22A - Elevator Pitch No.3

Link: https://youtu.be/_TRDVaLfPMI

Reflection: Some of the feedback I received said that I had good eye contact, I asked good questions to keep the audience engaged, and kept my composure. In my pitch, I aimed to highlight my strengths and improve some areas I was weak in.

What I changed: In my last pitch, I didn't have complete eye contact so this time I tried to have my pitch more memorized and flow better. This time around, I felt more comfortable in front of the camera, my pitch sounded more natural, and the pitch itself was better.

21A - Reading Reflection No.2

I read the book "Mindset The New Psychology of Success" by Carol S. Dweck.

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?The general theme of the book was that there was two types of mindsets: either the fixed mindset or the growth mindset. The fixed mindset essentially made you scared of failure and mistakes and that everything is innate and could not be changed. It defined someone based off their talent or ability and didn't promote hard work or effort. On the other hand, the growth mindset recognized the importance of learning, and how people can change over time in their skills and ideas. Failures and mistakes were opportunities for growth.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?The book connected with the type of mindset an entrepreneur should have, and that to really be successful, it takes time, effort, and energy. Nothing is perfect right away - and it takes significant effort to improve. This mindset can be applied to all parts of life too,

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

The book discusses multiple case studies and scenarios that highlight either the fixed mindset or the growth mindset. For this class, there can be an exercise to reflect on what mindset you have towards a particular area, and what you can do to improve it or shift it into the growth-mindset area.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

The biggest surprise for me when reading this book was how I realized I had a fixed mindset towards a lot of things without even realizing it. It was an eye-opener for me and showed me ways I could improve. From realizing that I have a fixed mindset, I realized the reasoning behind so many things that I do and how I can change it. I definitely didn't expect the book to hit me so personally.

20A - Growing Your Social Capital

Domain Expert

• Mr. Walker works with Khan Academy and has been working there for 8 years.
• He fits the Domain Expert role because he works with a company that I would like to model my own after and has similar services to my own.
• I looked at the Khan Academy website and sent an email.
• In the email, I described my service and showed him my idea napkin. He said that it was great that I was looking to solve this problem and that they actually have a section on their page that also looks to address these topics. He encouraged me to continue on my idea and that perhaps I could add more to make my service more unique and accessible.
• By having Mr. Walker in my network, I have a company that I look at as a reference when building my own and can look to him in advice as to how to execute my idea.

Market Expert

• Mrs. Kretzer is an AP environmental teacher from my high school who interacts with students everyday. Her family is from Maine and she has been teaching students for over 10 years and has also served as a high school wrestling coach for girls. 
• She fits the Market Expert role because she consistently works with students (who are in my market segment) and they have even asked her to teach them life skills in the time after AP exams and before school ends. 
• I took her class my senior year and she was also my wrestling coach junior year so I emailed her for her feedback.
• In the email, I gave her a brief summary of my service by showing her my idea napkin. She acknowledged how this is a problem that more and more students are realizing and how since I have a personal connection to it, that would make me more successful. She hinted that she wasn't sure how I would deliver the product - either by selling it directly to students or in tandem with schools themselves.
• By having Mrs. Kretzer in my network, I have an inside look into the school system from the back-end as well as having someone who has a huge connection to my market. 

Important Supplier to Industry

• Mr. Porter works with Kaplan and has been working there for more than 5 years. 
• He fits the important supplier to my industry because he works with a company that offers a service to students that helps them prepare for an exam, advancing their career, learning English, preparing for university, and earning a degree.
• I went to the Kaplan website and sent an email.
• In the email, I gave him a overview of my business idea with my idea napkin. He thought my idea was innovative and clearly addressed a problem so many students have. He said that my idea targeted a skill set that isn't normally taught in schools or even services like Kaplan. However, he did mention that my idea could be further developed and encouraged me to reach out to more people for feedback.
• By having Mr. Porter in my network, I'll be able to connect with a business that is similar to my own in the sense that it is a third-party service and targets a similar market and how they go about it.

Reflection

This experience will help shape future networking events by giving me more practice in how to talk to people in terms of giving context before saying my piece as well as making sure I stay on topic and to focus on the relevant information. This has been different from my networking experiences in the past mainly because it was through email as opposed to the in-person networking events that I've been to.

19A - Idea Napkin No.2

1) My name is Ashley Phang and I'm a freshman at the University of Florida studying marketing. I am someone who has also struggled with this problem and wish for the unmet need to be met. I constantly look for ways for things to be more efficient and can anticipate what's coming next. Some of my skills is reading other people, problem-solving, analyzing a situation from multiple angles, and thinking of creative solutions. Through my experience working with my cousins on Susie's Knee Project (a non-profit organization) I have been exposed to the behind-the-scenes of a business and through my participation in the Big Idea Competition, I'm constantly learning more about what it like to run a business, the effort that goes behind it, and the type of mindset you need to have in order to succeed. I aspire to not only be successful in school but also my future career and can foresee this business pushing me outside my comfort zone and teaching me valuable life skills.

2) I'm offering customers a program that will help prepare them for the real world by teaching them real life skills. As of right now, students are not taught these skills in school and have to rely on outside resources to learn. Through the program, the lessons and skills will be brought to them by real life professionals, instead of them seeking them out through other ways. The medium of this program is dependent on a student's learning style - whether that be in-person, online, or a hybrid style.

3) I am offering the program to high school students, specifically high school seniors across the U.S. They are all are either going to go to college, the workforce, or possibly the military after graduation. These students usually rely on the internet or those around them (their parents for example) for help when they are faced with this problem.

4) More and more students are graduating from high school with no real knowledge of what real life looks like and so many students complain about how they didn't learn any valuable material while they were in school. I aim to change that and give them something that is tangible and applicable to their own life.

5) No one else has really addressed this problem and actually implemented it. Part of my advantage is that the problem is relevant mainly to people my age right now and I'm able to connect with them.

For the most part, my five elements work together but there is definitely room for improvement. Specifically on the fifth element of core competencies, this could be more well-developed. Overall, I think everything aligns because there is an unmet need, I relate strongly the to the problem, and others recognize the need as well.

Feedback Memo: For the most part, I've kept my idea napkin the same with minor changes. Two main points that I took away from the feedback I received was that my past experiences would be really helpful in developing my current idea and that I could further develop my idea to make it more tangible and applicable. From the feedback, I added a bit more detail with my past experiences, specifics about the program itself, and my market.  

17A - Elevator Pitch No.2

Link: https://youtu.be/zfBZuxdDmcg

Reflection: The feedback I received was very positive and the strong point of my pitch that was addressed in my feedback was that my introduction caught people's attention and that my idea was easy to understand.With that said, in my second pitch I tried to maintain my strong points while also having more passion and movement.

What I changed: I tried to be more engaging in my second pitch but having more personality in my voice and using my hands more. Overall, the content of my pitch was the same, but I tried to spice up the delivery a bit more to give the pitch more life and dynamic.

18A - Create a Customer Avatar

My prototypical customer is an 18 year old high school senior who lives in the U.S. In her free time from school she watches The Office and reads stories like Flowers in the Attic. She's worried about what comes next after graduation and how she's going to live in the real world. Throughout high school, her parents have supported her and her siblings and the most she has done truly on her own in terms of the "real world" is getting herself a part-time job. She knows how to search for available jobs on websites like Indeed and Glassdoor, and how to apply for them as well as basic knowledge when going in for an interview. She doesn't know too much about what to do when it comes time for her to file her taxes, but no worries, her parents will probably take care of that for her. 

She will be attending an in-state college after graduation a couple hours from where she lives currently, and she will live in the dorms her freshman year. She will be taking her car with her; a white 2015 Honda Civic that she'll probably use on the weekends. Some of her concerns include how she's going to handle paying her rent on time, what credit card to get before she moves out for school, and the consequences of not paying on time. She can't help but feel like school prepared her for fluency in subjects like math and science, but not for daily tasks like filing taxes and interest rates. 

I actually have a lot in common with the customer avatar. I had some anxiety when I graduated high school about what to do in future situations that required some life skills. Just like my customer avatar, I the only real experience I had was getting part-time jobs. I don't think what I have in common with my avatar is a coincidence because most people from my demographic are pretty similar. The education system is pretty much the same wherever you go so I think this a problem that a lot of people have.

16A - What's Your Secret Sauce

1) Five ways in which you think I have human capital that is truly unique.

• I can usually identify a problem that is going to occur before anyone else is aware of it
• I consider myself to have a good judge of character, and can read people fairly easily
• I am extremely introspective and constantly think of how I can improve as a individual
• I'm a fast learner, and catch on quick to my surroundings
• I'm futuristic and focus on what I want to do next and what I hope to achieve

2)
I interviewed one of my best friends. He said that I was detail-oriented, energetic about things I care about, introspective, how I understand and listen to people, and how I am trustworthy.
https://trackdmusic.com/ashphang/mat-1

I interviewed my sister. She said that I'm affectionate/loving, frugal, adventurous, ambitious, studious, perfectionistic, and that I plan for the future

https://trackdmusic.com/ashphang/alyssa-2

I interviewed one of my friends that I consider a brother. He said that I'm caring, considerate, responsible, high-spirited, and adept at research.
https://trackdmusic.com/ashphang/tashim-3

I interviewed my mom. She said that I'm fun-loving, compassionate, responsible, level-headed, a forward thinker, decisive, deep thinker, loyal, committed, and have a strong business mind.
https://trackdmusic.com/ashphang/mom-4

I interviewed my dad. He said that I'm genuine, decisive, efficient, organized, and a forward-thinker.
https://trackdmusic.com/ashphang/dad-5

3) Reflection:
For the most part, how I see myself and how others see me are fairly similar. I'm naturally harder on myself so in some areas I don't give myself enough credit. I think my interviews are correct about me and I don't think I would make any corrections to my original list.

15A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.2

Alternative Evaluation
For my interviews, I had my "customers" choose between three choices to each highlight price, quality, and style. I had them choose between a program that was affordable but was average in quality and style, a program that was a little pricier but was really good quality and average style, and a program that was average price and quality, but had a really cool style/aesthetic.

The most popular choice was the program that was a little pricier but had good quality and average style. Quality was the most important factor in their decision as it pertained to the level of content they would be able to receive. Price was also a factor since most students don't want to be investing a ton of money since they don't have a lot of disposable income. All in all, all three parts contribute to the "customer's" decision.

Purchase Decision
For the purchase decision, I got mixed feedback as to if the high school program should be online or in-person. One of the people I interviewed suggested a hybrid set-up, where they are able to learn both in-person and online. Some people prefer it to be solely online so they don't have to divert any of their time at school and some like it solely in-person so they don't have to worry about it outside of school. I think it's a matter of personal preference and would find it beneficial to have it in a way that meets all three ways.

Post-Purchase Evaluation
For post-purchase evaluation, the biggest things that my "customers" consider is how much use they get out of the product, how much they like it, if it meets quality standards and maintains them, and if the price is justifiable. To determine if it's a bad idea, it's basically the opposite - if the price if outrageous, the quality doesn't last, changed opinions, or if the product gets less usage than expected.

Conclusion
To succinctly describe this segment, quality is the most important factor when choosing between alternatives, the purchase decision ranges based off of personal preference, and post-purchase evaluation is based off likability, expected quality, price range, and usage.