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.

5A

Opportunity 1.  Car window kills tot as dad sleeps

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/14DCF6F46FADCF80?p=WORLDNEWS

A 2 year old boy died in a car while his father was sleeping in the front seat after rolling his head up in the cars window. The boy was found by a patient leaving the hospital the car was parked at.

The problem presented in the story was the child window lock was not engaged. Also the child was allowed to roam free around the car unsupervised.

Any parent or baby sitter who does not take every precaution possible to protect a child.

Opportunity 2. School testing issue continue to make waves

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/150960940EAA8828?p=WORLDNEWS

The state of Florida wants to make every kindergarten student take a pre and post test to determine the effectiveness of their teachers. This is being proposed because teachers are requesting raises and the state wants to see if there is merit for it.

It is very wrong to make a bunch of kids going into kindergarten take a pre and posttest. Also what would the tests include since kindergarten is more babysitting than anything?

The problem would be for both the kindergarten students and their teachers. It will require the teachers to potentially push their young students too far.

Opportunity 3. Winn Dixie recall sprouts for salmonella

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/13C6630455956FB8?p=WORLDNEWS

Winn Dixie is recalling LEASA brand alfalfa sprouts because sprouts may be contaminated with a very deadly salmonella bacteria. This extreme but important precaution is effecting numerous stores across several states.

The problem is the sprouts every coming into contact with a bacteria which mainly inhabits raw meat.

This would affect any consumer who comes in contact with these sprouts and eats them raw or does not properly cook them.

Opportunity 4. Sediment plumes induced by the port of Miami dredging:

http://www.sciencedirect.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/science/article/pii/S0034425715301462?

During a project to widen and deep the Miami, FL harbor channels large turbidity plumes were observed offshore. These plumes can be seen from satellite and is dirtying the beaches.

The massive amounts of sediment plumes from the dredging is the problem resulting from this project.

Everyone who uses the beaches and who snorkels/dives the area is affected. It is also killing some of the coral and hurting the commercial fishing out of the area.

Opportunity 5. The cruelest punishment

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/14E42FA977428BA0?p=WORLDNEWS

A judge in Florida recently ruled over a domestic violence case and ordered the main to take his wife on a date instead of bail or jail. The man must give her flowers and take her to red lobster for dinner then followed by bowling.

Domestic violence should never occur no matter what the circumstance. If a fight happens simply just leave no need to get physical.

This affects both the husband and the wife domestic violence is not only physical but also mental. Hopefully this dinner will help them figure out there relationship.

4A

The University of Florida has very few places that students who live off campus can park. These few parking places are miles from class rooms and often require waiting on buses. The need for commuter parking has always been a need for students who live off campus. Students dealing with this issue in several ways like arriving extremely early to wait and then ride a bus through campus during traffic then walk the rest of the way to their class. Students will also ride bikes and or skateboards through the heat and rain to get to class.  I am 90% sure this opportunity exists for there to be more open commuter parking spaces closer to campus/class rooms.

Prototypical customer 1: A 23 year old female who is a senior at the University of

How long have you been struggling to find a parking space in the commuter lots?

Ever since my first year at UF I have bought the 80$ parking pass each semester and parked at the “park and ride lot”.

How many times a week do you park in a commuter lot?

This semester it is only Monday, Wednesday and Friday but my last semester it was Monday through Friday.

How do you deal with struggling with parking in the commuter lot?

I figured out that I need to arrive about 40 mins early to allow for enough time to drive around and find a spot. I then wait on the bus to take me to the Hub which is the closest stop to my building.

How satisfied are you with the solution of opening up more parking spots closer to campus for off campus commuters?

My freshman and sophomore year I would of loved that idea because I didn’t know many people on campus and was just focused on getting to class. I have friends now that ride the bus so it gives me time to catch up with them and also if I have some last minute homework I can get it done on the bus. So I really don’t mind it now because I have gotten used to the system.

Prototypical customer 2: Professor in the Department of Agriculture at the University of Florida

How long have you been struggling to find a parking space in the commuter lots?

For the last 8 years I have been at the Animal science building and there is very limited amount of parking spaces. There is quite a lot areas to park in the grass or along a dirt road but for some reason unknown to me the University tickets these areas. This forces students and faculty to fight for a place to park. I know some students who just plain give up and will park in the grass and accept the ticket.

How many times a week do you park in a commuter lot?

I am here about 5-6 times week and stay here most of the day.

How do you deal with struggling with parking in the commuter lot?

Well because I get here pretty early in the morning there usually is a couple spots left open. Lately though students have been catching on to this so they will come earlier and just sit in their car until their class starts. I can’t leave and go to lunch because when I get back there will be nowhere to park.

How satisfied are you with the solution of opening up more parking spots closer to campus for off campus commuters?

I would be satisfied with more parking spots in general or less strict parking rules at the animal science building. I have over heard a lot of students complaining about the parking system here at UF so I would imagine anything would help.

Prototypical customer 3. A 18 year old freshman male at the University of Florida from Williston, Florida who lives off campus.

How long have you been struggling to find a parking space in the commuter lots?

Since my first day this semester at UF I struggled to find parking spots. I have always heard it was pretty bad but didn’t realize it was this bad.

How many times a week do you park in a commuter lot?

I have class Monday through Friday in the morning and the afternoon. So sometimes after my morning class I will leave and then have to come back for my afternoon classes.

How do you deal with struggling with parking in the commuter lot?

I have to leave way before my first class in order to get a parking spot. I then get my bike out and ride several miles to get to my class. If it’s raining or something I will wait and take the bus.

How satisfied are you with the solution of opening up more parking spots closer to campus for off campus commuters?

I would love that solution because for me and some of my buddies parking is harder than the classes. Even though we pay for the parking pass it doesn’t guarantee a spot and these parking police don’t mess around.

Reflection:

After interviewing these prototypical customers it seems like they all show similar struggles with parking in commuter lots at the University of Florida. They all have unique ways of adapting in order to make it to get through the day.

Summery:

My original opportunity still exists and the customers I interviewed all at one point or another agreed with my solution. I do believe my new opportunity is more accurate than when I started. From freshman to professor they all agreed that my opportunity would be beneficial. I think customer feedback is crucial to entrepreneurs after all it’s the customer who will determine if your opportunity will pass or fail.  

My Entrepreneur Story: Assignment 3a

       
My Entrepreneur Story: Assignment 3a

         In August 1995 I was born down in West Palm Beach , my parents from a young age encouraged me and my younger brothers to be go getters. When I was about 7 years old I went through a creative stage in my life. I built a tree house, a crossbow out of pvc and I also made a fishing rod out of a stick I found with eyelets and a reel. Those are just some of the things I can remember from my child hood. I actually had an idea to make some sort of sleeve with a light to fit on a single key to help with unlocking the door at night. I had this idea after seeing my dad struggle quite often with his keys in the dark. Several years ago I saw my same idea for sale on a commercial while I was watching TV. It was pretty cool seeing my idea come to life but also frustrating because that could have been me selling it.  It made me wish I  had the resources and the determination at the time to stay with my idea.


          I enrolled in this class for two reasons I have always been interested in entrepreneurs since my high school history teacher talked about Henry Ford and Walt Disney. These are people who followed their hearts and minds and did what was at the time thought impossible. This is however an elective for my major which is APK but I feel like this class would be extremely useful to me when hopefully I venture out and start my own physical therapy practice. I hope this class opens my eyes to things that I take for granted that could be improved upon. The bug list was already a great start it really made me think out side the box already.

I thought this was a funny picture from my child hood. I am the tall one in the middle and to the right of the picture is my middle brother Noah and the chunky one on the left is my youngest brother Micah.

Bug List: Assignment 2a

Bug List:  Assignment 2a


1.  When Walmarts everywhere  have 20+ check out isles but only 3 cashiers working them and the line is 15 people deep.
Why it exists - I think this bug exists due to the laziness of management to assign more cashiers or the registers are so complex only certain employees know how to operate them.

2. UF sells thousands of parking passes when they only have a limited number of parking spots and place a no parking sign at any alternative parking spot big enough to put a car.
Why it exists- This is a major source of income for the university from not only selling the parking passes but also from writing tickets .

3. A major bug is that cotton shrinks in the dryer.
Why it exists- I'm not  fabric expert so I don't know why cotton shrinks in the dryer but an alternative that is just as soft needs to be found.

4. Its the 21st century and we still have cell phones (I phone) that don't float .
Why it exists- If I had to guess I would say their may not be enough room to make it skinny and also float but it seems possible.

5. This is especially true today people will believe everything the media tells them instead of questing them and finding out the truth themselves.
Why it exists- The reason for this is people are simply to lazy to fact check information for  themselves and the media is able to get away with lies.

6. A big bug of mine  is how much money gets taken out of my paycheck each week for taxes and most of it I wont see again.
Why it exists-  I understand the need for taxes but it would really nice to see that tax money in action.

7. The red lights going down SR26 Newberry road are not synced so every day 5oclk traffic gets backed up . This happens because one light is green and 100yards away the other light is red so only a small number of cars are moving through.
Why it exists-  The reason for this bug is from poor traffic coordinating on the cities part.

8. A recent bug is players not standing for the National Anthem out of protest for something completely non related to the Anthem.
Why it exists- I believe this bug exists due to the  fact of the media miss informing society and causing division in America about police "brutality".

9. Working at a popular retailer has opened my eyes to the inefficient method of stocking shelves and pegs by matching 11 digit UPC together.
Why it exists- I think it costs to much to develop a technology to make this job easier on employees.

10. Being a charter captain and my girlfriend who rodeos professionally I am constantly trailering horses and boats back and fourth. This has made me hate people pulling out in front of my rig causing me to slam on breaks. The reason for the space in between me and the car in front is to allow time for braking not so you can pull out.
Why it exists- People who don't regularly trailer don't know the braking distance needed for a 36ft horse trailer or 24 foot boat.

11. Several years ago ethanol was added to fuel and it has cost boat owners and small engine owners millions of dollars due to the increase of condensation in the gas tanks. The bug is there is barely any of non ethanol gas stations left and the ones that do offer is have the price dramatically increased.
Why it exists- The push for better fuel economy and going "green" has made good ole gas hard to find therefore raising the price.

12. Going from Verizon to T- mobile has opened my eyes to how bugging it is to be at an every day spot and not have cell service.
Why it exists- We can send a man to the moon yet cant figure out how to have cell phone coverage nationwide.

13. I feel like this is a nation wide bug but loosing socks in the dryer really gets under my skin.
Why it exists- I don't know much about dryers but having two socks go in and only one sock come out is something that needs to be fixed.

14. When hospitals charge extraordinary amounts just for everyday stuff.
Why it exists- I imagine they have a lot of expenses to cover and people to pay but it seems extremely over priced.

15. I used to play college football for the University of Alabama and a major bug was not receiving more benefits from the NCAA such as payment. The NCAA makes millions and millions of dollars off us and we receive nothing.
Why it exists- The NCAAs reason is that then will we wont be like "regular" students. However regular students don't put in the time or have the struggles we do.

16. Driving down any highway during a heavy rainstorm and you will see some car with their flashers. This makes it extremely hard to differentiate whether their brake lights or not or if the car is broken down in the lane.
Why it exists-Drivers think they are more visible during a heavy rainstorm if they illegally use flashers.

17. When pliers or other tools say their stainless steel but rust super quickly.
Why it exists- Cheaply made and most likely partly users fault for not wiping them off.

18. Not having any toilet paper in a public restroom.
Why it exists- This bug exists due to the janitor forgetting to restock it or wanting to enjoy a good laugh.

19. Sitting at a red light and having a near by car blaring there music so loud you can feel it in your chest.
Why it exists-Some people think there cooler than others with there music pounding.

20. Having to pay a good bit of money for fishing/hunting licenses every year.
Why it exists- I understand it goes towards conservation and funding research but it is still a lot of money.

            I started writing these bugs before the assignment was due so it was pretty easy to come up with. As you can see from reading them they are pretty much everyday stuff that I come into contact with and that bug me. The most challenging part was being critical of everything and seeing how it could be made better.