14A Halfway Reflection

1) The behaviors I have developed to use in this course are working ahead and committing to assignments. It is easy to fall behind in this class. Keep up with things.

2) A moment I felt like giving up was when I was behind on lectures. It is important to stay up to date. I personally think my attitude is the same as when I started it. I think knowing that you can only miss 5 points for an A in this class has kept me on track.

3) My 3 tips for this class would be,
Stay on pace with the lectures.
Do the homework ahead of time, it's important.
Take the class seriously, you'll not only enjoy it more, but you'll also learn a lot doing so.

13A Reading reflection

1.  I read about Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, by Ashlee Vance. I have always found Elon Musk as an interesting yet humble guy. I genuinely think he is trying his best to push the whole world in the right direction. What surprises me the most is that he started PayPal. I have used Ebay and PayPal for years and never realized he started it. What I admire the most about Elon Musk is his willingness to accept failure. There have been several projects that he failed yet he still overcomes his few failures with many successes. I least admire the ability to repair teslas. They are known to be difficult or impossible to repair. I see this as a step backward for such a forward-thinking company. Yes, Musk has encountered failure and he has not only overcome it, but he has also exceeded all expectations. He put in a lot of hard work and money into his projects to make them succeed.
2. Elon Musk is a true entrepreneur, the competencies he exhibited were creativity and open-mindedness.
3. A part in the book I found confusing was where Vance went into detail about Musk having a birthday party at a Castle? I feel like it was unnecessary.
4. I would ask Elon Musk what are his goals are in 20 years and is there any technology that he created and sold for government use? I am curious to see where he wants society to be in 20 years and if he would work with any governments.
5. Elon Musk would find that with dedication and hard work anything is possible. I share the same opinion and admire what Elon Musk is doing for us.

12A Figuring out buyer behavior

1) The segment I picked was businesses have a need for a better straw, paper straws do not satisfy customers.

2) I interviewed 3 different people. A manager as a fast food place, a waitress at a restaurant, and a manager at a smoothie place to get a wide viewpoint of the potential market I could reach.

3) There is a clear need for each person I interviewed. The waitress stated that customers complain heavily about having to use paper straws, especially older folks. She said her tables complain about them being soggy and falling apart. The manager of the fast-food place experienced the same issue. The smoothie place manager stated that paper straws do not work well with their products. That customers state that paper straws ruin the experience because of how fragile they are.

4) The businesses located in Gainesville were unaware of plant-based biodegradable straws and did not think of looking for other solutions because of the plastic straw ban. The order paper straws because the ban is countywide and had no other options they were aware of.

5) I have found that there is awareness of the problem and that people are desperately looking for a better solution.

6) I find that the product that I would sell to these businesses would be a great way to compete in the market while offering a better product. The ban is recent and the quicker we get the product out there, the more sales we could make. I firmly believe that plant-based biodegradable straws are superior in every category compared to paper straws.   

11A Idea Napkin

You: I am a business major who comes from a family who has a business of their own along with being surrounded by fellow entrepreneurs. I have seen the set of skills it takes to start and run a business successfully.  I see the business of selling biodegradable plastic straws being time-consuming and difficult at the start, but once taken off, it'll be easy. The hardest part will be to become relevant. I see it becoming easily a full-time job along with school which would be hard to manage.

What are you offering to customers: Consumers who eat out at public restaurants or fast food places desire a better option than paper straws. My product, being environmentally friendly yet durable solves the environmental issue and durability issue.

Who are you offering it to? I would offer it to food establishments in Gainesville than expand further as time goes, and people who care about the environment. My customers need a straw that is better than paper straws.

Why do they care? Paper straws do not work well with smoothies and milkshakes and are flimsy and break. They also have a weird texture. Plant-based biodegradable straws would fix those issues. They will pay for a better experience for their customers or environmentalists will pay for a straw that's stronger and good for the environment.

What are your core competencies? I offer a superior straw. One that has the same benefits as paper straws yet more. Being durable is important and it is no surprise paper straws are weak and inferior.

I think my 5 elements fit very well together. I feel as most people think paper straws are not a good substitution in a durability aspect. It is hard for companies to find a good paper straw. I think it would be easy to capitalize on the need of all these businesses in Gainesville have. A county ban is serious and it will only be soon enough that other places ban plastic straws. I think we can move to a better future without risking anything.

10A elevator pitch

https://drive.google.com/file/d/155MyDK9mf2jg6IRodW7p8ei6dm11yJwh/view?usp=sharing

9A Testing the hypothesis

Who? Throughout my past couple of assignments, I have talked about the idea of replacing paper straws with biodegradable ones and firmly believe that people and companies need to adopt them. The who are people and companies who are either environmentally friendly or forced not to use plastic straws. The reason there is such a big market in Alachua county is because of the plastic straw ban.

I took 5 new interviews and found that 4 of the 5 had a need and want to change while the other one did not care to change but was open to it. I have found it to be a common complaint among other students and companies that these paper straws are truly not a good substitute for paper straws. In every interview, people agreed that it is a step toward being environmentally friendly but was not the product they wanted to replace plastic straws. A product that would be both environmentally friendly and just as strong as plastic straws would be biodegradable ones. It lets people drink frozen drinks while also not being uncomfortable to drink from.

What? Is there a need for biodegradable straws? I firmly believe there is. With all these restaurants in Gainesville and people who want better straws. There is a clear business for it. It just comes down to finding the right customers who are willing to pay more for a better product. The majority of the interviews expressed the want for a better straw.

Why? The need is there because people can not leave paper straws in drinks too long or drink thick cold beverages. Smoothies, for example, are almost unbearable and it ruins the experience in my opinion. I think people who want the straws along with those who do not see the need to change will both benefit.



 Inside

Who is in: 4 of the 5 people who I interviewed. Food establishments and people who care about the environment.

What the need is: A better substitute for paper straws but one that is good for the environment.

Why the need exists: Comfortability, long-lasting, stronger, and can be used in frozen drinks.

Outside

Who is out: 1 interview person and others who do not care about the environment.

What the need is not: Why be biodegradable when plastic or paper is just fine. Preference basically.

Alternative explanations: May not see the need to switch from paper straws or plastic ones. But I feel as if they would not be against it. Just no need.

8A The Solution

1) The opportunity arose when Alachua county banned plastic straws because they are bad for the environment. Companies chose paper straws because it was their only choice. Bringing more options to the table would let companies figure out which represents their values along with their customer's values better. It is common people are unhappy with the change and money could be made with a better alternative.

2)  The solution to the opportunity is biodegradable straws. I have been repetitive about this idea only because I think it speaks for most when I say that paper straws are not the future. Biodegradable straws are stronger, feel like what we are accustomed too, and environmentally friendly. The hardest part would be making the product unless it is already made and serve as a middle man and sell to all these big corporate companies. If one company bites, it will be easier to persuade others.

7A Testing Hypothesis

1) I have heavily repeated myself on the idea of replacing paper straws with biodegradable plastic straws. I firmly believe this is a better future for us because of durability and still offers the benefits of paper straws by being good for the environment.

2)

Who: Fast Food companies, Restaurants, People who care about the environment, and people who eat out.

What: People are fairly upset with paper straws. They are not durable and feel weird to drink from and also break apart. Which results in people drinking paper bits.

Why: Better Alternative to paper straws and to keep people happier. A way to create competition in the market where regular plastic straws are banned. Gain market share.

3)

Testing the who: It is fairly easy to test the who. I would ask fast food places, restaurants and customers if they are happy with paper straws. Gaining feedback is key but I think most people are unsatisfied with paper straws.

Testing the what: I would ask customers who use paper straws and ask how they like them and if they would be open to trying plastic biodegradable straws. I've found a lot of people to be upset with paper straws as the only straw to use.

Testing the why: Some people may still like to use paper straws. I firmly believe that most would switch to biodegradable plastic just because it would be more durable. The only thing that'd really would hinder the change is the price.

4)
Interview 1)

• Does not like the feel of paper straws
• They do not last long
• They are smaller than plastic straws
• Keep food on them

Interview 2)

• They dissolve in to-go cups, can't sit too long
• Not good for smoothies
• Plastic is stronger

Interview 3)

• Cares about the environment and sees biodegradable as the better option
• Would buy them for their restaurant if they are not too expensive
• A big complaint from customers

Interview 4)

• Does not care about the environment
• Mad about the plastic straw ban
• Hates paper straws because they are awful to suck on once wet

Interview 5)

• Does not see a problem with paper straws
• still open to other alternatives
• Just wants a healthy environment

5) Summary: After conducting the interviews, I found most people do not like paper straws or just do it for the environment. Biodegradable straws offer both benefits while not risking any flaws. I never thought about paper straws in smoothies or any other type of thick liquid. I think competition is always good in the market and if I do not do it, someone else will.

6A Identifying opportunities in economic and regulatory trends

1. Regulation on Atlanta E-Scooters and other main cities.

A bill is being made because of frustrations about E-scooters in large cities. To obtain them is fairly easy and there is no true regulation on them. Complaints from locals have risen and the cities plan on trying to lower the number of e-scooters or have users be more responsible. There may be an opportunity to rival the e-scooters. It'd be a hard opportunity but we could compete in business with them.

I noticed this opportunity because about two weeks ago I was in Atlanta and on the local news I saw they were working on a bill to regulate them more. E-scooters being so new have such little regulations and the cities are stepping in for the locals.

2. Regulations on people leaving China for the Corona Virus.

After the recent outbreak of the deadly Corona Virus. Plane restrictions and border control have risen. The capabilities of the virus are unknown and while China has spoken about how severe the issue is I personally have trouble believing them. They have been known to keep secrets about the severity of things before and I have some doubts with them on how honest they are. There is a clear profit to be made from health devices to transportation. The opportunity is not easy but there is one there.

I realized this opportunity because of the news. It is a very popular topic at the moment because everyone is unsure of how dangerous the virus is. Time will only tell but profit will be made regardless.

3. Economic Trend of 2020 Census

The 2020 Census is coming up. The forms need to be distributed and sent to the right addresses. We could make a profit from creating a third party business to help keep track of forms and delivering them. Act as a middle man. The government is a great customer to have.

I saw the opportunity from several ads asking for census help because of it being right around the corner. It is well known but I doubt many people care to see the business aspect of it. I personally think there is a profit to be made.

4. The economic trend of companies and cities going more environmentally friendly.

I touched recently on the problem with paper straws a couple of blog posts ago. I still firmly believe that paper straws are still not part of the future. They lack the strength and durability of sitting in fluids over time. I think it is important for companies to work towards an environment-friendly alternative. I firmly believe that biodegradable plastics are the future. We can make straws and also make biodegradable plastic utensils to eat with! The customers would be restaurants and fast food places. As more people buy, the cheaper it would be to make the products.

I personally saw the opportunity after the plastic straw ban in Gainesville. I agree it is progressive but puts us back a couple steps in productivity. It is not the easiest task but once made. It could take off rapidly.