Final Reflection

What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

I think the experience of talking to random people and getting their feedback was very valuable. I'll remember being outside in 100 degree weather trying to talk to people. I think I'm most proud of developing a product that has actual potential in the retail area. 

At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. And we repeated the mantra -- I am an entrepreneur. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

After going through this semester, I definitely see myself as an entrepreneur. I'm constantly looking at situations and thinking of ways to exploit an opportunity. I know I'll keep this mindset for the rest of my life and am sure it will benefit me. 

What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

I would recommend that they set reminders for assignment due dates, especially the extra credit quizzes. I often times was out of town and wasn't able to get to a computer during the period the quizzes were open. I would advise future students to stay true to the schedule they set at the beginning of the semester, and especially to have no fear. Just do it. Many of the assignments will make you uncomfortable, but if you persevere you'll begin to find success. 

Venture Concept No. 2

The opportunity I see is for fishermen to be able to have a sense of security when wearing sunglasses out on the water.

-Who has the need? 

• Fishermen who are on the water constantly. Anyone who has lost a pair of sunglasses from dropping them overboard. 

-The nature of the need? 

• The nature of the need is that people spend hundreds of dollars on high quality sunglasses and can't afford to buy a new pair when they lose one while fishing. 

-How is the market defined geographically and demographically? 

• No age limit, anyone who can wear sunglasses
• Men/boys and Women/girls who love the outdoors
• People who spend hours a year fishing 
• Use high-quality, polarized sunglasses 

-How are customers currently satisfying this need? And how loyal are they to whatever they use now? 

• There is currently not a product that activates as Floaki does. There are croakies that have a large float attached, but this is extremely cumbersome and uncomfortable on the back of your neck. 

-How big is this opportunity? 

• This opportunity is very large in fishing towns and cities. Coastlines, lake and river areas would be the best locations for opportunity. 

- How long will the window of opportunity be open? 

• Once the higher end fishing sunglasses companies (Costa del Mar, Smith, etc.) develop floating glasses with the same lenses, there will no longer be a need for Floaki. 

What I am trying to develop is a product that helps save fishermen money and gives them peace of mind. I've personally experienced losing an expensive pair of sunglasses to the ocean, and replacing them is no cheap task. Having great sunglasses is crucial if you are on the water frequently and this product can help ensure that people's investment won't be lost because of a simple mistake. 

The venture concept is that the product I am trying to produce will help people save money and not deal with the headache that comes with losing a nice pair of shades. 

-What are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product? How hard will it be to get them to switch? 

• Today there isn't a product that fulfills the function of Floaki. I think it will be easy to get customers to buy the product because they don't have another option. 

-Who are the competitors? 

• There are no competitors for this market at the moment. The product is new and may start its own market when launched. 

-What role does packaging, your price points, distribution, customer support, the customer experience or the business location play (if any) in defining your business concept? 

• I think many of these aspects are important for this product. 
• Packaging must be simple but provide the function of the product
• Price point must not be to expensive and should be achievable given the product's simple makeup 
• Customer support will be needed to spread the word, word of mouth will be a huge way of marketing this product

-How would you organize a business to support the ongoing production of your new product?

• I would organize the business with production and office (sales/marketing) in the same location. I would try and locate somewhere in Florida due to the high population of fishermen and charter companies. I would eventually get the product into retail and continue to ship products to all of the stores we create partnerships with. 

FEEDBACK

I've received lots of positive feedback from classmates concerning Floaki. Some of my classmates are fishermen as well and agree that this product has lots of potential. At this point in time the challenges I face are production, but once that's achieved I think the distribution will become popular as more people experience or hear of Floaki. 

Reading Reflection No. 3

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

The general theme or argument of the book was that we are experiencing a third industrial revolution. The major drivers of production are no longer what they used to be--labor based. As we move into robotic labor, the new advantage will be closeness to production. The closer production is to the market the more successful that product will be. 

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

I think it connected with the aspects of knowing your market and both past and future trends. The trends in the production world are changing drastically. 

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 an exercise, it would have to involve adapting to a changing market demographic. This book really focuses the changing of businesses focus on labor to proximity of production to distribution. 

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?

My biggest surprise moment was how real this third industrial revolution is. Companies bringing production back to the US is something that will be happening in the next decade. Robot technology is rapidly advancing and before we know it most production will be done without the use of human labor.