I would ask would be what the interview process was like for finding your top management team. He said that all of them were ‘shoe dogs’ and extremely passionate about the cause and I would like to hear his reasoning behind why each one was given the position- what made them stand out?

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

                I think he would say that hard work is not hard work if it is something you are passionate about. He seemed to have fun and have a good attitude about what he did which made all of this work worth it and made it easier. I agree with that you should go into something that you find interest and are passionate about because then you are not seeing it as a job and a commitment you are bound to but something that you look forward to doing.

14A- Halfway Reflection

14A- Halfway Reflection

1)      Tenaciousness is a competency. 

 Because this is an online class you need to make sure that you keep up with the assignments. There is no one telling you in a classroom setting that things are due on a certain day so that is up to you to be responsible for, which can be a change for sure. Also it teaches you not to procrastinate because a lot of these assignments are interviews which means you have to set up a time to meet someone and talk to them and if you save that all until the last day it will be a lot of work and you might not be able to interview the people you want to because of it being so last minute.

2)      Tenaciousness is also about attitude. 

 I think there might be a moment when you think that your product has no room to grow and people have shot it down and you just need to be adaptive in this situation. Don’t see it as someone telling you, you are wrong but see it as an opportunity to evolve your product because you will gain insight as you go on in the semester. You have to see all aspects of something and be able to not take things to heart but see them as something you can use to make your product better.

3)      Three tips. 

You need to be creative and think outside of the box especially about the customer base for your product because even though you have a product the customer base you are going after might not be the right one for the product necessarily. Put a positive mindset on doing these assignments because they are fun, and it will make them go by faster. Do not wait until the last minute to do these assignments because you might not be able to get the most out of them if you do wait until the last minute.

12A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.1

12A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.1 

I decided to pick the segment of business owners and specifically talk to entertainment business owners. I was able to speak to the man who owns many of the bars in midtown Gainesville. I was also able to talk to one of the managers of one of the clubs in downtown Gainesville. I finally was able to talk to someone who owned an entertainment venue in Orlando, Florida. They all had different suggestions and thoughts about the product because even though they all are similar in the fact that they all appeal to the same kinds of people, they go about it different ways and their execution is different than others.

They all agreed that even though this product would be useful all of the time and would be beneficial they all told me the same thing that, on Friday and Saturday nights is when it would be the most helpful because there are a lot more bodies in each of these places and that just means more room for contact and a bigger possibility of injury in all areas. When I asked if they had any thoughts on other places that could use this product that maybe don’t already have a similar one like it, the usual response was that they could see it being most beneficial at bars and clubs but know that somewhere it could be helpful too most likely. They said that usually when a need arises they talk to other bar and club owners in their area because even though they are in competition together they still all have the same goals. I think they haven’t thought about this product as useful in their business because it is not common in general and especially not in this realm.

11A- Idea Napkin No.1

11A- Idea Napkin No.1

1) You. Who you are. 

I am a college kid who would like to think of himself as somewhat creative but since this product is definitely already a thing I think my aspirations would be to see it in a different area. I think that it would not only benefit the bar owners but the bar goers would benefit too and so it is a win win over all and I go to bars and clubs and would like to see it in place.

2) What are you offering to customers? 

There are multiple liabilities that comes with owning a bar, and that’s why it is so hard to open one. There still isn’t a bar that’s replaces Cantina. On top of the underage drinking liability, there are bar fights, overconsumption, among others. The cover for these cups take away some liability that might be able to make a bar stay open for an extended period by cutting down on liability.

3) Who are you offering it to? 

I am offering it to owners of bars and clubs that have the audience of big and rowdy crowds such as a college bar or downtown clubs. These owners have high capacity bars that fit multiple people like sardines and call it a good time. It is were the density of people to area in a room is greater than usual.

4) Why do they care? 

They care because bars and clubs pay hundreds of dollars in insurance to see their business stay alive and be safe. Even though my product would not get rid of all the insurance needs it could cut down on some costs as well as liability overall.

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? 

I think many people, as I did in the beginning, set out looking at this product as something that the bar goers would want to buy. I saw the customer base as something else and I think many people think this product would be seen as a product sold individually to people. I see it in a different perspective, selling it to the bar owners who could benefit from it by happy customers with a clean bar and less liability of injury.

In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others. 

I think that this is a really good concept and I’m kinda proud to think that I could even come up with anything, but there definitely are logistics that need to be worked out. With the selling of these plastic wraps you also need straws and that’s a whole new ball game with the controversy going on with them at the moment. That also adds extra cost, which still minimal would be some consideration. Yet then again bars do often serve their drinks with straws yet they are usually mixing straws that people don’t use.

10A- Elevator Pitch No.1

9A- Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

9A- Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who: I was able to interview a group of three college students who were heading out to go to the bars at Midtown and that had some interesting opinions and takes on the product idea that I proposed to them. They talked about how it would be amazing if the bar/club provided them with a product that was basically a lid for your drink but that they themselves would not want to buy it because they said that if it was offered as something you brought to the bar then it would not do much help unless all the people at the bar were using the product as well. On top of that they see it as even if it was pretty inexpensive they would not want to pay for the product when they could use the money for more drinks. They said that getting spilt on is worth having the money to buy more drinks because they already have specific clothes that they would go out in so after awhile they are not too restricted to what they have to wear because they already have a set wardrobe for specifically going out. I was able to talk to a manager of a restaurant because my thought process was even at restaurants people tend to spill their drinks but when I talked to the manager they said that if the customer wanted to ask for lids they do have lids but spills do not happen nearly as often as at a bar or a club and is not as big of a deal when it does. My last interviewee was a manager at a more upscale bar to see if there was a happy medium in-between restaurants and big college clubs. They had the same opinion that the restaurant manager had and said that it would also take away from the ambiance that the bar is trying to give off.

What: I think that the upscale bar manager had a good point when he told me that intoxicated people who want to start something or who want to goof off and spill their drinks among other things will do it even if you have prevention put in place.

Why: I think the restaurants and classier bars have a need that is pleasing the client which is the same as college bars and clubs, but the client is looking for different things when they go to these places. When they go to a classier bar they go for the ambiance and for the pleasure of for the most part relaxing and chatting and want the place to look clean. Clubs and bars are there to provide entertainment for their customers and not being cleanly takes away from that.

Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who: College bar owners, club owners	Who: Upscale Bars, Restaurants
What: Spillage of drinks causes a greater liability to the bar	What: The need is not to prevent the spillage of all drinks, just limit liability
Why: It exists because people could sue the bar if they slip and fall while on their property which could ruin the bar	Why: The lid takes away from the ambiance

8A- Solving the Problem

8A- Solving the Problem

Last week I went to Impulse Nutrition, a juice and smoothie bar downtown, to order a tab for a sorority my fraternity is courting. When I went there the owner gave us sample of the drinks because it was our first time there. The drinks were in cups that were covered with a thin plastic sheet over the top of the cup where you would use the straw, he gave with a pointed end to jab into the plastic sheet in order to get to the juice. He explained that many people get his drinks to go and they don’t drink them until after they have scooted home or they save them for later; he said he decided to put the “lid” on these to go orders because then there is no opening until you poke it open with the straw and even at that point it saves a lot on spillage. Transitioning this idea of having a plastic sheet “lid” over the juices to then bringing this idea to bars and clubs to put over their cups, because the opportunity I have found is that the spillage of drinks at packed bars and clubs becomes a big hazard to the club-goers and an even bigger liability to the club and bar owners due to the possibility of slipping on the wet floor covered in ice and other liquid and could also accidentally start altercations because of spilling on someone else. By covering the cups at bars and clubs with this plastic sheet that seconds as a lid would greatly reduce the amount of liquid and ice spilled on the floor and spillage due to knocking into someone else or accidentally spilling on someone else.

7A- Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

7A- Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

·         Opportunity: Bars gain an extra liability and the customers at those bars have to work around the extra hassle because of spilt drinks on people and the floor of the bar causing hazards.

a.       The who: Bar owners and bar-going Americans

b.       The what: Drinks spilling cause the floor to get wet and slippery and can put people on edge when getting spilled on.

c.       The why: Having a wet floor is a liability to the bar and a safety hazard to the people and a spilt drink also has the potential to rile people up.

·         Testing the who: I believe that this could be an issue for other restaurant/ bar and grill owners but at a much lesser level. The main customers would be bar and club owners that are serving alcoholic beverages.

·         Testing the what: Some bars are known for their dinginess and being the epitome of a gross bar and that is their curbside appeal but then when it comes to other bars and specifically clubs, they want the exact opposite because the appeal is that it is a nicer place, people want to be able to dress up and look a bit nicer when they go out.

·         Testing the why: There are probably a couple of viewpoints about where the root of the problem stems from whether it be the customers fault that spills it, the other customer that bumps into them, or the bar’s fault for not having enough trash cans. Any of those ways though still puts the bar in a position where they could be liable because something happened on their property and could cause a decrease in customers.

·         Interview #1- I first interviewed a manager of one of the more popular bars in Gainesville that is frequented more by college students. He explained that the liability would be on the bar no matter how the event went down if it was on the bar’s property. He said that even with 6 trashcans placed around the entire bar, people still manage not to throw their drinks away and leave them on the floor where they can be easily knocked over and cause a slippery floor.

·         Interview #2- I interviewed a college male who goes to many of the bars at midtown often. He was able to tell me that slipping was not the only problem of drinks being spilled but he had seen on more than one occasion where there are two people who may be intoxicated and one accidentally, or purposefully, spills a drink on the other and they get into a little tussle which could turn into something more violent simply over a spilled drink.

·         Interview #3- I talked to someone at a downtown bar that was less known for being closer to a club but more seen as a sit-down bar with a higher prices. They said that this was not as big of an issue because there are not usually enough people in the bar to where you are pushing through people just to get to the other side of the building so there is less likelihood of a spill.

·         Interview #4- I talked to one of the bartenders at a club in downtown Gainesville who also at the end of the night has to clean the floors for the next day. He explained that he finds so many cups on the floor from people simply just dropping their drinks on the floor which may seem fine because the drink is finished but usually there is always a little bit left as well as all of the ice that was in the cup which not only makes the floor sticky but also the ice causes the floor to be extremely slippery especially for someone already intoxicated.

·         Interview #5- I sat down with a college girl who goes to the bars and clubs in Gainesville frequently and she says that there are some places that she will not go anymore because she knows that no matter what she will either ruin an article of clothing that she is wearing or will fall, spill a drink she has paid for, or get it knocked out of her hands by someone else. She explains how annoying it is that she will pay money to get into these bars and clubs to then lose more money by a spilt drink or have a drink spilt all over her and her have to make the decision to either go home and dry off, maybe to come back and wait in a long line and pay yet again to get in or spend the rest of the night pressed up against people with a sopping wet shirt or a busted toe because she slipped on ice.

·         I was able to gain some helpful insight from being able to sit down and discuss the different aspects of bar life with the different people that interact in the scene. I learned that even though there are trashcans set out for people, most people will not use them and simply drop their drink on the floor; this paired with a packed building provides no way for clean up during the night which means the ice and cups stack up throughout the night. I also realized that this is not such a naturally occurring thing in all bars but bars that are frequented by college students, where drinks might be a bit cheaper as well as most clubs due to their goal of trying to make the place seem as lively as possible to attract people. While talking to interviewer #2 I found out that slipping and falling due to a spilt drink is not the only liability that a bar/club has when dealing with spilled drinks, but fights could also break out over small things such as a spilt drink because of intoxication. Through this interviewing process I was able to narrow down the customer base as well as broaden my view of the potential hazards.