Final Reflection

I think the thing that will stick out most from this class to my self is my venture that i made up for the class. The thing i am most proud of from this class is improving ways of communication with peers through the interviews we had to do for all the different assignments. I do not see myself as an entrepreneur or having the mindset from this course. The one recommendation i would make about this course is just to be careful with your time and put in the effort.








 

Reading Reflection 3

• Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance

1.The thing that surprised me the most was his personal relationships. He has been married three times already and two times to the same woman. The thing i admired most about Musk was that he cares. He wants to save humans and is continuously searching for ways to try and achieve that. His outside the box thinking is something that a lot of people can be appreciative of. The thing i least admired about Musk was that he was not family first.

2. The competencies i noticed that Musk shows was his ability to make a deadline. His dedication and will gave him this ability and im sure a lot of people thank him for that.

3. The thing that confused me while reading was some of his past business transactions and ventures.

4. Two questions

1. What was the most challenging thing you've done in your life so far?

2. When you were a child did you dream that the things you have done up to today was going to be possible?

5. I think Musk's idea of hard work is something that couldn't be imagined. His line of work is life changing so his "hard work" can't even be discussed.

Your Exit Strategy

My exit strategy would be to be sold within five years of activity. Hopefully by then the entire golf community is using and discussing my application enough for a big company to buy out the company for a great profit overall. I selected this particular exit strategy so i can venture on to other things in the future especially since i'd have my own funding. I think the idea of this being a relatively quick venture has had an impact on my exit strategy. It has impacted me on growth decisions and wanting to grow as fast as possible.

What's Next

The next steps for my venture are hiring the right people who can program and develop the application. Also getting the right people to set up advertisements and get the right companies on board with the app. Nest work be to put the app in beta testing and let who I currently know in the golf world to give it a try. Then they could use word of mouth to grow and help me get more and more feedback on the app. After the beta testing stage of development we roll out an initial launch to the public and make the necessary bug fixes and improvements based on initial costumer feedback. The great thing about the application is that once we launch we just have to keep one or two employees on to help performance and bug fixes on the app because once it's done it's done not too many improvement need to be made if the initial app does what it needs to do.

Currently i see my venture as a B2C market. If I wanted to get into a B2B  market I could sell to golf courses my app to be played strictly on their course in that area so they have a competitive advantage over other golf courses in that specific area. One initial lump sum could be a good thing. Also an exclusive partnership with a course could be appealing to advertisers to get into that course to advertise if they didn't already especially if it's on the higher end of golf courses.

Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

1. Technology Capability
Very valuable in producing the App
It's not rare
It can be imitable
No other resource can provide the same benefit

2. Human Capital
Very Valuable in getting the right people around for advertising and producing application
Rare resource in that the right people can be hard to find
Hard to imitate
Absolutely no other resource can provide same benefit

3. Financial Capital
It's Valuable but all the technology needed is already readily available
Non rare resource
Easily imitable
No other resource can provide same benefit

4. Social Capital
Very valuable to getting the foot in the door in the 'golf world"
Rare in that for this it's who you know not what you know
Can be imitable but is hard to be
No other resource can provide same benefit as this

I feel like human and social capital are tied for being my top resources available. Having the right people around you and knowing who to get you in the right place is very valuable and to a point of being priceless.

Venture Concept 1

So far this semester I have worked on an app for golfers. This app is called Green Reader. It reads the greens from where your ball is on the green to the hole and gives a line of best fit. It is for use on a smart phone and it is very accessible. It accesses the camera on the device and uses that to make the read on the green. The possible customers of this app are golfer who want to improve putting without putting in the time and effort of practicing because they either do not have the time or frankly do not want to. Reading greens and putting is one of the hardest things in golf to do and my app is there to help that. Currently golfers have an option of taking lessons on putting or hiring caddies, but those two options have an expensive price point and the average golfer does not want to spend that type of money to improve putting on the golf course. I see my idea as a big opportunity, and it appeals to all levels of golf and all levels of economic classes. For as long as golf is relevant this app has an opportunity to be around and to continue to help improve golfers. My app would be a paid for app costing no more than a monthly subscription of no more than ten dollars a month. It would include advertisement as another way of revenue to help improve the quality of the app of local golf courses and eateries at locations of which you are playing as well as tee time reservation apps and websites such as Supreme Golf and Golf Now. I think customers would use this product to improve their game at a price point that works for them. Improving at the game will allow it to become more enjoyable and in turn hopefully they would play that much more. Also, the app will be very easy to use allowing any age to be able to use it. The ease of access of the app will be my “secret sauce”. If the app is simple and does what it needs to and get to this market first and making the app do what it needs to will be a huge advantage to an untouched market. The great thing about the application is that it is make it, put it out there and forget about it. All that would need to happen is to have a person or two on hand to fix possible bugs with the app and to bring on advertisers. I won’t have to make it better and it will last for years to come. With this I would want to be able to expand in the next five years and get into different golf product investments. I think what I have now is a good starting point to make an initial income, but I believe that this app would create enough cash flow for different investments to be possible.

Celebrating Failure

One time I failed this past semester was outside of class. I golf quite a bit and for some reason my golf swing changed and I could not hit the ball how I was before and i didn't know what happened. But after work for a week straight i would go to the driving range and practice non stop. After a few days a realized what happened. In golf it's small changes that make a big difference and the thing i couldn't figure out what i was doing was I had messed with my grip on the club and it screwed me up so much. It was embarrassment after i figured out what happened and frustration.

Reading Reflection 2

I choose the book "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big" by Scoot Adams. The general theme of the book was to try and always be proactive with your day everyday. If you can set systems for everyday then they will have a drive to get up and go onto accomplish these on a daily basis, Also you need to learn how to be able to accept failure and turn it into positive energy.

This book made me realize that i am in control of how i adapt to things good or bad and that if i put my entire self into something i can get it done. The book was helpful for this class because it taught me to believe in myself and what i put my mind to to be successful at whatever it is im doing.

An exercise i would design for the class based on the book was something that at first the class really struggled on but if they persevered through it, they would be reward at the end of it all.

While reading this book one of the biggest surprises to me  was when Adams discussed for getting goals and goals settings but set out a daily plan. With a daily plan or system its a procedure someone can get done everyday. This helped Adams stay positive and lead him down the slope to where he wanted to go.

Elevator Pitch 3

I have been sick for the past week and a half so i was not able to make any changes to my elevator pitch but if  i was able, i would have went more in depth on how the process of my app works and how to monetize the app to make it profitable.

Elevator Pitch #2

Create a Customer Avatar

I feel like my prototypical consumer of my product is any person age 18-65 who is serious about becoming a better golfer. I think hobbies would include golfing for business and/or pleasure as well as enjoying a variety of other activities. I think my company would be associated with lower and middle class people who don't or can't pay for lessons but still want to increase green reading skills.


The people using the app on the course probably have kids and they use golf to get away from home every so often and to keep enjoyment of the game up and to still improve while playing use the app.

I feel like i connect to my prototypical customer in a variety of ways. Using Golf as a way to get away from home, connecting with others, and to improve my game while on the course while not taking lessons off of it.

What's Your Secret Sauce

5 Things I Believe That Make Me Different

1. If I start something I feel inclined to get it done

2. Usually put all my effort into one thing at a time has it's pros and cons

3. Can work well in groups as well as alone

4. Ability to meet deadlines

5. If I enjoy what I'm doing I feel like the end product is way better than if i wasn't interested in doing it

Figuring Out Buyers Behavior 2

For the interviews i conducted I focused on interviewing people who have previously taken lessons on putting. I have concluded from these select interviews that the people who had taken putting lessons a very select few had received tips and tricks to actually reading the greens which is an important part of the putting process. Price for these lessons were very high and focus on how to actually putt than the entire process which is only half and reading the green knowing where to hit the ball and how hard is the other half. These customers were disappointed with how high the price was to receive only about half of what they needed to do and learn. In every interview the process to purchase the lesson they took was a one time fee with the person gibing them the lesson with cash proffered. They would purchase the lesson in person at whatever golf course they chose with a PGA golf instructor. All but one of the interviewees regretted paying such a high price to only learn half the putting process.

Halfway Reflection

1. I feel like with this course my time management skills have improved and the due dates of Friday's and Monday's have let me get into a rhythm of when i have to sit down and do the assignments.

2. Not sure if the "giving up" is talking about just this specific course or in any aspect of life in the past two months but a few weeks ago i was bogged down with exams and my job and almost quit my job but i used that attitude to push through. Having worked while going to school for the past 6 years and know what i had to do pushed me through it.



3. 3 tips i'd give someone about the last two months in this course are
1. Be flexible with this course if you can't think of an idea to blog just come back the next day and something will surely cross your mind.
2. When picking an opportunity to do a business venture on it pick something you are passionate about.
3. Enjoy yourself and learn from others.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

While working at the golf course it was really easy to find people who had the same unmet need/ problem. From the three people i talked to about reading greens they usually ask who they are playing with whether that's a friend or family member. Also all three said that they practice reading greens on the putting green we have before they go out to familiar themselves with how fast the greens are rolling on that specific day. Also one of the guys i interviewed said he watches a lot of YouTube on how to read putts. A different guy says he tried to make his own course book for our course with all the slopes on the greens but it hasn't helped his game at all.

Idea Napkin

My name is Andrew Mills and I've been an avid golfer now for about the last 5 years. I have worked at different golf stores and golf courses over the past 3 years. This has helped grow my knowledge and love for the game of golf. My aspirations are to join some type of golf company and be on the business side of the company. If I were to start this venture i don't think it would be a permanent role once it would be set up. My idea for it is to make it self sustainable with only using your smartphone camera once the initial tech is in place the only thing for the company would be selling adverts and advertising the application.

My product is an application on someones smartphone that reads the putting green for them while also giving the consumer a line of best fit for the putt itself. It uses the back camera on the phone. Also on the app i would try and get other golf companies to advertise on the app with banner ads for websites such as supreme golf or golf now which are tee time reservation apps.

This company was made with the average golfer in mind. Average golfers usually lose the most scores during short game aspects of his/her game. With this app it would give these golfers an opportunity to lower their scores in a place where it does usually add up.

Golf is an expensive game but to have an app helping you while out on the course beats paying for putting lessons where it would cost 30-100 dollars an hour. Also a lot of people don't want to practice or don't have the time to practice and when they do have the time they would more than likely want to go play a round than practice.

What sets us apart is the mobile access that would be comparative to a caddy available on any golf course. It would be easy to use and available to anyone.

Testing the hypothesis PT 2

Inside the boundary
Who is In: Amateur golfers
What the Need Is: Read the greens on putts
Why the Need Exists: To help lower scores on the greens Outside the boundary Who is Not: Golfers who are able to afford a caddy or other type of training aid What the Need Is Not: It's not something to make the putt for you Alternative Explanation: Some people just want to learn on there own What i found with these interviews were that the golfers i questioned all seemed interested in what i talked about but the one main concern was the idea was the affect it would have on pace of play.

Elevator Pitch

Solving the problem

The problem I saw was the ability to read green on the golf course while golfing. My app would take out the guessing work of how the greens break and help golfers lower there scores in a place where the scores add up in golf. During the use of the app it will show the golfer how to green breaks from their putt to the hole and a line that would work for the putt having hit the ball the correct speed. The sale would be the initial app itself then an add on for the line of the putt. Also courses could pay for advertising as well as companies such as supreme golf or golf now that are tee time websites. The income from this could help improve the technology in the app with constant improvements it could be a golfers best friend. This app is designed for golfers

Testing the Hypothesis

With currently working at a golf course currently,playing the game of golf, and having been working with the game of golf for the past 2.5 years i have seen and heard many things regarding the readings of greens to help with putting for amateur golfers. I see an opportunity for an application on the phone for golfers to use to help them read green just by using an app on their smart phone. It would be like a golf caddy in their pocket to help read greens and show them a line for their putts. Amateur golfers might like something like this to get the guessing out of one aspect of there game. While at work one day i had conversations with some of the people i see everyday coming into my golf course to play about having something like my idea. A majority of these golfers seemed to be highly interested in this idea and were asking me questions by the end of it. I asked these golfers if they would use this application, if they thought it was a good addition to the game of golf, have you heard of something like this, and do you think it would help them improve not only scores but how to read the green. All of the questions got positive feedback except if it was a good addition to the game. Some of the golfers thought that the app would initiate slow play. With that being a subject of discussion especially recently in the golf world I definitely have to take that into account to try and figure out a way slow play is taken into question with this.

Identifying opportunities

1. Regulatory changes

Because of the recent "outbreak" of illnesses contributed to vaping of collapsed lungs and so on the state of New York has just recently banned the sale and distribution of all flavored vape products. This mostly targets the youth demographic who are getting into vaping at a young age when it's supposed to be used as a tool for cigarette smokers to stop smoking. The nicotine in these products are getting kids addicted and with the flavors such as fruits and mint it taste good to kids so they start using these products and can't stop till something drastic happens to them such as a hospitalization. This effects the people who are truly trying to stop smoking in the first place and replacing the tobacco flavor with something such as mint.

https://time.com/5679762/ban-flavored-e-cigs-vape-new-york/

The strike that general motors is facing is alarming for all of Americans that are looking to purchase a car in America soon. This is coming after the union that represents these workers couldn't come to a contract agreement and these workers are striking to receive more pay. This directly affects consumers because lack of workers means lack of car production. Also the workers are striking because GM has been hiring temporary workers instead of full time employees so the company doesn't have to shell out the funds for benefits saving the company money but not allowing for workers to get jobs with these benefits they offer.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/09/19/gm-strike-uaw-health-care-general-motors-news-contract-update/2369041001/

2. Economic changes

Sports betting around the US has been a major talk recently. With states such as New Jersey joining Nevada legalizing sports betting, states are looking to legalize it for an added revenue to the state. But Florida governor recently placing long shot odds on this idea it's worrisome for people who want to enjoy the trill of betting on things they already watch. Also the legalizing of sports betting would take away the company's that participate in owning offshore sports betting books and websites that scam customers. It would be a win win situation with each state and it's population having sports betting legalized.

https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/2019/04/23/desantis-places-long-odds-on-florida-sports-betting-deal/

The world is a small place and everything is connected in today's economy. The recent attacks to Saudi oil facilities are rising gas prices in America and could keep rising to up to 25 cents per gallon. It would only be a short term increase but still an increase is an increase and it's always a worry when something like this happens. With US oil producing more oil than it did even a few years ago, it's keeping this situation down to a short term scare. With effecting the American gas prices since Saudi Arabia is the world leader in oil producing 6% of the worlds oil the entire world has been affected by these attacks.

https://time.com/5679719/gas-prices-saudi-oil-attack/

Forming an Opportunity

1. Publix joins Walmart, CVS, Starbucks in its request concerning firearms in stores

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article234972037.html

This story is just pertaining to the nationwide outreach of these stores in their attempts to stop people from carrying there weapons on themselves when shopping at their stores. With the very much talked about subject of guns and mass shootings this request by these big stores will definitely divide America once again with these stores making this a protection issue while some people will claim it's political and not moral.

2. Lung disease tied to vaping on the rise; 5 killed, 1 in L.A.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Vaping-illnesses-double-to-450-including-57-in-14419493.php

This story is how vaping is causing hospitalizations and death in some cases and the numbers are rising. The problem is how vaping products are putting people in the hospital but reading through the article it shows how most of these cases are from vaping of products of THC not nicotine. With the rise of vaping in today's youth this is putting parents at even more a forefront to stop the outbreak of youth using these vaping nicotine products even though the hospitalizations are coming from people who using the products for THC. Now the legal vaping products are getting a bad look even though these mass hospitalizations are not from them but rather the THC products themselves.

3. Medical marijuana grower accused of tainting cannabis plants with ‘pesticides and other chemicals’ in Maryland

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/marijuana/ny-news-maryland-marijuana-pesticide-20180709-story.html

This story is about how a marijuana grower was tainting his stocks of marijuana with a number of chemicals that are very harmful to humans once prescribed and used. The problem with this is that marijuana is already a divided issue and when your see stories like this its only going to strengthen one side of the argument more. The growers, distributors and users all will face some sort of flake because of stories like this one that the weed is getting people sick. 

Forming an Opportunity

An unmeet need i see everyday especially working at a golf course is reading the slopes of greens. Average golfers have such a difficult time to tell how much your golf ball will break when you putt it. People today just have to practice and practice putting to see how much slope affects their golf ball and it has been that way since the invention of golf. A solution I can think of would be an app on your smart phone that accesses the camera you put it facing the hole on your ball marker and it reads the slope of the green from your ball marker to the hole to give you a better opportunity of putting the ball on the correct line to make the putt. I would say there is about a 50% chance that this opportunity exist within the average golfers world.


Interview 1
How long have you played golf?
17 years ever since I was a kid.
Is putting the hardest aspect of the game?
Yes along with chipping around the greens.
Do you read the putt before you putt or just get up there and hit it and move on?
I read it. It takes me a minute or two but it gives me the best shot at making the putt.
Do you practice putting?
Yes. Every time i go to the driving range during the week i try and make 30 putts in a row and also I warm up before a round with hitting putts as well.
Would you use an aid that read the putt for you?
Yes it would speed up my play and the play of others and hopefully lower my scores.

Interview 2
How long have you played golf?
I'm just getting into it this is only about my sixth month playing.
Is putting the hardest aspect of the game?
Hitting the ball straight. Whether that's driving, irons or putts and chips.
Do you read the putt before you putt or just get up there and hit it and move on?
I just hit it and move on. It takes me so long to get it up on the green i'm ready just to go to the next hole.
Do you practice putting?
Sometimes it just depends on the time i have.
Would you use an aid that read the putt for you?
Probably it would give me an idea on how much the greens move.

Interview 3
How long have you played golf?
60 years
Is putting the hardest aspect of the game?
It was when I was just getting started in the game but now with my age and body its distance.
Do you read the putt before you putt or just get up there and hit it and move on?
I take a quick look but its hard to bend down to see how the green looks.
Do you practice putting?
Only before I go out and play. I play three times a week at the same course so i feel like i know the greens here pretty well.
Would you use an aid that read the putt for you?
I don't see why not. At this point anything that would help me i would give it a try.


After interviewing these three people i believe that this opportunity exist even more now. Everyone seemed very interested in this idea and now i'd probably give this a 75% chance.   

My Entrepreneurship Story

After my mom and step-dad got married in 2006 they started an appliance installation company in Sarasota Florida. Throughout their time of business they had worked with Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy and Sears. What the appliance retail stores would do was sell the appliances then contact my parents company for delivery and install. Sarasota being a wealthier county in Florida it was constantly developing so with new construction obviously brought new appliances therefore more business. During their time running this company my mom scheduled the routes while my step dad did the appliance installations himself. They developed their knowledge of how to do these things by working for a big appliance installer company and then decided they could do it themselves so they did. They ran this company really successfully for around five years before moving our entire family to Texas for a year.









Seeing my parents run a business really inspired me to take this class. Also I had to take this class for my major so two birds with one stones is nice. I hope i get some inspiration from this class to maybe become an entrepreneur one day in the future.

Bug List

My personal Bug List

1. Whenever people see a cop on the road every car slows down to an unnecessary speed.

2. The length of time it takes a group of four people to play a casual round of golf.

3. When a car goes past you in the "fast" lane then you get behind them and they then slow down.

4. Stepping into something wet with just my socks on.

5. Getting phone calls from telemarketers.

6. Bikes on a sidewalk when there is a clear bike lane.

7. People eating with there mouths open.

8. Deodorant marks on shirts.

9. Cleaning up after others.

10. Smell of cigarette smoke.

11. Having to shave every other day for work.

12. People who yell into their phones having a normal conversation because they can't keep there voices down.

13. When someone does't at least acknowledgment you just held the door open for them.

14. In a crowded parking lot people who take up multiple spaces.

15. People who keep their blinker on without knowing.

16. Dog owners not cleaning up after them.

17. Missing a phone call from someone, calling back immediately and no answer.

18. Cooking food in my kitchen and my roommates start cooking and take up the entire kitchen.

19. Chick Fil A being closed on Sundays.

20. Slow walkers when you have somewhere to be.

This was way more difficult than i though it would be. It was really hard to focus these past few days on things that i would normally look right past in day to day life but after a few days it came relatively easier.

First Post

Done