Week 8 Reading Reflection

A part that was really surprising to me was how much money IPO's can raise. Kuratko mentioned how in some years only $27 or $45 billion were raised. It's insane to think that these amounts of money are considered small in terms of IPO's. I would have never guessed that they can have way more than that in value over the course of a year.
One thing that was confusing to me in this chapter was when he talked about other debt financing sources. Commercial banks made sense to me but a lot of the other ones seem complicated, specifically factoring. They're much harder to understand because they use so many technical financing terms that I might not be totally familiar with. Since I don't have a lot of experience with banks or investing, it's more difficult to understand this part
The first question I would ask would be if there are any advantages to getting debt financing from somewhere other than a commercial bank. He talked about places you can get debt financing besides a commercial bank and I'm just curious if they should be used as a last resort or if there is some upside to them. Another question I would ask him would be if there have been any really successful companies that got started due to social lending. It's a really interesting concept and I'm just curious if anybody really hit it big with the help of one of those services.
One thing I found I disagreed with Kuratko on was when he said "industry has become more efficient and more responsive to the needs of the entrepreneur." I remember I was reading an Economist article a while back that told me the opposite. It mentioned how due to the increased government regulations over time, there has been a decrease in innovation. With all of the new hoops people have to jump through, it has become so much harder to innovate successfully.

Half-way Reflection

Dear future student,
ENT3003 is a course that requires a lot of hard work and effort. If you commit to the class though, what you get out of it will be extremely rewarding. One of the skills that you'll certainly develop is tenacity. In order to keep up with this course, I've found one of the best strategies is to do everything in advance. I'm currently writing this 10 days before this assignment is due! I try and commit an hour every day to this class. It's an easy commitment but really pays off. When I finish all of my assignments that are coming up, I preview the assignments down the road and think of ways I'm going to have to attack them. Doing this allows me to feel much more prepared and ready for what's to come.
Although there are no exams, this class is not easy. You will stay very busy with all the work there is. Some of the assignments are extremely challenging and even discouraged me at times. One of the times I felt discouraged was when I interviewed customers for the first time. The first seven people I asked to interview all turned me down. I knew I couldn't give up and had to finish the assignment though so I kept trying. Finally some people agreed to be interviewed and I got the assignment done. I feel like I've certainly developed a tenacious attitude during the past couple of months. Whenever I didn't want to keep going, a little voice would speak from the back of my head. It was Shia LaBeouf and he was yelling "JUST DO IT!" This advice may seem dumb but it's actually quite useful. If you just do it and don't give up, the assignments will get done, no matter how difficult they are. I think the assignments that most provided me with this tenacious attitude were the ones where I had to interview customers. I can almost guarantee that people will say no to you at some point but if you keep asking around, you will get the assignment done.
My first piece of advice to offer in order to develop this tenacious mindset is one that I've just mentioned. Just do it! Don't be nervous and don't get discouraged. If you keep trucking, the assignments will get done. Another piece of advice I have to offer is to not be afraid to go out of your comfort zone. The work in this class certainly pushes you and some of the assignments may seem awkward. If you're not afraid of that though and just embrace it, everything will become a whole lot easier. My last piece of advice would be to put in 100% effort to these assignments. If you really want to become an entrepreneur, then these assignments will really help you. They're only going to help though if you put in the effort. Don't just barely meet the requirements. Try to exceed them and write a blog that you're proud to call your own. Best of luck!

Free Money

I plan on going around Turlington Plaza for this assignment and see if there's a specific location that works best. It's a very central location and plenty of people walk through there constantly. Plus it will be easy to have somebody recording me and not have the people I'm talking to notice it. I'm going to go after people walking regularly and I'll also try going after people that are on their phones. They'll probably be open to talking to somebody and receiving free money. I'll probably start the conversation just by asking people if they have a minute and if I could talk with them. My idea to convince them to take the money is to tell them that I have a New Year's Resolution where every month I want to do something to brighten other people's day. It's a pretty simple explanation and believable. I think I'll be able to give away all five dollars. Who doesn't want free money?

After doing this exercise, I realized it's not as easy as it sounds. When you tell people you want to give them free money, people have very different reactions. I got three out of the five people that I asked to take the dollar. The two that didn't take the dollar seemed very weirded out about the whole process. They were very caught off guard. Even the people that did accept the dollar seemed like they thought it was weird. I think my initial prediction was wrong because I simply underestimated the assignment and thought it would be easy. It wasn't easy to make assumptions about the people I went after. I tried to go after people who seemed friendly but you can't really tell from a quick glance at somebody. In my video, I included one successful and one unsuccessful attempt.

Week 7 Reading Reflection

One thing that I found surprising was when he said the "Catfight Campaign" by Miller Lite wasn't as effective as the one where they mentioned they have lower carbs than alternative drinks. We usually think the flashy advertisements are the ones that boost sales rather than the actual logical ones but I guess this proves that wrong. I guess people care less about funny advertisements and really do want to know if there's going to be any real benefit to them.
A part that was confusing to me was when he talked about the Gravity of Decision Spectrum. He could go on forever about how a razor company segmented its market and that was only on the shallow end of the spectrum. It's just amazing how in depth these companies go into figuring out how to best market their ideas. It's extremely confusing and there is so much that one has to take into account in order to get the right answer.
The first question I would like to ask would be what characteristic he finds to be the most effective when segmenting customers. Maybe there's a certain quality that shows how a market is going to respond better than others. Another question I would like to ask him would be if he ever notices subliminal messaging in the market. I've learned about it in psychology classes and always found it pretty interesting. I wonder if he ever notices it or sees it first hand as a market expert.
I did find one thing that I disagreed with in this article. They mentioned how characteristics like "age, sex, education, and income" are no longer enough to come up with a marketing strategy. I'm sure there are better characteristics that you can go deeper into but I think these characteristics are still pretty relevant. They probably give a good idea of the customer that's most likely going to buy your product.

Elevator Pitch No. 2

I got a lot of good feedback on my last elevator pitch. People said it would be really helpful for a lot of students and could be really successful. I did get some recommendations to improve though, specifically in my content which I thought was really helpful. One thing I improved from my first elevator pitch was that I mentioned there were designated spots to exchange textbooks to solve the safety issues. I also tried to set myself apart from other textbook services by mentioning how much easier and less frustrating this would be for college students.

Customer Interviews No. 3

For these interviews, I gave each customer a description of the app and just asked for their general thoughts on it and whether they could see it being successful. I tried not to plan out questions for this one and just ask questions based on their responses. I went to the same area as last time as it turned out to be a pretty good spot for interviewing people.

The responses I got this time were pretty much the same as last time. People reacted positively and saw some potential in the idea. They mainly said as long as it was implemented well and could connect them to students with ease, it could be really successful. One customer did mention how it would be tough to compete with all the other textbook services that are around now.

Week 6 Reading Reflection

I think the biggest surprise in this article was the amount of barriers to entry he talked about. I've obviously heard of them before in different economics classes I've taken but I didn't realize how many there were. I had never gone in depth on them before and now understand that there are many different types that affect companies in different ways.
One thing I thought was confusing was when he talked about powerful suppliers. It's crazy how much influence one company can have just by making one decision. It can affect a lot of other suppliers and really prevent them from succeeding. It's confusing to understand though just what they are doing and how it changes the market as a whole. It's obviously a very well thought out process and is quite interesting.
The first question I would ask would be which barrier to entry he considers to be the biggest challenge for companies to overcome. There are several that he talked about but I wonder which is the one that makes the most people fail. I would also like to ask him if there are any stories similar to Dr. Pepper's. I think they have a really cool story as to how they were able to uniquely succeed in the market and I wonder if there are any other big names that also had unique successes.
One thing I thought I disagreed with was when he said selling to everybody can be bad for some producers. I guess that it's good to focus on one or two main groups to sell to but it's not at all a bad thing to be selling to everybody. That was the biggest thing I found that I disagreed with.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1. I am Matthew Iandoli. I'm a freshman finance major at UF and I was born in Orlando, Florida. Growing up I played tennis, piano, and a lot of ultimate frisbee. In high school, I was heavily involved with my student government and debate team. I think my best talent is that I'm a good public speaker. I gained a ton of speaking experience in high school and I typically spoke to crowds at least once a month. It's one of my favorite things to do and I always enjoy the challenge of writing a speech. Earlier this year, I took a strengths test and found that my biggest strength was that I enjoy meeting new people. This seems to go pretty hand-in-hand with my passion for public speaking. My aspirations in life aren't quite clear yet. The biggest goal is to be happy with those around me and have a job that provides me enough to live a comfortable life. I think the idea I've come up with could play a huge role in my life if I decided to commit and pursue it heavily. I've gotten some great feedback from interviews and think it has a lot of potential to be successful.
2. The idea that I've come up with is an app called TextSwap that will connect college students at the same school to each other. They will create a profile and then list all the textbooks that they need and those that they are selling.  Students will then be able to search the app for textbooks they're in need of and get connected to someone who's selling it. The students can then decide to either buy, sell, or trade with the person and the only hassle is meeting up with the student in person to make the exchange.
3. My target audience is pretty self explanatory. I'm obviously going after college students if I want this app to be successful. I'd probably test out how the app works at a few colleges to start and then expand it to more schools.
4. Buying textbooks is an extremely expensive and frustrating process. Since TextSwap makes everything simpler and cheaper, I bet it would be very popular among college students. I imagine that the app would probably be free and the main way I'd generate revenue would be through advertisements. If I can get enough traffic on the app, I'm sure plenty of companies would be willing to pay for ads in order to gain more exposure to college students.
5. The most similar thing to my idea is a Facebook Textbook Exchange page. I know UF does this and I'm sure other schools do as well. The problem with this is that it is difficult and time consuming in order to find somebody with the textbook that you need. My idea is better because you'd just have to search the ISBM, and all the students that have it would come up. I'm set apart from online textbook distributors because of how much less time it would take. Students wouldn't have to deal with the week or two that it could take to deliver the book. Finally, TextSwap would be set apart from the bookstores simply because it would cost less to the student.
I think these five ideas fit together pretty well. I didn't think my opportunity would turn into anything but once I came up with an idea and started asking people, my mind changed. I think this seriously has a lot of potential and could be something to pursue outside of this class. The only thing that doesn't quite fit is the fact that I'm a college student. I'm very busy and my number one priority is school work so it would be difficult to find time to develop an app. Maybe if I came up with a team of people to develop the app, things would be pretty manageable. There's obviously still a lot to think about but besides that fact, I think everything fits together pretty well.

Interviewing Customers No. 2

After my first round of interviews, I found that my idea for a textbook exchange app has gotten some pretty positive responses. People don't like buying textbooks and are frustrated with the process. An app that could make everything simpler and cheaper could be really effective. I think the app should allow students to create a profile, connect to their school, and then let them make a list of what textbooks they're selling and which they need. I didn't really have to change the "who" in my interviews for round two. My target audience is pretty straightforward and I didn't have any problems last time. I did get a wider variety of students this time as I got some freshmen and some graduate students so that was helpful. I started off each interview just asking everybody to tell me about themselves. I didn't do this last time and I think it made both me and the people I was interviewing more comfortable this time which was nice. This round of interviews, I asked for problems encountered when buying textbooks, their thoughts on the app, and then what they would look for specifically in the app to make it worthwhile. The first student I interviewed turned out to be the first of two ENT3003 students I found. He had a really similar idea to mine which helped me come up with a fourth question. His idea was for a physical location for students to meet up at rather than an app. People would go to the store and trade, sell, and buy textbooks for a reduced cost rather than going online or to the UF bookstore which is often expensive. So my fourth question after interviewing him was whether it would be a good idea to combine TextSwap with a physical location (his interview with me can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wuVdMT8jL0). I got a lot of good feedback this time to really develop the idea. People complained a lot about costs obviously but also told me how textbooks take forever to come in and often times they're damaged and difficult to use. People still had an interest in the app because it would be so much easier than buying textbooks. I learned the most about my question when I asked them what they would look for specifically in the app. I got some great responses about having a bar scanner in order to upload the textbook rather than typing out the ISBM. People also mentioned some safety issues about how it could be weird to meet up with a stranger to trade textbooks. This makes it clear that there would have to be designated locations and times for people to trade. There could even be an employee that holds the textbooks and makes the exchanges when people come which would make it easier on everybody. People also emphasized how the app would have to be very simple. It just needs to have very basic profiles and be very easy to navigate and find textbooks. When I asked about combining the app with a physical location, people did think that would work out because it would solve some of the safety issues. Students would also be able to browse other textbooks in the store that they might need. This time interviewing customers was a lot easier. I only got turned down once and it was nice to run into some other students who were also interviewing customers. My first tip to future students would be to interview people who are sitting down rather than walking around. They are much more likely to agree to be interviewed. Another thing would be starting off each interview by asking the person to say a little bit about themselves. It makes everything a lot easier and comfortable. The last tip I have to offer would be to have confidence. I can almost assure you that somebody is going to say no but don't take it personally. Just keep going and you'll be much happier with your final product.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

One thing that surprised me from this chapter was that poor timing resulted in 40% of companies failing in one study. I never realized how important timing would be when starting a new venture. I obviously knew it was important but I didn't think it would be the reason four out of ten companies failed. It's good to know that entrepreneurs shouldn't venture into the market until they know everything about their company and what they want to do with it or else there will be severe consequences.
Something that I thought was confusing was the marketability. I've never had to deal with marketing a product or service so I imagine it would be something I'd find challenging. Market analysis seems like something pretty confusing to understand. Since I've never really had to sell my idea, I think it would be tough figuring out the different risks and opportunities in a market.
One question I would ask Kuratko would be which critical factor he believes to be most important. It's obvious that you can't ignore one when you're trying to succeed with a business but I'd be interested to see which one he found important in his own entrepreneurial ventures. The next thing I would ask Kuratko would be about the pitfalls when choosing new ventures. He talks about several of them and I would want to know which one he finds people falling into most often. Since I have some business ideas it would be good to know which things to avoid.
The one thing I disagreed with Kuratko about was when he said bugs lead to customers leaving and severely hurt the company. I'm sure this happens every now and then but definitely not all the time. Companies like Apple experience bugs every time they release a new software but Apple is still dominating the technology industry. As long as people are satisfied with the product, they won't get too upset about an occasional bug.

Elevator Pitch No. 1

As a student, I find buying textbooks at the beginning of a semester to be one of the most frustrating processes in college. People spend hundreds of dollars every year to buy these textbooks that they may hardly even use. If they order their books online, they might not even come in time for their first readings. After looking at this situation, I realized that their has to be an easier way. My idea is to develop an app called TextSwap where students from the same university can connect and exchange textbooks. Students would be able to sell or trade textbooks with just a quick message and the only hassle would be finding a place to meet up in person. I still have a lot more ideas that I think could be implemented but for now, this is a good starting point.