28 - Your Exit Strategy

1) My exit strategy would likely to be the sell the SBU MetalliStraw within the next few years as the value increased.

2) I selected this strategy because while the straw is our product, our mission is to create a more sustainable and environmentally friendly culture around the planet. Once MetalliStraw has become widespread, it is more more in line with our goals to sell it and reinvest the selling profit into other products or means of sustainability. MetalliStraw is simply a start point, and down the road another company is welcome to continue the product's success.

3) This has influenced many decisions along the life-cycle of the product. At the end of the day, I want to help save the planet and its inhabitants. Our mission was never to simply sell a straw, but to change the culture of the world and put a greater focus on preserving the environment for us, wildlife, and generations to come. While we do target specific segments for early adoption, the goal is to make MetalliStraw and future sustainable activities the standard around the globe.

27 - Reading Reflection #3

For the third reading, I read Shoe Dog about Phil Knight.

1) As a big Nike fan, I was surprised by a lot about Phil Knight. I did not realize that early in his life he was always a big runner, often running 7 miles to his workplace. What I admired most about him was his own self-drive. While my parents have always pushed me to succeed, his father forced him to find success on his own. There's little to not admire about the creator of one of the largest and most successful sports and shoe brands in the world. Knight certainly faced adversity, having to support himself by working for a newspaper and as an accountant, until he could solely pursue developing shoes.

2) The biggest thing I noticed about Phil Knight was his clear concept and drive. He knew exactly what he wanted to pursue, and did whatever it took to make it possible, like as I said working as an accountant while he waited for the product to develop. Further proving his own motivation, he sought to meet with a large Japanese shoe company's owner all on his own, and made his dream a reality.

3) While I thought it was interesting, I was somewhat confused about his role in Vinton Studios, but understand it brought him more success and revenue.

4) I would like to ask Phil Knight when he knew that shoes would be his future and how hard it was to commit to that concept. I would also like to ask him more about his relationship with Tinker Hatfield, as I find his design career fascinating.

5) I think Phil Knight's idea of hard work is being able to clearly identify your goals and make them realities. I do share this belief, but it is of course not always as easy as it sounds.

26 - Celebrating Failure

1) Over the course of my graduating semester, I have spent a LOT of time working on my resume. I thought I was pretty proficient with Microsoft Word, but I encountered many small annoying problems with formatting, wording, and plenty of other things throughout my iterations of resumes.

2) While I was simply seeking out how to make a resume, I ended up learning a lot about Microsoft Office as a whole. The things I learned and retained will be extremely useful going forward professionally.

3) Failure often caused me mental distress and frustration, but I've begun to realize that if I keep trying, there is little I cannot overcome. This class has tested me at times to remain focus and steadfast in keeping up with assignments, but I have learned greater patience and awareness because of it. I am much better at scheduling time and organizing my priorities and tasks now.

25 - What's Next?

Existing Market
I think the next thing in my venture, MettaliStraw's, future is to find a way to profitably pursue more direct environmentalist strategies. This includes actively working to improve the environment. An examples of this could be cleaning water to be reused for drinking or lower quality for other water uses. MetalliStraw could expand into bottled water.

I explained to three students about my company and venture idea, and asked what they thought I could look towards in the future. After some back and forth discussion there were some common things each of them brought up. One suggested that my company look into producing similar metal reusable products of often wasted materials. They tried to specify more, using toothpicks as an example. If my brand could be used to make a metallic reusable toothpick, that decreases waste even more. One student took my idea for straws and continued its theme by being more involved in sustainability in the beverage industry. I explained that my idea was for bottled water and they agreed it would be a good direction.

In the future, MetalliStraw will become more involved in beverages in two significant ways. On one side we will continue with our brand and product image, by making MetalliCups. Stemming from the idea to make other metal reusable products, and the current trend of shaker bottles and students carrying beverages throughout the day. Our product would be differentiated from Yeti cups and the likes because it would pair perfectly with our already established MetalliStraw.
Second, MetalliStraw will look into the bottle water industry. We will attempt to be among the most sustainable bottled water as far as plastic use, as well as using completely safe recycled drinking water.

New Market
I believe a radically different market would be a much older demographic, with less knowledge about environmental problems.

I think emphasizing the efficiency and benefits of my product rather than my mission could be appealing to this target market. Presenting my product as a infomercial type, fun product would be successful. Focusing on just the re-usability, but not the sustainability would be appealing. Highlighting benefits such as its ease of use and how it is machine washable would appeal to older people.

I spoke to the grandparents of two close friends. They enjoyed the idea of my product, and were genuinely surprised by the information I gave them on plastic's harm to the environment and oceans. They agreed that the background information might be lost on them if I hadn't explained it in greater detail. One said that they thought my product was quirky and interesting, a good gift. I told them my idea of presenting it more as an infomercial product and it paired very well with their gift idea.

While I did expect it to some extent, I was very surprised how unfamiliar the interviewees were with general environmental problems. They didn't see as if they had any need to be filled. From their perspective, a fun gift or unique conversation piece is a more recognized need. I can include this information in targeting this market by dropping some of the eco-friendly advertising and marketing, and solely display the product and its features, making it appear fun and trendy.

24 - Venture Concept No. 1

The requirements for the written description Word file does not open or work, so I found some difficulty in understanding exactly what is supposed to be included. I have done my best to fulfill this assignment without access to the requirements.

MetalliStraw was founded on the basis of environmentalism and seeking to solve the global issues of today regarding pollution. Based on research and data analysis, our team identified that one of the largest and widely unaddressed pollutants in the globe is plastic straw and its related waste. Our team realized that there was a great need around the planet for an alternative to plastic straws, to begin ending some of the problems of plastic pollution.

Deciding to manufacture a better straw was the first step in creating our current product. We did market research to see how this need for an alternative to a plastic straw was being filled. We found that many people cared about this issue of pollution but felt there was no way they could get around plastic straw use, which is in almost every restaurant and more. Some people said they chose to not use straws, but this means there need is left unfilled, and plastic straws still have no alternative that could decrease their demand. Many people also mentioned that they had made attempts to switch to cardboard straws that are recyclable and create less waste. However, generally people were dissatisfied with the quality of them and how cardboard straws tend to become saturated and useless over time. This made it clear to our team that there needed to be an alternative to plastic straws that could at least work as well as plastic straws, if not better. This is when we decided to work with metal straws, but we still wanted to differentiate.

While other metal straws have existed, few have the mission and intent on saving the environment, with data to back it up. Our decision to closely tie our mission to our product has kept the concept of environmentalism and saving the oceans on the forefront of product design and marketing. Every MetalliStraw comes with a booklet full of our research, data, and information explaining specifically how our products contributes to the decline of plastic waste and actively contributes to environmentalism.

We also noticed that while other companies had produced metal straws, none had sought to create the best, most simple product possible that could be a real alternative to plastic straws. Many companies had not considered their product post-purchase. We wanted to ensure that even after purchase, our straw continued to be utilized and appreciated, and our clients wouldn’t switch back to plastic. To prevent this post-purchase dissonance, we began to focus on the physical use of the straw and its weaknesses and advantages. Based on consumer purchasing habits, our team decided on a straw diameter that is most popular and ideal. Further we realized a reappearing theme among most reusable straws; they were simply too difficult to wash. Many customers found after a few uses, they could never return it to its original cleanliness. Our team decided to pursue materials that would be machine washable, thereby taking the cleaning process out of the consumers’ hands. Further we investigated what materials and metals would make the best straw. We identified alloys that would be more difficult for food and drink to adhere to. Now we have developed a straw that is completely dish washer safe and generally is less likely to become as dirty and uncleanable in the first place.

At MettaliStraw, our team decided that we wanted our product to be the consumer’s final solution and fulfill their need indefinitely. To achieve this, we added our lifetime warranty. Every MettaliStraw purchased comes with its own lifetime warranty, assuring that anything that could happen to the straw would be covered and replaced at no charge. Generally, we don’t expect our straws to need replacement, but we don’t want a bend or any other issue causing our clients to return to plastic straws and effectively damaging the environment. The lifetime warranty ensures customers will have loyalty with our company, and effectively help our brand, name and image grow.

 MetalliStraw is heavily reliant and appreciative of its investors. Upon our founding, we sought partnerships and relationships with people and other businesses that share our passion for the environment. Our investors are supportive of our mission and believe our company is on the forefront of solving a major environmental issue. Our capital structure is currently solely provided by equity and investment from these partners. Our team never wanted to finance around debt and values the relationships in our network more than any bank loan. We believe to go about solving global problems like pollution, it is best to develop a web of individuals passionate towards a solution rather than working on our own with loan financing.

What sets MetalliStraw apart is our mission and our people. We have never sought to develop a product to profit from. Instead we have focused on covering costs and expanding our role and mission. The employees within our company were originally attracted to us due to our message and mission, and we reaffirm this mentality through a complex corporate culture. While it may have many nuances, our culture revolves around what is best for the future health of our planet. Our employees are familiarized with our mission and how we serve to achieve it, creating a similar consensus throughout the company that is somewhat unique. Every employee is responsible for knowing their role within MetalliStraw and how they personally are contributing to cleaning our environment and decreasing our global reliance on plastic straws.

23 - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

Resources:

• Low production costs - Compared to a high sale price, low costs create more profit and value, not necessarily rare, is inimitable for other companies if the seek to cut costs, with more capital resource substitutes can be analyzed and further cost reduction can be pursued.
• Mission - MetalliStraw's mission to save the environment adds value by making the brand more likable, it is somewhat rare for a company to value it's environmentalist efforts over profit, it is imitable for other companies to focus on this mission but at the sacrifice of profit, our mission cannot be substituted.
• Human Capital - The employees at our company are dedicated and add value to our product, not all companies have a cohesive workforce that shares the company culture making it more rare, this can be mimicked by companies investing in culture and training, there is little substitute for the passionate employees.
• Social Capital - Our social capital adds value to our company, I would not call it rare, it could be replicated, there are many substitutes to our social capital.
• Financial Capital - Our finances are steady to keep our business afloat, our profits and revenues size are not all entirely rare, other companies could match our financial capital with debt financing or investment, the substitute to our finances would be taking on more debt.
• Global need - As the world turns more towards environmentalism our product becomes more valuable, this feature is rare as other companies cannot simply generate global need, it must already exist, there is no substitute for this.
• Unique product - Being unique adds value to the product, there is currently no fully metal straw that is completely machine washable making it rare, it could be replicated by companies thus a patent is needed, substitutes exist but do not serve the purpose of environmentalism.
• Mass Production - A relatively simple product can be mass produced fairly easy, this is rare as it requires infrastructure, companies could imitate this feature by investing in factories and cost-reduction, a substitute may be outsourcing production.
• Network - Our relationships with other businesses, restaurants, and suppliers adds value, it is unique to have the specific relationships we have, other companies have to put in great effort to create these relationships, there is no substitute for our network.
• Warranty - Our lifetime warranty adds valuable, this is rare as few products today have lifetime warranties, companies can mimic this feature but would cost them a lot, a substitute for our warranty could be improved customer service.

I think our mission is our most important feature and drives our success. By focusing on the mission of improving the situation of the environment, rather than trying to make a random product for profit, we ensure we provide the best service related to our goals.

22 - Elevator Pitch No. 3

1)

2) My peers reminded me to not include my name, and also recommended I speak with more conviction.

3) I took their advice and dropped my name from the entire pitch, focusing solely on the product. I also tried to make the introduction jump more and appeal to consumers' emotions. I also tried to differentiation my product/company from competition by making it more about the mission than just the product.

21 - Reading Reflection No. 2

Inbound Marketing - Peter Drucker

1) The book revolved around the theme of inbound marketing, a strategy and approach to marketing that focuses on the cyclical nature of attracting customers, providing service or product, and bringing those customers and more back.

2) The book reintroduced many concepts discussed in ENT3003, sometimes with different names or terminology. One element of marketing the book focused on, that is similar to this class, is the importance of developing relationships. Having a firm well-cared for relationship with a client has a great chance of retaining that client.

3) If I had to design an assignment for this class I would choose a blog post that relates to our individual products. Understanding how the inbound marketing mindset can be applied to your product could help students understand that cyclical process with their clients.

4) My most surprising moment was realizing how widely used this inbound strategy is used today. I have recently finished HubSpot's Inbound Marketing course, and I found it interesting noticing the parallels between Drucker's teachings and a more modern take on inbound marketing.

20 - Growing Your Social Capital

Domain Expert

Evan Gehler is currently a salesperson for specialty appliances. While his product has a much larger scale than mine, he often works directly with restaurants or similar food-based businesses. I met Mr. Gehler through my parents, who I asked if they would recommend anyone for this blog post. I emailed Mr. Gehler to contact him. Mr. Gehler gave me a lot of insight in how to approach these large businesses and in return I offered my help or future career should he ever need help. Having Mr. Gehler in my network is extremely valuable, since he can offer personal experience with working in a similar industry as well as help me meet contacts.

Market Expert

Brenda Medrano is currently an assistant manager at Bahama Breeze. Bahama Breeze is an ideal example of a business my product could be introduced to. Brenda is actually a close friend that I have known for sometime. I texted her asking if we could discuss this assignment and she was more than willing. She explained how ordering and equipment works within a restaurant setting, and gave me insight to how much waste is created from plastic straws just within her restaurant. I told her about my potential product, and she agreed that it could be a great success in a restaurant setting like Bahama Breeze. Having this person in my network is valuable because, as the entrepreneur of the product, I have less direct communication with consumers, and Brenda is able to bridge that gap by connecting me to the patrons of Bahama Breeze. She could also be a future client or representative if I were to approach Bahama Breeze about my business.

Supplier

Ryan Morley is a mechanical engineering graduate, whose passion is solid works. His day-to-day consists of building specialty parts to supply other businesses. I used to be roommates with Ryan, randomly matched through UF. I called Ryan to see if he was available to discuss my product and assignment. As someone who builds specialty parts daily, he looked at my product from a very different viewpoint. He gave me insight as to how easy or complicated it could be to physically create my product and mass produce it. Ryan is a valuable person to have in my network because one day I may need a solid works supplier to produce my Metalli-Straw, and he may be the perfect option.

19 - Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You:
My name is Steven Perdue, and I am currently about to graduate with a bachelor's degree in Food and Resource Economics. As a proud resident of Florida, I have always felt that environmentalism and eco-conservation is of utmost importance.

2) What are you offering to customers?
The Metalli-Straw. The first fully metal, reusable straw that is easily washable. As well my product will come with a cleaning brush as well as a information booklet that explains how my product contributes to eliminating plastic waste in an understandable and statistically driven manner.

3) Who are you offering it to?
On a large scale, I would like to have everyone own a Metalli-Straw. As far as regular consumers, I would target younger markets, typically college students, that generally are passionate about helping the environment. I would also like to work with businesses, specifically restaurants, about replacing their current straw supplier with Metalli-Straw.

4) Why do they care?
Consumers will care because this offers them a simple way to contribute to saving the planet and oceans, and with the booklet actually explains how they personally are helping. Restaurants have the opportunity to replace plastic straws that must be reordered often with a reusable permanent alternative. The switch to my product can also make companies look better to consumers by being more active in sustainability.

5) What are your core competencies?
The reusable or recyclable straw is not a new concept, but it is yet to be popularized. Cardboard alternatives simply don't last, and many reusable hard plastic straws are difficult to clean or break easily. The Metalli-Straw serves to improve the traditional plastic straw by eliminating waste, reducing consumer issues with cleaning, and making it a permanent solution, rather than a momentary one.


After reading my peers critiques of my first idea napkin, I realized I needed to be more detailed and specific in some areas. I tried to focus greater on attributes and benefits of my product, and what makes it unique. One peer recommended that I consider businesses and restaurants as a target market, and I couldn't agree more. I completely forgot about other businesses having potential for my product. For this second idea napkin, I tried to discuss the potential restaurants have for the my product.

18 - Create a Customer Avatar

While I would hope my product could apply to anyone and everyone, since saving the environment should be important to everyone, I understand that a target consumer must be identified more specifically.

My ideal customer is a young (college-age) woman who enjoys spending time in places like Starbucks. This avatar likes to eat out, and orders drinks that often includes straws. The avatar is typically eco-conscious, so they ideally would drive a Prius (or similar electric car), and white seems to be the most popular Prius color. This avatar would likely not have kids, and be more willing to spend money on non-necessities. This avatar's favorite politicians are usually more liberal, as they care about environmental issues.

I would definitely have some in common with the created avatar. I chose the product "MetalliStraw" because I am eco-conscious and concerned about the future of the environment. While I do not currently drive an electric car, it is certainly something I would like to in the future. I also own a white car, which may subconsciously why I chose the avatar to have a white car. I am generally more liberal as well, which aligns with my interest in protecting and cleaning up the planet.

17 - Elevator Pitch No. 2

My peers both mentioned that I had forgot to include or mention a price in my first elevator pitch. One also mentioned that I should try to touch on consumers' empathy towards the environment.

I tried to accomplish both of these things by giving my product a $12.98 price, as well as speaking more onto the potential environmental damage a consumer is doing by not purchasing my product.

16 - What's Your Secret Sauce?

1)
Loyalty - I am dedicated to holding my word and always being there for those who are there for me

Empathy - I do my best to "put myself in another's shoes" and try to understand their perspective and why they feel that way.

Logical - I tend to approach things from a very data and fact-based perspective.

Experience Selling - I've worked for multiple years selling tech devices on the floor by conversing with customers, understanding their needs, and recommending the best solution.

Genuineness - For better or worse, I am not good at lying. I like to be honest and straight forward with everyone I meet, which is important to developing strong relationships in business and life in general.

2) Unfortunately, I conducted the 5 interviews, taking notes on pad and paper, without realizing the conversations needed to be recorded. Some of the interviews were done over phone, while some were done in person.

I spoke to my girlfriend, a few friends, as well as my parents. They did speak on my loyalty; that they all felt I would always be there for them need be. They all discussed that I'm very caring and good at taking others into consideration at all times. A few commented on my good posture, combined with my height, and how it helps me be presentable. My dad reminded my that I am a certified Cricket cell phone dealer, which gave me hands-on experience selling a specific product and service to a specific market segment.

3)
Others often tell me I seem confident, which is certainly not always how I feel. As someone who has struggled with insecurity and social anxieties, it was interesting to hear that most people don't perceive those things from me. My perceptions are more mental, and not outwardly projected. I generally am not one to brag or believe that I'm special in anyway, but my friends and family highlighted the things that make me unique, which I believe I should focus on to become a more complete and whole me.

15 - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior Pt. 2

I evaluated three more students this week. All of the students identified as frequent straw users.

Upon questioning them about alternatives, I learned a lot. While many see the need to reduce plastic straw use, many simply choose not to purchase any straw to reduce pollution. When I questioned them about plastic straws and reusable straws in comparison, I discovered that the higher price of the variety of reusable straws is often a deterrent to consumers, even though the straws can be reused. In a similar way, these consumers agreed that the physical appearance of a hundred pack of straws for a low price, compared to one reusable straw for a higher price, gives the perception that the plastic straws are a better value. All three agreed that paper or cardboard straws were less desirable as they tend to become soggy over time. Price and visual appearance seemed to be the most important attributes among the interviewees. While two of them agreed that quality was important to them, they had difficulty determining quality or comparing in-store with the products in packaging.

The group of students agreed that since straws are pretty standard day-to-day items, they usually purchase them from a grocery store. Most grocery stores don't sell reusable straws; usually they must be purchased and ordered online. Due to thinking of straws as a grocery item, this barrier causes many to lose interest in taking time to order something as simple as a straw. Because it is a fairly low-cost product, most preferred paying in cash, unless it was purchased with the rest of their groceries, in which credit was preferred.

The interviewees gave very interesting replies to how, or if at all, they evaluate their purchase afterwards. When purchasing plastic straws, that have a one-time use, most never thought about the purchase afterwards, but simply continued to use and throw away the product. However, when asked about reusable straws, their answers were different. Many were happier with the decision to purchase a reusable straw, rather than having little opinion post-purchasing plastic straws. The interviewees explained that whenever they use their reusable straw, they remember the action they are taking to help the planet, which in turn better satisfies their purchasing decision.

In conclusion, the main alternative in this segment is going to be either regular plastic straws, or not using one at all. Most people put little thought into purchasing straws, and end up just getting the most readily available ones. While consumers generally don't experience post-purchase dissonance from plastic straws, they do seem happier in their post-purchase evaluation of reusable straws.

14A - Halfway Reflection

1) It's important to stay on top of the Canvas calendar, and keep track of EVERY assignment, blog post, and quiz that could be due. Making a ritual of checking the calendar every morning has ensured that I stay on track and don't get behind in ENT3003.

2) There has certainly been times this semester where stress has set in and I've felt like giving up. A specific example is the week of Career Showcase. With my future career in mind, I had completely forgone worrying about assignments and let them pile up in ENT3003 and other courses. After that week, I've become better at organizing my time, as well as planning for upcoming events outside of the classroom. By being ahead on my assignments, stress is greatly reduced when there is outside events like Career Showcase.

3) If I had to compile three tips for a future student, I would say,

- Don't get behind. Stay several days ahead on coursework, and in case of emergency or outside conflicts, there will still always be time to make up that work before it is due.

- Create a schedule. Dedicated a particular "period" or hour slot certain days of the week solely for ENT3003. It has to be finished sometime, and between two classes midday is much better than at 11:55PM after a long day of work.

- Use all your resources. Most of the coursework is not difficult if you're diligent about making use of all class lectures, readings, as well as UF libraries and more. These tools are there for us to succeed, it's only logical to make use of them.

13A - Reading Reflection No. 1

I read about Muhammad Yunus

1) I had personally not heard of Yunus prior to this reading. I was extremely surprised as to the impact Yunus has had on economics, specifically microcredit and micro-lending. The thing I most admired about him was his pure drive to succeed as well as his desire to help others. As someone who struggles with motivation sometimes, Yunus' dedication to success, for not just himself but his people, is very admirable. There was very little about his story that I did not admire. Yunus certainly dealt with hardship and overcame difficulties. From being born in a less than prosperous family and community, to his mother's illness when he was very young, he has constantly overcame hardship. While attempting to create a foundation for microcredit in Bangladesh, he experienced conflict from many political and cultural sides for his pursuit to change socio-economic standards.

2) Yunus took the concept of lending and made it more accessible on a much smaller scale. Throughout his career, he displayed knowledge of his target market, understanding of risk and repayment, as well as being able to successfully pitch microcreditting to Bangladesh's national bank. Later, Yunus would horizontally segment his business interests, creating separate SBU's such as the Grameen Fishing Foundation and the Grameen Agriculture Foundation.

3) Some of Yunus' education, as well as Bangladeshi banking holding different economic and cultural values and structure compared to the United States. It was surprising that the national bank, prior to Yunus' work, didn't aid poorer citizens.

4) If I could ask Yunus two questions I would ask,

When did you realize you had a passion for economics or what pushed you in the direction of studying economics?

- As someone born in the U.S., business and associated degrees are heavily emphasized, which is why I felt I naturally fit into this study. During Yunus' youth, earning a degree wasn't as standard and expected, making me wonder what peaked Yunus' interest into further education.

Do you feel that your studying in the United States made a significant impact versus had you studied else for your PhD?

- Degrees from the United States may arbitrarily hold more face-value than some countries. I wonder if studying in the United States presented him with more opportunities than his home country.

5) I believe to Yunus, hard work is achieving success not only for yourself but for your community and family- Doing your best for the betterment of all. Yunus always strove to challenge himself, without every forgetting his origin and home. I do share the belief that success should be shared, not for just one's own personal gain.

12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Segment - Young students who live in U.S. coastal regions.

I interviewed three students from the University of Florida. All three agreed that plastic straws do pose a problem today. They all mentioned various places where they encounter this need; typically at restaurants, with one also being a straw-user at home. They all found that this need is usually encountered once or more per day. As I presented them with some data of the increasing issues of plastic pollution, two of them mentioned that the future of this need will increase.

One student said that to solve this need they had already tried reusable straws in the past, and found them annoying as they would get dirty or sticky, and they would be unable to clean the inside. The other two mentioned that they would simply choose to use straws less at home and in restaurants. I asked if they had ever sought to fill that need before, and two of them had searched online, the one having purchased a different reusable straw. It seemed that no company provided them with a full explanation of the importance of the product, as well as it often being highly priced in comparison to plastic straws.

I would describe this market segment of younger students as generally uninformed but passionate about solving environmental concerns. It seems the largest problem is market penetration and actually informing these students of how much an impact using reusable versus plastic straws can make. I would emphasize the words "reusable", "metal straw", and "plastic waste solutions" based on the responses of the interviewees.

11A - Idea Napkin No. 1

1) You.
My name is Steven Perdue. I (will) hold a bachelor of science in Food and Resource Economics. As a Florida native, I've always greatly valued our oceans and environment. I see the future of the Metalli-Straw as the future of Florida's clean waters.

2) What are you offering to customers?
A metallic straw, that comes with a helpful cleaning brush, and is entirely reusable and washable. The product also comes with a booklet insert to inform just how Metalli-Straw makes an impact on our environment.

3) Who are you offering it to?
Generally, I would like to put this product in everyone's hands. Our target market is typically younger consumers, particularly students. More specifically, our product targets this demographic within coastal regions, where plastic pollution is more readily visible.

4) Why do they care?
Plastic straws continue to be produced and continue to damage the environment and the oceans. Metalli-Straw offers an alternative that is reusable, and works to eliminate the need for plastic straws. The Metalli-Straw can be used for a lifetime; a single purchase rather than needing to repurchase hundreds and thousands of straws. The customer will be helping the planet, while also making a smart financial investment for the long term.

5) What are your core competencies?
While there have been other reusable straws in the past, we aim to make your commitment to the environment as simple as possible. Where some straws fail in ease of cleaning, we have included a brush to clean the inside of Metalli-Straw, as well as made it completely dish-washer safe. Not only do we provide a product to promote the health of the environment, but we have done our research. Our updated booklet insert with every product will provide data for the current state of pollution and plastic-use, as well as Metalli-Straw's impact on that data. In this way we provide a unique product to our customers.

10A - Elevator Pitch No. 1

9A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Hypothesis:
Plastic Straws can be replaced by reusable metal ones, or done away with altogether.

Who:
It was difficult finding people, or any kind of common group of people, who are not effected by this opportunity. People who felt they did not have any need for reusable straws, or did not care to do away with plastic straws, typically were people who were either uneducated about the dangers plastic straws cause, or they simply do not value to environment or wildlife as highly as consumer comfort. The reasoning behind people not caring usually had to do with their core values or political beliefs/positioning.

What:
Some of the interviewees that did not know or did not care much about this opportunity questioned why the focus was on straws; why wasn't I interested in all sorts of plastic waste and pollution? In my opinion this is the clear split of this need compared to another. Plastic straws are not a completely necessary product, like some other plastic products, and it seems to be one of the easiest to eliminate, but still has one of the largest impacts on pollution.

Why: 
I believe that the underlying need is not necessarily different. Many are simply unaware of how important of a need it is, and how dependent their future may be on this opportunity. Whether it was due to lack of knowledge, or not valuing the environment, it didn't seem that the need didn't exist, but rather non-supporters were simply unaware of the need and how important it is.

                             

Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Most consumers	Uninformed consumers, anti-environmentalists
To eliminate plastic straw waste	Not trying to eliminate all plastic waste, or increase metal straw waste
Plastic straws are extremely damaging to the environment	These consumers need to be given more info and helped to understand why this need affects them.

8A - Solving The Problem

1) The Problem

Often at night, McDonald's will not serve desserts like ice cream or McFlurries, although according to the menu they do. Stores do this to avoid having to re-clean the ice cream mixing machine, and effectively doing more labor. Many people want and are willing to pay for this product, but it is simply not being offered.

2) The Solution

My firm intends to create a non-toxic cleaning fluid that completely eliminates grime and food particles, and can be simply washed away with water. This cleaning product would specifically be made to clean dairy-based food residue. By making the cleaning process much simpler, quicker, and easier, employees at McDonald's will be more willing to continue using the ice cream machine into later hours of the night.

7A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1) After peer-reviewing my classmates' blogs, I realize that there is a huge opportunity I never thought of, and have experience with. Plastic straws continue to be a major source of pollution in our oceans, and are not completely necessary. Over summer, I prepared a presentation about the problems caused by plastic straws, and steps we could take as a society to decrease the amount of plastic straws in the future.

2)
Who: The Earth, the environment, and the Oceans. (And further, humankind as residents of the planet)
What: Plastic pollution continues to grow larger, and serve as a bigger threat to wildlife.
Why: The leading cause of plastic pollution is plastic drinking straws, which specifically due to their shape, can cause even more damage than other types of plastic.

3)
Testing the Who: Are people aware that the Earth and oceans are suffering? Do they feel this is their responsibility, or do they feel affected by it? Is anything or anyone else affected?
Testing the What: Is pollution increasing or decreasing? Are people making an attempt to recycle or decrease plastic use?
Testing the Why: Are there other major causes of ocean pollution? Is this failure due to consumers? Or due to lack of policy?

4) Summary of interviews
Of the five people I interviewed, all of them were familiar and aware that plastic pollution is a major threat to the planet. Some felt strongly that this was an issue that needed to be addressed, while others did acknowledge that it was an issue but didn't feel strongly about it. Some also added that more plastic pollution could cause political or economic problems on top of the obvious environmental damage. All of the interviewees were unsure of whether pollution was becoming more or less of a problem, which shows that this opportunity needs to be discussed more. Of the five, three said they recycled, with one already having committed to avoiding plastic straws. Two did not recycle, but understood the importance, and said they were willing to in the future to help this issue. As far as other sources of pollution, people quickly pointed out other plastics in general, Styrofoam, oil and chemical runoffs, as well as gases. One interviewee specified more that another large source of plastic pollution comes from deep-sea fishing nets. When I asked them who the fault of this issue, and solution, fell on, most replied that they hadn't ever considered that. Was this more an issue of consumers abusing the environment and needing to improve their recycling and plastic use culture? Or, is the government responsible for maintaining the environment and protecting it? When I clarified this question, they all agreed that it is a combination of the two. While consumers do need to be better about their plastic use, the government should also be making efforts to reduce pollution and improve the health of our oceans.

6A - Identifying Opportunity In Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Opportunities

1) Florida Healthcare Helper funds cut

I learned of this issue from a Gainesville Sun article. In the past, there has always been a lot of readily available help and guidance to navigating healthcare, but recently funding cuts has eliminated a lot of their support. Any healthcare users would likely be affected by this increasing issue. This opportunity has a simple solution, redistributing the funding and increasing healthcare counselors, but finding the necessary money to fund may be more difficult.

I found this opportunity because I personally do have difficulty navigating the expansive system of healthcare offered in the United States, Florida, and various companies. This problem will at some point directly effect me.

2) NASA expansion

NASA and space exploration and research has always been a focus of the American people. More recently, President Trump has shift this focus, by majorly cutting funding to NASA and space programs. I've learned about this issue from many various news outlets. This opportunity does exist because there is a lot of work and research available to be done, but simply can't because the funding is not present. Many employees, scientists, astronauts and more are affected by this in that it limits their ability to work successfully. This disrupts a major employer, business, and future research. Solving this problem would include allocating more money towards NASA, but again, it may be difficult to physically find money to use.

I found this opportunity because I'm quite interested in the future of space research and exploration. The United States is not acting as efficiently or quickly as it could be when research, and it disappoints people like myself when we don't reach our potential.

Regulatory Opportunities

1) ICE and Kids in Prisons

Current policies are separating refugee kids from their parents as they enter the United States, fleeing from other countries. This opportunity presented itself all over the news and media outlets. The opportunity to do more with these kids, and their parents, is being ignored. The people effected by this are the kids, the parents, tax-payers who are responsible for providing boarding for them, as well as the future success of the United States. If more is done for these people who want to contribute to the United States, the future success of the U.S. could improve. This would be difficult to solve, as there are many factors in play, but steps towards ensuring these families a real future in the U.S. would be major in moving towards a solution.

I found this opportunity because it is something that is personally upsetting and much more could be done to improve this situation.

2) Legal Medical & Recreational Marijuana

The United States is currently split between states with full legality of marijuana, medical legality, and complete criminality. This opportunity is everywhere in the media, with many states and private companies making huge profits off the newly legalized industry. The opportunity for jobs, tax money, profit and more that legal marijuana provides is huge. Many people are affected by this. Laborers who could be employed by the marijuana industry are hurt. Recreational users of illegal marijuana are punished, while a large portion of the country it is perfectly legal. Patients who could use cannabis to improve their medical situation are harmed by not having access to this medication. This opportunity would not be hard to solve, as many states have already solved it by legalizing marijuana to different extents.

I found this opportunity because I'm very interesting in the expanding cannabis industry, and plan to look for career opportunities within it in the future and after graduation. It is vital to my career aspirations that this industry continues growing and breaking barriers throughout the country.

5A - Identifying Local Opportunities

1) Mother, Infant, Among several killed by Hurricane Florence

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180914/mother-infant-among-several-killed-by-hurricane-florence

As Hurricane Florence begins to hit the east coast of the United States, damage and destruction have already started. Several people have died due to trees falling, electric issues, as well as wind damage. Since this is just the beginning of the hurricane, it is sure to do much more damage in the following days, with many citizens at risk of harm.

In this article, the mass destruction and lack of preparedness displays a huge problem. While states like Florida have had to prepare for hurricanes for years, many east coast residents that live farther north are not used to dealing with these kinds of natural disasters. Recently, the Carolina's passed a law that makes creating policies based on weather and future forecasts illegal. This is a huge issue and will come back to haunt these states as this hurricane gets worse.

The problem is experienced by the residents in North and South Carolina that are at risk to be harmed by the coming storm.


2) 10 Communities, including Marion County, to share $500K to reduce bear conflicts

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180913/10-communities-including-marion-county-to-share-500k-to-reduce-bear-conflicts

Bear and human interaction has increased in recent times in central Florida, and it causes many to worry about the potential danger of having bears nearby. Several areas of the state have come together, seeking the best way to prevent bears from getting into trashcans, as well as entering parks with civilians in them. $500,000 was put together from these communities to invest in research and materials to prevent future bear problems.

The problem addressed in this article is bears having easy access to public areas, and causing distress and potential harm among residents.

This problem is experienced by all residents within these areas, and owners of trashcans that are tampered with by bears.


3) Funds for Florida health insurance helpers cut by millions

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180913/funds-for-florida-health-insurance-helpers-cut-by-millions

Federal funding for health insurance helpers continues to be cut. Last year over $3 million was cut. This year, due to President Trump's policies, it will be cut by another $5 million. This money was previously allocated to "helpers" that would do in-person counseling about health insurance, and help make it more understandable for the average consumer.

The problem this article presents is that average-consumers or lesser-educated consumers now have less access to information and knowledge about the United States' and Florida's healthcare system and policies. These counselors made it much easier for consumers to choose the best plan possible, but now will be much less funded.

This problem impacts many consumers that would need advice about healthcare, as well as affecting the actual ability of the counselors to provide information and labor, with less funding.


4) Federal Judge orders Spanish sample ballots

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180907/federal-judge-orders-spanish-sample-ballots

There is an estimated 30,000 Puerto Ricans across 32 counties in Florida. Judge Mark Walker ordered that more Spanish sample ballots need to be made to accommodate all these American voters that may have trouble with English ballots.

The problem addressed in this article is that there is a huge population of people who are American citizens and have the right to vote, but have difficulty exercising that right because of a language barrier. Without such a huge portion of people voting, elections are not as accurate and do not represent the entire population as well as they should.

The issue impacts Spanish-speaking eligible voters in Alachua as well as surrounding counties.


5) Florida Red Tide: Wildlife advocate stunned by 'Level of Carnage' on fish

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180823/florida-red-tide-wildlife-advocate-stunned-by-level-of-carnage-on-fish/1

On the southwest coast of Florida, red tide algae has been growing larger and larger. Recently, 452 sea turtles, 100 manatees, 11 dolphins, and thousands of fish have died due to the red tide that now stretches almost 150 miles.

There was two issues present in this article due to the growing red tide. First, wildlife is dying at an alarming rate due to the toxic algae bloom. Second, partly because of the wildlife dying, tourism on Florida's west coast has suffered majorly.

This problem effects everyone. It effects all the ocean wildlife, as well as terrestrial wildlife that may feed on fish. Residents all around the state, from every socio-economic background, are more and more impacted by the presence of the algae bloom and associated health repercussions, large quantities of dead wildlife, as well as the decline in tourism.

4A - Forming An Opportunity Belief

1) My opportunity in society is McDonald's realistically serving ice cream or milkshakes at night, although technically it is an available product.

2) The unmet need in society is dessert products at late hours, provided by a drive thru specifically. While McDonald's offers desserts like ice cream, they often refuse service and turn off the machines that make desserts. The need for late night snacks has existed in most of modern history. Right now, this unmet need is usually filled with a late-night run past a convenience store or gas station. This opportunity surely exists, as I have experienced it many times, as well as witnessed others encounter this issue. As well, the next best alternative to this opportunity is certainly not the same as the original product desired.

3) Usually younger people, who would be up later in the night.

Customer 1: Ryan (a good friend and student at UF)
4) Ryan felt that while this problem doesn't occur to him as often as me, he does experience it usually at least once a month. He said this problem has encountered many times throughout his life, remembering that he even encountered this issue when he was much younger. When Ryan is turned down by McDonald's, he usually has to go to a convenience store and buy more expensive dessert products. He agrees that McDonald's should offer desserts the entire duration of them being open.

5) Reflecting on my interview with Ryan, I realized that this is a relatable issue that many people experience. I learned that not everyone may encounter this opportunity as much as I do, but it is still an issue present in their lives.

Customer 2: Tyler (a friend who works late night delivering around Gainesville)
4) Tyler had an interestingly different perspective on this opportunity. As someone who is often on the road late at night, Tyler felt this opportunity was often present in his life. He said that he often wishes he could stop at a drive-thru for a dessert. He didn't have an alternative when this need isn't met, because while working, he doesn't have enough time to go into a convenience store, and very few other options are available. He agreed with me that desserts should be offered late night.

5) Reflecting on my interview with Tyler, I was very surprised that he brought up time as a factor in his decision making. For me, this opportunity is a matter of price and convenience, but to Tyler, with only limited time, he is unable to get access to other options. This reassured my belief that this opportunity is present in many people's day-to-day lives

Customer 3: My Mom
4) My mom had a vastly different perspective than my other two interviewees. As an older person, she said she doesn't encounter this problem very often. First, she is usually not awake as late, or in desire of sugary foods late. She also said that in general, McDonald's isn't as appealing, as she prefers more healthy food options. She did understand the need, but simply said it doesn't impact her very often.

5) Reflecting on my interview with my mom, I realized I hadn't explored all the potential customer types. In my own way of thinking, I hadn't considered that there may be a section of consumers that don't realize this opportunity. It was interesting to me that once I informed her of this opportunity, she understood why it was an issue, and agreed that desserts should be offered lately as stated.


7) My opportunity is mainly the same, as it is a very relatable issue experienced or understood across a variety of types of consumers. If I were to make my opportunity more specific, rather than "serving desserts late hours," I would restate it as "serving desserts all operating hours." This opportunity belief would be more inclusive, and include older consumers like my mom. I believe that entrepreneurs absolutely should take customer input and adapt their opportunity beliefs. Developing an opportunity belief solely from the perspective of the entrepreneur limits how affect a solution to the opportunity could be.

3A - Your Entrepreneurship Story

3 years ago, I worked for Gamestop. During my 2 and a half years there, my duties often including cleaning, shelving, cashiering, as well as on-the-floor selling and planning and coordinating special events. My time selling consoles, games and more at Gamestop taught me a lot about how to sell and more importantly how to adjust your selling/entrepreneurial skills to each individual customer. This taught me that the customer or consumer, and their thoughts, are much more important than the actual product or its features. The entrepreneur needs to have an understanding of his or her customers' needs, and then be able to target those needs with products.

Hosting midnight releases also served to teach me a lot. Coordinating hundreds of people can be difficult and needs to go according to plan, or can become hectic. I also found that developing relationships improved our success as a business. Included in my post is a picture from our Star Wars midnight release. Through some customer contacts, we were able to start a relationship with a cosplay group in Gainesville. This worked to our benefit, as for free, they attended our event and took photos with customers. This relationship helped our event to be even more successful.

I hope to get a lot out of ENT this year. I want to be able to call myself an entrepreneur and understand what goes into being a successful entrepreneur. I'm looking forward to getting more in-depth as to what the core values are to an entrepreneur.

2A - Bug List

1. McDonald's Ice Cream Machine not working at nights
• Employees feel having to re-clean the machine is not worth the value it brings in.
2. New iPhone's requiring an extra cable to use a 3.5mm headphone jack.
• Apple has greater control over what products you need/use.
3. Internet not working - needing internet to contact support.
• With increasing tech, more companies use online-only support
4. High cost of Textbooks/Required Materials.
• Companies understand that students MUST buy these items, and can form an informal cartel to set a price floor.
5. Vinyl Records are usually sold online now, but shipping quality is not up to par.
• Many sellers of vinyl don't have personal experience with it and don't understand how fragile it is.
6. Turo Car Rental lets users register with incorrect license info.
• Without enough pre-checks, a car can be rented under incorrect legal info.
7. Travis Scott's Astroworld Merch Sale Timed Exclusives
• The sale started as limited time, but was brought back later, adding to the exclusivity of the merch, but also negatively impacting people who purchased first.
8. Drake's uncreative music
• The demand for Drake's music is so high, that the quality has suffered, but sells regardless due to demand.
9. Video Game Lootboxes
• More and more companies see the potential profit in in-game loot boxes, but detracts from focus on the game's true content.
10. Fake Jewelry vs Real Jewelry
• Since value is assigned by the consumer, many people purchase cheaper fake jewelry that is very similar to real, effectively increasing the value of fake jewelry and decreasing the value of real.
11. Tobacco prices across the U.S. are not standardized
• Due to varying state laws, tobacco products such as Swisher Sweets, cost a different price for the exact same product in different states.
12. Many airlines no longer offering baggage with the ticket
• Base ticket prices can be lower by charging customers for baggage after the ticket purchase.
13. Xbox One Controller breaking
• The same issue has broken 3 times in 4 months, all directly after 1-month warranty expired. This forces the consumer to continue purchasing new controllers.
14. Sony and PlayStation refusing to allow cross-platform play.
• Sony doesn't believe other consoles are up to par with theirs, keeps their console more exclusive.
15. Sony having the exclusive rights to Spiderman games.
• While frustrating to the consumer, this gives Sony a unique competitive advantage.
16. SoundCloud not having a queue feature.
• SoundCloud doesn't have the infrastructure or resources to make a more streamlined app.
17. Not enough regulation on gun sales.
• Companies aren't required by law to do thorough enough background checks, and prioritize sales over safety.
18. Mechanic shops automatically looking for more problems.
• If a mechanic finds more problems than the original work being done, it may provide more business.
19. At Domino's (my workplace), multiple places where "side-items" can or will appear.
• While this makes it easier for customers to order sides, it increases the likelihood a mistake will be made, as special instructions or sides can print in a huge variety of places.
20. Burger King breakfast ending at 10:30am.
• Burger King has determined that it isn't profitable to continue serving breakfast all day, although McDonald's does.

It was somewhat difficult coming up with 20 "bugs." Some were very obvious and appear often in day-to-day life, but others required more in-depth thought. I realized that from a consumer perspective, many things seem to have "bugs" or problems, that can sometimes be justified, but nonetheless harm consumer belief.

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