13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

1) You read about an entrepreneur: Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance 

• What surprised you the most?

The most surprising thing to me from what I read about Elon Musk is that he is a Stanford dropout, choosing to forego the rest of college in order to become basically an entrepreneur and utilize the internet for his ideas.

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

What I most admired about Elon Musk is that he has put profits 2nd in order to push true ingenuity and innovation at the forefront of his business ideas. He absolutely has made money from his ideas and a lot of it, but for the most part, these were after calculated risks he undertook to put himself in a successful position. He also hosted Meme Review which deserves plenty of praise.

• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

What I least admired is nothing. There are some personal dings that he has but those types of issues hold true for a large number of people. I thought the book highlighted those but I did not personally have any negative feeling towards these things about Elon.

• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

There were a lot of instances that Elon Musk had encountered adversity and even failure. One of these encounters was the issues he had with his Tesla Model 3, and the delayed production, defects, and all around bad publicity associated with this at the time latest model of Tesla cars.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

One competency that I noticed from Elon Musk is his visionary ability, and being able to see a problem and the solution for it.

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

One part of the reading that was confusing to me was why the board of the company kept removing Elon as CEO, then reinstalling him later on. They did not seem to agree about his competency but there was not enough to truly oust him permanently.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

One question I would ask Elon Musk is if he will host a second Meme Review because PewDiePie needs more subscribers.

The second question I would ask Elon Musk is how soon he estimates that humanity will have the capable technology to send a manned mission to Mars.

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

Elon Musk definitely appreciates hard work and does as much as he can to make his product worthwhile and successful. He has put in countless hours into his companies and does not sleep a lot every night.

14A – Halfway Reflection

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

Some of the behaviors I have developed to keep up with the requirements in this course is to maintain a calendar that highlights when each of my assignments is due. I do this with not just this class but all of my courses, and it definitely helps in keeping up with all the due dates, studying, big or small assignments and so forth. Another behavior I developed for this course mostly is copying the assignment requirements into my blog post, and answering directly to them rather than switching back and forth. It helps organize the answer to be more direct and makes it faster to finish the assignment. 

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?

One of the times I felt like "giving up" particularly in this class was during one of the cupcake assignments that I did not watch any of the lectures for that week. I did terribly and was not able to get anything right, and I felt that it would completely tank my grade for an A. It did not do as much as I thought it would however and I instead became more tenacious in watching all the weekly lecture videos so that kind of mishap does not happen again. 

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'?

One tip I would give for fostering the skills that support tenacity is keeping your momentum going forward, and putting your nose to the grinder. Do not start letting up when things get a little tougher, as we know by now that our bodies can handle far more than we think. Another tip for developing a tenacious mindset is learning to deal with sucky moments and enjoying those. The only way you learn is through failures that become successes. The third and final tip is to not let distractions keep you from your goal. If you have something you want to achieve, then get after it and do not let excuses or outside interference get in the way.

For this post, please include at least one image.

This image is of David Goggins, retired U.S. Navy Seal, and former record holder for most pull-ups in 24 hours. He was 300 lbs before he enlisted, and through sheer willpower and determination became a world-class marathon runner. He has run several 100-mile races, and even competed in 8 of them, 8 weeks straight.

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Pick a segment. In class, we have discussed how you might intuit the existence of segments that might exist in your venture's market. For this exercise, you must pick one segment.

My business venture's segment includes anyone who is interested in following a ketogenic diet. It would be people who are trying to follow a keto diet and would also want to limit any sort of distractions or food options that could diverge them away from following keto. It can also be for individuals who want to purchase their products from a keto grocery store because of quality or different brands that are not available elsewhere. 

Find three people who would fit that segment and arrange to interview them. These interviews, if conducted properly, should take about 10-15 minutes. Any less, and you won't be able to obtain adequate information.

I conducted three interviews with several people I know who have an interest in keto, or have done it before. Each of these interviews were around 10 minutes long and some of the questions asked included what the biggest obstacle to keto is, the biggest benefit of a keto grocery store, and how to find information on keto grocery shopping.

Report the findings of your research. Simply summarize what you learned in the interviews.

From what I was able to glean from the three interviews, it is that people who want to follow keto would like to have somewhere to shop for all their needs at once, and have no sort of issue with accidentally or unknowingly eating something that is not within the keto diet. The ways that these people solve their issue or find the solution is getting online and searching what foods are allowed for keto and what are not. Afterwards the next thing is to make the grocery list and pick up their groceries. Most of the time for these individuals their need for keto groceries coincides with anyone else who would need conventional groceries, so maybe once a week at the beginning of the week.

6) Draw conclusions. Based on what you know about this segment and what you learned in your interviews, how would you succinctly describe this segment in terms of need awareness and information search?

Overall, I would describe this segment as being highly aware of their need, and excelling at their ability to conduct information searches. They are in tune to what their need is when it comes to ketogenic grocery shopping, but may not always make the correct decision due to a variety of factors, like becoming distracted or accidentally purchasing the wrong product.

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

So, please describe the following:

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

I am a skilled writer, planner, and have aspirations to enter law school and continue my higher learning. Regarding my business concept, I see this business playing an integral part in my life if I were to start it. It would be a serious endeavor and something I would hope to pour a lot of time and energy into to make it worthwhile.

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

What we're offering to customers is an easier experience with following a ketogenic diet, along with additional resources within the store to help people who are on the fence. 

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

The demographics of our customers would not be much different from people at conventional grocery stores. They would be people from all ages and backgrounds, and they would all have something in common; an interest in shopping for ketogenic groceries.

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

Customers would want to utilize our service because it helps streamline their experience with purchasing keto groceries. It would not be any less advantageous than going to a conventional grocery store, and if anything it would be more beneficial to go to our keto grocer since it would be far simpler and easier for someone following keto.

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

What sets us apart from anyone else in this industry is our very niche and specific products that cater to a smaller market. What we have that nobody else has is simplicity in our products and design, to help the immediate customers that we envision to shop there.

In addition to these five elements please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others. 

I believe that these five elements fit fairly well together, but there are some parts of the business concept that are weaker than others. One of the weaker elements is why customers care. Most of our products would be purchasable at any normal grocery store, but why our store is unique is that we'd offer a larger depth and variety of those same products while cutting out certain product groups entirely from our stock.

10A – Elevator Pitch No. 1

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who: Are there certain people or certain businesses that, although they share a lot in common with the others in your opportunity, nevertheless fall outside the boundary? Why?

Everyone that I interviewed was someone I know who personally considered trying keto, but never fully committed, for a variety of reasons. Some reasons given were the difficulty of giving up carbohydrates entirely, and other reasons included the limited ability to eat certain foods and also the trouble to buy groceries that were only for keto. Why these people fall outside the boundary is because they would eat many foods that are ketogenic, but would eat foods that are not ketogenic, leaving them to be not entirely for a keto grocery store.

What: At what point does the need you identified differ from another need? (Is thirst the same as hunger? Or is the desire to appear fashionable the same as the desire to be loved by others?)

The need differs at the point that it is a purchase decision to either have strictly keto products available or to go to a conventional grocery store. Some people might have an entirely different need, however, and might go to the keto grocery store not because they do keto, but for a brand or product preference.

Why: Is the underlying cause of the outsiders' need different than people who are inside the boundary?

Yes, the outsiders' needs are a good deal different than those inside the boundary. Most outsiders of the boundary would have no interest in going to a keto only grocery store because they prefer a conventional grocery store. They might only want to buy non-keto goods or do all their grocery shopping at one location and not go to a different store.

In addition to the descriptions of what you find in the interviews, I'd like you to include a table with two columns and three rows:

	Inside	Outside
Who	Anyone who is considering a ketogenic diet and wants to consider shopping at a keto only grocery store.	People that are not interested in going to a keto grocer, and do not want to try any of the specific products that may be available.
What	Having difficulties following your diet, becoming distracted by non-keto foods, and only wanting to buy keto groceries without worry.	Do not care if a keto grocer exists, and would not consider shopping at one anyway.
Why	They would like to not worry about what they're purchasing if they are following keto.	They do not plan on following a keto diet, and they do not have any interest in buying some specific products.

8A – Solving The Problem

Please provide enough detail regarding your (1) selected opportunity and (2) product/service so that we can fully understand what you intend to sell to your customers and so that we can provide sufficient feedback to you.

1. The previous opportunity that I have selected to analyze is about the exemption of property taxes for stadiums and arenas throughout the United States.

2. The service that should be implemented is one that would quantify the amount of property tax a stadium or arena should pay to the city, relative to a number of factors regarding the stadium owners, notably their net worth. This service would be utilized in a way that would allow for the burden of tax to shift from everyday citizens to the wealthy team owners, while also still making it profitable and worthwhile to own the stadium. Some of the factors that would be used in the assessment of property taxes are what the venue is worth, what the sports franchise is worth, the team owner's net worth, and the overall revenue of the team, with more to probably be added at a later time.

7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1) Pick an opportunity you would like to pursue. From this point forward in the class, many of these exercises will be related to a specific venture you want to start. Here's where that path starts. 

An opportunity that I would like to start is a ketogenic grocery store.

2) Clearly state the opportunity you have identified, including the who, what, why. For instance, "Hospitals in the United States are unable to easily, efficiently bill Medicare for drugs they distribute because of the logistical challenges in linking a drug given to a patient and the patient's bill." 

Individuals who want to follow a ketogenic diet may become distraught over the lack of clear options when going to the grocery store.

• The who: People following a ketogenic diet
• The what: They are unable to quickly and efficiently purchase their groceries
• The why: Normal grocery stores have a wide variety of options, many of which are not keto-friendly

3) This is your 'hypothesis' about the opportunity. It is a statement of your belief related to an opportunity. I'd like you to test the boundaries of the hypothesis by pushing and prodding each of the three elements. That means:

• Testing the who

• There are others who have this need, but it is not a critical need. Not everyone who follows a keto diet will share this need.

• Testing the what

• The boundaries of the need include only foods that are considered keto friendly. Only some foods are allowed into the keto grocery store, while others will not be to limit the distractions and expedite the process.

• Testing the why

• Some people will have this need because they want to go in and out in 5 minutes without shuffling through aisles of food they can't have. Others will have this need because they may not be 100% certain about the foods they can eat. Other people may become distracted by the number of foods available at a typical grocery store, and would rather slim their options to only a few choices.

4) In Part 1, you must interview five people. These interviews must be lengthy enough for you to get the information you need. In these interviews, you want to ask questions that try to capture the variation in the whos, whats, and whys, and your objective is to test the boundaries of your opportunity hypothesis. 

Part 1

1. Connor - I asked Connor what his thoughts were on the idea of a ketogenic grocery store, the usefulness of it, and whether it would be a successful venture or ultimately a bust. He had told me that there would be some niche use, but not to expect it to grow into a big grocery chain as a Publix or even Trader Joes. He stated the people who would benefit most from this venture would be newer individuals to a ketogenic diet since it would help streamline their dietary needs.

2. Joe - Another friend of mine, Joe, was asked several questions regarding a keto grocery store. The first question was who this would benefit most. He stated that anyone who was looking for the simplest way to follow a ketogenic diet would benefit. I also asked him what would be the biggest positive in having a keto grocery story, and he said it would be the simplicity and efficiency of being able to grab anything available without worrying if it's allowed.

3. Ines - I asked my friend Ines if she could think of who would benefit most from this venture, and she said anyone looking to start keto in the easiest fashion without too many considerations for what to choose. I also asked her what is the biggest issue for people doing keto, and she says its the discipline of maintaining the diet. Being able to go to one grocery store would minimize the chances of people 'cheating' and buying other food.

4. Jarvis - My friend Jarvis who works at Publix was able to provide a unique perspective on whether the keto grocery store would be feasible or not. He said it would be hard considering the popularity of current grocery chains, and also the niche market that this grocery store would serve. I asked him what is the biggest benefit to someone shopping for keto foods at Publix vs a keto grocery store, and he said it would be flat out easier to buy your food at a keto store if you follow a keto diet.

5. Jared - My friend Jared has done a ketogenic diet before, so I was able to ask him specific questions about how this keto grocery store could benefit him. He said the biggest benefit is being able to go in and out in 5 minutes since it would not be a large grocery store and would only contain keto friendly foods. He also added another point that some of the food inside the store would be very niche products that one would only find online or inside a keto grocery store. He said overall that this store could be feasible, but it would take a lot of work in order to make it successful.

I was able to find that yes it is possible to operate a ketogenic grocery store, but the likelihood of success would entirely depend on the location and demographics of people who are following a ketogenic diet. Many people will benefit from a keto grocery store, but there are not many people who follow a keto diet in the first place. For step 4, I found that it is hard to say whether the store would work or not, but there would be a good amount of interest in the store if it is set up and marketed well.