10A Elevator Pitch No.1

This is hilarious. Also, please excuse my unkempt beard. It has been a long two weeks.

In all honesty, I still wasn't sure about the solution to my opportunity or this pitch. This idea probably doesn't even make sense

https://youtu.be/aCt28SzPWgc

9A Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who: After all the interviews I have conducted, I was able to form a clear idea of who is and who is not within the boundaries of the market I intend to target. The people who who are in the boundaries are college students living in college towns, though it is possible to find individuals with the need who aren't college students or students who aren't necessarily in a "college town." The people who fall outside of the market would be individuals who lead a healthy lifestyle or those with a deeply rooted issue such as eating disorders. However, for my interviews I specifically targeted students who were physically fit. I did so because I believed they would surely fall outside of the boundaries and because individuals with deeply rooted issues would need to seek an actual doctor not dietary advice from a regular person, app, or website.
All five of my interviewees regularly go to the gym. Four out of the five actually focus on their diet and meal prep while the other eats frozen meals that are delivered to their home.

What: The need starts to differ form another need when it it becomes a deeply rooted problem. While students who lack the dietary knowledge or who are simply lazy can completely benefit from my solution, those who have real eating disorders may only find it helpful to a certain extent, if not at all.

Why: The underlying cause of the outsiders need would absolutely be different if he/she was suffering from a serious disorder.


Inside the Boundary

Who is in: College students who are are too busy, who lack the proper skills and/or dietary knowledge, and who want to better themselves in all dietary aspects in general. 

What the Need Is: College students are not feeding themselves properly and are denying their bodies of the nutrients they require.

Why the Need Exists: The need exists for several reasons. 1) College students are are often times too overwhelmed with course work and everyday life that they don't have the time or patience to cook a healthy meal, 2) lack of healthy dietary knowledge thus leading them to settle for unhealthy choices (fast food), etc.


Outside the Boundary

 Who is Not: People leading a healthy lifestyle in general; individuals with a serious disorder

What the Need Is Not: Feeding themselves properly and delivering the proper nutrients to the body in order to stay healthy; seeking dietary advice from a source other than a doctor (individuals with disorders.

8A Solving the Problem

Problem: College students are not feeding themselves properly and are denying their body of the nutrients it requires because of a variety of reasons.

Solution: Unfortunately I couldn't really figure out a solution that would generate cash flow. However, I did think of a solution that ultimately solves the need in this instance. I thought of creating some sort of health related online forum, specifically one that mainly consists of dietary information, where students of a specific college or university can go and exchange valuable information on how to better themselves in terms of proper eating habits. It would need to be specific to a school because I believe it would generate a better sense of community among fellow peers and so that no one feels uncomfortable. The forum would consist of multiple subsections that focus on one specific dietary aspect.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions!

7A Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1)
The opportunity I have chosen to pursue is that college students are not feeding themselves properly and are denying their bodies of much needed nutrients due to many factors, both external and internal.
2)
The who: Anyone, mainly college students, who lack proper eating habits.
The what: Many college students develop poor eating habits once they enter college and continue to make poor decisions related to their health. This can ultimately cause exhaustion, stress, depression etc.
The Why: Some people lack the proper habits and aren't necessarily educated enough on the specifics of making healthy choices, such what foods to eat and what foods to avoid.
3)
There are plenty of students who enter college lacking the proper knowledge on how to deliver the right nutrients the body needs. This is attributable to a variety of reasons. It can be the uncertainty of what they should eat, lack of skills, or simply not having the time to cook a decent and healthy meal.
4)
After interviewing 5 students here at UF, I found out that there are many students who share this issue. For the most part, the interviewees currently have or have had problems making healthy dietary choices, or even healthy choices in general. All 5 interviewees even went on to share that they have friends at this university, as well as others, who have a difficult time acquiring the proper eating habits they need in order to attain the nutrients they need to stay healthy and energized. There were differences in their reasoning behind why they had an issue. One interviewee said they could not find the time to cook for themselves and would resort to buying low quality food, while another said they were simply too lazy. My last interviewee claimed that they cook every now and then, but ultimately did not have the specific knowledge and know-how when it came to proper health choices. 2 out of the 5 have some kind of meal meal plan either at the school or through an online subscription.

6A Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Trends:
1) Survey suggests baby boomers aren't retiring

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2019/03/01/baby-boomers-parting-gift-workforce-one-last-mess/?noredirect=on
• I believe there is an opportunity that could benefit new workers and baby boomers searching for part-time jobs. Baby boomers who are at the age of retirement are looking to transfer over to part-time jobs instead of retiring. Whether its retiring or switching over to a part-time job, as baby boomers exit the workforce they leave a gap of knowledge/experience. 
• Any company that employs a high number of baby boomers who are expected to retire soon. 
• This could be moderately easy to exploit. As the article suggests, many companies are already offering these baby boomers part-time jobs. Perhaps the part-time jobs offered could have some sort of structure that allows baby boomers to pass on knowledge and insights to new workers. Essentially acting as mentors.  

2) Increase in natural disasters as a result of climate change

• https://www.thebalance.com/top-usa-future-economic-trends-3305666
• An opportunity exists here which would require everyones efforts. The issue of climate change worsens and there are still many people who would rather avoid it than to do their part. 
• The prototypical customer would be non-profit organizations, relief groups, and everyone else.
• This opportunity could be difficult to exploit because it would take the efforts of much of the worlds population.
• Having spent a majority of my life in a place that sees plenty of tropical storms, I was able to quickly see the opportunity. 

Regulatory Trends:
3) Smoking regulations

• https://www.boston25news.com/news/boston-cracks-down-on-vaping-with-changes-to-tobacco-nicotine-regulations/987771870
• There is an opportunity present as officials discuss how they plan to tackle this ongoing issue as it turns into a national crisis.  
• The prototypical customer would be verified adult-only vendors.
• This opportunity would be very easy to exploit as there is research that shows the negative effects of vaping and regulating where you can purchase the cartridges and restricting the sale of fruit flavors, there will be a decrease in teen usage. 
• I saw the opportunity because I know and have met many people who indulge themselves with vaping products and rather ignore the consequences that come with using harmful products.

4) Regulators worry about Facebook's potential digital currency

• https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/19/heres-why-regulators-are-so-worried-about-facebooks-digital-currency.html
• Lawmakers are worried about Facebook's recent announcement that they are looking to introduce a cryptocurrency of their own, the Libra Coin. Assuming Facebook succeeds, it is possible that it could compete with currencies like the dollar. I believe the opportunity that exists is investing in the cryptocurrency if Facebook were to introduce it.
• The prototypical customer would be any Facebook user and anyone interested in the cryptocurrency.
• It would be difficult to exploit because Facebook is currently still working on the currency and has yet to implement the change.

5A Local Opportunities

I.
Title: 'We've had enough.': Students organize protest on Fraternity Drive
Link: https://www.alligator.org/news/we-ve-had-enough-students-organize-protest-on-fraternity-drive/article_699fab64-d107-11e9-b2c2-b38c5b626004.html
Story: Across UF campus there are Blue Light Emergency Phones. Also known as blue lights, the easy to spot emergency phones are exactly what the name implies, phones that allow students to call University Police in case of an emergency. Sadly on Fraternity Row this doesn't seem to be the case. This lead to a group of students and fellow activists to call on UF officials to make a change.
Problem: Lack of blue lights on Fraternity Row could be a dangerous in case of an emergency.
Who has the problem: Anyone who lives on or goes to Fraternity Row.

II.
Title: Alachua County Jail hacker outsmarted system "just to prove" he could
Link:https://www.alligator.org/news/alachua-county-jail-hacker-outsmarted-system-just-to-prove-he/article_bfd17294-d5dd-11e9-83af-5379a6d2d3d5.html
Story: Justin Lee Williams is supposedly a skilled hacker. He was arrested in 2015 and taken to the Alachua County Jail. In his time at the jail, Williams impersonated an officer and attempted to fake taxes in a strange attempt to escape. Several years later he used his skills to help another inmate escape. He does so using the jails systems.
Problem: Facilities such as jails need to have strong firewalls and staff members that are skilled with computers.
Who has the problem: Alachua County Jail and any other facility who may face a similar issue.

III.
Title: Florida teen blames collapsed lung on vaping
Link:https://www.orlandosentinel.com/health/os-ne-florida-teen-blames-collapsed-lung-on-vaping-20190819-6kxys3qndrb7vf4outobh374rq-story.html
Story: A Florida teen suffered a severe lung collapse which he described as feeling like he was having a heart attack. Chance Ammirata, 18, told reporters that his collapsed lung was caused by vaping.
Problem: The teen suffered a collapsed lung because of his vaping habits. Vaping can be detrimental to a persons health and can have severe outcomes.
Who has the problem: Anyone who is a consumer of e-cigarettes or anything related to.

IV.
Title: 13 Orlando restaurants shut down for roaches, rodents, sewage backup
Link:https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-bz-restaurant-inspections-august-20190911-mczyqabhszbzff4nqs5a6bjxau-story.html
Story: 13 restaurants (Little Saigon, Popeyes, etc) located in Orlando have all been temporarily closed for health code violations after state inspections.
Problem: Health code violations
Who has the problem: Restaurants that don't keep the establishment up to code which in turn could                                           affect an employees or customers health.

V.
Title: City Commission repeals plastic ban, raises GRU rates
Link:https://www.alligator.org/news/city-commission-repeals-plastic-ban-raises-gru-rates/article_cbb76770-d5e3-11e9-9a5e-2fe54a48b3cd.html
Story: Here in Gainesville, the city commission came to a unanimous decision to repeal a ban on single-use plastic and styrofoam containers. 
Problem: The city commission decided against environmental regulations because of certain complications.
Who has the problem: The people of Gainesville and the environment in general.

3A Your Entrepreneurship Story

Personally, I consider myself a person with entrepreneurial aspirations. While I don’t necessarily have a full-fledged plan, those aspirations are there. This is because of the entrepreneurial exposure throughout my life. It wasn’t the mandatory assemblies in my early academic career or even special events or workshops that made an impression. The exposure to entrepreneurship came from family. Back In El Salvador when I was a child, both sides of my family owned small bakeries. As interesting as that actually was, I was much too young to be genuinely interested in the field of entrepreneurship, but now I continually ask my mother and father questions about what those experiences were like for both them and their parents. Nowadays, my father has his own company as a contractor working directly with the city of Miami and my brother owns a CrossFit gym in Brickell. Needless to say that the exposure has been there and as my entrepreneurial interest increases, so does the knowledge I gain from picking their brains about entrepreneurship and what it means to them.  

            I enrolled in the ENT3003 course mainly because I’m required to take it but I hope to gain valuable information that will help further down the road

Gym:If you love CrossFit then check them out!