ENT3003 Assignment 11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

Piecing It All Together

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

My name is Jared Narzissenfeld, I’ve spent most of my life in the Orlando area including my first 2 years of community college at Valencia. I have since transferred to UF as general business major. I believe my best skills lie in learning and adapting, I find myself capable of adjusting to whatever scenario I’m placed into and learning quickly to become the best I can be at whatever it is I set my mind to. I have large aspirations in terms of success, I hope to become better off than my parents and peers, I hope to let nothing get in my way of being the best person that I can be. I believe that if I were to start this business that it would become something mainstay to my daily life, in such a way that I expressed earlier by my skills. I could easily see my business being something I put full effort into as a means of being as successful as it and I can be, realizing the idea’s full potential.

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs).

My product will offer customers a substitute to what is currently on the market, and I believe these current products are inferior. I plan to make a mechanical pencil that solves the issues currently found among the major brands, these include problems with lead, reusability, and convenience. My product will have more durable lead with a more structured pencil so that excessive breakage will be prevented. Additionally, this pencil will have features never before seen that will allows users to refill their pencils with minimal effort, saving money for not only the consumer but for the environment too.

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

I believe the characteristics of my customers can be best described by their demographics, to which I would say is primarily 14-24-year-olds in some level of education from middle school up to university. Furthermore, I believe this product isn’t going to be weighted strongly to other ethnicity’s and such but more focused on age and occupation. I believe most of my customers will be primarily writers rather than people who type on a computer, that is people who prefer to frequently write out their notes and do their work with a pencil as opposed to other options such as a laptop, pen with ink, or just not being much of a writer at all.

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service.

I think customers should be willing to spend money for my product as they’re already currently paying for inferior products. Any student that likes to write and chooses lead often uses a mechanical pencil, these pencils can be gone through extremely quickly, I know from personal experience I’ve used anywhere from 5-10 in a single month. Due to the large amount of turnover with pencils I believe people will have a desire to have a pencil they don’t go through as quickly, due to the additional lead in my product, users will choose to purchase it more often as they will be getting a longer-lasting product for a similar price point that will simultaneously be keeping all the thrown away pencils out of the landfills they inevitably end up in, therefore also supporting the environment.

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has?

I believe what sets me apart from everyone else is determination, I truly believe I could have an inferior product but with my relentless effort and work I could still make it perform better than any more “superior” product. Furthermore, I truly do believe the product I’ve come up with is like nothing on the market and offers a benefit to users in a way that no other product does in its form of improving reusability, allowing one pencil to last longer than any competitive product on the market right now.

In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others.

I believe these 5 elements actually work together very nicely. There’s a type of synergy built between my personal strengths and competencies and my products capabilities, not to mention the primary target audience for my product is looking for the features that I hope to implement. Moreover, I believe my skills and determination will also allow for a product to be created at minimal costs that will allow for a competitive price point matching the desires of my customers.

ENT3003 Assignment 10A – Elevator Pitch #1

Practicing Your Pitch:

Elevator Pitch #1

Hi, my name is Jared Narzissenfeld, creator and founder of Capable Pencil and i'm here to talk to you today about a brand new pencil that's changing the way people think about all mechanical pencils.

Now... you may ask what do I need a new pencil for? I already have a mechanical pencil. Well... I'm here to tell you those pencils aren't right, they're a way of the past, they do so many things wrong. I'm gonna focus on the two biggest issues my pencil will solve: 

1. When people are writing with a pencil the lead at the top snaps all the time 

2. Replacing a completely capable pencil with a brand new pencil every time the original one runs out of lead.

Most people likely have this inefficient turnover because of the tedious process of carrying and replacing additional lead. 

Capable Pencil aims to change this mindset. To do this we've created a pencil that solves these aforementioned issues by having a maximum limit that the user is able to press their lead out of the tip, this makes sure that no lead comes out that isn't needed, therefore preventing the excessive lead that constantly breaks while writing. But the real edge to Capable Pencil is the innovative clip on the side that comes stocked with additional lead so that when your pencil runs out of lead, you're able to refill it immediately without wasting the completely "Capable Pencil"!

Now tell me, don't you want a more Capable Pencil? 

ENT3003 Assignment 9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Continuing My Opportunity Research

Who:

I've learned throughout my previous and more recent interviews that there are a significant portion of people that don't relate with my opportunity even though they share almost all of the same characteristics. I believe this exists because some people that fit the right demographics and lifestyle as a mechanical pencil user choose substitute products that get the same job done. Many of the people I interviewed said they primarily use only their laptops to take notes, quizzes, etc. while others claimed they preferred standard pens/pencils rather than mechanical alternatives.

What:

I believe the need I'm trying to solve is based purely on issues with mechanical pencils and unfortunately I think that need is stopped at mechanical pencils. It appears that through my interviews , Laptop users and Pen/Wooden pencil suers just prefer their own things and are not apart of my audience as much so as people that prefer to use mechanical pencils. 

Why:

The people inside the boundary of my opportunity simply use mechanical pencils, it's seems to me that users of mechanical pencils prefer them to wooden pencils, whereas wooden pencil users are aware of mechanical pencils but choose not to use them under most cirucmstances. When it comes to pencils, it seems that personal preference is the driving cause for most decisions.

             Inside the Boundary:                                       Outside the Boundary:

Who:    High School and college students                     Primarily non-Students and people

             who frequently choose mechanical                   that don't frequently find themselves
             pencils over other substitutes.                           writing using a pencil a lot.

What:   These students wish to have a writing              This opportunity does not solve anything

             utensil that is effective and reliable                   for laptop/computer users, it also doesn't

             while being offered at a cheap price.                benefit the users of substitute products.

Why:    This need is formed from the failures               People don't all have problems with  

             experienced by current mechanical                  their current writing device. Additionally, 

             pencils and the preference of such                   most people are content with the "issues" 

             pencils over pens and wooden pencils.            that my product is hoping to solve.

ENT3003 Assignment 8A – Solving the Problem

Solving The Problem: Product Solution

Opportunity: 

The problem I’m hoping to solve is with Mechanical Pencils, I hope to create a product that can address several issues. Of the issues that exist with current mechanical pencils, I will primarily be focused on fixing the problems regarding lead.

Three Existing Problems and their Respective Alterations:

Problems: Most mechanical pencils have a solid surrounding that prevents the user from seeing how much lead they have left to write with. Another issue occurs when the lead coming out of the pencil breaks easily while writing, this is sometimes due to too much lead coming out but I also believe it could be due to the thinness of the lead. The final problem my product will solve is with the storage of lead, currently the user must carry separate "containers" that carry additional pieces of lead. The need to carry an additional item for your one mechanical pencil can be rather tedious to the user, which results in most people choosing not to carry any extra lead at all. Instead, the majority of people choose to use a completely new pencil when their original one runs out of lead.

Solutions: I plan to create a product that alleviates all of these issues. To begin, this product will take advantage of a transparent surrounding that allows for the pencil be to seen through its outer covering effortlessly, making it easy for the user to realize when they're running low on lead. The second improvement will prevent the lead from breaking as easily, this is due to the pencil's thicker and more durable lead source. Additionally, this pencil will have the ability to limit lead from exceeding a set maximum length out of the top. Finally, the product is finished off with a small compartment on the side of the pencil that acts as a "clip" just like standard mechanical pencils have. However, instead of just acting as a clip, this piece will double as a storage device that is capable of holding more than a dozen pieces of lead.

ENT3003 Assignment 7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

You Have An Opportunity, Now What?

1) The opportunistic venture I’m choosing to pursue:

• A modified mechanical pencil with alterations that improve the Lead/Covering. 

2) The opportunity (who, what, and why?):

• Mechanical pencils that use plastic materials instead of wood are extremely common in the United States and from my experience are used even more often than a standard #2 pencil with students in middle school and above. As common as these pencils are they have various deficiencies, these include: no way to easily see how much lead is remaining, constant breakage of lead while writing and lack of additional lead when the pencil is emptied. These issues are due to the typical solid covering on the outside of mechanical pencils, weak lead thickness and strength, and finally, the usage is limited because of the small amount of lead that can be held in a pencil and the hassle of carrying any additional lead. 

3) Hypotheses of my opportunity (Testing the who, what, & why):

• I believe that people that have this need primarily include students aged 12-20 but certainly, this grouping could be expanded. Everyday working adults could all benefit from this product, particularly if they already choose mechanical pencils that are currently inferior. Additionally, this pencil could be more useful to people that would typically choose a wood pencil. I find this to be true because the increased benefits of this pencil may be appealing enough to encourage these consumers to switch. I believe that almost all mechanical pencils have faults but there are some better than others. Pencils that already have a clear surrounding allow for some sight of lead, but I believe it’s not to an effective level that makes it clear how much longer you will be able to write for. Moreover, there’s not any popular pencil out right now that allows for storing of additional lead while the pencils that have thicker lead aren’t standardized enough for everyday usage. I believe that most people will concur that current mechanical pencils on the market are simply not up-to-par with this idea for an improved one. I anticipate most people agreeing that pencils on the market right now break too easily, don’t last long enough, and/or don’t properly show how much lead is remaining. As aforementioned, some pencils do currently include some benefits but there’s not one that I’m aware of that contains the integral aspects of my idea for a mechanical pencil.

4) My 5 Interviews:

Interview 1:

• The person interviewed is a male student at UF who frequently uses mechanical pencils to take lecture notes. He says that the most frustrating aspect of mechanical pencils is the lead breaking when you’re trying to write for a long time. He brought up that to avoid this, he keeps the lead coming out the top to a minimal amount, resulting in it breaking less often. 

Interview 2:

• This interviewee is a female UF student studying abroad from the UK. She informed me that before coming to the U.S, she did not frequently use mechanical pencils, instead opting for a standard wooden #2 pencil most of the time. With that said, she said she doesn’t frequently experience problems with her mechanical pencil. Upon further questioning, she did say that running out of lead is an annoyance as she does not keep extra on her, but that when she does run out she chooses to use a completely new pencil. 

Interview 3:

• In this interview, I spoke with a high school student living in Orlando, FL. He said that he frequently uses mechanical pencils when in class and that almost everyone else in the class also uses mechanical pencils (not wooden ones). He detailed to me a few annoyances included: lead breaking while writing, clogging of the pencil when trying to press on the eraser, and losing lead when taking off the eraser. According to the interviewee, these problems exist because the lead can only be taken out/put in by removing the eraser. 

Interview 4:

• I met this person in the Reitz Union at UF when I actually saw them using a mechanical pencil to do some school work. After talking for a while and explaining my assignment, this person explained to me that he uses both wooden and mechanical pencils, but he hates having to have a normal wooden #2 pencil with him at all times. He told me that he did this because between lead breaking and the mechanical pencil running out of lead there’s always an uncertainty as to whether he’ll be ok for a test, essay, or any other assignment that requires a pencil. 

Interview 5:

• This interview was rather brief with the individual explaining to me how she almost always uses her laptop for assignments since coming to college. She told me that she hasn’t had a real writing assignment since high school, choosing to write type notes on her laptop alongside PowerPoint slides. Furthermore, she explained that when a test does come around she normally opts for a standard wooden pencil to not risk any faults in the detection of a mechanical pencil.

5) What I've learned about my Opportunity from the Interviews:

• I feel that after my interviews, a lot of my opportunity is based on the wrong area. No one seems to bring up how the covering of a pencil is solid which is originally what I thought the main problem was. However, given their insight, I believe this opportunity is only stronger than I anticipated, but that I should instead focus on the capabilities of lead in a mechanical pencil as opposed to the mechanical pencil itself. Almost everyone I spoke to had complaints related to the lead breaking, running out of lead, or losing lead when putting it into or taking it out of the pencil.

ENT3003 Assignment 6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Trends:

1. Trend: The U.S. Federal Funds Rate is Rising

• Source: https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/interest-rate
• Why Opportunity Exists: The rising interest rate offered by the Federal Reserve effects how consumers can get credit they need. With the federal funds rate rising, banks offer high interest rates which leads to more people saving money and less people borrowing money.
• Prototypical Customer: This opportunity allows for banks to pursue more people’s money. When people are saving their money in banks it allows more money to be loaned out to people or businesses, which should draw people to banks and banks to people.
• Difficulty to Exploit: This opportunity is relatively simple to exploit as an average person, if you’re the consumer that is saving you can exploit the trend to have a more stable investment in a bank while the bank’s role is relatively difficult as they need to get more people to save and find more businesses willing to take on higher loan rates. 
• Why I see this opportunity: I believe this opportunity exists because federal reserve rates have been so low for so long. I think that people will be significantly more willing to save their money in banks now than they would have been in the past.

2. Trend: Rebounding from Natural Disasters

• Source: https://commercial.jpmorganchase.com/pages/commercial-banking/executive-connect/six-key-economic-trends
• Why Opportunity Exists: Natural Disasters cause an absurd amount of damage to both buildings and the environment, they were especially disastrous in 2017-2018. Florida and Texas both faced hurricanes that left major cities in ruins but while this was unfortunate for the overall economy it will be very beneficial to the construction industry as buildings need repairs with some requiring complete overhauls.
• Prototypical Customer: This opportunity will primarily effect businesses in the construction industry including companies that work with electrical wiring, home building, and all in-home service areas such as plumbing, A/C, etc. 
• Difficulty to Exploit: This opportunity is relatively easy to exploit as most of these businesses already exist and simply need to take on the increased demand by completing more projects and hiring off the duties that will benefit other businesses.
• Why I see this opportunity: I have seen this opportunity through my own experiences as areas across Florida were ripped apart last year by Hurricane Irma. Many people are still without a proper home to this day, as they wait for an available or cost-conscious construction company that will inevitably take on this great opportunity.

Regulatory Changes:

3. Change: Increased promotion, funding, & simplicity for Career and Technical Education

• Source: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr2353
• Why Opportunity Exists: This bill passed the house and senate and was enacted by the president a little over a month ago. The bill allows for CTE courses and teachers to receive more funding and should yield more innovation within CTE programs all with a limited federal role. 
• Prototypical Customer: This opportunity will mostly be available to schools with CTE programs, as well as schools that were considering adding such courses. 
• Difficulty to Exploit: This opportunity is relatively easy to exploit as nothing new is being added, rather most things involved are just being improved to benefit education.
• Why I see this opportunity: Having spent my 2018 internship looking into a lot of CTE courses and trade schools I’m very familiar with these programs. It seems that a lot of improvements will come from this new bill, with at the bare minimum resulting in simplified processes for schools and teachers to go with additional funding.

4. Change: Act providing CBP with support for better chemical screening devices

• Source: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr2142
• Why Opportunity Exists: This Act will allow for CBP to spend large amounts of money on improving chemical screening devices that they hope will lead to reduced illegal trafficking of deadly drugs from Latin America to the U.S.
• Prototypical Customer: This opportunity while connected to CBP will mostly benefit businesses that work in the scientific field that will receive government funding to gather further research on dangerous chemicals. Additionally, the companies that create and maintain chemical screening devices will also greatly benefit from this Act.
• Difficulty to Exploit: This opportunity is relatively difficult to exploit as the businesses benefitting from the Act are extremely scientific and specialized in their field. However, those who are specialized in chemicals and the production of screening devices will almost surely exploit the higher demand for their products. 
• Why I see this opportunity: Having multiple relatives in the customs field, including a lot of experience with CBP I feel quite confident that this act will be used to help support CBP through the funding that is given to scientists and companies product chemical screening devices.

ENT3003 Assignment 5A – Identifying Local Opportunities

Identifying Local Opportunities

All 5 Below are Orlando Sentinel Stories:

1. Jacksonville gamer wants better safety after shooting at event

i) Link: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F16E2499D76D02E48

ii) Article Summary: Chris Cantrell, a pro gamer from Jacksonville, explains what the gaming community is like and why he thinks security at professional gaming events needs to be improved. This coming in the aftermath of a shooting at a professional Madden event in his hometown of Jacksonville, where two participants were murdered.

iii) The Problem: The point that Chris Cantrell was trying to make is that there is insufficient security at a lot of the professional gaming events.

iv) Who has the Problem: This problem is primarily focused on professional gamers and their safety at gaming events they compete in.


2. Ill-conceived SunRail eventually will fail

i) Link: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F16E0F182C5558638

ii) Article Summary: The much “anticipated” SunRail that travels all throughout Florida has been running into a few issues mainly that of not many people actually using it. Due to this, the article author predicts that it will eventually fail.

iii) The Problem: The author goes on to describe how the SunRail isn’t positioned near enough populated areas and has no perpendicular access points, therefore only people that live nearby the rail are using it.

iv) Who has the Problem: This problem is a big blow to the Florida Department of Transportation that operates and pushed for this rail. Additionally, it is a significant problem to the people of Florida that had hoped to use this rail to travel, commute, or otherwise benefit off of it, as they have had no efficient/convenient way to do so.


3. Low-income residents lose ground to luxury - Upscale push makes vouchers unwelcome

i) Link: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F16E0A06ADFB61290

ii) Article Summary: This story details a personal experience familiar with many low-income families. These families have been renting their properties for years but because less “cheap” properties are being built, the rates rise. However, at the same time, Luxury properties are being built at an increasing rate.

iii) The Problem: The reduction of properties for lower-income residents is causing a housing shortage while properties that families aren’t buying, are turned into office space.

iv) Who has the Problem: This problem is affecting whole populations that are classified as lower-income. These poor families are struggling to find housing with reasonable rates as the most manageable properties are either taken or being converted.


4. Make voting easy for Florida college students

i) Link: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F16E04C76AE532568

ii) Article Summary: This story explains how students are generally unlikely to vote due to a number of factors. These include the lack of vehicles, time, parking, and many more other issues. The article does however bring up that UF is one of the very few universities that offers voting on campus.

iii) The Problem: Young people are not voting at nearly as high a rate as older people. This is said to be because of the many factors prohibiting young people such as lack of time or transportation.

iv) Who has the Problem: This problem specifically is impacting College students in Florida that are of age to vote (18+).


5. Andrew's impact still felt 26 years after its landfall - The hurricane that changed Florida

i) Link: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB57BE7FF6D8A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F16E04C7598356B10

ii) Article Summary: Hurricane Andrew, which hit in 1992 is said to still have its impact seen to this day. The article goes on to explain the damages that occurred out of Hurricane Andrew, how horrible the storm itself was, but also how the catastrophe has allowed for positives such as improvements in hurricane tracking.

iii) The Problem: Hurricanes in Florida are still just as dangerous as they were 25+ years ago and in some ways just as unforeseeable. Hurricanes are very hard to track and although our technology has improved, weather experts still can’t predict just how destructive hurricanes will be.

iv) Who has the Problem: This problem is felt the most by Florida residents that experienced hurricane Andrew as well as those currently living in the state that will likely face many more hurricanes in their lifetime. Additionally, this problem serves as a challenge to weather experts on their path to improved forecasting of storms.