ENT3003 Assignment 22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3

Elevator Pitch No. 3

https://youtu.be/ScYKw5X_FkQ

• Based on my feedback, I tried to incorporate more straight forward information into my approach as well as being more relatable with my product and why it's useful/important. In this elevator pitch I tried to recreate and actual spontaneous pitch that I could make if I ran into a situation where I could realistically pitch by my business idea on the spot. I attempted to provide useful information about my products attributes all while quickly getting to the point and doing it without a script or too much pre-planning.

ENT3003 Assignment 21A – 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?

• How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, was a book based mainly around the theme of patience, expressing the fact that everyone has failed in their lives and that instead of dwelling on it you must be patient with your failures trusting that you will win big in the end. By this, Adams meant that many people weren't successful on their first try at things yet still became a success later on after an eventual chance of luck or with their entrepreneurship project that final worked out.

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

• I believe this book connected well with ENT3003 because it's extremely relatable for the everyday entrepreneur. Earlier in the semester we learned how most entrepreneurial ventures fail and furthermore that most will never make a large income. With that said, these people can still keep on working and go through 3, 4, 5, or an endless amount of products/opportunities before they find a success or reach happiness. On a personal level, I could strongly connect with what Adams was trying to express in this book and I believe it will be quite an enhancer for me in this class going forward. 

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

• I would make an exercise where the entrepreneur (students) should focus on themselves rather than their work. Not connecting any of the products or ideas to their character but rather just having an assignment where you make personal goals for yourself, whether that be weight loss, weight gain, improved grades, improved social-life, whatever it may personally be. I believe Adams would find this to be truly relevant for an entrepreneur and much more capable of advancing someone to reach a fulfilled life/career than any other assignment could. 

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?

• When Adams discusses the idea of selfishness it really connected with me as the idea to focus on yourself is quite anti-American in the fact that as children we're raised to be caring, compassionate, and to put our family and others over ourselves. This can be quite a detriment to our personal success and happiness though. I believe Adams made a great collection of points in how we should prioritize our focus on ourselves and our health first (including our fitness, stress, sleep), then on finances (a home, investments, occupation), and then after all of that finally on our family, community, and the world. When I first looked into this book I understood the entrepreneurial idea of dealing with failure and pushing onward to find success, however I was not expecting such insight about personal selfishness as a route to success.

ENT 3003 Assignment 19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

Second Shot at Idea Napkin No. 2

1) 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) 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) 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. Ideally this product will be designed for people that prefer writing on paper rather than using electronic devices.

4) 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. My customer market will care about this product as it will be made at little to no more additional cost but with significant benefits.

5) 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.

Feedback Memo:

I believe that my five elements do fit together well as my skills and capabilities are represented in my product and the demographics of my customer audience represent people of the same characteristics that my product appeals to. Based off my feedback, I tried to incorporate the fact that the changing times of society with more technology has resulted in a shift away from users hand-writing in favor of using electronic devices. With that said, I believe my target audience will be those people that still prefer to write by hand. Additionally, I believe it's important that I make my product affordable for students and children in my target audience so that they can make the purchase of the product themselves that they may be unlikely to do at a higher price point.

ENT3003 Assignment 17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

Elevator Pitch Practice! (Part 2!)

1) The pitch. Same as last time, about 90-seconds long. No Web cams. No sitting. Be dynamic! Upload the video to YouTube (as you do with all of your videos) and post the link.

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. 

• I believe I gained useful feedback from lecture regarding introductions and avoided introducing myself, opting for a more product-focused pitch. I think this is important because I want my pitch to be all about why my product is great and why it's worth an investment or interest, while my personal information can be gathered more easily and can be redundant. I believe I was given some good advice regarding concrete numbers and facts and tried to focus on the objective qualities of my product this time around. 

3) What did you change, based on the feedback?

• During this elevator pitch I made some alterations based on feedback. For one, I jumped right into my pitch to start as opposed to introducing myself. I also focused more on facts and and information about my product than I did the first time around.

ENT3003 Assignment 18A – Create a Customer Avatar

Customer Avatar

My product can be nailed down to a primary demographic of 14-22 year olds that are also students, it's not particularly suited for a specific gender or some other attributes but for the sake of this assignment I'll try to specify all the characteristics that are more likely.

My customer is a 19 year old female attending university as an English major. She enjoys hobbies such as partying, watching football, and socializing with friends at local restaurants. She drives a green 2010 Toyota Corolla that her parents purchased for her to use up at school. She typically watches Netflix as opposed to traditional TV, watching shows like Orange is the New Black, Friends, and The Office. 

I have a lot in common with this avatar as far as characteristics. I don't use traditional TV, I can be found at local restaurants, and i'm a university student with a car purchased by my parents. I don't think this is a coincidence as my reality is skewed by what I believe and see and I assume everything I see is as likely or as common as everyone else's life. 

ENT3003 Assignment 16A – What’s Your Secret Sauce?

Know Thyself

Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique.

1. Determination – When it comes to accomplishing a task, I’m extremely strong-willed and will work on a task tirelessly until I’m able to complete it to the best of my ability.

2. Adaptability – No matter what situation I’m put into, I’m extremely quick to adapt and learn how to be successful in the position I’ve been placed in. In an atmosphere where stuff is always changing, I’m able to keep up effectively.

3. Reliability – My consistency in work and mindset is superior to most, I feel like if something needs to be done you can always count on me to either get it done to the best of my ability or take the appropriate steps to ensure the best result.

4. Independence – I have a sense of independence that allows for me to operate on my own with less social contact and with less help needed than that of most people, while also still being able to interact and communicate with people effectively.

5. Problem Solving – When faced with an issue or assignment, I put my all of my effort into solving the task at hand and normally I’m able to figure out how to succeed in most situations, finding the solution to a complicated issue.

Interview the five people who know you the best.

1. Naomi Interview (https://soundcloud.com/user-368372101/naomiinterview/s-hNqFL?in=user-368372101/sets/ent3003-assignment-16-interviews/s-NazKF)

• Naomi, my girlfriend of 4 years now described me as having great insight and care for others. I think this makes sense as I've been there for her throughout many problems in her life and she's seen a supportive side of me that most don't get to see. 

2. Dad Interview (https://soundcloud.com/user-368372101/dadinterview/s-2JtOe?in=user-368372101/sets/ent3003-assignment-16-interviews/s-NazKF)

• I think my dad's answer was the most similar to what I believe about myself. My dad has been a great influence in my life with saving/financing and being good academically. These things were expressed in what he described as self-motivation and being able to do everything I put my mind to quickly and effectively.

3. Rachel Interview (https://soundcloud.com/user-368372101/rahcelinterview/s-N3MgJ?in=user-368372101/sets/ent3003-assignment-16-interviews/s-NazKF)

• My sister who is really just a sweet girl, described me as being attentive and a knowledge-seeker. To her point about learning, I definitely think I have a  genuine interest in school that most truly don't have.

4. Jason Interview (https://soundcloud.com/user-368372101/jasoninterview/s-V7uc5?in=user-368372101/sets/ent3003-assignment-16-interviews/s-NazKF)

• Being my best friend, Jason knows me in a lot of ways that family don't. His description of me was different from everyone else's in the way that he described my energy and humor. My family and girlfriend described me as kind and intelligent whereas he focused more on why i'm a good guy to "hangout" with.

5. Mom Interview (https://soundcloud.com/user-368372101/mominterview/s-qnl33?in=user-368372101/sets/ent3003-assignment-16-interviews/s-NazKF)

• My mom, who I initially started my interview by saying knows me best had one interesting take on what differentiates me. That point I think is something quite admirable in that I like to do everything to the best of my ability, kinda like a perfectionist as Naomi mentioned.

Reflect on the differences. 

I see myself as an independent and reliable person who is a hard worker and a quick learner with an abstract intelligence that allows me to be an effective problem solver. Others seem to see me in similar ways, primarily with the hard working and quick learning attributes. However, I was also seen as caring to my girlfriend and fun to be around by my best friend which I didn't quite instinctively think about myself. With that said, I think my interviewees were correct about me, everything sounded right, I think the differences are simply because of what side of me I express to each person. I don't think I would make any corrections to my aforementioned list, I think it covered my main five differentiating attributes.

ENT3003 Assignment 15A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Evaluating How Your Customers Evaluate Stuff

Report the Findings and Draw Conclusions:

My three interviews were again with people that were a part of my selected segment of students with a hand-writing preference, and particularly those with a mechanical pencil preference (I did however settle for one student in my three interviews who primarily used a pen when hand-writing.) My first Interview was conducted with a 19-year-old, Female Student attending UF as a Psychology major. My second interview was with a 21-year-old Male Student that’s is studying Finance. My final interview was with a 19-year-old Female at UF attending UF’s college of nursing.

When it comes to alternative evaluation, my interviews have led me to believe that the primary substitutes to my product are current mechanical pencils, wooden #2 pencils, ink pens, and an array of technological replacements to writing such as laptops, PCs, iPad’s, etc. My first interviewee described how she chooses which product to use based on the situation, saying that she’s much more likely to use her laptop in content-heavy classes, whereas she’s always using a mechanical pencil when taking hand-written notes for her math classes. I had similar responses in terms of subject determining utensil among my other interviews on this occasion and previously.

Among my three interviews, they all happened to say that they had brought their writing utensil from home and that it was purchased by themselves or a family member in-person never online, at a typical supermarket like Walmart or Publix. My third interview further described how her family tends to load up on school supplies right before the school year (July/August) and that this is when her current ink pens were purchased. My general impression across all three interviews is that they’re quite pleased with the purchases of their pencils/pens but that it’d be rare for them to be unhappy with a similar purchase.

To conclude, I believe the segment I chose to interview is highly interested in the convenience of purchasing and using their respective writing utensils. With that said, I think that they’re not too concerned with the price or effectiveness of their pencils, as the purchases are not thought about too extensively and are most likely not even purchased by themselves.