Entrepreneur in Training!

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 oth...

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...

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...

Note: I apologize for my unprofessional attire, due to personal conflicts I was unable to wear professional business attire for this pitch.

Who: There are people who are very similar to those my opportunity would appeal to, however, the big difference is that while my idea involves a potential delivery of food to the customer's home, it would not involve pre-made meals. As such, consumers are still expected to cook the meals themselves. This eliminates possibly customers that are reluctant or unable to cook and instead would likely order take-out food. What: While this need is quite similar to the general need to satiate one's appetite or hunger, this is very different as it is not just about feeding yourself - this need is more for those who wish to create their own meals either because they enjoy the process Why: This need is different as the outsiders just need to eat and feed themselves but do not care how, while the people inside the boundary would simply be wanting to improve their cooking skill to partake in the activity rather than simply eating some basic store items. Summary of the interviews: The ...

1. The opportunity I have in mind is the fact that many people often struggle with figuring out what to cook based on what they have on hand or when they are out of inspiration. Often times people have a lot going on in their lives and food may fall to their back of their minds in terms of importance, often leading people to revert to a less than the ideal situation which may involve frozen meals or delivery service. Additionally, people can often stick to the same few meals and may need that extra push in terms of coming up with new, creative, and exciting meal options.  2. In order to capitalize on this opportunity, I plan to present customers with both a product and a service. Specifically, I believe that this idea can manifest in the form of an app with an additional premium service option. In terms of the product itself, the app, I would like it to provide users with options based on what is in their kitchen at the time as well as ideas to expand their food horizons. Within...