Entrepreneur in Training!

This semester has definitely been a journey of highs and lows. I certainly felt the dread and have had my fair share of moments of drudgery in this course. I feel as though I did most assignments just for the sake of doing it for my grade versus actually having a genuine interest in my idea and plan as an entrepreneur. The most formative experience while taking this class, for me, was when I was able to somehow submit my assignments on time after being on a trip across Europe with a sizable stretch of which I was on my own for. I remember being at the Athens airport and submitting the assignment while walking to board the plane. I am quite proud of the determination I had to get it done somehow and will likely remember that when looking back on my summer. I think in some ways I have developed an entrepreneurial mindset, as I now think of problems a bit differently at times, but in other ways I haven't, as I do not think I'll genuinely start my own business for the foreseea

Venture Concept #1: YouEat! Opportunity While brainstorming about this idea, it almost immediately dawned on me that I should target a group of customers that I know from personal experience, young adults. A key component of my business plan is the notion that often times, people are busy and preoccupied with other life events to the point that they will leave little to no time to cook and prepare meals on their own. Based on my own life experience, I know that this demographic has an unmet need for healthier, affordable meal options that require little to no time for preparation and can be cooked very quickly. Individuals in this demographic need meal options that require minimal time, effort, and resources to produce.  The forces in the environment create this opportunity as a result of the fact that young adults in the United States typically work or study very hard while also having to focus their attention on a variety of other areas, including their social life, romant

I decided to read about Steve Jobs and his journey with Apple. I have always had a strong preference for Apple products, so learning more about Jobs was a no brainer for me. I was most surprised by the fact that Jobs dropped out of college. I've often heard the notion that many of society's most successful and influential figures do not complete their college degrees. However, Jobs always struck me as someone with a college degree, so this caught me off guard. While reading about his life, I found myself most admiring his sheer sense of determination and faith in himself. No matter the hardship he experienced, he knew that he would be able to overcome it. Once he realized what he wanted to do with Apple, he decided to see it through as best as he could at the time. I really admire his sense of passion and dedication to what he believes in. I least admired his arrogance and lack of care when interacting with others. I believe that everyone has an obligation to be decent to other

All good things truly come to an end.  1. I intend to sell my business once I have get an offer that I cannot refuse, assuming the business takes off and is reasonably successful.  2. I choose this particular strategy because in my eyes, I want to sell while I know I can make a good return on the business, as any number of market factors can change at any given point, potentially leading to a decrease in what I earn as profit. I want to make sure I will have money to live off of and not take risks, therefore selling while I am guaranteed a decent sum.  3. It has somewhat affected the other decisions I’ve made, as I’ve deliberately tried to avoid risk and operate this business with as little initial investment as possible, instead opting for a somewhat slow launch with gradual expanding in order to ensure I don’t expand beyond my means. I want to grow my business, however, I want to do so without risking too much as I don’t have the financial means to risk it al

1. If I had to discuss a time where I failed, I'd honestly say it was for this class. To be specific, I failed with sticking to the course deadlines and turning things in on time, be it submitting the cupcakes, comment assignments, or the actual main blog posts. I tried many times to get it right, but each time I would check and the deadline had passed. I'll likely end up with a C as my final grade which is something that I'm not exactly happy with. I can't be too hard on myself, as I took this class while studying abroad in London this summer (where I am currently writing this post). I've truly lived and enjoyed this experience to its fullest, creating some amazing memories I'll carry with me for the rest of my life. I can't say I really regret not keeping on top of my responsibilities for this class, as I know that it won't really matter in the grand scheme of things and I'm much more satisfied with how this experience has gone. I'm glad I focu

25A - What’s next?  Existing Market In terms of expanding my existing service, I believe something to look to consider in the future is adding useful features in exchange for higher monthly subscription rates. In the future, some of the higher subscription tiers could include special benefits to help make a user’s life easier, such as including a weekly or biweekly meal prep kit box that would be delivered to the users door. While our initial offering already simplifies our app users’ lives tremendously, this meal prep box would do that even more so, as it would cut out the need for customers to have to decide on their own what to purchase at the grocery store or even go altogether, save for some perishable goods, like milk or meat for instance.  Upon asking my potential customers what they would want to see in the future, the first individual stated that they would would like for us to expand past an app on a smartphone ad actually design and launch the same app for smart wa

Venture Concept #1: YouEat! Opportunity While brainstorming about this idea, it almost immediately dawned on me that I should target a group of customers that I know from personal experience, young adults. A key component of my business plan is the notion that often times, people are busy and preoccupied with other life events to the point that they will leave little to no time to cook and prepare meals on their own. Based on my own life experience, I know that this demographic has an unmet need for healthier, affordable meal options that require little to no time for preparation and can be cooked very quickly. Individuals in this demographic need meal options that require minimal time, effort, and resources to produce.  The forces in the environment create this opportunity as a result of the fact that young adults in the United States typically work or study very hard while also having to focus their attention on a variety of other areas, including their social life, romantic

Resources in my venture that I already possess: Access to a reliable computer Useful for a wide range of functionality, assist with app creation, research, and development. Relatively valuable, not rare, very inimitable, and very substitutable.  Access to a smartphone Portable, on-the-go contact and research to help flesh out this app and service.  Relatively valuable, not rare, very inimitable, and very substitutable.  High-speed internet Ability to research and make this idea as successful and as fleshed out as possible.  Somewhat valuable, not rare, very imitable, and very substitutable.  Previous marketing experience  Familiarity with presenting the idea in a way that will appeal and be palatable to my target market. Understanding of which programs to turn to and what sort of communication would be more effective.  Relatively valuable, somewhat uncommon, somewhat imitable, and somewhat substitutable.  Knowledge and practice with social media marketing  Very

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big Scott Adams 1) What was the general theme or argument of the book? Drawing from his own experiences, Adams reflected on his past failures in order to learn and succeed in future opportunities. While initially, failure can be quite disappointing and dismaying to many, in reality, it's a great chance to learn from what went wrong and better prepare for the future.  2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003? This book connected and enhanced this class as it provided deeper insight into the idea of constantly learning and improving based on your life experiences to become the best version of yourself that you can be. If you fail when launching your product or service, learn from what went wrong and correct it going forward to have a much greater chance of success.  3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise

Based on the feedback I received, I learned that I must be more dynamic in appearance and take some time to draw insight into my target market and my company idea. For this third take, I developed my ideas more and made sure to put in the time to thinking more about what I wanted to say.

First Person 1) Who they are and what their background is. Greg Rothman, CEO of a digital start-up that aims to create an online marketplace to enable students to find off-campus housing options with more convenience and ease.  2) Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot. Domain expert, as he is familiar with the idea of a service-based digital platform with premium options. 3) A description of how you found the person and contacted the person. I interned for him previously, I reached out.  4) The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? I asked him for advice on the app, likely expects me to be open to possibly helping him out someday.  5) How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity? Drawing from his experience will allow me to make better, more informed d

1. Who I am: My name is Nick Lorenzo, I am a business student at the University of Florida. I aspire to work in marketing for an international business with sustainable and ethical business practices. My talents include working well in a team environment, communicating effectively, and analyzing information. I have worked in a marketing capacity in the past and I am in currently doing so while interning in London this summer. I see this business serving as a potential secondary income source in my life. 2. I am offering my customers a service that enables them to discover new cooking recipes, discover what they can cook based on what they have on hand, and to some, physically deliver ingredients for recipes based on their taste preferences to their door. This service will reduce the time they spend thinking about what they are going to eat and get them straight into the cooking process much faster. 3. I am offering this app to anyone that struggles with this issue and has th

  My prototypical customer is a 20-year-old young woman either in college or emerging into the professional world. She's generally quite busy, whether she's studying for her midterms or hanging out with her friends, she's constantly up to something - often leaving her with little time to prepare and cook meals! She has a used Toyota Corolla and often commutes using public transportation when possible. She watches Brooklyn 99 and loves to use social media to keep up on all the latest trends. She's extremely fun-loving and enjoys trying new things! In terms of my overlap with this ideal customer, I too am a 20-year-old college student that is typically short on free time, leading to me dealing with the same issue. I also have a Toyota Corolla but commute on public transport often. I am an avid social media user and I enjoy new experiences. I believe there is quite a bit of overlap because I developed this business idea in direct response to an existing issue

16A Secret Sauce In order to understand how others will perceive me, I first must reflect on myself, the image I send to the world, and my individual skillset. In terms of specifics that set me apart from others, I would include: my strong passion for what I believe in, my ability to communicate with others, my compassion and openness to people of different backgrounds, my experience with marketing, and my past leadership experience. Upon asking those I am closest to, I was told that there are a few things that truly set me apart from the rest. In particular, my sense of determination and resilience to achieve what I set my mind to do. When I know what I want, I go after it. Beyond that, someone very close to me mentioned that my ability to know when to ask for help and to do so without fear is quite useful as well. My very close friend of many years pointed out that I tend to reflect on my life experiences and use them to inform my future endeavors. Additionally, I was told that s

15A Figuring out Buyer Behavior  Previously, I asked a sample of potential customers in my targeted segment about which alternatives they pick from when deciding, broadly speaking, what they will eat for each individual meal. I now asked a new set of potential customers in this segment about HOW they decided between these alternatives when making their decision. All three of these individuals made it clear to me that this segment tends to have a few clear factors in mind when making their decisions: how much time they have for food preparation, how skillful they are in the kitchen, how much they can afford to spend on the meal, and how busy they are in other facets of their life. Ultimately, the common denominator in this segment that I noticed in my interviews is that these individuals tend to have other priorities that strip them from the time necessary to prepare proper meals, either due to university level coursework, full or part-time employment, a busy social life, or other o

14 A Halfway Reflection As a student in this course, I have learned a few key takeaways that I believe one must implement in order to earn a desirable grade. First of all, one must ensure that all deadlines are met on a timely manner. Personally, I write down and enter all of the course deadlines onto my google calendar and I also create phone reminders as well. Beyond that, I have learned that for this course I must reflect on my past assignments in order to inform future ones and develop my ideas further. In terms of tenacity informing my attitude, I have learned to be more resilient and determined when completing my responsibilities. While taking this course, I had a moment where I missed a few deadlines due to other commitments this summer and I was feeling pretty down. I wanted to give up but I knew that wasn’t an option. While I now won’t earn an A in this class as I wanted, I pulled through because I realized it wasn’t too late for me to still pass and get as much out of this

I decided to read about Steve Jobs and his journey with Apple. I have always had a strong preference for Apple products, so learning more about Jobs was a no brainer for me. I was most surprised by the fact that Jobs dropped out of college. I've often heard the notion that many of society's most successful and influential figures do not complete their college degrees. However, Jobs always struck me as someone with a college degree, so this caught me off guard. While reading about his life, I found myself most admiring his sheer sense of determination and faith in himself. No matter the hardship he experienced, he knew that he would be able to overcome it. Once he realized what he wanted to do with Apple, he decided to see it through as best as he could at the time. I really admire his sense of passion and dedication to what he believes in. I least admired his arrogance and lack of care when interacting with others. I believe that everyone has an obligation to be decent to

1. Segment Young adults between the ages of 18-26 that are new to cooking and have relatively busy schedules 2. Interviews      2A. 19-year-old University of Florida undergraduate student An incoming sophomore at the University of Florida. No previous cooking experience - had previously relied on a meal plan but will be moving to an off-campus apartment shortly. Unfamiliar with recipes, ingredient combinations, and meal planning logistics.  Typically searches for pre-made meals, delivery, or takeout options. Preoccupied with studies, extracurriculars, and social life outside of college. Will sometimes make very simple dishes, typically searches for "easy quick recipes" on google.       2B. 21-year-old Florida International University undergraduate student  Incoming senior at FIU. Typically relies on family to provide food/meals. Very limited prior cooking experience due to lack of need to cook on own. Familiar with basics, looking to improve understanding

1. Who I am: My name is Nick Lorenzo, I am an undergraduate business student at the University of Florida. I aspire to work in marketing for an international business with sustainable and ethical business practices. My talents include working well in a team environment, communicating effectively, and analyzing information. I have worked in a marketing capacity in the past and I am in currently doing so while interning in London this summer. I see this business serving as a potential secondary income source in my life. 2. I am offering my customers a service that enables them to discover new cooking recipes, discover what they can cook based on what they have on hand, and to some, physically deliver ingredients for recipes based on their taste preferences to their door. This service will reduce the time they spend thinking about what they are going to eat and get them straight into the cooking process much faster. 3. I am offering this app to anyone that struggles with this i