Week 15 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading?

I was surprised to read that a business could have such high growth even though its prospective customers are relatively poor.


2) Identify one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

Initially, I was uncertain about what exactly microfinancing is. It wasn't until later in the article that the author described it in depth enough for me to get a better understanding.


3) If you were able to ask the author two questions, what would you ask? Why?

Why is microfinancing not a more popular business activity around the world?

How much of an impact do cultural barriers have on business at the bottom of the pyramid?


4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about?

Other than the confusion about microfinancing, I felt the author's piece was very informative and entertaining. I am relatively uninformed on the topic but I appreciate the great read overall.

Final Reflection

1) Reading through my blog posts  from throughout the semester made me appreciate the body of work that I've accomplished in this class.

2) What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

The most formative experience for me has to be the Interviewing Customers assignments. Interestingly enough, this is because I was unable to do any of them by their respective due dates. This helped me grow as a student in this class because, after getting my act together, I became more able to prioritize assignments and complete them on time for this class after the first few weeks. I hope to carry these habits over into other classes. This assignment also helped me get outside of my comfort zone and approach other students around campus. My most memorable experience from this class would definitely be the "Free Money" assignment. It was my favorite because it incorporated entrepreneurial ideas while also making me laugh along the way. My most joyous experience of the semester would be finally being able to record an Elevator Pitch all the way through without hesitating or messing up. It took me a solid hour or two the first time to be able to get this done. Finally, I will be most proud if I am still able to earn an A in this class after starting off the course fairly poorly.

3) At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. And we repeated the mantra -- I am an entrepreneur. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

When it comes to my involvement with BLUE, I would definitely categorize myself as an entrepreneur. However, from a broader perspective, I am still primarily a student studying to eventually become my own private business owner (entrepreneur). Nonetheless, I have acquired many entrepreneurial skills and developed a consistent entrepreneurial mindset in my everyday thinking. I think that having an entrepreneurial mindset can help make you a more successful person.

4) What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

My best piece of advice for future students is to look ahead at upcoming assignments so that you are aware which assignments will require more time to complete. I made the mistake of procrastinating and not being able to complete some of the lengthier assignments at the beginning of the semester and this initially put my grade in the class in jeopardy. I have since been able to complete almost all of my assignments and have significantly raised my grade. Staying on pace with the class is a major key to success. My best advice for future students to foster an entrepreneurial mindset is to step out of your comfort zone, meet people, be prepared, and have passion.

Venture Concept No. 2

1) Venture Concept Description

Opportunity:

BLUE at UF will target college students as customers. Young adults (college students) are generally some of the more healthy, fit, and adventurous people in America when compared to other age groups. There is also no generation better suited to learn about the lack of potable water around the world because, after all, college students are the future of the world and are the ones that will make an impact over the next several decades. These qualities are all extremely helpful on BLUE service trips and in working towards our ultimate goal of clean water for all.

College students are at a time in their lives where traveling is extremely popular. BLUE trips to the Dominican Republic have been like vacations for me in the past so I aim to convey this aspect of the trip to fulfill yet another of my customer’s needs. BLUE trips are memorable cultural immersion experiences that assimilate you into the native culture for a week while completing a great service to the community along the way. I believe college students have an appeal for cultural experiences similar to this such as studying abroad or medical missions.

The market is not defined in any way demographically. The geographic limitations are that BLUE is based out of Miami, FL and our chapter will be based out of UF. My opportunity is pretty big in the long term because if I can get the organization going at UF, it will potentially continue growing for years to come. I do not see the “window of opportunity” closing at all because the majority of UF students have a strong unmet need for new experiences, travel, campus involvement, and helping those in need.

Innovation:

BLUE at UF will coordinate a weeklong service trip to a rural mountain community in the Dominican Republic for a group of UF students. BLUE will be able to compete for UF students as customers because it is a much cheaper option than studying abroad. It is also a more broad social experience with the locals than a medical mission. We all know that college is competitive so another need that I can help fulfill for my customers is campus involvement because BLUE is soon to be a club at UF that will offer involvement opportunities such as participating in BLUE at UF trips or even earning executive board positions in the UF chapter of the organization.

Our mission is to build a concrete aqueduct and PVC pipe system that will deliver water from the source directly to the home faucets in the community. The locals will be extremely involved and do most of the hard work. We will be working side by side with them all week to complete the project; making friendships, memories and progress on the project every step of the way. Our team will also have an organized layout for the project long before we arrive.

BLUE Service trip payments collected from trip participants cover food, water, flight costs and transportation, as well as relevant supplies to complete the projects. Past trips have cost $899-$999. Current estimates also put the price of our upcoming service trips at under $1000. BLUE is a non-profit so we make money from trip payments as well as annual fundraisers and, increasingly, social media fundraisers.

Venture Concept:

BLUE is a great option for UF students looking to get involved. It is a great organization that does not require a lot of commitment outside of the service trip itself and a handful of informational meetings. Our service trip will be extremely affordable compared to other international opportunities that UF offers. This is very attractive for college students and families on a budget. BLUE will also provide an international experience, campus involvement, and lasting memories for UF students.

There will be little difficulty for customers to switch to our organization because there are no costs or conflicts associated with it other than the service trip itself. However, our competition is other service trips, study abroad programs, medical missions, and even spring break and summer vacations. Study abroad programs can be time-consuming and very expensive while college vacations may not be as fulfilling as a service trip.

Customer support, the customer experience, and business location all play a huge role in defining my business concept. BLUE relies heavily on past trip participants to continue spreading the word to friends. I have personally already recruited dozens of family and friends to go on trips. We also have a pretty big group of “BLUE alumni” that are current UF students. I will be working with them to spread the word about our organization around campus in the coming months. Our BLUE at UF chapter will need a group of students to start the club so that we could meet, discuss, and elect an executive board. Back in Miami and the Dominican Republic BLUE has a team of workers, engineers, and dedicated volunteers that will be able to support our organization.

Minor Elements:

Important resources are human interaction and manual labor. These are not exactly tangible but our success will depend greatly on the work that we put in with the locals to complete the project. Supplies such as PVC pipe and shovels are also necessary and will be provided.

The next step for my venture is to spread the word to the UF community about my organization. It is best that we have plenty of time to recruit as many students as possible. I plan on using social media and tabling at Turlington plaza to spread the word about BLUE.

I hope to be involved with BLUE for the rest of my life because of the impact it has had on me and because of the people that I’ve met through the organization. In five years I hope to still be recruiting family and friends to go on at least one service trip with BLUE. From an entrepreneurial standpoint, I hope to have my own private medical practice in the next decade and I hope to use the entrepreneurial skills I’ve gathered to be a better professional.

2) Provide a summary of the feedback you received from your previous venture concept description. You certainly want to include the student feedback, but you may also include the feedback you received from others during the "What's Next" exercise. You want to summarize all of the feedback, but be sure to place an emphasis on what people recommended you change about your idea. (In other words, don't just describe the positive feedback.)

Most of my feedback praised how I aim to appeal to the pleasure side of customers while also appealing to their moral side. However, some comments aimed to help me make my idea better. Two out of my four peer comments requested that I add the approximate spending budget of the service trip. I have been waiting until my service is fully developed in order to approximate how much it would cost students and I am finally ready to do so. I also received feedback to try to include how my venture will produce a profit for business. Finally, one peer thought it would be a good idea to add an option to go longer than a week.

3) Describe how you changed your venture concept, based on what you learned from the feedback. 

I wanted to make sure that I added in the approximate price of $999 for each of the 7-10 day summer trips. This price is all-inclusive for food, shelter, and transportation. My venture is a non profit organization, Therefore, we will not need to earn a profit for the business. As long as we are able to efficiently fundraise and receive trip payments from volunteers, we will be able to sustain our organization and continue pursuing our organizational goals. At this point our focus is providing the best 7-10 day international service experience possible for college students. I am interested in pursuing longer trips in the future as requested but that is not something that is possible for next year given our current resources and investment of time. 

4) Include a picture (for illustration!) 

This picture is from my first BLUE trip. You can see the genuine appreciation and happiness in the faces of both the volunteer and the young children once the project was completed.