10A- Elevator Pitch

9A- Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

For my next round of five interviews, I decided to dive a little deeper into my interviews and find people who may be the exception in order to find out more information about my opportunity. These interviews lead me to find people who play the game of soccer, follow the game of soccer and/or have an interest in sports in general. In these interviews, I found out more information on the who, what and why. I think an important thing I realized was that just because you have an interest in the sport of soccer does not translate into a passion for a University of Florida Men's Soccer team. There are people who love soccer but yet have no interest in the team because they have no interest in the University of Florida or in collegiate sports. That is something I had not realized and that is that some people only follow international soccer or the world cup and not collegiate. This lowers the target market and some people will not spend time on our team. Even people who like sports may have no interest because they may like soccer, but not enough to watch a game or be associated with a team. I believe that is where the need differs. Not only do people want a sense of community or entertainment in the form of a men's soccer team but they need the team to fit their interests as well and a team alone will not suffice the need. The college they associate with also plays a factor. I also believe the outsider's cause for their need is skewed by the abundance of soccer teams in the world. The amount of teams causes a need for soccer in people who follow the sport but their needs are specific and a certain team is not enough to garner interest.

Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who?: Interested in Gator Sports Interested in Soccer Interested in a sports community in Gainesville	Who?: Interested in Soccer but not collegiate Do not associate with Gators but still like Soccer Only a minor interest in the sports
What?: The need for a soccer community at the University of Florida The need for a Gator Standard men’s team at the University The need for entertainment and competition	What?: The need for just a team Must fit their interests Cannot be broad thus outside the boundary
Why?: Because people desire a sense of community Sports is popular including soccer	Why? Soccer is so vast that it is already filled by other means Our opportunity thus must fit needs perfectly Women’s team on campus fills void

8A- Solving the Problem

In my previous exercises, I have stressed the need for community for people that I have seen through interviews and also looking at my own personal needs. After searching around, I believe the perfect opportunity arises here at the University of Florida and that is the unmet need in the community for people who love soccer. Yes, we have a women's soccer program but trends show that it is not sufficient to satisfy the need many people have. I believe creating a men's soccer program here at the University would be able to facilitate a community that people could rally around.

Besides the service of creating the soccer team for the community and people, I believe we can also combine ideas that we see around the world in soccer to increase fan community, involvement, passion, etc... The main service is bringing a team to the University but we can capitalize in other ventures surrounding the team such as fan clubs, merchandise, etc...

7A- Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1) The Opportunity: There is a need for a Men's Soccer team at the University of Florida.
2) At the University of Florida, there are many collegiate sports that they compete in such as football, baseball, basketball, etc... One sport that seems to be missing is Men's soccer. There is women's soccer but the absence of a men's soccer team is felt by the community.

• Who? The student body of the University of Florida as well as Florida Gator fans
• What? They have the absence of a Men's Soccer team to play for, cheer for, and have a community for.
• Why? People have the need for community

3) Testing the Hypothesis

• Testing the Who?
• After looking at the who, I think we can expand this. It is not just limited to the student body and fans of the Gators, but it also extends to the future Gators that will attend. It also extends to soccer players that would like to play at University of Florida but must go elsewhere because they do not hold a Men's soccer program. It also can extend past Florida Gator fans because opposing fans needs will be met in games, experiences, rivalries, etc...
• Testing the What?
• I do believe there is a boundary for the what because obviously one particular sport program of the university will have its limits but it will provide a community that attends, cheers, rallies around a program like we see in football, basketball, softball, etc... Though this will not transcend the most popular sports on campus it will no doubt be able to satisfy the needs of many people.
• Testing the Why?
• Many people have this need because they long to join a community or group like we see with other organizations and sports around the country and world. Others have this need because soccer is their favorite sport and perhaps our women's program is not sufficient for them. Others may have the need because they need something to do around campus. 

4) For my five interviewees, I choose a couple University of Florida students, a die hard Gator fan, a casual Gator fan and a University of Florida alumni.

In a summary of all these interviews, I found that there is a need for a Men's soccer program at the University of Florida. The students that I had interviewed expressed interest in attending soccer games even though they had never attended a Women's soccer game on campus. I believe this runs parallel with a trend we see where men's sports are much more popular than women's. The die hard gator fan likes to attend almost all sporting events because of entertainment and passion for the school which helps to answer some of the why. The casual gator fan did not live in Gainesville but did make it known that if he happened to travel to visit the school and men's soccer was playing that he would most likely not attend because soccer is not interesting to him as well as the alumni. I believe though that in my interview I gleaned a piece of information that people who enjoy soccer believe they lack the fill of the void here at the University and that community would be formed should the University create a men's soccer team. Popularity would not be as extreme as football, but nonetheless be there.

5) I learned that this opportunity is narrow because even though the need for community is universal, the need is narrowed down to our University and more specifically a single sport. This will limit the individuals but the point here is that when you try to fill the need for community, you must be narrow in order to attract people who have common interest to form a community in the first place. 

6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Opportunity 1: An Economic Recession is Inevitable

• I found this information in a magazine that is catered to small businesses and startup companies called Inc. Right now, the yield curve is shrinking and once it becomes inverted they say a recession is sure to follow. This is more of a framework for an opportunity as I believe before the recession would hit I believe we can take advantage of a short term opportunity such as a product idea or service idea that will be able to make results in the next few years before being able to sell and wipe our hands clean without dealing with the recession. I believe right now, the economy is under solid shape which leads to opportunity to make money or a difference and this time in between can be the perfect situation before a recession hits. If we did a service then I believe an organization would be the best fit as our prototypical customer because our idea early on could be focused on designing a strategy to cut costs or time efficiency which frees up money. However, this opportunity to come up with a service idea in a limited amount of time as well as rid our hands of it would be extremely difficult because even with the data you cannot determine an exact time for a recession.
• I think I formed this idea opportunity because I see myself as more of a risk taker and this would be a major risk to get involved in because of the amount of steps involved and uncertainty. I think taking chances has been a thing for me and this plays into that.

Opportunity 2: Wages are rising which means the workforce will get fewer.

• This came from the New York Times and focuses on the wages rising and the costs are increasing to retain or attract good help. I believe that an opportunity exists because of this economic trend in the sense that we can revolve an opportunity around the fact that manpower is expensive which means the costs of assembly lines and supplies is rising. We can take advantage of an opportunity to create a technology service or even a manpower service that requires less people such as software or coding and stay away from ideas that require much manpower and also much supplies. I believe the prototypical customer would still have to be organizations because we cannot operate a high operational cost business and if in software, our product would be for distribution to organizations. I think this idea isn't difficult to exploit because we are taking common knowledge of increasing wages and making it beneficial to us to have the most success.
• I think I see this opportunity because I have always been one to find a situation that may affect some and turn it into a positive for me in this sense taking wages increasing and making it fit a mold that can improve and be beneficial to my opportunity.

Opportunity 3: US vs. China

• This came from PriceWaterCoopers and examines the ongoing dilemma between the Trump Administration and their stance on China. I believe an opportunity exists in China even if administration wants to back away. In general, I believe the Asian market is an untapped market and since it is fast growing and continues in development, there is an opportunity to cater a service to the people of China should there be a way in. I believe we can take advantage because of a saturated USA market and if we are fine with no support from the government and dealing in international business, this opportunity to provide services to the Asian market such as travel agencies or entertainment is growing and well beneficial to us. This is difficult to exploit however because China does not allow much access to its people or outside businesses which will take work.
• I think I see this opportunity because I came in contact with a luxury travel planner this year who explained a similar example and I believe that it was a brilliant idea if accomplished as it will target a market that hasn't been tapped yet.

Opportunity 4: Deregulation

• This came from PriceWaterCoopers as well and focuses on the deregulation on multiple industries in America. I believe an opportunity exists with the deregulation for more investment opportunities. More regulation leads to less investments so it is difficult to raise capital or start ideas. I believe this deregulation allows more ideas and opportunities to go and even if there is not a clear cut prototypical customer for an idea, the concept is still relevant. It is easier to exploit due to the fact that deregulation benefits investment and thus provides capital to opportunities and ideas.
• I think I see this opportunity because I always have had the belief that capital is required and necessary to get an idea off the ground and thus it is always a factor in my thinking and actions.

5A- Identifying Local Opportunities

• Sun-Sentinel: Layover at Fort Lauderdale? - Things to do nearby instead of being bored at the airport
• http://www.southflorida.com/events/sf-fort-lauderdale-things-to-do-layover-airport-20180826-story.html 
• The article is about things to do while in Ft. Lauderdale during a layover at an airport. It gives many different types of advice such as a tattoo shop, parks, etc... This is more of an article meant to inform the reader on things to do in Fort Lauderdale if only there for a short time.
• The problem presented in the story is that people who are flying into Fort Lauderdale airport or any airport in general have the unmet need of occupying their time and need things to do to pass the time.
• The people who have the problem is travelers to South Florida. It doesn't just have to be people on layovers but can be anyone who passes the time at the airport. Could be businessmen or typical tourists.

• Sun-Sentinel: 'Space Coast Town Center' planned
• https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2018/09/07/space-coast-town-center-melbourne/1189186002/
• This article centers around a proposed plan to build a massive town center in West Melbourne in undeveloped land. We have seen town centers before around the country but it hasn't been done in this area before. Similar plans have failed in the past but this area of Florida is developing and growing and thus needs a community center.
• The problem presented here is that the people of Melbourne do not have a place to gather that we see other cities have. This unmet need of entertainment, community, etc... is working to be filled by this town center. 
• The people who have the problem are the people of Melbourne which is made up of a wide variety of individuals. They need entertainment like all individuals as a break from reality.

• Miami Herald: Baptist Health South Florida has a new CFO
• https://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article218184485.html
• This article explains the new hire by Baptist Health after the retirement of their old CFO. It explains the tasks of the new CFO as well as detailing the huge role that the organization plays in South Florida Health. 
• The problem in this story is that now, a huge company must take a step forward with a new executive and the future is uncertain for them to see how they will respond which can open the door for another similar company to take a share of the market.
• Right now, Baptist Health as an organization has the problem which creates the opportunity for other companies if handled poorly.

• Gainesville Sun: Hunger in Alachua County is real, but groups work to help
• https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180912/hunger-in-alachua-county-is-real-but-groups-work-to-help
• This article describes the problem with hunger Alachua county faces. It affects a lot of communities and is not just limited to our community. It also describes that people you know may be effected as well which could be a reason why its such an issue. It describes an organization helping as well but the article works to bring it to light.
• The problem is that people are effected by hunger yet it is not the shortage of food but instead the access to it whether it be price or number of food banks, etc...
• Nobody is safe from hunger so it affects many people. They do not have to be the homeless or those in poverty and can include our fellow classmates.

• Palm Beach Post: Wellington seeks to pass smell test on manure issue
• https://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-palm-beach-post/20180910/281848644494465
• The article focuses on Palm Beach county and their issue with the amount of horse manure that they have to deal with. The county holds over 28,000 horses which produces excess manure that has to be either distributed for use or disposed of. It causes a smell and also a problem in how to deal with it.
• The problem is that because Palm Beach County is a horse owner county and is responsible for many races, etc... they must deal with an issue that isn't commonly thought of, how to deal with waste. There are facilities now that dispose of the waste but they must show proof of buyers or proper management of the waste. Also the problem of illegal dumping is apparent because of the number of horses and so few sites.
• The people with the problem are not only the horse owners that must deal with the manure but also the facilities responsible for disposing or selling. We also know that all palm beach county residents must deal with the smell so also have an issue.

4A- Forming An Opportunity Belief

After giving some thought to this assignment, it takes more than just sitting around and thinking about an unmet need and instead requires some sort of research and observation of other people to determine an unmet need. After paneling some fellow peers and other people, I have determined an unmet need that needs to be addressed in some way.

My belief is that there is an unmet need of community as of now. By community, I mean the feeling of belonging in a group that shares the same interests, etc... The reason I came up with this as my unmet need was as I looked at myself, I realized that I myself regardless of the certain communities I was a part of such as sports communities, clubs, etc... still had a desire to belong to more community and others expressed that same idea. I believe that most people with the exception of just very few individuals have the need to join a community or have a sense of belonging to one. I believe this need has always existed as it is nothing new because people long for the need to belong to a group as we see when people identify with sports teams, organizations, Churches, etc... Like I said, most people as of now join these groups to meet this need as of now but people still have problems finding a group to belong. Some people also have to urge to be a part of many communities that even the ones they are in now are not enough to suffice. After all this information, I believe that an opportunity exists in some capacity even though right now all that I have gotten to so far is the unmet need and no tangible idea. I would say about 85-90% that this need can make an opportunity.

I believe the prototypical customer is very broad as most people have the need for community. the customer may not fit an actual mold of an age group, demographic, etc... but the prototypical customer may have the same set of interests in order to make a community. Our unmet need is broad which makes our prototypical customer broad until we can narrow it down. Because of this, our three prototypical customers are from different walks of life.

Iteration #1: Male, Age 21

For this interview, I asked my roommate some of the basic questions to get a gauge of a sense of his understanding on the need of community. When posing the need to him, his response was one that did not immediately recognize this as a need but once he thought about it in a sense of his needs, he saw where it is a necessary need to be met for humans. He believes all humans are social beings that long to be a part of a group whether it be nationalism, organizations on campus, friendship groups, etc... He said that this need has been with him since as long as he can remember and that the need needs to be met occasionally but not at all times of the day. To address his need, he currently follows many sports teams which allow him to have a sense of community with others who like the same team and he also has a community at his current place of employment. He is satisfied as of now because he has some sense of community yet did mention that more community would not be a bad thing and wouldn't mind more.

Iteration #2: Female, Age 54

For this interview, I asked an older woman to get a differing opinion on what her thoughts were on the subject. When asking her about the need of community, she was not entirely sold on the idea that it was a need for her specifically but she could relate to the need in other people as a reason for the many communities and groups we see today. She said that she does not experience a need or longing for community now but when she was younger, she had a longing to be a part of communities. She realized that as she got older, there is a less need in her eyes for community. To address this need, she still has family and work and friends, but she does not look to belong to community as my roommate does. She is satisfied with her solution to it.

Iteration #3: Male, Age 61

For my last interview, I asked my neighbor who is part of many communities to find the reasoning behind his extreme involvement to fill this need. He believes that community is one of the most important things in his life as it gives his life purpose as well as meaning to meet new people and also stay busy as you progress later in life. Ever since he was young, he noticed this need of community and has done whatever he can to be an active participant in community throughout his life. HE has always been aware of this need and has done things such as participating in Church, basketball groups, college friendship groups, volunteering, etc... He stays busy and believes this is the right solution of meeting his community need and he has no regrets of it.

After interviewing all three people, I learned a lot of things that I had not known previously about my opportunity to meet the need of community. The first thing I learned is that there is an opportunity as even the people who do not think that there is a need of community still have some communities they are a part of. I also learned that people even in the same age group have differing opinions as we saw in two of my interviews. I also learned that younger individuals tend to be in more communities as we saw that as you get older some believe that community isn't as important as when you are younger.

I believe at the beginning of this I thought that the prototypical customer was so broad that almost everyone was encompassed in it. Through these three interviews however I recognize that the opportunity is diminished a little as not everyone longs for community. I think the original opportunity is definitely still there of meeting this need but just needs more focus and concentration. I believe the opportunity is more accurate because we now have a little clearer view of our customer and what people want. I think entrepreneurs should adapt opportunities to their customers feedback because as we have learned, you cannot create a need in people and if your belief is incorrect then you must adapt to people's needs.

3A- My Entrepreneurship Story

When I think back to a time where I was exposed to entrepreneurship, the best memory I can think of was last year in my facilities operations class here at the University of Florida. For a group project that we had in our class, we had to create a facility for a need in the community of our choosing. This project gave us the opportunity to use our creativity to not only identify a need for the community but also secure land and create a budget and plan to bring the service to the community. Our group ended up creating a kid's water park in San Antonio, Texas because we determined a need for a water park exclusively for kids. The entire project was a huge learning experience and allowed our entire group to learn skills not only in operating facilities but also in an entrepreneurial sense. It was a difficult project/venture but in the end to watch the development of a facility that we created from start to finish get completed was a great accomplishment. You don't realize how much goes into building a facility or coming up with an idea that when it comes time to actual practice it, it becomes a great learning experience.

I enrolled into ENT3003 because I needed a four credit class in order to graduate on time. However, I also picked this class because entrepreneurship to me is such an interesting topic and venture that I wanted to also take a class that was not boring and had no value to me as I progress through my career. Now being in the class, I am glad I am taking it because the structure is very suitable for my schedule and also the value I can take out of this class is being catered to me and how I approach the class. 

2A-Bug List

Bug List

1. The Drive-Thru line at almost every Chick-fil-A restaurant is always wrapped around the building.
• Chick-fil-A is a popular and thus busy restaurant and possibly the limited space it is in causes backups and long lines.
2. My apartment complex's fitness center only has one set of free weights for each increment of weight.
• The complex may not have the funds in the budget in order to purchase more free weights for the gym considering all the properties they own.
3. In my softball league, the park only assigns one umpire to each game which leads to missed calls.
• There may not be enough umpires on the staff in order to accommodate having two at each game 
4. On school days, the places to eat along Midtown open at 11am instead of 10:30am.
• It may not be economically feasible for them to be open for those 30 minutes that I want them to be open.
5. The price of coffee and food at Starbucks.
• They have the market and their customers are willing to pay the price for their quality and service.
6. In pickup basketball, the person who dresses and acts like they know how to play but in actuality, is not very good.
• They may want to dress well and look the part no matter what their skill is in the sport.
7. In pickup basketball, the person who takes whatever happened during the game to heart.
• They may actually believe the actions during the game were meaningful and not done because of the competitive nature of the game. 
8. At the gym, the person who does heavy weights, doesn't re-rack them and force someone else to do it. 
• They could forget to or believe they are above others and their payment to the gym should exclude themselves from re-racking weights.
9. The traffic on Archer Road during the week especially during rush hour.
• Many restaurants and stores are on this road and it is also one of the main roads of the Gainesville area that connects to highways, campus, etc...
10. When you order food at a restaurant or drive thru, they repeat the order back to you for confirmation, yet the food still comes out wrong.
• It may be a communication issue on the cooks end and not the person who took the order.
11. Every start to the semester, my computer always has trouble connecting to the UF WiFi on campus.
• I may not have the proper updates on my computer and for security issues the WiFi is secure.
12. In Turlington Plaza, even though I am wearing headphones, the people passing out pamphlets still think to stop me.
• They are doing their job and they will do whatever to get the word out about their cause no matter my thoughts.
13. Right when you are about to be productive and get your homework done, someone decides it's the perfect time to call you.
• For them, it is a good time. They also do not know my schedule or what I am doing and perhaps I procrastinated too long.
14. At my apartment complex, the gate to enter our community sometimes will not work, making it more difficult to get home after a long day.
• Technology can have malfunctions and even an amenity as security can have issues without a physical person at the gate.
15. At Publix, when I order something online for pickup at a certain time and it is not ready on time and I must wait for them to start my order.
• They may not have seen the order or were dealing with a rush that caused the issue with my order.
16. The amount of money that you have to pay to park at a sporting event or concert after already paying a lot of money to just attend the event.
• To park close to the event is a privilege and not a right and thus the extra money must be paid for convenience.
17. When you move into a new apartment yet there are still issues and things left from the previous tenants.
• The complex may not see the issues I have as their responsibility and thus left them as is.
18. When you text somebody a question and they do not respond but then you see them active on social media later in the day.
• They possibly forgot to respond or do not want to deal with my question at that moment in time as they view it as a nuisance.
19. When your favorite team plays in a big game yet looks unprepared and undisciplined and gets blown out by the other team.
• The other team may simply just be better. The team also may not have had proper game plan or coaching or did not execute like anticipated.
20. People who are playing video games and when something sub-par happens to them, they blame the game and not themselves.
• They want to deflect blame to something that does not diminish themselves.

I found coming up with this list as extremely difficult because even though these are not the only bugs that I have in my life, it took a lot of observing, thinking and experiencing to come up with these 20. I found it difficult as well because we are quick to have these bugs but never express them which almost puts them in the back of our memory. This exercise allowed me to really see my bugs and also see more and notice things that I did not previously realize bothered me.