The Twenty Percent

Interview:
Bonchon Chicken is a franchise with limited locations across America. They are loved for their close to authentic Korean barbecue chicken. This is a transcript from the conversation I had with an owner in Virginia. (I was on a trip in Virginia, and I had to do what I had to do.)
(Transcript)
Me: "What do you think sets you apart? What's your target audience demographic? Do you feel like your product fills an unmet need?"
Business owner:
"I think my target audience is anyone who appreciates good fried chicken. Picture foodies with food blogs and college students on food adventures. There's a reason why people come for the chicken. It's close to authentic Korean Fried Chicken as you can get. Plus, locations are limited to the northern regions so if anyone is interested in chicken, you have to travel."

Included are videos of customer interactions.
Overview:
-Most are "word of mouth" clients (they received their recommedation from friends and reviews)
-They sometimes travel far from out of state to order some if in the area

Reflections:
I think the owner understands the needs of the clients. It would be amazing if more locations were opened up, but maybe the appeal of the product would be dimmed if it were made available more conveniently.

Half-way Reflection

1) What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 
One of the most important things to remember is just to "have fun," because when you have fun with these kinds of assignments, you do it with the best effort that you have. I have read a lot of comments on my blog, and I notice a lot of individuals that say that they could tell I put a lot of effort into my assignments, but it is really all about having fun, being positive, giving it the "best" you got. 

2) Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?
Two years ago, my sister went missing for a week. The police did not find her until the end of the week, and they refused to release her--they found her in Massachusetts. They refused to release her because she had admitted to trying to kill herself with carbon monoxide poisoning and failed; due to that failure, she ended up driving along the East Coast and eventually ended up in Massachusetts. My mom and I had to leave from where we were, drop everything and travel to Massachusetts--where we saw snow for the first time--and stay with my young sister for her 1-2 week in-patient hospitalization treatment. 

What pulled me through was the fact that I had such a good support system. I had the blessing of being sent a video filled with "Happy Birthday's" from my sorority. (Yes, I had my birthday up north in a completely new environment.) Plus, being with my mom was nice--she works a lot.

I definitely do feel different within the past two months. I feel more confident (more so than usual), more positive about life, more engaging in conversations, etc. I can even tell/feel myself change as it happened. I cannot really explain it, but it is wonderful. 
I think the moment when I realized I was changing for the better was when I realized I was comfortable with talking to anyone, which apparently is a skill. For example, I was able to receive an internship offer from a CEO at a biotechnology company and a job offer at Gator 100. 

3) What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

1. Do any assignment in your way...aka "the fun way."
2. See every assignment as an opportunity, rather than a task. 
3. Just know that this is to help you and not limit you. 

.....and 4. Be a boss. (like the pic down there)

 

Week 8 Reading Reflection

  1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

I was surprised to learn about social lending and crowdfunding. I had no idea that these ideas were part of a 21^st century phenomenon. I definitely see the need for entrepreneurs to seek this type of funding because commercial lenders don’t want to bear the risk of a new entrepreneur. I just didn’t know the definition of a social lender, where it is based (the internet), and how entrepreneurs found this new phenomenon as a source of capital.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

I was confused about the whole idea of an “angel;”. The book went into great detail explaining the different types of angels and their motives to invest in an entrepreneur, but I just still don’t really understand what they are and why they care to invest. I am picturing something like the show “Shark Tank”, but I wish the terms and explanations were a little bit simpler so I could understand easier.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

I would ask the author what the benefits of raising capital through a private placement vs preferred stock because in one of my other classes I learned that preferred stock was often used in venture capital. I would also ask the author in his/her opinion, is an IPO the best exit strategy for a venture capital firm?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I disagree with the author in the myths about venture capitalists section. While I do believe the number one myth is true in some regards, I think the blanket statement cannot be thrown on the good intentions of venture capitalists and therefore dispel the myth. I believe the original idea of a venture capitalist was to influence and help out the starting entrepreneur with funds, but with money there is greed and a want for power. I just don’t think the author has enough evidence to assert that all venture capitalists do not want to control the company. Maybe that isn’t their initial intention, but I think it happens more frequently than not.

Giving Money

• Where will you go?

I went to the Laurels, which is an apartment complex. 

• What kind of people will you approach?

I will approach anyone because I want an unbiased method in this particular activity. 

• What will you say to get the conversation started?

Tell them that this is a social experiment with one question they just have to answer. 

• What is your plan for the conversation?

My plan is to basically brighten up their day. You can see by the reactions that I was 

successful, especially with the Asian couple and the girl who was crying. 

• Out of the five attempts, how many bills do you think you will give away? 

I was not expecting to give any money away, but the fact that I did shows that money is paper. It does

not mean anything, and giving back to the community and making the world a happier place is much

more valuable. 

Week 7 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

 I found the biggest surprise of this reading was the use of the term “Human Types”. I’m interested in this terminology. The usage of tiny, insignificant details about a person is just so interesting. 

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

I would have like to hear more about why the 1950′s sparked a shift in consumer habits. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

I would ask him for my specific solutions to the instances where targeting demographics has failed. What are some ways this can be redeemed and what is usually the biggest reason why this happens? 

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

Maybe this was just me, but I did not see anything wrong with what was said. 

Elevator Pitch No. 2

1) The pitch.  
(Transcript)
"Hello, my name is Lauren;  I am a 4th year at the University of Florida, and I am an avid scavenger of food. I don't know about y'all, but I search far and wide and sometimes, I wish I had food at the most inconvenient times. Have you ever wished your friends or even a stranger could deliver you food late at night when you're studying and immobile at Club West or Marston? Well, let me introduce you to an interactive app that connects you to a community of food deliverers to you. This app called "Growl" will allow you to connect to your friends in an interactive app community where you all are able to accept each other's personal food requests and retrieve these food items in a "food-run-mission" under a limited amount of time, like 20 minutes, which the hungry person can set. Let's put this into a scenario. 
You're sitting alone at Marston. You hear your stomach growling. You log onto the app, post on your status something along the following lines: "I am hungry for some McDonalds, and I need it in 15 minutes." If someone on your friendslist is available and accepts your food challenge, he/she will accept the chance to buy your food item. With every successful food run, your friends can rack up points for prizes, and after every food delivery, you can rate if the deliverer was a 4/5 star deliverer, if the food was correctly ordered, etc. You can even change your settings and allow other community members that aren't your friends to deliver you food. You should never go hungry late at night. Join the Growl app community. Remember. Don't let your hunger roar, just "Growl."

2) A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch. 
The feedback I received on my pitch was the technicalities of my video, so this time around, I didn't want to distract viewers with gimmicks and video tricks. I wanted people to listen to the gist of the app idea. 


3) What did you change, based on the feedback?
I incorporated less visual distractions. I actually focused on just the pitch for the idea.

Week 6 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 
 For this week's reading, it was Michael Porter: The Five Forces that Shape Competitive Strategy. The biggest surprise to me in this reading was how well boiled down market forces. The forces were well described in the reading, and it made me understand a complex concept in an easier fashion.
2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
  I was initially confused by the assertion that being fast-growing as an industry does not always equal big profits. It was initially counter-intuitive to me, but it eventually made sense after reading the explanation.
3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?
 If I could ask the author any two questions, I would ask what types of industries are most often vulnerable to being fast-growing but not profitable. Secondly, I would ask how best to navigate government forces with regards to affecting the industry.
4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?
 There was nothing I particularly disagreed with while reading through the assigned reading.

Customer Interviews No. 3

1) Describe your interviewing strategy. What questions do you intend on asking? Who are you going to ask? And so on.

• Would this be something you would be interested in? 
• Would you use it solely to satisfy your hunger or do you like a competitive aspect better? 
• Would you want to challenge friends and have every successful food run be rewarded via points for giftcards/prizes to be exchanged for?  

2) Conduct the interviews. As always, 5 interviews, video recorded. 
3) Reflect on what you learned. What did you learn from the interviews? What surprised you the most? What do you expect to change as an outcome of these interviews?

• I learned that online interviews get awkward. Do not be a girl and try to ask guys. (They always have hidden intentions)
• Do not ever use omegle. (Lesson learned.)
• I was surprised that the answers were consistent, and they didn't change from the other videos. 
• I expected nothing. I was open to whatever would happen. 

Idea Napkin No. 1

1) Who are you? 
 Aspiring advertising optometrist with an entrepreneurial spirit. I see this business being a springboard or doorway to more business opportunities. (The hardest part is figuring out your "first great idea.")

2) What are you offering to customers?  
The chance to interact with friends and hungry students alike in a fun, competitive and interactive mobile app community. 

3) Who are you offering it to?  
18+, male/female college students with a competitive mindset, often hungry and open-minded to the idea of a "food-delivering" community.
 
4) Why do they care? 
Because people do crazy things when they're "hangry" (hungry+angry)
 
5) What are your core competencies?  
This business would thrive on the idea of mixing food and fun with friends. 

I believe these elements do fit together because it just "makes sense." Everywhere we go on campus, there are at least a couple of people eating and enjoying their meals, whether it be Chipotle or Krishna. Why not combine the fun and hassle-free way of challenging friends to accept your food runs and vice versa? Obviously, logistics would have to be refined, but the concept makes sense: to satisfy the hunger of our college students in a friendly competitive manner. 
 

Interviewing Customers No. 2

https://youtu.be/ZUsaHf5tu6w

1) Fine tune your opportunity. You began with an idea of what an opportunity might be. After your first round of interviews, what do you think, now? 

Honestly, this is kinda fun. I took some extra time to make sure I understood the assignment this time around, because I was somewhat confused the first time. I believe that this particular set of interviews was a good batch. I realized my opportunity (hungry college students), and I wanted to penetrate that market. 

2) Fine tune the "who." Did you talk to the right customers last time? What did you do differently this time? How did you adjust your conceptualization of who your customers are?

I think I definitely spoke to the right customers, but I did not know what I was looking for. I actually asked more than one question, and the questions I asked were specific to my "app idea." 

I think I picked the right audience because this app specifically would thrive in a college setting, which is why I had to find college students.  

3) Tweaking your interview questions. You might need to ask different kinds of questions to get at a fuller, richer idea of what your opportunity is. What kind of changes did you make?

Well, first off, I actually used more than one question. Secondly, I put myself in someone else's shoes (someone who did not know anything about the app). I wanted to find out if people were like me, in the sense that they (too) would be hungry at 2am and be in need of food and would want food delivered to them. Plus, I like a challenge, so I wanted to see if they were open to the idea of an app that created food delivery challenges so that people can send them to their friends. 

4) Go talk to customers! This is the same deal as last time: 5 people, you can't know them, you must video record them.

Check out the video above. 

5) Tell us what you learned about the opportunity. You now have 10 interviews under your belt. What do you think about your opportunity now that's different from where you started?  

I learned that the more I spoke to people, the better I understood where my app idea stood. It was actually a good idea, but it just needed a few logistical tweaks. I think at the very fundamental part of it, this assignment goes to show that you need to do a LOT of research before you go forward with an idea. 

6) Tell us what you learned about interviewing customers. You're practically an expert on interviewing customers. Please write three tips that you'd like to offer students in this class next semester about interviewing customers.

1. Do not show fear. 

People will honestly help you. People are nice. It is just inner doubt and fear that prevents us from doing something.

2. Be approachable. 

I know it seems easy, but you have to interact with the people you are interviewing. They don't want to be bored, and you don't want to be bored by them. Be physically engaged and show the passion of your idea to your consumers. 

3. Smile. 

No joke. A smile goes a long way.

  

Week 5 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

 It was intriguing to realize that there are numerous pitfalls in selecting new ventures. There were a multitude of reasons I did not even consider before, such as the following: lack of objective evaluation, poor financial understanding, lack of venture uniqueness, etc. I believe it teaches you to understand that there are many areas of analysis when selecting a new venture. 

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

 The elements affecting new-venture performance seemed difficult, or rather confusing for me. I thought the arrows were misleading, and overall, I just think it could have been explained more. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

I would ask: "Why eBay?" It seems to me that entrepreneurs are flocking to eBay as their source, but why are they not going towards other sites similar to eBay? 

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I believe the author to be a capable and experienced person with regards to what he has to say. I just think that it is difficult to really gauge certain things when there are no numbers to back up some things.

Elevator Pitch No. 1

"Dine and Dash" (name still under construction) is an interactive community based app that allows individuals to connect and contact their real-life friends and allow them to challenge each other with food quests.

For example, it is 1:45am; I have studied my heart out, and I am stuck at Library West with a starving tummy, who do I call? (This is where "Dine and Dash" comes into play.) You connect onto the app and see from your list of friends who is online or available. From there, you send a status saying: "I'm hungry for some McDonalds; I want a big mac with some fries; 20 minutes." From there, whoever is available, from your friends list or another person in the community, if they see your post, and you both choose to accept each other as "deliverer and receiver" of the food requested, that person will then attempt to deliver you the food in 20 minutes, or however long you requested. If you do get it within the 20 minutes, you pay your friend plus tip, and if you do not receive it within the 20 minutes, you get the food for free. The payment system is done within the app, through a similar venmo platform.

Our business chose to delve deep into the college student market because we understand that being "hangry" should never be an option. By allowing students to connect to their friends via a fun social networking and yet competitive game, students will have fun while also filling up their stomachs.