It's WHO You Know, Not WHAT(?!) You Know

Assignment 20A 

1) Who they are and what their background is.

Josh Java, co-founder of Trendy Entertainment here in Gainesville.

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

Java works in the entertainment business so he is the domain expert for the sake of this assignment.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

I got into contact with Java through my networking class at UF.  We were emailing through the Internet and then got together for a cup of coffee.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

The nature of the exchange was mostly just to network.  To see what they are doing in their lives and how I can kind of be my own person the way that he did.  He had a lot of great insights and we actually had a really good conversation.  The return was just to get an idea of what drives people to entertainment and how to create for them.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

Well, having Java in the network opens up a lot of doors.  The biggest I think is maybe just doing some work for him or joining his team was the main idea behind this and then giving him my idea so that he can figure out the logistics of how to make it a reality.

1) Who they are and what their background is.

Benny Torres, professor at UF and advertising veteran.

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

Market expert, he has a lot of background in the advertising world.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

He is one of my professors for advertising and I’ve had him twice before as a professor.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

He’s basically just a mentor.  He gives really good advice and has a very good understanding about markets and how to target people.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

Benny has really good insights and creative ideas that I can use to exploit the opportunity and make the most of my product.

1) Who they are and what their background is.

Joshua Ordos

2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

Supplier expert, Josh works for EMC, which sells Dell computers and parts, among other things.

3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

He’s my brother so I just called him to ask him some questions and told him my idea.

4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

He said he would look into what you would need to do to make the time machine VR experience work, as well as take the idea and see how others in his industry and work think of it.

5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

Josh has a really good background in business and entrepreneurialism, so having him in my back pocket will make this idea and business able to grow exponentially.

Finally: Reflect. This experience requires you to do a little 'targeted networking.' How will this experience shape how you participate in any future networking events? Did this experience differ from your networking experiences in the past? How?

I think this will help me in the future to target my network more effectively and talk to people that will help me more rather than just meeting people to meet people.  This experience was a lot different from my past experiences because I just usually see someone not talking to any one else and talk to them because it’s easier than waiting and feeling awkward not talking to someone.

Idea Napkin No. 2

Assignment 19A

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

Hey, hey, hey it’s ya boy Thick Jer back at it again with a new idea napkin.  For real though, I’m Jeremiah.  Y’all know me still the same OG, but I been low-key cheated on by most these people with no cheese.  My talents include quoting random tadbits of quotes from movies and TV shows, as well as a lot of random lyrics and pop culture references.  Like I mentioned in the last napkin (speaking of which, I love that it’s called an idea napkin.  Like, we’re writing on a napkin or something like I’m JK Rowling and the napkin is my Hogwarts/Harry Potter.  Unreal.), I’m a creative dude that likes to write and an excellent communicator.  I moved from Pennsylvania to Florida for school and still have my permanent residence there, but I like to travel and move so that’s a cool experience about me.  The role that this business idea would play in my life it would make me rich and famous probably, but what I really want it to do is change the world and how we perceive history (as well as shape it).

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

The product I’m offering is a virtual reality time machine concept.  The unmet need is everyone wants to see history and if they did something differently that they could have done would have played out.  What if I didn’t mess up the SATs?  What if, what if, what if?  All these what ifs could finally go away!

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

The demographic that this would hit is literally anyone, but most specifically the dreamers of the millennial generation.  Maybe even a little bit of the baby boomers.  The people it would hit are interested in history and pop culture, and they all love things and experiences that are new, even in a known kind of environment.

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

Consumers care for so many reasons.  This is cutting edge technology, on par with Elon Musk and what he and SpaceX are doing with rockets and space and Mars.  Also, it’s a new and fresh form of entertainment, which is always looking to innovate and expand.

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

I don’t know what to call it or how to describe it, but I have that “it” factor.  I just have “it.”  That’s not me just saying that either, a bunch of my fellow students can tell you that about me.  Another thing going is that I’m me.  I’m the only person like me.  (And you are you, and no one else is like you.)  I’m like Elon Musk, but on steroids (and a lot less money). 

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 everything in this business concept work together to form the perfect combination and elements to make this thing successful.  I think anything I do is successful even if I fail though, so I’m kind of egotistic like that so take it for what you think and let me know in the comments below.

For the "feedback memo" -- please summarize at least two main points that you took away from the feedback you received. Also, please describe how you incorporated the feedback into this idea napkin. 

I only got one comment on my feedback for the last napkin and he basically said that I did a really good job and have a lot of confidence, which is true.  But I switched my idea since the last napkin and I had to have even more confidence in this idea, which I incorporated in the napkin.

I don't got the juice, I got the SAUCE

The first thing that makes me me is that I’m me.  What does this mean?  Well, there is no one else like me, not even my twin brother.  I’m so uniquely me that it hurts.  The second thing that makes me me is that I have the “it” factor.  What does this mean? Well, any time there is a clutch moment or a time where someone needs to step up, I’m able to step into that role and lead.  The third thing that makes me me is my idiosyncrasies.  I have sayings like, “so ridiculous” and I also make funny faces.  The fourth thing that makes me me is my ideas.  What does this mean? Well, I think a lot differently from most people, which leads me to having different ideas from other people.  The final thing that makes me me is the way it’s so easy for me to communicate with people.  What does this mean? Well, I am easily able to bring people out of their shells and have meaningful conversations with, even if for only a few seconds.

First, my friend, the very funny Josh had some very nice things to say about me.  He said that I think differently, which is very true and it lends to what makes me me like I said above.  I also enjoy messing around on Fortnite because it’s only fun to win if it’s challenging.

Next, my amazing mother also told me some things that make me me.  I think it’s funny how she said “special” instead of different as well.  But yeah, my sense of humor is definitely something that sets me a part from others.

Next, my little brother Jared thinks he’s funnier than me, but I did enjoy some things he said.  It’s also interesting to see how my family is, which they are a big part of my life and I love them and wouldn’t be me without them.

Next is Jacob, who is my twin brother and one of my best friends.  He said that I go my own path and basically that I’m not a follower.  This is also very true.  Thank you Jacob for even doing this interview.

Lastly is my lovely and beautiful girlfriend Gabriella.  She said a lot of awesome things about me, but after the video was really sad she didn’t get to say that I have a very good taste in music.  I think that says a lot about her as well in that she wanted to redo the whole video so that she could say that.  She’s amazing.

I think I have a pretty good understanding of myself and that of myself in other peoples’ eyes.  I have a very distinct brand if you will.  There are some things that they said that I didn’t mention, but that I could definitely see where they are coming from.  There weren’t really any differences, my interviewees were very correct.  I wouldn’t make any “corrections,” but I would make some additions to be sure.

Custom Customer Avatar

Assignment 16A

The “stereotypical” customer of my time machine as virtual reality idea is such a complex character that it’s hard to put all their interests, hobbies, and favorite things all into a single package.  I would start by saying that the customer is a very fluent person, meaning that they go with the flow, but also have a wide range of interests, hobbies, and favorite things.  Their main favorite hobby might be learning about history and the past, and an interest in alternative histories.  

The car that they mostly WANT to drive is a DeLorean, but also likely to WANT to drive a Tesla.  They’re likely to ACTUALLY drive an older car that they describe as “vintage” even though it’s only a 2010 white Jeep Liberty.  They love TV, such as Game of Thrones (who doesn’t), but especially shows rooted in history like Mad Men, Sopranos, and even Friends.  They don’t have children right now, but are very interested in family life and hope to have them one day.  Just like their favorite character from the Office aka Michael Scott.

Their favorite books are often the classic great American novels, but the book they can read over and over and never get sick of is The Great Gatsby because of it’s portrayal of the dreamers and the American Dream.  

Their favorite music includes the new stuff, but they really love classic rock artists like David Bowie, Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones, and Fleetwood Mac.  They can appreciate artists like Harry Styles, Post Malone, and Sam Smith because of the influence that older artist have on them.  Their favorite Presidents are George Washington (THE FOUNDER OF AMERICA! THE OG!), Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan, all for their vision and dreams.  They also really like Martin Luther King Jr., and that period of social activism in the 60s and 70s with the whole Woodstock era.  They also like studying Britain’s kings and the medieval periods.  

They are typically millennials, but because of their interests and being kind of “Renaissance” people, they don’t like identifying with millennials.  They are the future, but also the past and present.  They are whole people, not one-dimensional where they can be put down into one category, but complex human beings with day-to-day decision making skills that vary all the time.  They believe in a utopian world, but know that it’s called a utopian world for a reason, even though they wish they could change things.

I think I have a lot in common with the consumer. I think it’s purposefully done that way because one I am most interested in this idea and it’s uniquely mine I believe, and two because I think a lot of people my age feel the same about the things I feel the same about to an extent.

Elevator Pitch #2

Reflection:

I didn’t really receive any feedback on my last elevator pitch except that I did a good job with the hook and that it was an interesting idea, but I’ve changed my idea as well as my pitch, and I will hopefully receive similar good things coming back to me.

Changes:

I switched the pitch entirely because I got a new idea.  The new idea is more exciting to me so
hopefully I showed that in my new pitch. I think I did similar with the last pitch with the exciting hook, just in a different way.   Additionally, I didn’t just sit in front of my computer when I talked, I was on my feet and felt better talking about it.  Overall, I think the small changes I made hopefully lends itself to make my pitch better and more enjoyable for people that have the pleasure of seeing it.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Assignment 15A

My interviews went swimmingly.  They gave me new insights into a lot of things about a time machine I didn’t really realize at first. 

The first interviewee said that she preferred quality and style to price.  This makes sense because you don’t want to pay a low price and have a shitty time travel experience.   She said she was also more likely to buy online.  The post purchase evaluation was confusing in that it is hard for her to tell if she’s ever really actually made the right purchase.  If she doesn’t use or wear something more than once she said it’s usually a bad purchase, but she doesn’t like admitting that.

The second interview went well and I found a new insight.  How would he afford the time machine (assuming it be really expensive as I would too) and would he get to use it more than once? How many time machines are there?  There’s a moral dilemma here that I have to figure out.  He said it was kind of a scary idea to give that much power to people.  He said he would regret buying it if he came back to the present and the entire present was altered, which is a good point.

The Third interview gave an even better idea, which was by accident from what I told him based on the last interview of it being scary.  He helped give the idea of using virtual reality instead, which he said he would pay a good amount for quality, probably buy online, and not have any remorse for being able to go back in time through virtual reality, which is not harmful at all.  There could even be a setting to see the present if you did something differently.  This interview was very fruitful.

In the interviews that I was able to sit down and talk to people, I found that a time machine is actually kind of a scary idea as well.  This is not a problem though, because what if instead of an actual time machine that would take people back to certain periods, what if there was an application that you could use with virtual reality to take you to those certain worlds? Overall, I think the segment cares about quality, buys online, and has some remorse, but not as much as I would have guessed.

Whoa! We're Halfway There!

Assignment 14A

1) Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 

Honestly, there hasn’t been too much struggle for me with this class. I think the main reason for me is because I’m naturally entrepreneurial, but there are some behaviors that you can start trying to make habit to become more entrepreneurial.  The biggest one is to just think differently and to just be fearless.  Everyone might make fun of your idea or say that it’s not a good idea, but if it is to you than you should keep running with it!

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

It’s not that I felt like giving up, but I switched my idea almost halfway through because my original idea wasn’t giving me that tingle in my pingle kind of tingle anymore.  So my new idea did that for me and I think it’s actually a better idea so that’s kind of what pushed me through.  I’ve always had a tenacious attitude but sure, it has become more prominent for this class maybe.  No real experience besides it’s keeping me honest and on top of the idea.

3) Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

Three tips I have for you is 1) be fearless, 2) be uniquely you and 3) have fun with the class because it’s a cool way to interact with peers and get your ideas out in to a real conversation.