Time to Talk about Failure

Assignment 26A

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. 

This semester and every semester since freshman year (I’m about to graduate) I have been working on writing screenplays in all shapes and sizes.  Whether writing movies, short films, TV shows, or comedy sketches, I have tried to write as much as possible because that’s how you get better.  Also because that’s what I want to do “when I grow up.”  So throughout my time at UF, I experienced a lot of failure through writing these scripts, if you will.  First, the idea is the easiest part.  I want to write a story based on blank.  But after that is where the failures come in.  I will start writing scripts, but then I’ll get distracted or deterred by the notorious writer’s block.  I literally wrote the first 5 pages of every script and been like, “I’ll save it for later,” and haven’t gotten back to it.  I recently got to page 20 on my newest movie idea and I am freaking out.  That’s been the most success I’ve had, but it’s still technically failure.

2) Tell us what you learned from it.  

I’ve learned that it is important to persevere. Additionally, sometimes you think you have a good idea, but that might not always be the case.  Sometimes it’s okay to give up and chase something else for a while.  Lastly, I learned that sometimes you have to tweak “your baby” and edit things, which can be a hard thing to do.

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 just a few months ago?

I actually don’t mind failure.  I’ve been saying all semester.  It’s okay to fail, just learn from it.  Even though I say this, I don’t handle failure the best.  It’s demoralizing.  You work so hard at something for it to fail can really suck, but getting back on the horse is the important part.  This class has reassured me of that.  I’m going to keep taking the risks that I’ve been taking since before this class, maybe even more.

What Does Thou Haveth on the Morrow?

Assignment 25A: What's Next

Existing Market

Step 1: Talk about what you think is what's next in terms of products and services for your venture.

As far as expanding and what’s next, I think the best route for what’s next is to work on new experiences for the customer.  How can I get them what they want in the most authentic way possible?  What experiences do they want to have next?  Learning these things will help me gain more insight in what they want.  They want their own experiences in the software, so how can I customize each experience so that it feels like their own when using my product.

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. 

What I received from my current market is for there to be more exciting histories and wars that are interactable.  What if the South won the Civil War?  They want questions like that answered.  I also asked about my ideas on making it more customizable and they said that would be amazing to put their own experiences in and see how things would play out if they acted differently.

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.

Growing in anything is a learning experience.  This is especially true for entrepreneurs, and for entrepreneurs with something completely new and different.  Because this is like a video game met a movie/television and had a baby more than anything, I will have to learn how best to create experiences that customers can indulge in and stay and play in for a while.

Additionally, the future holds a lot of trial and error, which I am ready for.  I think this will be a learning curve, so if I fail, I will be okay with it but I will come back even harder and work relentlessly until this is a product that will make at least some people happy.

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.

The radically different market I want to target is politics and maybe even a target audience of those who have mental disabilities. 

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!

The politics one will show them how they can go down in history or how they can better themselves and their politics to help rather than to hurt.  This will make both sides of the political party have more sympathy and empathy.  Additionally, the disabled community will get life lessons using this virtual reality technology.

Step 3: Interview two 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 customers like them. What kinds of adaptations to the product/service mix do they think you should make to be successful in this new market? 

My friend Dennis was one of the people I interviewed, as he wants to be involved in politics when he graduates law school.  He said that this would be a really cool idea and help politicians get closer to the people they are suppose to be representing.  He said just going to law schools and political buildings would be the best way to meet them in person, but social media like Twitter is really effective too.

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. 

What I learned in boating school is…  WHAT I LEARNED IN BOATING SCHOOL IS….!!!!

But really.  What I learned about this new market is that  it would help everyone, not just those in the market.  This is due to helping people in power become more aware of their actions, creating better laws and such.  Nothing really surprised me as a lot of my assumptions were correct.  I don’t like this market as much as my entertainment one,  but it is still lucrative I believe.

Venture Concept No. 1

Assignment 24A

Opportunity:

Now more than ever, the world is full of “what ifs” and thinking about what you could have done differently.  Those who do this include older people and younger people alike, but the need is unmet by mostly millennials though.  My potential customers are definitely technologically literate, but the product won’t call for you to be that advanced in terms of its use.  The nature of the need is a little different; it’s for those that with to see what the past was like, as well as what the present and future would have been like if different steps and actions were taken.

Additionally, the forces/changes in the environment creating this opportunity is virtual reality and augmented reality becoming more and more prevalent and the “future” of today’s world.  Furthermore, the market isn’t contained geographically, but demographically it’s for all those “tech” nerds out there (I’m one so I’m allowed to use that term).  It’s basically Apple’s demographic.  Also, I think this could be a teacher’s product that makes learning more fun. Customers are currently satisfying their need through movies, television and video games.  They also used textbooks, which are boring. They are not loyal as they switch between these things very often. 

This opportunity is HUGE.  The window I imagine is open for a while until the next big thing comes out in terms of new technology, but I don’t think that will be soon as VR is the future right now.

Innovation:

Just really quickly, I want to make sure that you (PROFESSOR/TA/FELLOW STUDENT/RANDOM DUDE READING THIS IN A COFFEE SHOP… I SEE YOU) are not stealing my idea.  So to make sure you don’t take this, I am not going to share in detail what my product is.  Instead, I’m going to dance around it and give you the bare minimum.  My grade doesn’t mean that much to me if you steal my idea and take it as your own! You can’t fool me professor!

But seriously, I’ll give some detail.  First, my idea is a virtual reality time machine that shows you history, alt-histories, and new realities based on your what ifs.  I’m still thinking of names for it, but right now I think I’m going with VirTiMa or simply Virtima.  It works by using virtual reality spaces that simulate time pieces (the White House, 1963 after Kennedy’s assassination for example) and shows you how people acted and the things that went on to help get a better understanding of history.  It’s a software so selling it like a game or app to go with  a VR headset is how  I’ll make money.  I’m still working on the pricing.  I want the packaging to be an experience itself too, coming in a red telephone booth or other time machine type of packaging.  That’s all you get to wet your beaks for now.  Ask me questions you feel that are relevant or help give ideas about the pricing or anything else.  Thank you. 

Venture Concept:

My innovation will solve and address my specific opportunity in many ways.  In the past, textbooks have done a lot of the work in describing history.  It’s more or less an oral history, instead of an experience.  By making history more entertaining, it will create a better experience for kids if it’s more of a video game than textbook.  The reason to switch to this instead of everything else is because it’s more interactive than the previous things and therefore more fun and fulfilling. 

There don’t appear to be any competitors right now, nor are there any weaknesses or vulnerabilities that I can think of right now.  What are the weaknesses of Fortnite? Of Call of Duty?  They don’t really have any until people start playing, which are patchable on the fly.  The role of packaging will be an experience itself, along with the customer experience of being entertained.  Pricing will be competitive.  Distribution, customer support, and location all don’t really define my business concept except that I want it to be the highest level of execution as possible.

Organizing the business would be fun.  I would probably get a few software engineers and designers to help, as well as people like myself to help with the stories that we could tell.  I would say a total of 10 employees to start out, half to business/advertising and the other half to production.

The three minor elements:

My most important resource is my imagination.  It will be hard for competitors to innovate and create in the fashion, manner, and timeliness that I can.  I’m the Elon Musk of entertainment.

Next, what’s next for the venture is to create time frames that people will want to explore in.

Lastly, what's next for me is using my fame and fortune to make the world a better, happier place.  Also, I want to use my capital to start creating other things for people to explore and be entertained by.  This first venture will help me become a name that people want to see what the next thing I create is and get that going as much as possible.

To be continued…

Reading (Rainbow) Reflection No. 2

Assignment 21A

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

In How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams (makes me think of Adam Scott and his character in Parks and Rec), Scott’s basic idea of the entire book is that failure should be invited into your life and embrace it, and to find what makes you you and make that look like luck to others.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

The book really connected with me because it is basically what I’ve been saying about this class since the beginning in my posts, but just made it more real and gave it even more credibility.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

The exercise I would create is to write out 5 failures that you’ve had, and turn them into jokes and then try to find how we can learn from that failure.  This is something that I would enjoy because it’s something that I do, and something that I think Adams tries to get us to do when we read his book is to laugh at his failures, but also learn from them.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

The biggest “aha” for me actually came from when Adams didn’t feel stressed at all, but was.  This is interesting to me because stress pulls at everyone everyday and we don’t even realize it.  We should all take a step back from our everyday lives and focus on our health and mental well-being.