The 20 Percent

The business owner I chose to interview was Zackary Kampf, developer of the EnvoyNow food delivery mobile application. I asked him the following questions: 

1)    Who do you think your target customers are? 

Our main focus is on college students but our service can be enjoyed by anyone in the delivery radius. We want to appeal to busy students looking for a cheap, convenient delivery option while studying…stuff like that. 

2)    Where do you find your customers? 

We started by advertising on campus and online through various avenues such as Facebook, GroupMe, Instagram, Snapchat, and the school newspaper. Now that the app has an established user base, it spreads through word of mouth of both customers and drivers.

3)    What are your customer's demographics? 

Our initial goal when building the application layout was to appeal to both males & females ages 18-25. 

4)    What kinds of media do your customers consume? 

Our demographic consumes various types of digital media based heavily upon social media.

5)    What are your customers' problems? 

They’re hungry!

6)     What are customers currently doing to fix their problems? 

Ordering food, we hope. Making food or eating at the dining hall every day is no way to live!

7)     How big, on a scale of 1-10, is this problem in their customers' lives? 

10 because everyone needs good, fast, affordable food.

8)    What are some of the bigger problems their customers are dealing with? 

Anything really. It could be homework, problems with roommates, homesickness, fights with friends, or a stressful job. 

9)    Do their customers have a budget allocated to fix this problem?

Most probably have a certain amount they allocate for spending on food per month. 

After I completed this interview, I went and found three customers of EnvoyNow and asked them the same questions. The videos can be found below. The business owner and customers seem to be on the same page as far as the questions I asked are concerned. This is probably because the application was created for college students by college students. The customers are the contributors, so the two groups think and act in the same ways (as well as have similar problems). I think that Zack has a great idea of his ’20 percent’ but he isn’t too overconfident because he always strives for customer opinions and improves the service as he receives feedback. 

Week 8 Reading Reflection

I was surprised to hear about sophisticated investors because I have never been exposed to such individuals before. I am taking multiple business courses alongside this one such as Financial Accounting and Management. One of the things I had yet to learn about to this point was what kind of investors to attract as a start-up company. The whole concept of sophisticated investors with specialized areas of knowledge intrigues me. I would ask the author how to find and build relationships with sophisticated investors. I would also ask how to optimize my personality itself separate from my start-up (or in cohesion with it) to attract venture capitalist investors. I was confused on how to decide between the various choices of securities and when exactly a company should go public. I disagree slightly with the system of evaluating product/service and management because I think that having one individual entrepreneur can sometimes be more beneficial than having more employees behind a product if they aren’t as motivated or focused.

Half-way Reflection

1. Tenaciousness is a skill. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course?

Though all of my college classes require due amount of diligence in keeping up with various assignments, this one necessitates the most amount of micromanaging by far. I have had to fit in time to my schedule 3 times a week or more in order to sit down and keep up with this class. There are a lot of fragmented, less-than-one-hour assignments that are mostly easy. I have developed a habit of completing the comment exercises last because it is the most least intensive type of assignment but takes a lot of time if you have 4 blogs to watch videos and comment on.



2. Tenaciousness is also about attitude. 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?

I groaned when I looked at the Interview and Free Money assignments for the first time. I took an online class for a reason; to be able to complete it wherever I was without relying on other people. The last things I want to do are go talk to people about a made up product and give away my own precious money for a one-point assignment. Nothing in particular pulled me through besides a little voice in my head that chastised me for being lazy. Eventually, I did complete these assignments with relative ease. These situations contributed to the growth of my tenacious attitude because I know that I can exceed my own expectations when I dedicate myself to something.



3) Three tips. 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. Take this class one week at a time but stick to your premade schedule. Looking at 100 or so assignments at the start of the semester may discourage you to drop. However, the class is very palatable when consumed in chunks. Focus on the material presented, complete a few exercises a few times a week, and before you know it, you will be completing the halfway reflection wondering where the time went.

2. Find a friend in this class and complete applicable assignments together. The class requires a lot of individual reflection and action but certain assignments like the interviews and Free Money are much easier with a friend to hold the camera and help you focus on the substance of the assignment.

3. Take advantage of YellowDig; the extra points will certainly be a welcome addition to your grade as the semester ends and the assignments get tougher. Don’t be lazy; you will regret it! Plus, the platform is really fun to use!

Free Money!!!!!!!

My strategy was basically to stand in front of my fraternity house while my phone recorded the interactions. I planned to approach just about anyone because anyone who stopped to give me some of his or her time deserved the dollar! I basically came up with a story that I was doing a personal research/social experiment for my own curiosity in which I analyzed how different pedestrians reacted when presented with a free dollar. I really had no other plans other than to impromptu convince the stranger to accept my money. I figured that 4 or 5 people would accept the dollar in the end, even if they were thrown off by my presence or confused by my motives. Below are 2 of my 5 attempts in video format; enjoy.

One was a success after a series of questions while the one was an immediate failure, as the pedestrian was too busy working out to even care what I had to offer. I assumed that almost anyone; especially college students (who usually run a tight budget) would take free money without questioning me at all. This was never the case, as even those willing to take the money (3 out of 5 pedestrians) asked me multiple questions. I guess it is a good thing that people are naturally skeptical but I am shocked that two out of 5 people chose to turn down my offer. Maybe I chose a bad location or a poor time to give away some Washingtons. Oh well, a few more bucks for me then!

Week 7 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise for me in this week’s reading was the discussion of how the perceived value of products and services directly affected the magnitude at which consumers changed their selection. It was interesting to look at consumer concerns aka ‘what is at stake’ for the company as values on a spectrum that in turn tell the company to what degree their model needs to change.  For example, companies could get away with overpricing razors as long as it fit a man’s need for comfort. What confused me about this was how to exactly classify a product on the middle or high end. Although things like health are more important than the car I drive, I place more value on the kind of shave I get on a daily basis than on what kind of car I drive. So, I’m confused why a business could be take the time to see where they can cut corners and still claim to be customer-oriented. It seems to me that the approach is completely anti-consumer and pro-profit. I would ask the author the best way to classify consumer choices- would it be by industry or by emotional investment? Also, how does this all play into the 21^st century where Internet advertisements are already based on past data from the user? Basically, I think the reading is just a little outdated since advertising has become increasingly segmented to a new degree.

Idea Napkin 1

1.     I am a first year pre law student at UF studying General Business with a minor in Entrepreneurship. I have always been money motivated and created an online marketplace back in high school as an avenue to sell shoes and electronics. I have good management/organization skills and excel in public speaking due to my debate and political experience. My aspiration is that the new version of SNAP can be reliable and free of ‘bugs’. If this business were a reality, it would play a significant role in my life as my primary mode of nightly campus transportation.

2.     My improved version of SNAP would be a welcome change to on and off campus students alike. Currently, the SNAP application and van system is glitchy, inconsistent, and downright frustrating.  The improvements I proposed will ensure that students have a clear idea of when their ride will arrive and drop them off so that they can be confident that they have a way to get around at night.

3.     This service will mostly benefit on campus students but off campus students are not exempt from reaping the benefits of a SNAP 2.0 so to speak. SNAP operates on campus but it has many stops scattered around the perimeter of campus. What all my customers have in common is that they need a free and safe method to traverse the ‘Greater UF Area’ at night.

4.     Customers don’t need to pay for SNAP service, because it is included in their dues as a UF student. Students legitimately care about their transportation options on campus because a lot of events go on late at night. Teleportation is not a thing as far as I am aware, so everyone needs a set of wheels to get them where they need to go.

5.     What sets SNAP apart from other businesses is that it is in its own category of transportation. It is a student operated and student used system that costs nothing (extra) to us. Uber is great but no one wants to pay for something that they can get for free. Improving SNAP would mean that broke college students could save money and achieve peace of mind that they had a safe, reliable way to get around at night.

I believe that these five elements fit together perfectly and that there are no inconsistencies or other issues. The concept of SNAP is pretty engrained within University culture, and not just at UF. All students want a free, on time ride to the party and a free, on time ride back home. It just so happens that here in the Gator Nation, our student transportation system (SNAP) isn’t as efficient or reliable as it should be. We deserve an application that helps students figure out their way around campus and we deserve proper implementation with more than 3 vans for the whole student population!

Interviewing Customers 2

I began by investigating an opportunity I had been thinking about since Summer B, way before I took this entrepreneurship course.  Students appreciate the fact that UF offers a means for students to get around late at night (SNAP service). However, there are major flaws in the mobile application and reliability of the vans according to the answers given to my new questions (posted below). The best students to ask about SNAP are ones who live on and around campus and don't have a car since there are the most affected by the service. I decided that showing the location of students would be a bad idea shortly after I posted my elevator pitch. However, my idea to reveal the locations of all of the vans was well received and this round of interviews reinforced the need for more vans. The ideal version of SNAP is more transparent for students, reliable, and most importantly: faster. Two out of the five interviews processed incorrectly had to be uploaded in audio format but the answers are still audible.

Questions:

What do you think about SNAP?

Did you have to wait an unusually long time in any instance?

Should the program deploy more vans at night?

What do you think about the idea of opening up the app and being shown the location of all the active vans?

I learned that interviewing customers can definitely be awkward but it is important to share your ideas with strangers and friends alike.

Tip 1- Don’t be afraid to just ask someone for an interview; almost anyone will say yes and the process flies by

Tip 2- Ask meaningful questions that target your opportunity’s strengths

Tip 3- If you target the right customers (in my case, on campus students), you are almost guaranteed to get relevant testimony every time