Assignment 10A: Elevator Pitch No. 1

https://youtu.be/F3AqxsaLehk

Assignment 9A: Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who: I think there are a few main categories of people that fall outside the boundaries of my opportunity. First, there can be people that just don’t care for pasta, which is what the restaurant is solely based on. There can also be people that don’t spend money to eat take-out. Lastly, people who are dieting may have second thoughts about coming to this restaurant.  

What: I think the point of differentiation is customizability. The need for dine-in restaurant pasta is not the same as the need for build-your-own pasta. There is a lot that can be added that you couldn’t get with a normal bowl of pasta. 

Why: I don’t think the underlying cause of the outsider’s need is different from the insider’s need. I think all have a need to satiate their hunger and all could choose to do so at this restaurant. 

Interview #1: This person always cooks and they don’t see the need for someone else to make something that they could make for themselves. Also, they believe they would save a lot of money to make the pasta on their own. 

Interview #2: This person has been known to try a number of diets. They know that there are options like zucchini noodles or sweet potato noodles. They think coming into the restaurant will lead to temptation and them eventually caving and getting a bowl of pasta 

Interview #3: This person just doesn’t like pasta. They think the idea would be cool, but they don’t really have a desire to be a customer. 

Interview #4: The customizability doesn’t really matter to this person. They don’t believe that this restaurant can really add much more to a bowl of pasta that they wouldn’t get at any other restaurant selling pasta. 

Interview #5: There are too many restaurants in Gainesville. This person has a set palate with specific desired restaurants. They don’t think adding one more restaurant to the city would increasing the likelihood that they would go there. 

Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary
Who is In  People who like pasta  College students  Families who have to cook often for a number of people  People who need low-cost options for food	Who is Not  People on keto and other diets  People who don’t like pasta  People who don’t eat out often/at all
What the Need Is  The need is for a pasta that can be more/ have more than a typical alfredo or chicken parmesan could offer. A pasta that you could deck out with all of your heart’s desires for cheaper than you would get almost anywhere.	What the Need Is Not  Any pasta that exists in various restaurants around Gainesville, and in the world
Why the Need Exists  People need an alternative to low-cost fast food that is a certain quality. They also need to be able to get pasta for cheaper and faster than they could at a dine-in restaurant.	Alternative Explanations  People need to feel like they are getting a deal to use your product/service. A customizable pasta bowl under $12 is getting more for less.

Assignment 8A: Solving The Problem

My selected opportunity was the lack of cheap, quick pasta in Gainesville. There are a lot of Italian restaurants in Gainesville, but a bowl of pasta starts at $10. Furthermore, the wait time for those bowls of pasta are upwards of 15-20 minutes. This is simply for the simple pasta noodles and sauce. The upcharges for meat and seafood additives and a specialty type of pasta increase the value of these dishes to about $13-$17 and sometimes well over $20. My solution is to create a centralized pasta restaurant that provides low cost, quality dishes of the carbs we love the most. The idea would be a build your own pasta bowl restaurant that wouldn’t upcharge for the extra ingredients that are so essential to a good bowl of pasta. There would be a few set items on the menu that come with a specific combination of ingredients that you could purchase. The idea is that it is a food line set up where you move through the line and pick what you want. I would try to set the price range from about $7-$11. The simple pasta and sauce dishes would be the $7 dishes. If you did a build your own bowl or had a lot of additives it would be about $8-$10. I would also try to make vegan accommodations and healthier noodles like the sweet potato noodles. Those dishes would probably be about $10-$11. However, there would be no upcharge for specific ingredient additives such as meats, common seafoods, vegetables, cheeses, and sauces.  

Assignment 7A: Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Opportunity: The lack of cheap pasta in Gainesville. 

Hypothesis: Residents and students in Gainesville are unable to get cheap pasta quickly because the only restaurants that sell pasta are healthy places like Bolay or fancier, Italian style restaurants like Olive Garden

The who: Residents and students in Gainesville

The what: the inability to get cheap pasta quickly
The why: The only restaurants that sell pasta are healthy places like Bolay or fancier, Italian style restaurants like Olive Garden

Interview #1: This person thought that they would go to a restaurant that solely served pasta but they weren’t sure if others would. They have a true love for pasta but aren’t sure if others share in the same sentiment; especially since the surrounding restaurants have such good pasta. 

Interview #2: This person believed that there may be a sizeable target market for ways to get cheaper pasta in Gainesville. They liked the idea because they recognize expensive and time consuming getting a bowl of pasta is. They said they would like to take away the hassle of having to go to a dine-in restaurant and wait 20 minutes to get pasta. 

Interview #3: This person believes that there may not be that many customers for such a restaurant. They don’t think that having a place for only pasta will stay in business for long. They believe there are so many great restaurants have pasta and they don’t mind going to each of these different restaurants to experience these different dishes. 

Interview #4: This person believed that it would be hard to create a new restaurant and gain traction. They made the point that Gainesville has so many restaurants that it is many be hard for a new small business to gain the customers, on a consistent basis, necessary to keep the shop open. 

Interview #5: This said they would not go to a cheaper pasta restaurant. They feel as though this type of restaurant would diminish the quality in of pasta that they receive. They go to higher priced restaurants to get pasta that they feel is worth the money.  

I think that these interviews showed me that my who and my why may be lacking in some respect. I found out that this opportunity may not affect all of Gainesville, or even all students, but if a solution existed, they would partake of it. I also realized that people may not have an issue with having to get higher priced pasta, or having to wait so long for it.  

Assignment 6: Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

1) Create a healthy, cost-effective alternative to present a majority of fresh foods in food desserts.


A) The lines at the McDonald’s by my house is out to the Street on Friday nights. There are no Whole Foods within a 25-mile radius of my house, there are few Publixes, but there are 2 Walmarts within walking distance.


B) The presentation of multiple fast food restaurants and lesser quality food marts in neighborhoods with lower incomes generally means resorting to indulging in these unhealthy alternatives.


C) The residents of these communities


D) Difficult to exploit. Generally, people understand that fast food is bad for your health; maybe less realize the importance of having fresh foods readily available. However, it is hard to get someone with a restricted income to purchase potentially more expense alternatives (even if slightly more expensive).


Why did you see it: Food desserts are fairly present in my life because I am a nutrition major and I live in one.





2) Providing a nearly equal compensation for the continued incarceration of people serving for marijuana offenses while these same offenses getting decriminalized.


A) There are a number of people that I am aware of that are incarcerated by the thousands. These are outstanding numbers for something less grave than murder.


B) It would be unfair for someone to continue to be incarcerated for a crime that has been decriminalized while they were serving.


C) The incarcerated people that have an undetermined future for being released for the same things that are being decriminalized


D) Difficult to exploit. You have to be able to get the majority of people on the same page either to believe that releasing individuals, and/or expunging their record, would be best or giving them compensation that would be nearly equal to being released without


Why did you see it: The increased awareness of opioid usage and the potential detriments to our society has brought more awareness to other drug usage in the U.S. The usage of and incarceration for marijuana has tainted the record of some of my family members and closest friends.





3) Creating a guide to pension plan to help the employed navigate the financial languages of a 401k before resulting to relying on social security for old age, and to reduce the fear of investing and stocks and retiring broke.


A) People over 65 are staying employed longer. Some believe it is attributed to the trauma the baby boomers suffered from living through the Great Depression.


B) Most baby boomers don’t understand how to interpret the language the financial documents associated with a 401k, let alone becoming their own CPA. I think this may be even more difficult for the baby boomer generation considering their current ages, and the lessened effectiveness of the pensions plans that were readily available 30 years ago; or else, they would have had a 401k from the by now.


C) The baby boomer generation that could be somewhat fearful of investing in stocks due to the 2008 market crash. They had to result to pensions to save and are running out of money to sustain the expenses for the rest of their lives.


D) I don’t think that the opportunity is difficult to exploit. It is just like the business to hire a young person to help with technology. You hire a young Finance/Accounting graduate to help you be a financial planner, or at least get you on the right track to becoming your own.


Why did you see it: The boomer generation just has an affinity for discarding and disregarding all of the things of the newer generations. I think it is mostly because they believe “what I know/ have got is good enough”. This isn’t a bad sentiment, but I think it gets to be extreme when my 65-year-old grandmother doesn’t even know how to open a text on her phone. She doesn’t even know how to find people in her contacts to call. I think it is evident that baby boomers tend to need help, and I think it would be better to provide them with that help since they are continuing to working and can reap some benefits.





4) Creating a moat around properties in Miami Beach that may experience more flooding as a result of the anti-flooding initiatives of the city to raise the roads and prevent them from flooding


A) There is a new $100 million dollar flood prevention project that the city is under taking but they are having issues determining how to align the raised roads with the untouched private property connected to it.


B) The properties are beach front or water front properties on A1A or and inlet chain islands. These customers generally have more money, and people with more money are usually willing to spend it for greater comfort.


C) Residents of the excessive flooding areas of Miami Beach


D) I think the moat or something akin to it is easy to exploit. I think that the addition of a (nice) moat to a property presents a certain uniqueness to the property. It is something that isn’t seen often. Also, it would prevent the necessity of undergoing foundational construction that can cost a pretty penny.


Why did I see it: I have an affinity for house and finding new and unique things to make a house better. I think the uniqueness and functionality of the moat that we have seen lends itself to being a great addition in this situation.

Assignment 5A: Identifying Local Opportunities

1) Stop FBS-FCS games https://www.alligator.org/sports/stop-fbs-fcs-games/article_dbc8d89e-d2b2-11e9-88bf-632e42beff6f.html

The story: Nick Saban, football coach for the Alabama Crimson tide expresses his concerns for the way in which the NCAA set up the schedule for teams. Losing games, especially against highly competitive teams lowers your ranking and puts a damper on your chances of going to the playoffs. Essentially you need a flawless season to even come close to the playoffs. Yet, instead of competing against challenging teams the entire season, highly challenging teams have teams of lower stature on their schedule to bring in money for the other teams’ programs, and ultimately the NCAA.

The problem presented in the story: The system of determining the gravity of losses is flawed. The competitive teams would like an entire schedule of teams of the same caliber

Who has the problem: The more competitive teams that make up the NCAA like Alabama that make up the Power 5.


2) Dignity Village to close by Jan. 1, transition homeless elsewhere
https://www.alligator.org/news/dignity-village-to-close-by-jan-transition-homeless-elsewhere/article_57fad7e6-d06a-11e9-a102-6b4e2ac936fb.html

The story: The city has decided to shut down Dignity Village by next year. This is a community where the population is free to stay in tents. The city won’t be letting anyone else in, but will be aiding in the transition of the current residents.

The problem presented in the story: Some people, including current residents, will have no place to go once the village is shut down.

Who has the problem: Residents current living in Dignity Village and prospective residents.



3) UF Preview prices broke state law. How are they fixing it?
https://www.alligator.org/news/uf-preview-prices-broke-state-law-how-are-they-fixing/article_2daeae4c-d2b6-11e9-9c0c-9fca1017f082.html

The story: UF Preview is proving to be highly costly to incoming students and their families. Expenses are on average upwards of $200 just to attend Preview, without the costs of lodging, food, and gas. UF is offering customizable Preview packages to make the trip more affordable

The problem presented in the story: Incoming freshman students and their families don’t know where to look for these cheaper options. This information is not available in an easily accessible place, and the link is broken for the website that the information should be on.

Who has the problem: Incoming freshman students and families that have to pay high Preview costs


4) ‘We’ve had enough.’: Students organize protest on Fraternity Drive
https://www.alligator.org/news/we-ve-had-enough-students-organize-protest-on-fraternity-drive/article_699fab64-d107-11e9-b2c2-b38c5b626004.html

The story: Fraternity Row has a serious lack of blue lights compared to all other parts of campus. People are frustrated with SG and UF administration being reluctant to take action. Some are making their concerns known by protesting.

The problem presented in the story: The safety of the entire student body being in jeopardy in the event of any emergency.

Who has the problem: The student body, and specifically the students and speakers protesting


5) UF Police unsure who broke Weaver Hall door overnight
https://www.alligator.org/news/uf-police-unsure-who-broke-weaver-hall-door-overnight/article_417a5a4e-c937-11e9-a84b-739ecf796e22.html

The story: Someone shattered the glass on the door that leads to the entrance of Weaver Hall. The door has a security lock that you need to access with a fob. No one knows how long the door had been broken or who did it.

The problem presented in the story: The security of the hall was compromised for a few hours while many were asleep. Anyone could have been let in the building without permission. No one knows the motive of the person who did it.

Who has the problem: The residents of Weaver Hall.

Assignment 3A: Your Entrepreneurship Story

I think that one of the best experiences that I have had with entrepreneurship was happened while I was playing a game. I actually don’t remember the name of the game, but the premise was to take something in the room, or make something up, and sell it to the judges. You had to be able to show off the product, explain how to use it, and explain convince the judges to buy it. Essentially, we had to convince them that they had a need, and that our product would fulfill it. The majority of the time, my team made a completely new product, like embroidered invisible coats. However, sometimes we took an already established product and put a spin its use while simultaneously targeting a new market, such as making cocktails out of salad dressing. This activity really had us determined to make or redesign a product that would compete with any other product the other team could possibly think of as well as to make a product that would be captivating enough for people to want to buy.

The main reason that I am in this class is because I plan to own my own business one day. I don’t know what I want that to look like yet, so I am hoping I will get ideas from completing these assignments. I also don’t really know where the first step is in my entrepreneurial journey. I am hoping this class will provide guidance on strategies to use to create a successful business idea that will translate into a successful business plan.