30A Final Reflection

1. What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you will remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

I would say the best experience I had was doing the first elevator pitch. Making a video and having to condense my products description down yet still making it grasp the viewer’s attention was challenging.  After completing it I felt very proud of myself and felt like I took a huge step in my entrepreneurship path.

2. At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

I believe I have always had that mindset that certain things can be improved on but until this class, I never knew how to expand on my improvements. So I definitely feel like I have a stronger entrepreneurial mindset.

3. What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

At the beginning of this class, I thought it was going to be a lot of writing about something I’m not really interested in. The opposite happened though I looked forward to next week’s assignments because I was really having fun writing about my product and getting it ready for market. My recommendation would be to have a lot of fun and get behind your product. Act like at the end of this class you will become the CEO of your business in the real world.

29A Venture Concept No. 2

The Schoolcator

Opportunity: My potential customers are everyone no matter their age or ability who fishes inshore waters. These anglers know how it feels to do their homework and put their time in to locate then instantly lose track of a school of fish. The economy is on the rise and therefore more people are out buying boats and spending time on the water. All around the coastal United States and even potentially the world people target inshore fish. This need hasn’t been satisfied with a physical product yet most people will have their fishing partner keep an eye on the school for them. This works but what if the partner wants to catch a fish to or the water becomes dirty. I would say this opportunity is relatively big in the sense that not everyone in America fishes and then you have to divide that group into fresh and saltwater. Then split the group into inshore and offshore so it’s a pretty specified product. I believe this window of opportunity will not be open to much long because more and more people are getting out on the water and will soon realize this problem and come up with a similar solution.

Innovation: My Product the “schoolcator” Consists of three pieces a biodegradable colored float connected to biodegradable line which is tied to a biodegradable clamp. This product will come in three lengths 4ft 8ft and 12ft to better suit all bodies of water and fishermen. After catching a fish the schoolcator’s clamp can quickly and non-invasively be connect to the dorsal fin and then the fish can be released. After released the fish will swim back with his school and stay with his school the rest of the day allowing the angler to catch fish after fish. Due to saltwater extreme corrosive nature after about 12 hours the schoolcator will be almost completely dissolved. These product will be sold in the 5- 10 dollar range online and at many large outdoor retailers and tackle shops. With the disoving nature of this product multiple unit will need to be purchased at a time. This product in bulk will be extremely cheap to make and package. On the back of the package will be instructions on how it works.

Venture Concept: This product will allow anglers whether families or guides to stay with a group of fish throughout the entire day. There is not a product on the market that has even the same purpose as this product. From talking with many people in the fishing business they were all extremely happy and also jealous that they didn’t think of this idea. I believe it will be a huge it hit in the inshore fishing world. A small group of people can easy put and package the product in an assembly line fashion. The low price will make it an easy decision for customers who are on the fence or simply haven’t heard of the product. It will be great accessary item for any tackle box.

Three Elements:

1. My secret sauce to this product is that it is the only product in its market. There is no competitors and with it being ecofriendly no opposition to this product. Even PETA (People Enjoying Tasty Animals) wouldn’t have an argument against the schoolcator.

2. Next in this venture is figuring out who my suppliers would be and the price that I would be paying them. Also spreading the news of this product would be another big step I would begin to start taking. Organizing a team to help put together and package my product will also be on the horizon.

3. Five years from now I would hope to be living a little more financially comfortable and have my product being advertised on every fishing show and having its own endcap at major retailers across the country.

Feedback:

I got a lot of positive feedback from my venture concept especially on its biodegradable feature. One person brought up that people may use it at nighttime which got me thinking. I feel like It would be fairly easy to make a night fishing design also. I also got feedback make sure I keep the price low to prevent people from making their own more invasive models.




This is roughly the same design but instead of the bait there will be a clip and no lead sinker.

28A My Exit

1)    Identify the exit strategy you plan to make.

 Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children? If my business is as big as I want it to be in the next five years then I will sell most of it to a larger company that can put their logo on it and sell it even better. I would still however like a certain percentage of the profit from year to year. I do not think my business has the ability to be an extremely successful item that is worth passing down multiple generations just because of its small target range.

2)    Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?

I believe any entrepreneur dreams their business will take off like the dude who invented silly bands (the rubber bands that are in different shapes) but in reality I do not think my business has that opportunity. If however my product soars and becomes a huge hit I may keep it in the family so they can benefit from it.

3)    How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept?

I feel like it’s influenced how I perceive my growth intensions. From the beginning I just wanted to make this product for the hardworking fisherman that spends a lot of time on the water keeping up with fish. I do not think my product will go international or even out of the southeastern United States.

27A Reflection #3

The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users, Guy Kawasaki

1) Theme:

-The overall theme of this book was how social media pretty much can make or break a business in today’s world. Ratings and reviews are everywhere today and it only takes one angry customers to reunion a business. It also only takes one happy customer to help a business succeed.

2) Connection with Class

- I think it connects on two different ways firstly it re-illustrates that the customer is number 1. No matter how much you love your product if the customer doesn’t you’re out of luck. Secondly it shows how important advertising and how your business appears on social media is.

3) Exercise for this class

-I think a good exercise would be to strictly use twitter or Facebook and find a restaurant or store that you’ve never been too and read all the reviews both good and bad. After reading the reviews write your opinion of the place then go to the place and experience it. Afterwards write another opinion and see how they compare.   

4) My 'aha' moment from reading the book?

-Working in retail I didn’t really have an ‘aha’ moment because every day we are told the customer is number 1. Do everything possible to please the customer because they will go on social media and write their experience. Usually only the people that have a bad experience will post their opinion so make everyone happy.

26A Failure

For the life of me no matter how many times I try, I have not been able to master the infamous “Texas Turn”. The Texas turn enables you to get your boat to plane off in shallow water without hitting the bottom and messing up your engine. When fishing super shallow water and wanting  to move to a different spot you can either idle all the way to deeper water which could be a mile in order to go fast or do a Texas turn in the shallow water to jump up on plane and go to your new spot. To do a Texas turn you must punch the throttle while doing a sharp turn to either the left or right then re correct and go straight all within a second or two. Doing this forces more water under the boat picking it up so you don’t hit the bottom. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to master this but I always end up bogging down in the sand. Therefore I haven’t been brave enough to do it over hard bottom some people it takes years to master and some people just have a feel for it and can get it in a couple of try’s. Like the quote from Thomas Edison I have learned hundreds of ways not to do a Texas turn but unlike him I haven’t figured out the right way yet. I have not suffered emotionally or behaviorally from not being able to do this but it’s definitely made me make a goal of accomplishing this task. This class has replanted the concept of its good to fail because you can build and learn from your mistakes. I will definitely keep attempting it and not giving up on it because it is extremely useful to master.

25A Whats Next

Existing Market. 

Step 1: The first thing I have to do is get a list of suppliers for the pieces of my product. With the product being biodegradable finding a company may be a little more challenging. Second I need to find the most efficient yet beneficial marketing pathway to get the sales rolling.

Step 2: I interviewed three people who are in the same sort of family as my product (lure business) and they agreed with my first step of trying to nail down suppliers. They also said to start figuring out who will be working for you.

Step 3: In the first year of my product I hope to have several hundred units ready for sale. I hope to also be on several websites and have a shelf in most of the local tackle shops within a 100 miles of my headquarters. Also a group of about 5 people to help assemble and distribute my product to these stores and online customers.

Year 5 I hope for my product to be in the entire southeast United States including several large retailers like Bass Pro shops and Dicks sporting goods. I hope to be seeing some good money coming in and a lot and even more product going out. Hopefully I will have several sponsored pros who will help spread my product across the tournament trail. Five years is as far as I will look forward because I feel like it is a good spot to stop and see where I am at that time and fix any issue then look onward to another five years.

New Market.

Step 1: I believe this product could in the future impact the freshwater world of bass fishing also. Some design modifications would have to be made to account for the deeper average depth also the fact that freshwater doesn’t really corrode anything. This would however exponentially increase my sales if I can figure out how to make it work. The world of bass fishing is way bigger and more spread out than the world of saltwater fishing.

Step 2: Bass a really good schooling fish, they will school when it’s hot, cold, eating and spawning. They also tend to relate to small pieces of structure which makes them harder to find if in deeper water. Also lakes tend to be much dirtier than saltwater so sight fishing is almost impossible. This freshwater rig will help anglers stay with these schooling bass even in open water.

Step 3: Both of my interviews said my biggest challenge will be to get it approved by B.A.S.S which runs most of the big tournaments. They will ban items that give an unfair edge to certain participants. My product has the threat according to the people I interviewed to create an unfair advantage. This could potentially be devasting for my product because anglers wouldn’t use it if they cannot use it for the tournament.

Step 4: The biggest thing I learned if I were to enter this market is I have a lot of work cut out for me. I would have to complete redesign the product which may require new materials and work on getting it approved for the tournaments.

24A Venture Concept The Schoolcator

The Schoolcator

Opportunity: My potential customers are everyone no matter their age or ability who fishes inshore waters. These anglers know how it feels to do their homework and put their time in to locate then instantly lose track of a school of fish. The economy is on the rise and therefore more people are out buying boats and spending time on the water. All around the coastal United States and even potentially the world people target inshore fish. This need hasn’t been satisfied with a physical product yet most people will have their fishing partner keep an eye on the school for them. This works but what if the partner wants to catch a fish to or the water becomes dirty. I would say this opportunity is relatively big in the sense that not everyone in America fishes and then you have to divide that group into fresh and saltwater. Then split the group into inshore and offshore so it’s a pretty specified product. I believe this window of opportunity will not be open to much long because more and more people are getting out on the water and will soon realize this problem and come up with a similar solution.

Innovation: My Product the “schoolcator” Consists of three pieces a biodegradable colored float connected to biodegradable line which is tied to a biodegradable clamp. This product will come in three lengths 4ft 8ft and 12ft to better suit all bodies of water and fishermen. After catching a fish the schoolcator’s clamp can quickly and non-invasively be connect to the dorsal fin and then the fish can be released. After released the fish will swim back with his school and stay with his school the rest of the day allowing the angler to catch fish after fish. Due to saltwater extreme corrosive nature after about 12 hours the schoolcator will be almost completely dissolved. These product will be sold in the 5- 10 dollar range online and at many large outdoor retailers and tackle shops. With the disoving nature of this product multiple unit will need to be purchased at a time. This product in bulk will be extremely cheap to make and package. On the back of the package will be instructions on how it works.

Venture Concept: This product will allow anglers whether families or guides to stay with a group of fish throughout the entire day. There is not a product on the market that has even the same purpose as this product. From talking with many people in the fishing business they were all extremely happy and also jealous that they didn’t think of this idea. I believe it will be a huge it hit in the inshore fishing world. A small group of people can easy put and package the product in an assembly line fashion. The low price will make it an easy decision for customers who are on the fence or simply haven’t heard of the product. It will be great accessary item for any tackle box.

Three Elements:

1. My secret sauce to this product is that it is the only product in its market. There is no competitors and with it being ecofriendly no opposition to this product. Even PETA (People Enjoying Tasty Animals) wouldn’t have an argument against the schoolcator.

2. Next in this venture is figuring out who my suppliers would be and the price that I would be paying them. Also spreading the news of this product would be another big step I would begin to start taking. Organizing a team to help put together and package my product will also be on the horizon.

3. Five years from now I would hope to be living a little more financially comfortable and have my product being advertised on every fishing show and having its own endcap at major retailers across the country.

23A Ventures Advantage

• 10.   Ease of Use: Even the most novice fisherman whether child or adult can quickly and effectively use my product.
  9.       Ecofriendly: No one can oppose or boycott my product because it is noninvasive and biodegradable.
  8.       Cost: The low cost of my product will make it a great addition to the tackle bag no matter how low the person’s budget is.
  7.       Need: This product will be a success just purely from the need of it. There has been nothing like my product on the market since the beginning of time. Fishermen need my product.
  6.       Newness: I believe my product will sell relatively easily just because it is a new product in the fishing world. People will want to review it and see if it really does what it says it does.
  5.       Support: (Strongest resource) I know a wide range of guides and tournament anglers that will support me and help this product be a success. This is my strongest resource because these captains will use my product when fishing with their clients. Clients will always try and replicate what the guide are doing so they can catch fish too. Having a support group like this is most important factor I could have.
  4.       Creativity: My products design is simple yet creative and I believe that people with simply give it a try just because it weird.
  3.       Outlets: Knowing personally and representing multiple tackle shops is a big advantage when trying to get my product to as many places as possible.
  2.       Advertising: I have several friends in the sticker and sign industry and this gives me a leg up on other new products getting started.
  1.       Sponsorships: Having several sponsorships will draw a little more curiosity to what product I am using and offering them. It gives me a little more credibility in the public’s opinion.

22a Elevator Pitch No 3.

https://youtu.be/VFHxbSxY1sI


Feedback: The biggest feedback I got from the last pitch was the buff that I was wearing over my face. A buff is a common item that many fisherman wear and it take the place of putting greasy sunscreen on your face. I wore it to make the video more interesting and play they part. None of the feedback was silly or unnecessary.

Reflection: I have definitely come a long way since the first pitch as far as what details to add to make it more clear and still be concise. The feedback has definitely been really important in helping point out what needs to be said because in a small sense they are the general public. The comments really helped me fine tune my pitches.

21A Second Opinion

1.      The general theme of this book is to make cognitive science and numerous other intricacies of the brain easier to understand for the average Joe. The book talks a lot about that there is two sides in the brain the conscious and unconscious that go back and forth to mold who you are.  Like system 1 and system 2 aka slow and fast they each rely on each other to accomplish like goals.

2.      The section that stood out to me that would be useful in this class was the overlooking the statistics section. A lot of the time people just go off of a pure whim to gamble instead of simply working out the numbers. In the entrepreneur world where success can and sometimes is judged on the amount of profit made from an idea, it could be beneficial to know the probability behind it.

3.      I would make an exercise based off the overlooking the statistics section. I would have students view all the lights and money signs on several casino games and have them guess which games they thought would win the most.

4.      There was many times when I caught my self-intrigued by what I was reading because it simply makes sense if you think about it. Overlooking luck was one of my favorite sections because it had to do with regressing toward the mean.  I am learning about the regressing toward the mean in another class but this book really gave me much more in depth.

20A Social Capital

1.       (Domain Expert) Hunter is a charter captain who has been guiding out of the big bend area. He has 20 years of experience on the water with many of those years spent tournament fishing. Hunter linsey is my domain expert because he has developed his own custom jig heads and knows what it takes to sell his ideas. I found Hunter through the tournament trail and I have been picking his mind on ways to move to the next step with my product. Hunter has already gone through all struggles of developing and selling a homemade product and can provide me with much insight into what it takes.

2.       (Expert in my market) Matt is the south eastern territory director for the company Navico. Navico owns Lowrance, Simrad, and B&G and is leading the world in marine electronics. Matt’s insight into targeting certain markets and conducting customer research would be extremely beneficial for me and my product.  The market he targets is slightly different than my but both of our products attract the same customers so it will work nicely. Simrad is one of my sponsors so I met Matt through several new product seminars.

3.       (Important supplier) Mike is the General Manager at Bass Pro Shops in Gainesville, Florida. He has a major influence in what products gets sold in his store therefore he and Bass Pro shops would be a very important supplier. My tournament partner works at Bass Pro Shops and that is how I came into contact with Mike Obrien. Knowing Mike Obrien and selling him on my product would put me 3 steps ahead of any other starting up product.

This targeting experience actually caused me to thinking deeply into different ways for me to get my product exposure. This exercise definitely made me more confident because I didn’t realize how wide of a network I already have. This networking exercise was pretty similar to some of the exercises I have done in the past.

19A

1.)Who are you? My name is Isaac Leon and I am currently majoring in APK at the University of Florida. I am professional tournament fisherman and also charter a little on the side.  Growing up I have always dreamed of being in the fishing business and adding my own ideas to this industry. My business concept of the “schoolcator “will change inshore fishing in a huge way. This has a lot of potential to be the next big thing to happen to fishing

2.)What are you offering to customers? Catching schooling fish is only possible on the first couple of casts. Fish will vanish and or become extremely spooky and make it difficult to catch more for them. My product will allow the fisherman to stay with the school the entire day and see the direction and speed they are traveling to intercept them. Made completely of biodegradable materials the small clip connected to a float can be non-invasively attached to first fish caught. The length of line between the float and the clip will vary so no matter the depth of the inshore water the fish will not pull the float down. After being released the fish will swim back with the school allowing the angler to track the school. 

 3.) Who are you offering it to? This product will be suited for any inshore fisherman in the united states especially those who make a living off of it. Spooking and loosing schools of fish is one of the most frustrating scenarios of fishing inshore. Especially when there is a client who paid  good money because he wants to catch a lot of  fish. For novice fisherman this would be very beneficial as it will give a better visual aid to cast toward. Tournaments are also won and lost on whether or not you can stay on a school of fish. 

 4.) Why do they care?  Anyone who has ever lost a school of fish will understand the need for this product. A majority of my customers will be full time charter guides who are out on the water every day. The inexpensive price of my product will also make it very popular at tackle shops.

5.) What are your core competencies? To the best of my knowledge nothing like this exists in the fishing world. It’s one of those things that while you’re out on the water you wish you had but forget when you get back to the ramp. 

Evaluation.  I believe that all of these elements fit together nicely. The weakest part about this idea is going to be spreading the word about it. The fact that this product can only be used once could be a weakness and a strength. It will require multiple purchases of the product which could be potentially good and bad. The design will be very simple and fool proof so even the most novice anglers can feel comfortable.  I have no looked into the price of the biodegradable materials however saltwater is extremely corrosive so low grade materials will work.

FeedBack. The biggest two points I had was initial price and also if the fish can pull the float down. The initial price should not be to much of an issue because as I stated above saltwater is extremely corrosive so low grade biodegradable materials will work. Inshore waters vary from about 1-15 feet so by making a 3, 8 and 15ft model anglers can choose the product which fits their fishing preference.

18 A

            There is a wide range of prototypical customers for my product the "schoolcator". If i had to narrow it down specifically it would be an individual 18-50 years of age who is a weekend fishing warrior. This individual works a full time job and makes an average yearly income. This individual like fishing and hunting on the weekend with his/her buddies and also family. They have decently nice boat that is well maintained along with all the latest fishing equipment. Every weekend despite their spouses say they go out and fish rain or shine. Fishing is a good way for them to forget the previous work week. On some days they will take the family to the sandbar on the boat and enjoy some Budweisers. If he can not make out fishing this individual will watch fishing on TV or go out and buy a latest fishing magazine to satisfy their craving. I believe everyone knows someone who fits this profile and if not hopefully this bio helps you picture my prototypical customer.

I believe i am pretty similar to this customer and will most like be just like this customer later in life. I am on the water a little more and fish  more competitively than this customer right now but we share the same Bio. I think it is a big coincidence that this customer is similar to me because this product i thought of will help me in my profession.


 

17A Elevator Pitch

https://youtu.be/9XICSHFzOeU


My feedback was very, very good and gave me a lot of confidence on my idea. The two big things were volume and why wouldn't the fish just pull the bobber down. I made sure I fixed the volume issue and explained that models with longer string can be used for deeper water. Where this product will shine is in water less than 5 feet. I believe non of my feed back was "silly" it was all very useful for me.

16A Secret Sauce

5 things that I think make my human capital unique are :

Extremely adaptable to what the circumstance requires.

I think I'm very trustworthy, people can leave me with and important task and know it will be finished.

I'm always reliable and easy to be reached.

I am easy going and can get along with anyone.

I also feel like I am very street smart and can make stuff work.

  



I thought this interview was right along with what I was think he would say.

This interview was a little weird standing by him while he said it .Over all though it was good.



She did a great well thought out interview that I think was better than what I consider my self.

My grandfather did a really good job on this interview again he made me seem better than I really am.

This interview was fun to do because she's my best friend and it's cool seeing how you are in other people's eyes.

I think others see myself better than how I see myself . It might have been the recorder in their face though. There really aren't many differences everything was pretty much inline with how I thought. I believe my interviews are correct about me and I wouldn't add or subtract anything from my original list

15A Behavior 2

Overview

 I interviewed three different people than last time but they share the same occupation as the first three, they all fish for a living. There is really no product alternative to my “schoolcator” other than a homemade makeshift one. An alternative to using my product could include having keep an eye on the school of fish no matter what. While this would be extremely difficult it has the chance to work. Because of the lack of competition price has very little affect on my product. Someone could come up with a different style than my product however there will be no real significant difference. My customer segment shares roughly the same important factor and that is to keep up with schools of fish.

 How/where do they buy? 

Due to the size and price that the “schoolocator” is it can be sold extremely easily virtually everywhere. While it will be made available online, brick and mortar store will take the majority of my sales. This is a product that not many people know about and they will have to hold the product in their hand to make the decision. Costing roughly five dollars I expect a lot of cash purchases to be made. I hope to make this product available in many tackle shops and retailers across the country.

 Post-purchase evaluation. 

I believe the post purchase evaluation is what will help my word to mouth advertising. People will be extremely happy with their purchase and tell friends and family about it and so on. The question is who doesn’t want to catch fish all day? This product allows the user to do this by staying up with the school of fish. The negative side for the customer but is a positive for my business is my products one-time use. It will be very hard to retrieve the “schoolcator” from the fish its attached too therefore its quick biodegradable materials. Customers will have to purchase a new one every fishing trip.

 Conclusion

The people I interviewed provided me with a lot of confidence in their acceptance of this product. They provided me with what I expected their post purchase evaluations to be and that is extremely pleased. They did however get a little frustrated with the fact that they would have to purchase a new unit every trip. But agreed with me that retrieving the “schoolcator” from a fish would be next to impossible. Overall I am very happy about the feedback I received from my interviews and even more motivated to continue this.

14A Half Way

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

Mondays after the peer reviews are due I will check what the next weeks assignments entail and start devoting time to them. Thinking like an entrepreneur and always being up for a challenge will keep you coming back this class every week.

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?

I haven’t felt like giving up yet in this class because personally I enjoy a class where your ideas are the focus of the class. I have gotten over whelmed a couple time with three assignments due each week along with my other classes and work. Hurricane Irma was the big reason for this but it taught me to stay with it. This class will become fun if you open up and let it.

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'?

First tip, do not procrastinate it will catch up to you. Second, be yourself and by that I mean don’t let others influence your idea paths. Third, there is no such thing as a dumb idea. Think of the Wright brothers wanting to fly and how people thought they were dumb for wanting to do that. Simple mindset is everything if your mind says you can do it then you will be able to accomplish astonishing feats.

13A Reading Reflection

1.   I read about the Wright Brothers.

What surprised you the most?

 That two brothers who owned a bicycle business would be so devoted to  wanting to fly.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I really admired their dedication and shear nerves to be willing to operate something that has never been done before.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

I honestly think they should have taken more credit for the feat that they accomplished. They didn’t know it at the time but they changed the future.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

They went through a lot of adversity so much so that weaken entrepreneurs would of most likely have given up. From failed tests to their own country turning them down. Even with all of this they stayed with it and didn’t give up and ended up achieving far more than they will ever know.

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

They had a never give up attitude and didn’t let what was going on around them to distract them from their goals.

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

Inventors today most of the time would have daredevils or other test subjects to test their inventions. What confused me was that they did everything themselves. What would have happened if one of them was killed or severely injured?

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

First I would ask what did it feel like when all your hard work finally paid off and you took off and landed in your own invention?

Second I would ask what the heck where you thinking trying to fly such a contraption?

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

Clearing these brothers were the definition of hard work. They never gave up even when times were tough. I believe I share that opinion I have never been one to stand around and have something given to me.

12A Buyer Behavior

The segment I chose is called the (salty dog) it is very much like the gator segment talked about in class this group came out of the womb to be on the water. I spoke with three people all of them would be considered salty dogs. One is a retired charter captain age 64 the other is currently a charter captain age 32 and the last one was with my tournament partner age 22. Thankfully for me all three of them have the same problem as me and see the benefit of my product. The when, how and where questions were all answered word for word the same as I expected. Loosing schools of fish when they are chartering or tournament fishing has been one of their biggest annoyances. Their need awareness starts out first thing in the morning when the water is calm enough to see the schools of fish. After picking up the first fish or as the day moves along the schools become invisible. They understand why the fish spook or become extremely difficult to locate but have never thought of a solution for their problem. The salty dogs that love to fish inshore and have generations of fishing experience never really came up with a way to fix this problem. The awareness has always been there for a solution to the problem of losing schools. Talking to them about this idea they have all said they feel like they over thought the problem instead of something simple like my idea. I am encouraged by these interviews and their acceptance of my product and am ready to move on to the next step.

11A Idea Napkin

1.)Who are you? My name is Isaac Leon and I am currently majoring in APK at the University of Florida. I am professional tournament fisherman and also charter a little on the side.  Growing up I have always dreamed of being in the fishing business and adding my own ideas to this industry. My business concept of the “schoolcator “will change inshore fishing in a huge way. This has a lot of potential to be the next big thing to happen to fishing

2.)What are you offering to customers? Catching schooling fish is only possible on the first couple of casts. Fish will vanish and or become extremely spooky and make it difficult to catch more for them. My product will allow the fisherman to stay with the school the entire day and see the direction and speed they are traveling to intercept them. Made completely of biodegradable materials the small clip connected to a float can be non-invasively attached to first fish caught. After being released the fish will swim back with the school allowing the angler to track the school. 

 3.) Who are you offering it to? This product will be suited for any inshore fisherman in the united states especially those who make a living off of it. Spooking and loosing schools of fish is one of the most frustrating scenarios of fishing inshore. Especially when there is a client who paid  good money because he wants to catch a lot of  fish. For novice fisherman this would be very beneficial as it will give a better visual aid to cast toward. Tournaments are also won and lost on whether or not you can stay on a school of fish. 

 4.) Why do they care?  Anyone who has ever lost a school of fish will understand the need for this product. A majority of my customers will be full time charter guides who are out on the water every day. The inexpensive price of my product will also make it very popular at tackle shops.

5.) What are your core competencies? To the best of my knowledge nothing like this exists in the fishing world. It’s one of those things that while you’re out on the water you wish you had but forget when you get back to the ramp. 

Evaluation.  I believe that all of these elements fit together nicely. The weakest part about this idea is going to be spreading the word about it. The fact that this product can only be used once could be a weakness and a strength. It will require multiple purchases of the product which could be potentially good and bad.

10A Elevator Pitch

https://youtu.be/HyI2Jslk6qU

The "schoolcator" the most useful tool in any inshore fisherman's tackle box!


10A Elevator Pitch

9A

9A

The Who: For this I interviewed three coaches and two teachers to see how they perceive the stress placed on student athletes. The biggest variance I found was in the times periods that they grew up in. The two younger coaches understood what the schooling and the demands were like for student athletes. They played sports in both high school and college and had difficulty. The older coach who also played a sport in high school wasn’t really able to grasp how big the change has been from his time playing and playing today. College is a lot more competitive to get into and high schools are under constant pressure to raise their college acceptance rates. When talking with the teachers, the older generation one didn’t play sports and doesn’t really care to understand them, he was more into the arts. However the younger teacher did participate in athletics and agrees that kids these days do have to go through a lot to be a student athlete.

The What: At the rate and commitment that academics and athletics are going at student athletes will eventually have to choose what they want to focus on because they will not be able to do both. This can be a scary thing for schools and or athletic programs for obvious reasons.

The Why: Honestly stubbornness is to blame for outsider need being different than those inside the boundary. They do not want to consider other factors that may be at play they are so caught up with their own beliefs. Looking back on my interviews the older generation wants to run things just like how it was run when they were in the class room and on the field. Today though there is so much more going on in sports and in school then there was 20 years ago.

Inside the boundary
Who is In: Todays Student Athletes
What the Need Is: To help them excel on and off the field.
Why the Need Exists: Student athletes are becoming overwhelmed by what their being asked to accomplish. Outside the boundary: Who is in: The older generation of coaches and teachers. What the Need Is: To help them help these student athletes. Why the Need Exists: These young kids cannot handle the physical and mental stress.

8A

8A.

Opportunity: Student athletes in high school and in college face many struggles with balancing athletics and academics from coaches and teachers.

Solution: Teachers and coaches can have such tunnel vision that they forget these kids are in both sports and school not just whatever activity there overseeing.  There is a lot of pressure pushed on these student athletes to put a lot of extra time in to perfect school or athletic abilities. Making school easier for student athletes wouldn’t be fair to students who do not participate in sports. High school teachers who have class rooms with student athletes can help them by not giving big homework assignments for weekends with games. Competing, recovering and reviewing is hard enough without adding large amounts of homework on top of it.  Similar for coaches who think football is all these kids do and don’t realize that after practice these kids have hours of homework before they can even go to sleep. When I was in high school playing football Saturday after the game we would have a 3 hour stretch/practice at 7am then on Sunday we would have film study for the following game. It was eat sleep football so school got put on the back burner. College is a little different because usually the reason you’re at that school is because you’re on an athletic scholarship. So the question is raised are you there for sports or education? Doing both is extremely hard even with some of the extra help provided by colleges.

7A

7A – Part 1

Opportunity: There are thousands of student of student athletes in high schools and colleges that have an extremely hard time juggling classes with sports. Teachers who do not understand the rigors of playing sports along with coaches who do not understand how demanding school is.

The who: Student athletes (High school – College)

The what: Struggling to excel on and off the field.

The why: Modern day teachers along with coaches who do not understand the stresses put on student athletes to make it in the class room and on the field.

Testing who: I believe everyone who participates in any competitive sports whether in high school or in college has this need. Whether the individual is a starter or back up, taking easy classes or hard classes the stresses of being a student athlete can be felt.

Testing the what: A student athlete sometime during their career will have a coach or teacher that sympathizes with the athlete and the struggles that come with it. While there is tutors and help outside the class room many of these occur a nighttime when the athlete is drained from the day.

Testing the why: Twenty years ago schools and sports were much different than they are today. High schools these days are strictly focused on getting into college. Whether it’s trying to meet stricter college test score requirements or getting as much exposure as possible to get an athletic scholarship. These were all different back when most of the coaches and teachers were in school. This makes it hard for them to relate to student athletes nowadays.

Interviews: I interviewed three high school student athletes and two Division 1 collegiate student athletes. The sports included high school volleyball, women’s basketball, softball and collegiate baseball and football. In summery all of the athletes agree that juggling sports and academics is very difficult. Pressures from coaches to train every minute they can in order to get a scholarship is just as overwhelming as teachers pushing them to get grades up. Student athletes are constantly riding the line between teachers and coaches.

6A

Opportunity 1:  Its Trumps Economy Now

Source: http://fortune.com/2017/01/01/economy-2017/

Why this opportunity exists: President Trump is now taking the reins of our failing economy and introducing substantial reform ideas like major tax cuts and infrastructure spending.

Prototypical Customer: This would be every tax paying citizen and business in American.

Difficulty Level: This relatively easy to identify because it is some of the first steps to building the economy back up. You have to start small in order to achieve big.

Seeing Opportunity: I believe I was able to see this opportunity and I feel like most of America sees this opportunity because I and others know that in order to rebuild an economy you need to lower taxes. Small business owners are what make America so great.

Opportunity 2: Financial Markets Control Prices

Source: https://www.thebalance.com/top-usa-future-economic-trends-3305666

Why this Opportunity exists: Supply and demand are becoming less important on price control. Commodities traders are setting the prices for food, oil and gas. Along with foreign exchange traders determining the dollars value. 

Prototypical Customer: Everyone who pays for any kind of good is suffering from this.

Difficulty Level: It is reasonably easy to exploit this because gas prices rose and fell overnight for absolutely no reason other than that of investor’s moods.

Seeing Opportunity: With people buying no matter what the price is set at it isn’t hard to see why the oil and food companies wouldn’t see how much they can get away with. I think anyone would agree with me and see the same opportunity that I see.

Opportunity 3: Is It Time To Lower The Drinking Age To 18?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thrillist/is-it-time-to-lower-the-d_b_9633254.html

Why this Opportunity exists: In America at the age of  eighteen one  can vote,  pay taxes, get married, be a guardian, own a gun, fight for our country, and be the governor of Rhode Island. All this but cannot legally enjoy a beer.

Prototypical Customer: Every 18 year old in the United States and those serving overseas.

Difficulty Level: This was easy to exploit if one is mature enough to fight and become a guardian then one should be able to drink. There is 18 year olds more mature than 21 years old and vice versa. One can look to other countries and how their 18 year olds handle alcohol.

Seeing Opportunity:  With three states introducing legislation in order to  lower the drinking age back to 18, this opportunity is clearly seen by other than just myself. This law has bounced back and forth with legitimate excuses made on both sides.

Opportunity 4: Legal Pot

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/legal-pot

Why this Opportunity exists: recreational marijuana has been in the news for the last several years. Nine states have marijuana in their legislation that is prepared to pass. Medicinal uses for marijuana   have been confirmed by many researchers to help with pain.

Prototypical Customer: Patients across the U.S. that suffer from an ailment that can be cheaply cured or managed by medical marijuana.

Difficulty Level: This is a little harder to exploit because it is still has a lot of negative opinions from the public. A lot of the older generation that saw this as an abused drug are still hesitant.

Seeing Opportunity: I saw this opportunity because I have had family members that were affected by cancer and had to spend a lot of money on pain management. The much cheaper marijuana would have been a way better remedy. I know other people see and share this same idea as they are forced to pay a lot of money in pain medication for themselves and loved ones.