The Twenty Percent

The owner I interviewed was an over the phone interview so I was not able to record it. But the person I interviewed started their own company designing and selling dance and active wear.

1. They believe that their target customers are dancers between the ages or 3 to 18. While most of theirs customers are between the ages of 7 and 13. The customers unmet needs were dance wear that was fashionable and would last a long time and not wear out, fade, or get holes. They get a lot of their customers from dance conventions and competitions across the US. The demographic of their customers is more upper middle class because it is not very cheap. The social media their customers use is mostly Facebook and Instagram.

2.

3. I believe that the owner of the company understands the customers problems and that they do not have any problems or need to change any problems with their products.

Week 8 Reading Reflection

1. I was most surprised by the idea of crowdfunding and social lending. I am surprised that there are low-risk mechanisms for start-up companies. It also surprises me that the social lending process doesn't have more regulatory policies implemented.

2. I was confused on the types of debt financing sources for entrepreneurs. The types were  all very similar and had very small differences between them to be able to differentiate them so it was hard for me to understand.

3. The first question I would ask is where the author came up with the numbers for the "Informal Risk: Capital Angel Financing" paragraph. I would ask this because things would changed per person depending on how the person lives their ives and want to invest.

The second question I would like to ask is, how do public offerings differ from offering stock in one's company? I would ask this because I would like to know how it all works more in depth.

4. I did not think anything was done wrong and I don't disagree with anything the author said.

Half-way Reflection

1. I had to become very good at keeping up with the assignments ad making sure I managed my time. I also had to learn how to be comfortable interviewing people.

2. I have felt like giving up when I found out I had to interview strangers. What pulled me through was my friend who said that she would do it with me so that I would feel less uncomfortable. I feel like I have developed a tenacious attitude by having to do assignments almost everyday.

3. ~1. Being on top of your game and continuing to make sure you get all the assignments done as soon as possible.
    ~2. By forcing yourself to do the work no matter what and just persevering.

Free Money

1. I chose to go to people in Turlington.

2. I will approach people who are walking through like someone who is tabling would.

3. I will start the conversation by asking if they want a dollar.

4. My plan for the conversation is to start with a question and see what they say. I feel like people will be confused but I will tell them that it is free and I felt like being generous today to see if they take it.

5. Out of the five dollar bills I think I will be able to give away all 5.

~I did not get to video tape this because $5 could get me Jimmy Johns or something. #BrokeCollegeStudent~

Week 7 Reading Reflection

1. I was surprised that people in the 60's were already relying a lot on advertising and the emotional attachment of objects rather than their functionality.

2. I was confused by why senior management wouldn't jump on board if they have the scientific data to back up segmentation.

3. I would first ask the author what sample size most marketing companies use when they develop new products based on segmentation.

The next question would be how often a company should do research like this.

4. I did not disagree with anything the author said or think that they were wrong.

Elevator Pitch No. 2

In my elevator pitch, this time I changed my location of filming and changed what I said. Last time I was a bit nervous and kept stumbling over my words so this time I tried to be better about that. I also made sure that it was a full 60 seconds this time. Other than that all the feedback I got, was very helpful and forced me to make sure I changed those things.

Week 6 Reading Reflection

1. The most surprising thing that I saw was the profitability chart. I was surprised to see that soft drinks are second in profitability behind security brokers and dealers. Although, I can understand that coming from the fact that almost every house from my experience has soda.

2. I would've liked more explanation on the 5 forces that shape competition industry chart as well as the return on investment chart. I was confused by what company they were talking about and what the 5 forces chart meant.

3. I would ask the author to explain the charts in more detail and how can one better watch out for indirect substitutes? 

4.I did not disagree with anything they said.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1. I am very good at marketing, sales, and financial aspects of businesses. I have worked for Student Government Finance as well as at a company doing jobs all across the board from accounting to social media. My aspirations are to help people and make a difference in their lives with my business.

2. The product I would be offering, is one to help others organize and coordinate their lives so they are able to better manage their time. It would be an app on your phone to help you organize dates by color grouping, lists for things like groceries or to-dos, as well as a way to sync it to your computer to disable the use of certain sites, like Netflix or Buzzfeed, for extended periods of time to decreases distractions.

3. The app would be best suited for high school to college-aged students who have to juggle a social life, school, and free time efficiently.

4. People would pay money for this app if they are one who is easily distracted and not good at managing their time. Some people struggle with grades because they don't complete assignments, or don't do them to the best of their ability because of a lack of time.

5. My app incorporates more than other list or calendar apps do. It also can keep you from being unproductive by blocking certain websites until the time runs out on the app. So if you set it for an hour, you can't access Netflix until that hour is up.

I believe all of these concepts go together. I know of all of these products being sold separately, but not combined. I believe with the demographic we would be focusing on and the product itself, there would be a huge market willing to buy this product. More importantly, parents would be willing to pend money on the product in order to ensure their child does well in school and stays on track.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

I was mostly surprised by the fact that there are so many types and classes for ways a first-year start up could fail. I could think of a few but I would not have thought about a lot of them.

I was confused by how the methods for seeing if a venture was practical were so similar. They all started to look very similar because they went so in depth.

I would first ask the author what type of failure is the most common because if I ever start up a company, it would be the first thing that I would try to avoid doing.

The second question I would ask is if hiring an outside advisor would help a start up. I think this may take the stress off starting a new business and keep the chance of failure low.

I did not disagree with the author.

Interviewing Customers No. 2

1. After the first round of interviews, I found that people do have issues dealing with time management, but a lot less than I expected.

2. I stuck with interviewing college students, but this time I tried to interview guys as well. They seem to have a different opinion on time management and their skills differ from girls.

3. I didn't change my questions because my questions already encompassed what I needed to know.

4. I think my opportunity is still the same as it was after the first 5 interviews. There is still a need for time management skills. What I found to be different is that the boys tend to be much less organized than the girls were.

5. My 3 tips are:

• Be confident in yourself, it will make you and the person you're interviewing less nervous.
• Ask open-ended questions because it makes people open up more.
• Explain why you are interviewing them so they understand and are not weirded out.

Elevator Pitch No. 1

My pitch is for a company called Finder. Most people have a problem losing their phone, keys or other items and spend long periods of time searching for them. Finder specializes in a tag that you put on your key ring and connect to your cell phone in an app that lets you find your phone when you lose your keys and vice versa. The company is also developing dots that connect to the app on your phone that you put on other items like your remote or other easily lost household items to help you find them.