20A – Growing your Social Capital

Person 1: Apple Employee – John
Apple is the main supplier for all wireless charging platforms for iPhone 8s and above. Employees at Apple would be a technical expert in this type of field and knows a lot about this type of service. I found John by calling their customer service line and asking for a representative to talk logistics to. To exploit this opportunity, I asked John the basics to specifics about how wireless chargers work, how to install them using my business idea, and his opinion on my pricing strategy.

Person 2: Samsung Employee - Ashley
Samsung has been trying to enter into the wireless charging market to compete more with Apple. I spoke with Ashley, an employee and user of an Android phone, to gain her technical experience of this service. To enter this market, Samsung had to go through a lot of customer researching and marketing to be well known. I found Ashley by calling their customer service phone number and asking to speak to their manager. To exploit this opportunity, I asked Ashley how Samsung charging platform compares to Apple’s, what she thinks about my business plan and pricing strategy, and what else I could include. 

Person 3: Walmart - Christina
Walmart is a main supplier for wireless chargers of any phone type. They carry a lot of different technology options for their customers to purchase at a low price. Christina, a general manager at the local Walmart, was able to explain their supply chain process. I found them by calling the Gainesville location and asking to speak with a person who holds the highest position available in that specific store. To exploit this opportunity, I asked Christina a series of questions ranging from the process of the supply chain from manufacturing their chargers and selling it directly to customers to how the quality of one over other based on Apple versus Samsung.

Reflect:
By networking with these 3 people above, I was able to gain a lot of insight into this technology industry and develop a more reasonable grasp on my business idea and plans. In future networking events, I will aim to ask more targeted prepared questions and ask to speak to higher management workers. In the past at my networking events, I would ask 1 good question to many different people to see what different answers people can give.

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You. My name is Jessica Papagno and I am a senior working towards my combined degree with a bachelor’s in marketing and master’s in information systems specializing in data analytics and business intelligence. As a beginning entrepreneur, I plan on taking everything I have learned and putting it into practice in my new tech start-up.

2) What are you offering to customers? My product is to install wireless chargers on all tables in every UF library. This offers more time for students to study through the day and night in preparation for exams. As a service, we would be offering $3 per hour of regular wireless charging and $5 for fast changing. This business could be expanded to general UF classrooms, local restaurants, etc. and will also include a wider variety of wireless charging platforms as technology continues to develop.

3) Who are you offering it to? We are marketing to all UF current students who studies in the library. These would include freshmen through seniors as well as graduate students who never carry their computer or phone chargers around campus and also stay up late at night studying. These students would also put convenience over price.

4) Why do they care? Customers will pay for this service, so they can keep studying for their exams for how long they want. This would be a convenience factor for students that would be willing to spend a few dollars instead of walking all the way home.

5) What are you core competencies? Our service is very unique and new to the market that no one company offers. Right now, students have to drag around their chargers around campus to use multiple times a day. Once this technology of wireless charging is invented for all types of phones and computers, we would be the cheapest service of $3 per hour at each table in the libraries.

I believe all these elements above fit together very well. It perfectly describes the majority of all college students and their convenience factor. I got some great feedback from my first idea napkin. I took into consideration the price sensitivity to ensure the most students use the service. Another improvement from my feedback would be to expand it to many different locations after proof of concept.

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

I got a lot of good feedback from my first elevator pitch. It was very relatable with imagery and real world uses and examples. I like how I organized my elevator pitch in the first one to give other solutions to the overall problem and having the last solution be my business idea. To improve in this 2nd elevator pitch, I was more professional with better lighting and attire while expanding the story line more.

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

My prototypical customer for this wireless charging service would be 18-21-year-old students who work primarily in the libraries around campus. This student would be seen as the nerdy one getting work done in advance and crams for their exams throughout the night. They are mildly involved around campus but know that their studies come first. They have a scooter to get to campus and back to the apartment or dorm.

I am very similar to my customer avatar. I always put my studies first and always study in the library regularly. I do not think this is a coincidence since I was the first to recognize this problem. Entrepreneurs try to solve the problems that people have so we first think of what problems we experience.

16A – What’s Your Secret Sauce?

1) What is it about me that makes me different?
- Masters in a computer and tech field
- Uses the product daily
- Hard-working ethic
- Determination to succeed
- Passion for the advancement in tech
- Self-motivation for making progress
- Certifications in many platforms
- Previous experience in this field

2) Interviews
- Jordan says that I am very motivated in getting work done efficiently and effectively. This is seen in the smallest of assignment and tasks in the short term to the long run in carrying out products and studying.
- Travis said that I have strong leadership skills and communication skills. This is shown well when hosting club meetings and giving presentations.
- Destiny states that I have good time management and try to get a little bit accomplished every day instead of waiting for the last minute. This is a great skill to have when carrying out long term plans and understanding work fully.
- Hailey says that I am a motivated person in things I am passionate about, especially technology. By starting a business in the technology field, she thinks that I can carry it a long way on motivation and passion.
- Working in an internship in the past, Kate mentioned that I my professional experience and certifications will set me apart from others. By having this previous knowledge, I will have more access to resources and a wider network that I can use in a start-up business.

3) Reflection on the differences
- I think I am seen and show the same range of qualities and attributes. There is not much of a variation between the above list and interviews and agree they are correct. Some corrections to my list inn part 1 that I would add would be to include a good networker and personable attributes. This describes a lot about my personality and motivation towards anything.

15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Interview 1
John studies in Marston every day in between classes and expressed that he would use the wireless charging service. He doesn’t care about the charge per minute since it would only be for a short amount of time anyways. The only factor that John cares about is the quality of the service, which is measured in if the chargers work. When looking back on the purchase, he only cares about the specific number increase in charge after using the charger. It would only be a bad idea if the increase in charge increased less than 10%.

Interview 2
Emily studies in Marston after dinner into the late night and would use this wireless charging service, as well. Price would matter to her because she would be constantly using it and might have to wait to get a charge. The quality is very important because the charger has to work so she doesn’t waste her money. Looking back after the purchase, Emily is concerned about only holding the charge until she gets home later that night.

Interview 3
Michael studies at Newell through the night, especially during exam time. Price would not matter to him because this would be a necessity to have his technology charged. The quality would be a very important factor, especially if there is a fast charging option. After the purchase, Michael is only concerned with having the minimal charge on his technology to get him through the night.

Summary and Conclusion
John, Emily, and Michael all agree that the wireless charging would be a useful resource in the libraries around campus. Quality of the charge would matter especially if there is a fast charging option and to get to the most out of their money. Where the price wouldn’t be a deciding factor, they would prefer it to be in a reasonable range and convenient. Only the libraries and the students individually would be involved in the purchase decision and it would be an on the spot purchase. They would all pay in cash, by Venmo, or automatically by UF’s charging online platform. In conclusion, the most important factor to this service is getting the most charge in the least amount of time at the lowest monetary value, while having an adequate amount of chargers to not relocate

13A – Reading Reflection No.1

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

1) About the entrepreneur: Elon Musk
- What are you most surprised about?
o I am most surprised about the opening sentence in this giant book is, “Do you think I’m insane?” This immediately tells us that he is aware of how outrageous the public views his thoughts but still is confident in every decision he makes. He does not change his business ideas and goals to be what is socially acceptable. By addressing the answer to this question first, definitely grasps the reader’s attention to wanting to know the answer.

- What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
o I most admire Elon Musk’s willingness to take a risk and invent new possibilities. It’s said that, “he could not have picked a faster way to destroy his fortune but by throwing $100 million into SpaceX, $70 million into Tesla, and $10 million into SolarCity.” Even though no other people would have taken that risk, he shows passion to better society and prove that there are more things to invent, do, and see in this world. One man from South Africa completely took over 2 of the most well-known cities in California, Silicon Valley and Los Angeles, with these companies.

- What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
o The thing I least admire about Elon Musk is the way this book describes his communication. It states that, “he’ll often go rumbling down an esoteric, scientific rabbit hole without providing any helping hands or simplified explanations along the way.” This makes it very confusing for the public to understand where he is coming from and wants to go with all of his business. I think that he would have a much better grasp on everyone if he takes a minute to step back, put himself in our shoes to understand projects, and not be too much like an engineer. His companies and himself would be much more celebrated if he directly spoke to the audience instead of going through PR stunts.

- Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
o Elon Musk faced a lot of adversity and failure through the years because the public and press hasn’t seen a high-risk engineer like him since Steve Jobs. People called him crazy and unrealistic only giving false hope for the “ideas of tomorrow.” One of his biggest downfalls were when the second SpaceX launch failed, and the Tesla production was delayed. With the stress of this, Musk’s home life with his marriage and triplets also suffered, ultimately leading to a divorce. But he faced these hard times by taking another look at his life after their divorce and having a more organized life. He spent half the week in one city solely focusing all his efforts on that company and spent the other half of the week in another city solely focusing his efforts on that company.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
a. Strategic and influential leadership as well as evaluating performance goals are some of his noticeable competencies as an entrepreneur. By taking charge in his ideas and starting business like these shows he knows how to take a leadership position and effectively demonstrate his thought process. Also looking back at their business accomplishments and failures as a whole better help sets their goals realistically for the future. Know that this SpaceX launch failed or there was a bug in the Tesla model and taking the action to fix those makes it a successful company.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
a. One part of the read that was really confusing for me was when Elon Musk states, “I would like to die on Mars” in the last paragraph of the book. I would think that of his hard work and accomplishments with these companies, he would want to stay on Earth and see his businesses become more successful of the years. By living on Mars, he would have no connection with anyone back home leaving his wife and kids as well as all the businessmen looking for his advice.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
a. My first question would be, why would you put any amount of money or business deals over a relationship with your family? As his wife self-reflected on their marriage, she became sickened and felt like a trophy wife than anything else. I would think Musk would be happier, calm, and more efficient if he had the support of his family behind him.
b. My second question would be, have you ever thought about selling all of your companies and assets and retiring early? Even though I know he would say absolutely not because of his entrepreneur mindset, I think it would be interesting to hear his explanation and passion for his achievements. But at some point, in his life he will be too old for all of these responsibilities, it is just a matter of when he is willing to let go and to whom he is pass everything off to.

5) What do you think the entrepreneur’s opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
a. I think Elon Musk’s opinion of hard work is merely working as hard as you possibly can until you can’t anymore. By staying at all hours of the night and flying between many different cities around the US every other day, he is putting in everything he can offer. I definitely do not share this option of “hard work.” Instead I think people should work smarter with the support other people by your side to achieve something. I think Elon Musk is just take on too many things for himself and it will fail, just like it has in the past.

14A - Halfway Reflection

Entrepreneurship isn’t supposed to be easy, unless everyone would be millionaires by now. There are troubles and struggles that stop most people, but make the ones who stick through it. Customers may not see a need for your idea or the pricing might be too high. While my business idea of implementing wireless chargers in libraries was at a low point, I pushed through by taking in and implementing people’s feedback. By doing this, I changed my ideas to include an hourly service charge by device and expanding the locations to outside tables, classrooms, restaurants, and coffee shops are Gainesville instead of just the libraries.

To keep up with the requirements of this course, I would read the assignments in the beginning of the week and think through it for a few days. Then bullet point my ideas mid-week, finally completing it entirely at the end of the week. As advice to give future students, I would say to taking in other’s opinions wholeheartedly and if you get into a tight situation then look at the situation from a different perspective. It’s possible to develop a tenacious mindset by constantly checking your idea’s value in a customer’s point of view and turning the pushbacks into opportunities.

12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Segment: Current UF students who are enrolled full time in Gainesville who study best in the library.  I call this segment the "4.0ers."

Interview 1: Nick, a full-time freshman student who lives in Murphree Hall, studies best at library west. Since he has very early morning classes, he recognizes his need for his charger around the afternoon. It becomes a situation when he is too far from his dorm to go back for his chargers. The first thing he usually does when seeing this need is grab the next bus back to his dorm, but it makes it very inconvenient. When they search on Google for a similar product or service, he searches for a small portable charger.

Interview 2: Ethan, a junior business major living at Tolbert Hall, studies best at Marston. Since his classes are in the middle of the afternoon, he is typically studying at the library around the late afternoon into dinner time. When he realizes this need, he usually uses his portable charger, which is usually out of charge. He goes to the library to look for outlets close to any tables, otherwise he goes back to his dorm room.

Interview 3: Rick, a senior sophomore living off campus, studies best at Newell library since it is 24/7. He has many late classes from 2pm-8pm going to the library at night around 10pm until 3am when he needs to study. Since he lives off campus, Rick doesn’t want to go back home unnecessarily. To find a solution to his charging problem, he would ask people nearby to borrow their chargers or ask to borrow the front desk chargers in return of his Gator ID.

Conclusion: All three of my interviews drew to the same conclusion of bringing around a portable charger, just going home, or asking someone else for a charger. All though they see the importance of this product when they get the need of their technology dying, there are other alternatives, which I didn’t think about before. By introducing this product into the market of all libraries, all of these students would be interested in taking on this service.

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1) You. My name is Jessica Papagno and I am completing my combined degree with a bachelor’s in marketing and master’s in information systems specializing in data analytics and business intelligence. As a senior at the University of Florida in the business school, I have developed the passion to see and improve all forms of businesses at any stage they are at. As a beginning entrepreneur, I plan on taking everything I have learned and putting it into practice in my start-up.

2) What are you offering to customers? My product is to install wireless chargers on all tables in every UF library. This offers more time for students to study through the day and night in preparation for exams. The characteristics of my customers would be administration for UF, while the users of the products would be current UF students. This business could be expanded to general UF classrooms, local restaurants, and so on.

3) Who are you offering it to? We are marketing to all UF current students who studies in the library. These would include freshmen through seniors as well as graduate students who never carry their computer or phone chargers around campus and also stay up late at night studying.

4) Why do they care? Customers will pay for this service, so they can keep studying for their exams for how long they want. This would be a convenience factor for students that would be willing to spend a dollar or two instead of walking all the way home. 

5) What are you core competencies? Our service is very unique and new to the market that no one company offers. Right now, students have to drag around their chargers around campus to use multiple times a day. Once this technology of wireless charging is invented for all types of phones and computers, we would be the cheapest service of $1 per hour at each table in the libraries.