Elevator Pitch No. 3

https://youtu.be/ZZXk5GBL8nU

Reflection:

When taking a look at all of my previous comments, I was able to decipher one key fact, that people believed my application would not only be useful to college students but that it could also be implemented to so many more. I decided this time that I would not focus solely on marketing this product to college students but rather anyone that needed help learning how to cook and supporting their mental and physical health. It was important for me to make sure that I had captured what this application meant as a whole and put more effort into it. Other than that my application has been pretty strong and has received very positive feedback. Thus allowing me to maintain my overall idea very successfully.

21 - Reading Reflection No. 2

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Scott Adams

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

Within this memoir, Adams goes on to explain his life story, the ups and the downs. He explained exactly how life worked, it was unfair, he was constantly faced with obstacle after obstacle. He was challenged in ways he could have never prepared himself for, but through it all he was able to gain important life lessons. Then one day, after persevering through it all, he finally made it big. He includes his failures and the lessons he learned, sharing those lessons and creating tips and tricks that he was able to share with the reader, enabling them to be better prepared for the future. 

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

I was able to connect and enhance my learning from this book due to its reality. After reading through it all it is important to note that this is not simply just a book, it is a life. Adams life, and he was able to experience this all, learn from it, and share it to all of us in hopes of changing the path of even just one persons life. I was able to take a step back and recognize that there is always a bigger picture at play, that sometimes (most often in fact) life does not go your way, and there is only one of two things you can do: let it destroy you, or let it motivate you. 

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

If I were to design and exercise for this class I would simply create an activity designed for failure. I would create a task similar to one most everyone is familiar with, supporting a weight with only a set amount of objects. This weight would be heavy, far too heavy to be supported by anything they have been provided. I would wait and watch, see how they handle the pressure and the failure, knowing that in the end none of them should succeed. Then I would see how they handled that stress, that uncertainty, and in the end the acceptance of defeat. I would explain to them that although they did everything in their power to support its weight, in the end it was not in their control. Life is unfair and often times we are stuck in situations that are doomed for failure, but it is about how you can bounce back from this. I would then allow them to take some time to devise a plan that would support the weight if they were given the opportunity again. 

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

One of the biggest ‘aha’ moments for me was that everyone starts from somewhere. Everyone who has made it big, has seen struggles, has felt the despair of uncertainty and unknowing, but were still able to push through. In other words I have come to realize that when I am feeling at my lowest, or I have lost faith in myself, that this is normal. People have to face the reality of their lowest lows to recognize that past that, it only gets better. 

17A - Elevator Pitch No. 2

https://youtu.be/SLYBzAOGe4s

Reflection: When taking a look back on my feedback for my last elevator pitch I was proud to see that there was only positive notes. Everyone was so kind and the response was better than I had expected, but I knew that there still had to be some changes made. I decided to look through the rest of the comments on my previous posts and had come up with one major change, that I should allow my application to be implemented to all users rather than just college students. Within my pitch I strayed from focusing on one group of people and rather expressed that my app can help everyone. Besides that the majority of the comments on my posts were all very kind and supportive leaving me to believe that people genuinely like my idea and have no other criticisms!

18A - Custom Avatar

Custom Avatar: 

This is Morgan! Morgan is a 20 year old college student who attends the University of Florida. Morgan has found her way here all the way from New Jersey, and is someone who is a constant free spirit. She is apart of a family of four, being the youngest, her older brother Dylan is currently going for his masters degree at Rutgers University. Her parents are the proud owners of the local surf shop in her small town. At school Morgan is constantly on the go and is always pushing herself to be as social as possible, meeting new people and creating brilliant new friendships along the way. Morgan is an incredible athlete and is a member of the recreational soccer team, and therefore, when she's not studying for her Marketing degree in the depths of the library, she is at the gym or on the soccer field. Getting to and from school, the gym, or southwest fields, Morgan uses her lavender purple buddy scooter, but when traveling long distances she uses her pearl Volkswagen Jetta that she drove all the way down from New Jersey. In her spare time she loves to hangout with her closest friends, watching movies or shows such as Stranger Things or Greys Anatomy. She has an old soul and loves to find time to simply read her favorite books (Harry Potter/Game of Thrones) or appreciate the world around her. She is apart of greek life on campus, thus giving her constant volunteering opportunities and a social life filled with functions and socials. Morgan finds herself constantly supporting her friends in all of their endeavours and is always craving more from life, one problem that Morgan finds herself struggling with however, is creating ample time for herself to relax. Being constantly on the go means lots of protein bars and snacking, thus she has little time or energy to create a full nutritional meal. She finds herself constantly missing lunch and dinner at her sorority house because it often becomes a hassle to get all the way over there during her busy schedule, and is then forced to get takeout from somewhere that is truly not all the appealing. To fuel her body and her mind Morgan is on the lookout for an alternative healthy living and eating option. 

Me:

The first thing I recognize when I take a look at Morgan is that we are very similar. Not in all aspects of our lives, but the majority coincide. She loves to be involved and keep herself busy as well as find time for herself and to collect her thoughts and evaluate the path in which her life is going. I find myself constantly yearning to do more and be better as well as pack my day full of activities and time spent with friends. I am always on the go and never seem to find the time to eat as well as I would like. I do not believe that this is a coincidence, I feel as though so many college students can relate far more than they would stand to believe. Our schedules are constantly packed to the brim and we are always pushing ourselves to meet societies standards, leaving no room for ourselves. I am also a student at the University of Florida and I believe that I would benefit greatly from an application such as the one that I am proposing for Morgan.

20A - growing your social capital

Domain Expert: 

The first person I began to talk to was a man by the name of Nick Gattusso. He is the creator and co-owner of his very own app. I was able to get in contact with Nick via email. He had previously attended school with me and was apart of the computer science class that I was in. He is about two years older than me and thus I felt he had much more wisdom to share with me about creating and marketing one's own application. He is a domain expert due to his familiarity with the field and his ability to pass on knowledge to those who are starting up their own companies. I believe that the interview and conversation went incredibly well and it was nice to be able to be in touch with a familiar face. 

Market Expert:

The next person I was able to talk to was the public face of a local restaurant. Within my home town there are plenty of little family run businesses and I felt it just to learn the background of what it took to start up these companies. Along with that I felt it was important to be apart of something that was food and health related. I was able to come in contact with Nancy via email and we had an amazing conversation about how to market easily and how to market smart. The conversation was easy going and fun, I felt that she very much enjoyed being able to pass on some of her guidance to me and I greatly appreciate it. 

Supplier: 

Finally I was able to come in contact with a man who ran a restaurant supply company. I was able to find this contact through my previous interview. Nancy, while also being the market front, also dealt with packages and supplies and felt that this might be a great opportunity. Mark, was able to explain to me that the demand for healthier options has recently skyrocketed and that the idea I have in place in something that he feels can be fully supported by organic and healthy businesses. 

Reflect:

I feel as though this task has been one of the most important ones thus far. We have been able to set aside our theoretical ideas and become immersed in the comings and goings of true businesses and what the future could hold for us. It was so nice to be able to hear from multiple different perspectives on whether or not we would be able to discover something that can help us become healthier and happier. I feel more apart of the field in which I am trying to market my product and believe that I have now gained a few more connections than what I had had previously.

19A - Idea napkin no.2

1. You. My name is Erin Cox, I am currently attending the University of Florida and am a second year Health Science major. I would like to believe that my talents and skills include being a big people person, and I am a very determined and hard working spirit. I often find myself able to discover friends wherever I find myself going. I do enjoy my alone time but I find that being surrounded by others helps not only you grow but others as well. I also have the mindset of being a hard worker and revolving the majority of my life around being productive and getting done as much as possible. That often leaves me with little time dedicated to myself and eating healthy. I am also at the point where I find it difficult to know what exactly to cook for myself and it is hard to find the time to do so. 
2. What are you offering to customers? My product would allow the ability for people to discover how and what to cook for themselves while also allowing them to save time and money. It will  be easy to use, easy to navigate, and in the end easy to find and create delicious and nutritious meals. Customers will have the ability to have healthy tips and tricks as well as where they can purchase the most cost effective items. 
3. Who are you offering it to? I will be offering my product to all those who need it. People who have not had the ability to learn how to cook, those who have little time on their hands and simply need a hand, or those who are just looking to create a better, healthier diet for themselves. I am hoping to also do a lot of marketing towards college students, with the aspect of saving money, I believe that this will be a huge hit. 
4. Why do they care? This idea is important due to the fact that diet is an aspect of every single person's life. It helps to maintain our state of being and can contribute to a lot of other aspects of life, including schoolwork, mental health, and so much more. 
5. What are your core competencies? Something that create this app to stand apart from the rest is its versatility, its variety, and its ability to help save people money and time. All of these characteristics add up to an idea that is set to help others, and in the end that is all that matters. 

All together I believe that these competencies come together to help create an app that will be used for the better. Everything that is contained within this app is there to help the navigator and the customer themselves. It had previously been decided that I would focus solely on marketing this product to college students, but after later reconsideration I have found that this app is something that can be made for everyone. Another aspect of this app that is able to create its unity is its ability to save people money and create more time within a person's day.

Some feedback that I had received on my previous napkin included creating a partnership with healthy brands that may include discounts in order to gain more exposure. I think that this would be a brilliant idea and would not only help promote my application but healthy living as well. 

16A - Whats your secret sauce

Five qualities that set me apart: 

1. One of my most important qualities I believe is my ability to look at situations through other people's points of view. I often find myself wondering how I would feel being another person in a situation and hope most people would do the same for me. 
2. Another aspect of my life that I think is very important is my independence. I have always been able to rely on myself rather than others to get my work done and figure out what I need to. Although it is always good to have people who are there for you to help you work stuff out, being there for yourself is always vital as well. 
3. Next I believe my ability to be outspoken and argumentative helps me a lot. I am never one to step aside and let people walk all over me, when I want something done I delegate or do it myself, I never allow people to push me around or discourage me from accomplishing what I want. 
4. As well as these three characteristics I think that my past is an important aspect of who I am today. I have been through the trauma and downs of what life has to offer and I feel stronger because of it. I am able to use my past as a motivating factor rather than a crutch. 
5. Finally I feel as though my time on team sports has helped to shape me into a leader as well as someone who can work well with others. Both of these characteristics are crucial when it comes to getting jobs done or making new friends. 

Interviews: 

My First interview was with my close friend, she explained that my compassion is one of my most respectable qualities. 

My next interview my friend explained that my best quality is that I am always so hard working. 

Within my third interview my friend explained that she believed my sense of compassion and empathy is again my strongest quality. 

My fourth interview my friend explained that my best qualities included knowing how to manage my time, stating that I always am able to accomplish what I need to even if that means missing out on something.

For my final interview I was able to interview a friend who explained that my best quality was my drive to get my tasks done. She stated I was very goal oriented and would finish a task no matter what.

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, I felt as if my interviews were so incredibly kind. It is one thing to sit and attempt to describe your own best qualities but to hear what other people think of you is a completely different story. I used to believe that some of these qualities would set me back but now I know they are what set me apart and I can use them to my advantage in the future.