14A – Halfway Reflection

1) To keep up with course I have used habits such as setting timers, and alarms. I use timers to take 5 minute breaks between 25 minute work periods. Also setting alarms so I do not forget assignments. I have also learned to think creatively and outside-the-box. This has helped me in all aspects of life. 

2)I felt like giving up when I had to interview various people for my assignments. As a quiet person it took a lot of courage to interview people. I feel like I have developed a tenacious attitude because it is a lot easier for me to interview people. I also have more confidence in my creativity and speaking skills.

3)
1) Work ahead and do not wait till the last day to do the assignments.
2) Make sure to stay focuses and committed to watching the lectures.
3) Have an open mind about things as solutions to many problem are not straight forward. 

13A – Reading Reflection

I read Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance.
What surprised me most about Elon Musk was that he was so close to going broke.
This was due to his ability to never give up on his leap-forward visions.
I admire his determination and drive to be successful in his dreams.
While this was an important reason for his success, Musk was balancing on a thin line between success and failure.
On the verge of being bankrupt during the peak of the 2008 financial crisis, Musk secured
a government contract with SpaceX and scraped together enough money for Tesla's automobile industry.
Some of Musk's competencies include determination, the ability to squeeze the most out of his workers,
and the ability to deal with stress. I found some of the interviews confusing.
If I were to ask two questions to Elon Musk I would ask: 1) How do you manage to stay focused on such large
scale projects? 2) Why did you make a flamethrower?

I think Elon Musk's definition of hard work is staying focuses and committed to a project

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

My unmet is having a pen that writes on paper and is safe to use on handheld tablets. In my interviews I found 3 people that had met the requirements of having the unmet need as me. The people who had the unmet all used iPads as a main form of note taking and reading text books, but also have assignments needed to be done handwritten. To these people it was tedious and frustrating having to switch between writing devices when working. None of the interviewees had thought to look for something to solve there unmet need. They would need this product in libraries, personal work desk, classrooms, offices. One of the interviewees mentioned knowing others with similar unmet needs. 

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1) You. 
I am Ashton Neff a student at the University of Florida. I am a motivated person and great critical thinker. I lead by example more than words. I hope to start my own business as side project in my life. 

2) What are you offering to customers? 
The product I will be selling is a pen that can write on both paper and also act as a stylus pen for hand held devices. This would eliminate having to switch back and forth between different writing devices while taking notes. This all in one pen would be safe to use on tablets while also having the ability to write on paper.

3) Who are you offering it to? 
My customers would have to include people who take notes on hand held devices and tablets. These would include people in a variety of businesses and fields who have to write. Students would also be a big demographic to target as classes move to online assignments and textbooks. 

4) Why do they care?
People would pay for my product due to the inconvenience of having to switch between writing utensils while writing on tablets and paper. As a student myself I would find this very useful when taking notes and doing my assignments on my ipad. It would also eliminate having to carry around to pens with you.

5) What are your core competencies? 
My product would be the first of its kind which would set me apart from the traditional stylus pen and a ball point pen.

I believe these 5 elements of my business concept work well together. My weakest element is why they care, it would be a niche group of people who use this product. But I think as the use of touch screen devices to take notes becomes more widespread the need for this product. 

10A – Elevator Pitch No. 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whp8SDVOaWQ

9A – Testing the Hypothesis

In my interviews I conducted I found a lot of interesting results. Parking at college is an issue for many people but to a different extent for each person. I found it surprising that students living on campus did not have a parking problem. This group of people was someone I thought this issue would affect, but it appears otherwise. Students living on campus get priority parking spots so they do not have to worry about parking. While driving to campus and parking would be preferred to most off campus students, some would be satisfied with an improved bus system or other alternatives. The need for on campus parking is not desired by everyone, but the need for an efficient way to get to campus is. Outsiders' who do not have this need do not commute to a college campus daily, or live on or within biking/walking distance.

Inside the boundary
Who is in: Living Off Campus Students/Staff What the Need Is: More and improved on campus parking for off campus students or an efficient alternative to driving to campus
Why the Need Exists: Thousands of students and staff making daily commute to campus with limited space and infrastructure to hold the cars and traffic. Outside the boundary Who is Not: Students living on campus, Staff with parking permits What the Need is Not: More parking for non students  Alternative Explanations: Students living on campus do not make the daily commute to campus

7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1. Parking on College Campus
2. Colleges in the United States have an increasing student population with limited parking space, therefore students cannot drive themselves to campus for class.
The who:college students, faculty and staff; public universities and their visitors
The what: They don't have the parking infrastructure to hold cars for the student and faculty population.
The why: Limited space for large parking lots and limited funds to build parking garages.
3. The people who have this need are mainly college students. You can narrow that down even more to college students who live off campus and who don't live in walking distance. Most staff and faculty already have spots but they would still like better parking. Universities might not have the infrastructure to build more parking spaces and also to not be able hold the traffic that comes with additional parking. Possible alternative method for students such as scooters that are smaller. They why is generally the same for all those affected. Students might think parking is a higher priority problem than the university itself because the problem affects them.
4/5. After interviewing people around campus I found interesting responses. Mostly everyone is aware of the parking situation at University of Florida. Everyone I interviewed said they would drive to campus for class if they could. Taking the bus or riding a scooter is the most common alternative methods of travel to campus among those I interviewed. A few people walk to class or live on campus and do not have this problem. It was interesting to see how different people were affected by this problem.

6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

1. Adult Diapers in the Baby Boomer Retirement Crisis
a. Article/Source that led to my opportunity.
b. The elderly population is growing and living longer, so I think there is an opportunity here regarding adult diapers. Once old people cannot use the bathroom they switch to adult diapers. With the increase in elderly population I believe adult diapers is an opportunity worth exploring.
c. Elderly adults, nursing homes, assisted living,
d. I think this opportunity is relatively easy to exploit because aging is something that every human experiences, and improved medical technology is keeping people alive longer, leading to a growing elderly population. A growing elderly population is going to need more diapers.

2. The San Francisco Planning Commission has approved tightened regulations on the rental of furnished apartments on short term leases ranging from 30 days to a few months.
a. Article/Source
b. Housing in San Francisco is being overcrowded with Corporate rentals. This is when companies rent out many units, or whole complexes to house employees for short term use leaving no units available for locals. With new regulations, these companies won't be able house employees as easily. I think there is an opportunity for short term housing for business men in San Francisco.
c. Start Up companies, business men, big corporate companies, San Francisco residents.
d. I think this opportunity is a little difficult to explore. An alternative to short term rentals are hotels, and condos which corporations can still afford to rent out.

3. Regulations Affect California Farmers in a Big Way.
a. Article/Source
b. With stricter regulations on health and environmental standards driving up cost, as well as the increasing minimum wage, California farmers are having trouble affording the increasing cost. I believe there is an opportunity to either use less labor intensive crops, or more efficient ways to farm.
c. Farmers
d. I think this opportunity is also difficult to explore. Farming has been practiced since the beginning of society, and it is almost already perfected. It is going to be hard to innovate in the agriculture field.

4. 2020 Valentine Economics For Jewelers – Looks Like A Diamond In The Sky
a. Link/Article
b. Business continues to grow yearly for stores during valentines day. This year business is up 32% from last years record year. I think there is an opportunity here because Valentines day is a yearly event and sales continue to grow yearly with consumers spending billions of dollars each year.
c. Men and Women in relationships
d. I think this opportunity is easy to explore. Valentine's day has a variety of routes to explore (Jewelry, Dining, Small Gift, Cards) which have potential to make profit.