7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Opportunity: The opportunity I would like to pursue is about giving people the chance to invest money in the US stock market. Many people are discouraged from entering the stock market because they are unaware of how it all works and the best times to enter and exit the market. Educating everyone in stock trading helps individuals make better use of their income as well as promotes company growth leading to greater innovations in society.

Who: Young adults in the United States

What: They are unable to easily begin investing money into the US stock market.

Why: They are uninformed about the safe and effective strategies required to become a successful investor.

Hypothesis: Young adults in the United States are unable to easily begin investing money into the US stock market because they are uninformed about the safe and effective strategies required to become a successful investor.

Testing the who: I believe that this is a need for everyone as most people are not active investors due to being scared they might lose money.

Testing the what: It is not the case that investing is difficult for everyone, some people tend to take more risks, but it is not an easy process for most people.

Testing the why: It is my understanding that people are keen on contributing to the stock market to develop their own personal wealth. It also acts as a great income earning strategy especially during current times when people are working from home. This investment also helps companies regain money to plan employees and develop new products.

Interview 1: (Sister) I think this is a great idea as most people do not know what the stock market entails, or are afraid to start investing because of the risks. It’ll benefit people old enough to join since they can start saving up early on, especially for purchases such as a home and a car. It will also help older people for retirement and essential needs.

Interview 2: (Mother) Yes, I think this is great for young folks as it is a good way to start saving money, instead of spending it on non-essential items and getting into debt. Most people are unaware of the knowledge required for trading and fear that they might lose money so it is a great way to encourage better financial management.

Interview 3: (Father) This idea is good for people of all ages, especially people who are just starting to get into the workforce. It might be tough for them to start, because they are not earning a lot of money early on and fear that investing in the market might result in them losing a lot of their newly earned income.

Interview 4: (Friend) I am already investing money in the US stock market, therefore I feel like I know how investing works so this idea might not be that useful for me. I think it is good for people who are new and want to learn how to get into investing.

Interview 5: (Friend) This is an interesting concept, but what makes your idea different from just using the internet and watching YouTube videos? There are a lot of information on the web, but a lot of it isn’t very good and might be misleading so that is something to think about.

Summary: I think all the interviews went well and that there is definitely an opportunity in this area that can be explored as there aren’t many good alternatives present. I need to also ensure that the idea I come up with accounts for people that have different investing goals and suits their needs accordingly.

6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Opportunity 1:

Oil prices rising

a. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/26/oil-markets-crude-output-coronavirus-lockdowns-easing-in-focus.html

b. Since oil prices are now rising from their low points, we should see gas prices increase throughout the country. This will frustrate a lot of people as many are facing economic hardships. I believe this opens up the opportunity for people to switch to electric vehicles as those are not dependent on gas prices and are better for the environment.

c. The prototypical customer would be one who is planning on purchasing a new car soon and are comparing the various types of vehicles in the market. They might also have thought about switching to electric but hadn’t found a good reason till now.

d. I feel as though this might be relatively easy to exploit and if many manufactures present sales on the electric vehicles, it might cause a shift in more eco-friendly vehicles.

I believe that others might have had similar ideas, but they might not have linked the correlation between oil prices to that of electric car sales. The approach I am taking also comes from an environmental perspective as it is generally a good idea to promote electric vehicles over gasoline, and now might be the best time for that transition.

 

Opportunity 2:

Cruise Line Future

a. https://cruiseradio.net/vegas-casinos-give-glimpse-cruise-future/

b. Since casinos are starting to open, people are able to see how the venues have adapted in ensuring that customers can be worry-free about catching the virus. This idea must be adapted to industries like cruises as they might be starting to open business. External companies can provide feedback after observing what casinos are doing and can suggest to the cruise companies, ways in which they can increase passenger capacity while keeping everyone safe.

c. The prototypical customer would be the cruise companies as they would get advice from the observers on how to open their business and ensure that the most number of customers are able to board each ship.

d. This might be a tough opportunity to exploit, just based on the fact that there might be other individuals who have the same plan. At that point it just becomes a race to see who can provide the service first.

The idea for this belief came from the fact that cruise stock prices are just recovering from their all-time/yearly lows. During these chaotic times, it might be tough for companies to make smart decisions as their focus might be on just opening business as soon as possible. Having to make these critical decisions might help the company recover from this loss much faster.

 

Opportunity 3:

Short-Term Rentals

a. https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/coronavirus/delaware-allowing-outdoor-gatherings-of-up-to-250-people-short-term-rentals-beginning-june-1/2407982/

b. The opportunity in this situation is that the state of Delaware is allowing outdoor gatherings and since they have allowed for rentals, businesses can sell rental products at a good profit margin. Delaware is surrounded by many other states, and since those states have gathering restrictions, there will be a lot more tourists in the state of Delaware, which increases potential customers.

c. The prototypical customer for this opportunity would be the tourists that are coming from other states as they might not be able to bring all their equipment in their personal vehicles and might end up renting items like tents, boats, etc.

d. I think this is an easy opportunity to exploit as it seems like a safe way to produce revenue. The one potential drawback comes from the fact that purchasing the equipment might require some initial capital but once those items are purchased it shouldn’t take long to recuperate their price.

As I live relatively close to the beach, I noticed that people are rushing to the beach right as it was allowed to re-open. This allowed me to think that products sold near the beach would be quite profitable due to the sheer volume of tourists. This idea could be used in the case of Delaware as many outsider might visit the state and hang out with friends and family. This seems like the prime time to sell products these tourists might purchase.

 

Opportunity 4:

Online instruction alternatives

a. https://abc7.com/csu-fall-classes-cal-state-university-system-canceled-in-person/6176291/

b. The opportunity that arises from this situation is that individuals can start teaching specialized online courses at a much cheaper price than the universities. Since the universities are planning on continuing online, students might feel as though they are paying too much money to have online classes. People would tend to choose the alternative option if they can produce content at a similar quality as the university but at a more affordable price.

c. The prototypical customer would be college students as they are the ones that have to pay a lot of money to take the online classes, especially if they are lab-based classes. They might see the alternative option as a way to learn the same material but at a cheaper price.

d. I think this opportunity is easy to exploit as it does not have a geographic boundary, due to the fact that the courses are online. The potential issue that comes up is that there are already a lot of free content available on the internet and it might be hard to convince the customer that your content is better than the free alternatives.

The idea for this opportunity came from my experience teaching and attending classes. There are times I feel as though a particular course should not be taught online as it was not designed to do so. In this situation, I would have preferred to take an alternative version of the class that was intended to be taught in an online setting. If the price of this class were cheaper than the university, I would have easily made this transition.

5A – Identifying Local Opportunities

Opportunity 1:

Tampa Bay nonprofits need support to get through coronavirus

https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2020/05/25/tampa-bay-nonprofits-need-support-to-get-through-coronavirus-letters/

Nonprofits around the Tampa Bay area needs our help. They are not able to continue providing resources for the communities they have supported for years. Many kids are unsure if they will continue receiving meals and necessary items from these organizations in the near future.

The problem in this situation is the lack of financial support the non-profit is receiving due to the coronavirus. They are hoping that people get their stimulus checks for some support but don’t have enough resources to continue functioning.

The people that are mainly affected by this problem are the people who rely on these organizations to live. They might end up not receiving the food and supplies they need.

 

Opportunity 2:

Diverging diamond work moves forward

http://lakerlutznews.com/lln/?p=77725

The Wesley Chapel Diverging diamond interchanges are about halfway complete but there is still, a lot to be done. Many lanes are going to be closed in order to ensure completion of the intersection.

The problem in this situation is that this area is one of the busiest areas in the state as it is an exit to the Tampa Premium Outlets. The traffic is very bad and routes nowadays take about 2-3 times more time to complete after the construction of the mall.

The people that are mainly affected by this problem are commuters who take the road frequently and people on the highway, as the traffic starts to pile back all the way to the highway, causing a standstill.

 

Opportunity 3:

Objections continue to proposed townhomes

http://lakerlutznews.com/lln/?p=75574

Residents in the Land O Lakes area refuse the idea to expand the area by building 218 townhomes. People are concerned that the area would be urbanized and would lose its heritage. They do not feel like the area’s geography should be ruined for some out-of-area business to profit from it.

The problem in this situation is that certain private corporations want to urbanize areas just to make a profit. This would cause overpopulation in the area as well as have harmful environmental effects of cutting down trees and building properties.

The people that are affected by this problem are the residents of the area as they must deal with increased construction noises and traffic. Some other people who are indirectly affected are potential buyers of the properties as they might need to find an alternate option now.

 

Opportunity 4:

Zephyrhills joins water contamination lawsuit

http://lakerlutznews.com/lln/?p=77900

The bottled-water company Zephyrhills is now part of the federal water contamination lawsuit were plants contain man-made chemicals that contaminate the water. The company is suggesting that the water is still very safe to drink even though they have not met the federal requirements.

The problem in this situation is that the government believes that there are chemicals in the water and those chemicals might be harmful for people to consume. The company states that the water is fine as is and it would cost them a lot of money to remove these chemicals and might increase the price of the water in doing so.

The people that are mainly affected by this are the consumers of the Zephyrhills water as they might be exposed to harmful chemicals while drinking water. The other party affected is the company itself as they need to now bring in additional resources to ensure the water is the expected standard.

 

Opportunity 5:

Tampa Convention Center loses millions, but finds new role

https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/05/26/tampa-convention-center-loses-millions-but-finds-new-role/

The Tampa Convention Center is struggling to generate money due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Many of the bookings for the center have been canceled and postponed. The good news is that after things become normal, there will be a good increase in revenue due to the Super Bowl taking place in Tampa next year.

The problem in this situation is that due to the lack of tourism, the convention center is having trouble staying afloat. This is a common issue for many other parts of Florida as we are a state that relies on tourism for our funding.

The people that are mainly affected by this problem are the board members of the Tampa Convention Center and even the city of Tampa Bay to some extent as they would need to find alternative venues to host events.

 

4A – Forming An Opportunity Belief

Beginning point: 

I believe that there are many opportunities that exist for us to find solutions to. One that comes to mind is to reduce road traffic in large cities. There have been many attempts at this, but there haven’t been any revolutionary ideas implemented in these cities.

 

My belief: 

The unmet need is that we do not have better alternatives for city transportation and traffic control. The people that require a solution to this problem are mainly work-commuters. People spend too long commuting from work to home and cities such as Los Angeles and New York City have an average round-trip commute time of 85 minutes and 81 minutes respectively. This is a lot of time that people waste each day sitting in heavy traffic. I had realized that this was an issue that affected many cities when I lived in Dallas last summer. Currently, people are combating this issue, by utilizing public transportation or commuting to work before or after the rush traffic hours. Overall, I feel as though there is an 80% chance that an opportunity exists in this area as there aren’t many viable alternatives as of today.

 

Prototypical Customer 1: 

 Family member: Aleena Alex 

Q : What is the exact nature of the need? 

It reduces pollution and traffic. I also feel like it would organize the road and improves overall safety.  

Q : When did you become aware of the need? 

After driving around to places like school or the mall. Also when I started waiting in traffic for a long time, and it takes longer than usual to reach my destination. 

Q : How long have you had the need? 

Since I started driving. As well as when I moved cities and had to switch from public transportation to cars. 

Q : When did you first become aware of the need? 

Moved from a place that primarily uses public transportation to a place that required the use of cars for daily life. 

Q : How are you currently addressing this need? 

I just use my car as usual and haven’t really thought about any alternatives. 

Q : How satisfied are you with the current solution? 

Not at all. Public transit is not used much because it’s not promoted. I am quite satisfied with the addition of road lanes. 

 

Prototypical Customer 2:  

Friend : Rohil Tuli 

Q : What is the exact nature of the need? 

It is currently inefficient due to longer travel times. It is an environmental issue, as more carbon emissions are exposed to the atmosphere due to gasoline. It also has safety issues such as car accidents. 

Q : When did you become aware of the need? 

I became aware early on since I was living in an urban area. 

Q : How long have you had the need? 

Last couple of years, since I started using my car for my daily travels. 

Q: When did you first become aware of the need?

Close to when I started driving, but also a bit before. 

Q : How are you currently addressing this need? 

Making use of more sustainable forms of transportation such as biking and public transportation. I also own a hybrid car to reduce carbon emissions.

Q : How satisfied are you with the current solution?

Mixed. There is still too much traffic on certain roads and some roads require additional lanes. Adding lanes, however, creates a circular problem by introducing more traffic.

 

Prototypical Customer 3: 

Friend: Guillermo Aceves

Q: What is the exact nature of the need?

Overpopulation of cars, people, and road planning issues.

Q : When did you become aware of the need?

When I travel on roads/routes I am familiar with but it takes much longer to travel that distance. Also once I began witnessing more accidents.

Q : How long have you had the need?

Since I started driving frequently.

Q : When did you first become aware of the need?

When I was young, there were only 1 lane roads in my city and it would take a while to travel around the city. I realized that adding new roads reduces travel time.

Q : How are you currently addressing this need?

I am not proactively seeking alternate solutions, but I wish there was a better option out there.

Q : How satisfied are you with the current solution?

It’s okay as of now because its the best solution we have, but it takes a while for the problem to be solved. Better alternatives would be more mass transit such as trains. 

Reflect:

From the interviews, I had learned about a lot of interesting perspectives such as environmental impacts due to large traffic, the safety of travelers, and the wasted time that could be used for other productive tasks. The most surprising thing I noticed was that this was an issue all my customers believed needed a solution, but they found it challenging to decide what to do about it.

Summary: 

I still believe there is the same amount of opportunity to improve in the transportation and traffic industry. Yes, it is more accurate, as I got a lot of great feedback on what to focus on and how to address the issues with the most priority. I believe it is crucial for entrepreneurs to get customer feedback as they need to make sure the product their develop is one that the customer would actually purchase.

 

3A – Your Entrepreneurship Story

My Entrepreneurship Story

    One of my earliest memories of entrepreneurship was from a school camping event that I had gone to as a middle schooler. I had always thought that video game consoles were an individual entity and that it wasn’t possible to share them unless you play with a friend. During the camping trip, I noticed that there was a cabin that had many different video game consoles and games that the owners would rent out for the campers to use and charged them by the hour. At the time, I remember being amazed that someone had come up with the idea of renting out video game consoles to earn money. Many parents would end up renting them to entertain the kids even though they ended up costing a decent amount of money after using it for a couple of hours.

    I have decided to enroll in ENT3003 due to my curiosity in Entrepreneurship. I am a Computer Science major and although we create many cool apps and projects, we aren’t taught how to present and turn our ideas into usable products. After taking this class, I hope to be able to think outside the box and develop smart and innovative products that could make someone’s life a bit easier.

2A – Bug List

Bugs in our daily lives:

1. Many laptops are starting to have fewer ports to connect devices to.

Why: To reduce the thickness of the laptop to make it more portable.

2. Course registration websites are very slow when I am trying to register for classes.

Why: Many others are trying to register at the same time as well and the network might not be suited for this amount of traffic.

3. It is often hard to begin/start writing a large report or paper even though you know what to talk about for the rest of the paper.

Why: It is tough since one needs to connect all their thoughts in an organized fashion.

4. My headphones often disconnect from my phone in the middle of using it.

Why: They might be faulty, or they might be running out of battery.

5. While I am working, I always get notifications from others and end up stopping my important task to respond to their messages/emails.

Why: The work might not be as interesting, and the brain chooses a more fun activity (path of least resistance) over it.

6. Every time I initially connect to Skype or Zoom, either I cannot hear the other person, or they can’t hear me.

Why: Most users are new to the platform and they might not know all the instructions for a seamless call.

7. Solar energy is expensive to implement in a house, even though it is much more environmentally friendly, therefore people just stick with the cheaper option.

Why: The manufacturing cost of the solar panels are quite high due to all the weatherproof material they need to include.

8. I cannot walk into a store and buy a product for the price written because I need to account for added tax.

Why: Sales tax in the United States varies by state and therefore it is difficult to set a fixed price value.

9. It is challenging to buy computer accessories during this pandemic as many people are working from home.

Why: Many people want the same product, therefore the demand increases but the supply does not.

10. There is no universal messaging app, instead we have many different apps performing the same task.

Why: Many apps offer different and unique takes on the messaging system, for example Snapchat uses pictures for messages.

11. T-shirt sizes vary by company, even if they both say “Large” for example.

Why: The region of the development of the product varies by company and therefore the exact measurements and units vary.

12. Prices of many products have skyrocketed due to the pandemic.

Why: Some people try to take advantage of the current situation due to the high demand, low supply scenario.

13. YouTube suggesting videos from a long time ago, even though they are irrelevant to what I am interested in.

Why: The user might have clicked on one video and the YouTube algorithm must have thought that they wanted similar content.

14. Medical bills in the United States are very expensive, leading to people not going to hospitals in time, which increases unwanted mortality rates.

Why: People sometimes unknowingly prioritize money over health and that is an issue because without health, there is no money.

15. The cost of healthy foods/salads are much higher in restaurants even though the ingredients are much cheaper than alternatives.

Why: Customers generally order less healthy options and that is what the restaurant wants to sell. For example, it is unusual to order a salad at McDonald’s.

16. The media hypes the severity of many events which leads to unwanted panic from the audience.

Why: The media mostly cares about the shock factor of news. If there is a greater shock factor, more people would watch the channel and that is how they generate greater revenue.

17. People finding ways to ruin other people’s lives even during tough times, such as Zoombombing.

Why: The zoom application is vulnerable and needs to update its security features to account for unwanted behaviors.

18. Always getting spam calls throughout the day, even though I did not opt into it.

Why: The number could have been retrieved from services that I provided my number to but did not read the clause that stated the number could be shared with external companies.

19. Lovebugs during this season, happen to stick to the surface of the car and when they die, they leave a stain.

Why: The manufacturers of the paint applied on the car must have not accounted for bug stains as it is not as common in many other states.

20. Bicycle chains start to rust and make a rattling noise, even if the bicycle is used every day.

Why: The rusting occurs due to the change in weather, especially rain. The bike needs to be stored in a dry location and the chain needs to be oiled up frequently to ensure smoothness.

This assignment was quite challenging as it requires us to think outside the box and come up with problems that we generally ignore on a day-to-day basis. The list was harder to create after the 10^th bug as I started running out of ideas, but with more time, I was able to generate all 20 items.

1D - Setting Up Your Blog

This is my first blog post for the class!