8a - Solving the Problem

Opportunity: College students in the United States still need to or prefer print. Printing is not always easy because printers’ students own don’t always work or they don’t own one. Also, school library printing has its limits and is not always reliable.

A product that could help solve this problem would be a print finder app. An app that can locate people with printers that are willing to share. Many college students live in an apartment or dorm. There would most likely be some people with printers and possibly printer owners who are willing to share. The incentive for people to let others use their printer is money. Many college students venmo each other. A print finder app would work similar to venmo. If a user of the app finds another user with an available printer, they can message them and send them a transaction of the cost to print. This will benefit the purchaser because they will not have to struggle to find away to print. It will also benefit the person with the printer because they can make money off their printer. The money can help them lower the cost of their next ink or paper purchase.    

7a - testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Opportunity: College students in the United States still need to or prefer print. Printing is not always easy because printers’ students own don’t always work or they don’t own one. Also school library printing has its limits and is not always reliable.

Who: College students in the United States

What: Have a need to print but cannot always print what they need

Why:   Students either have a printer and it is not working or don’t own one. They are also limited with school printers.

Boundaries of the hypothesis

Who: Not just college students have this problem. People are always needing to print something. It could be high school students, teachers, something for work. However, college students usually do not have much money to spend. Some might have printers but are not able to recycle ink in it all the time

What: Not all students need to print. Many college assignments are turned in through canvas or email submission. Some professors still prefer to grade and edit papers on print. Also there are students who prefer to look at print and not at a screen all the time.

Why: Not everyone will find printing at a school library limited or inconvenient. Also, some apartment complexes have free printers and roommates may have printers. While this is true, I do not think those printers are always reliable for a good majority of students.

Interview #1
I interviewed a UF college student. Most of her college assignments are submitted online. She is majoring in Business Administration. She does not own a printer because she rarely prints. In the past she mentioned a time where she did need to print an assignment and was struggling to find a way to print her assignment. Her apartment complex had a printer but when she needed to use it, the printer was not working. She did not have time to go to campus and print. Instead she knocked on neighbors doors and asked if she could use their printer.


Interview #2
This interview was with a UF student majoring in Journalism.  She told me she likes to print out all her readings for class. She owns her own printer but it is not always reliable. It runs out of ink often and cost a lot of money to replace it. A lot of her assignments are turned in on print. She recently had to go “sometimes I need to print shit late at night and I can’t because I don’t have paper and my apartment complex is not open for free print.

Interview #3 
This interview was with a UF student majoring in Public Relations. He does not own a printer, He needs to print often and says he usually prints at the Reitz Union in the basement. He likes that he is allowed to print for free. He believes he does not have the money to buy new ink and paper all the time. He mentioned how sometimes he has to go to target copy if he wants to get a special kind of print, like his resume printed on resume paper. Also, he does find printing at the school difficult if it is a last-minute print.

Interview #4

This interview was with a UF student majoring in economics. He does not own a printer but his roommate does. He tries not to use his roommates printer to often because he does not want to waste his ink. He said if for some reason if he had to use his roommates printer a lot, he would venmo him.

Interview #5

This interview was with a UF student majoring in Public Relations. She said she has a printer but it recently broke and I have to go to my apartment complex lounge area to print. She usually prints out essays or other writing assignments. Many of her assignments are turned in online but some are not. She told me, “Sometimes the machine is broken and it stresses me out because I need to find another place to print.”


What I know now

I know that their is a need for college students being able to print. In my interviews the students had assignments turned in on print. They also had assignments that were turned in online, some more than others. While some of the students turn in their assignments mostly online, they still claimed to have a need for printing. A couple of them had a preference to looking at paper while doing an assignment, rather than a screen. Several of the students have free printers at their apartment complexes but those seemed to be a hit or miss. One of the biggest challenges for students who owned printers was the cost of ink and paper. I learned that there are mixed feeling about the school printing. Some find it confusing, and others like it because it is free. The common fault shared between them is that the library can be an inconvenience if it is a last minute print.

6a - Identifying Opportunities in Economics & Regulatory Trends

Economic Trend: Undocumented immigrants pay state and local taxes

· Source - https://itep.org/undocumented-immigrants-state-local-tax-contributions-2/


 An economic study came out from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy showing that undocumented immigrants pay $11.84 million a year. This trend shows that there are undocumented immigrants who contribute to the U.S. economy. The study shows that if the undocumented immigrants became U.S. citizens the tax contribution would go up.

· The prototypical customer is someone living in the U.S. undocumented but wants to become a citizen. These people have different jobs and live in all 50 states. This issue can have different effects depending on the location and can be difficult to exploit depending on the circumstances. There are millions of undocumented immigrants so putting them all into one category is difficult.

· I saw this opportunity because the economic issue from immigration is a big topic right now. I am also majoring in food and resource economics and many of the agriculture businesses in the U.S. hire undocumented immigrants for lower skilled labor jobs.



Economic Trend: Interest Rates are rising.

· Source - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/11/upshot/interest-rates-are-rising-thats-great-news-for-most.html

· The higher income rates can help the economy in the long run. Previous trends of interest rates have been graphed in the past and show what has happened when interest rates go up, down or stay flat.

· Right now, the prototypical customer has had flat interest rate and has not seen much growth in the bank. However, there is a good chance it is going to increase a decent amount. The prototypical customer might have more money in the stock market because it has been growing a lot more. Economists are predicting another market crash, which could negatively affect people’s stock. Predicting the interest rate and stock market are difficult to exploit. Economic bubbles and inflation are hard to represent. Having an exact date when interest rate or stocks will change is not possible. Raising interest rates help the long-term economy, but it can also hurt the short term making loans more expensive.

· I have personally seen my interest rate go up and stocks go down. Also, I have a subscribe to the Wall Street Journal and read up on the market regularly.




Regulatory Changes: There is an opportunity for better gun safety and background checks

· https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/07026

· This opportunity exists because gun safety is a popular topic, especially when it comes to school safety. There was a Parkland Safety Act that was signed to try to help school safety and improve gun laws. Fulfilling the opportunity will be difficult because gun laws are very controversial.

· The prototypical customers are people trying to find the best way for children attend school in a safe environment and not worry about school shooting. Parents will also feel safer.

· I saw this opportunity because I constantly see mass shooting being reporter. This shows me that there is a problem.



Regulatory Changes: There is an opportunity for a cancer vaccination.

· Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-12-major-breakthrough-quest-cancer-vaccine.html



· Scientist and doctors are spending a lot of time in cancer research. Cancer is common and destructive to people’s bodies. Many people can relate to cancer stories because they know someone with cancer. Right now there are doctors who are close to a cancer vaccine in the near future. Studies have shown how the vaccine can work on the human immune system.

· The prototypical customer is almost everyone. Nobody wants to have cancer. Being able to kill cells before the become cancerous would save millions of lives. A cancer vaccine will change the world.

· I see this as great opportunity because right now my great aunt is suffering through stage four cancer. Seeing someone fight cancer is hard to see and anyway to prevent it is amazing.

5A - Identifying Local Opportunities

1. The plastic ban: Gainesville will be 100 percent waste free by 2040

https://www.alligator.org/news/the-plastic-ban-gainesville-will-be-percent-waste-free-by/article_4be9d1d4-1aec-11e9-9b28-dfc39205fdd9.html

· Description of story: Karina Elwood wrote an article for The Alligator about the ban of single use plastics in Gainesville, Florida. The Gainesville City Commission recently voted to ban single use plastics and Styrofoam. Plastic harms the environment, which means businesses not using single use plastics will decrease the waste going into oceans. Some businesses are upset because plastic alternatives are more expensive. For example, business like to use Styrofoam because it is a lot cheaper than paper or something that is more biodegradable and recyclable. If businesses use single use plastic, they will be fined $250. Many people are in favor of being eco-friendly and like to help the environment in any way they can.

· What is the problem: This article talks about two problems: One problem is the environment is affected by plastic. Plastic goes into the water and harms the environment and wildlife. Plastics do not break down well and stay in the ecosystem for a long period of time. Because plastics cause problems in the environment, the city of Gainesville decided to ban the use of single use plastics which causes a problem for businesses. Using alternatives for plastics are expensive, and the ban will hurt businesses financially.

· Who has the problem: Everyone who is living now is affected by plastic. People consume tiny microscopic pieces of plastic. Business owners are also affected by the problem because they will have to pay more for alternatives.



2. Red tide washes out fish and tourists

https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20180801/red-tide-washes-out-fish-and-tourists

· Description of story: Christina Morales, a staff writer for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, wrote an article about the red tide that hit the west coast of Florida. The toxins in the red tide is killed marine life in the gulf. The toxins and the smell of the dead fish are unbearable and put off a lot of visitors from visiting the Florida beaches.

· What is the problem: The problem is that red tide is killed marine life in the ocean and caused a terrible smell. The red tide and the dead animals is not appealing to tourists, which effects the businesses in Florida who depend on business from tourism.

· Who has the problem: Marine life, people who live near the West Florida coast and business owners in Florida who have a lot of tourist customers.



3. Youth Vaping increases in Alachua County

https://www.alligator.org/news/youth-vaping-increases-in-alachua-county/article_91200192-1dd5-11e9-9850-bbdf28ac9a68.html

· Description of story: Precious Polycarpe, a contributing writer for The Alligator, wrote an article about the increasing number of youth participating in vaping. The article shows how the FDA has recognized the high number of youth vaping and considers it an epidemic. Getting an e-cigarette is easy to obtain. Many of the children get them from friends, peers or older siblings. Because of the easy access and the age requirement for e-cigarettes, there might be a change to the age requirement to buy them.

· What is the problem: There is a rapid increase of e-cigarette use with minors.

· Who has the problem: Youth in America and tobacco companies.



4. Heartbroken

http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2018/investigations/heartbroken/all-childrens-heart-institute/

· Description of story: The Tampa Bay Times conducted an investigation story on the All Children’s Heart Institute. In their investigation, they found a big problem with children’s heart surgery that was kept away from the public. They found terrible mistakes such as needles being lost in two infants during surgery. In a year and a half, 11 children were killed during heart surgery, under the responsibility of two surgeons. Parents sent their children to these surgeons without being informed of their malpractice.

· What is the problem: Children being killed or severely injured after going through routine heart surgery at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida.

· Who has the problem: Parents, children and hospital employees.





5. Unprepared and Overwhelmed

http://projects.sun-sentinel.com/2018/sfl-parkland-school-shooting-critical-moments/

· Description of story: The Sun Sentinel came out with an article describing the steps of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. The article showed videos and sound bytes of what was going on a certain times to make the story more clear. It shows how there might have been ways to have stopped the shooting before it happened or at least prevented it from going on so long. The people who failed the most was the School Resource Officers and Broward Sheriff’s deputies.

· What is the problem: Cruz was able to obtain an assault rifle and walk into a school, killing 17 people. School Resource Officers did not stop him and the police did not respond in time.

· Who has the problem: The 17 students and faculty who died in the shooting. The problem also caries on to the friends and family of the victims.

4a - Forming Opportunity Belief

I believe there is a need for older people to be educated in new technology. People who know senior citizens can probably relate when I say, “many senior citizens struggle with new technology.” Many older people today went to school and had careers that did not require anything high tech. Many careers and consumer task require at least some small skills in technology. For younger people, writing an email, sending a text message, downloading an app, streaming a movie, purchasing something online, banking online,.may seem easy because they were born into it and know nothing else. However, there are millions of people who were brought up with minimal high technology and now technology is consumed everywhere. High technology can be confusing for elderly people. Unfortunately fraud companies know that older people are easily tricked and are not familiar with online scams, so they specifically target senior citizens. The technology revolution seems to be the most drastic change out of any human time period. The industrial revolution was a major change for humans and that was more gradual than the high tech revolution that is taking place now. There are services that teach people how to use technology. For example, Apple has free classes for people who purchased an apple product. They can go to an Apple store and learn how to use their device properly. These services are sometimes difficult to access and are not well known for many.


#1 Gender:Male Age:78


Do you own a computer or smartphone?

“I own a computer and my wife owns a smartphone.”

Your wife is around your age?

“Yes”

Do you find using features on your computer complicated such a sending an email or text message complicated?

“I have been able to email. My struggle on the computer is keeping my files organized.”

Do you shop online?

“I have tried. It would be really nice to know what websites are good and safe to shop on. Online shopping would make things easier I am just scared about fraud. I have heard many stories from friends.”

When did you first start using high technology?

“I remember buying a Microsoft computer awhile back. But back that it was simple. I have not been able to keep up with the new features and updates."

What do you currently do to teach yourself about the technology that you own and how satisfied are you with the solution?”

“I have grandchildren that try to help me and my wife when they can but it is difficult because they are not always here. Being able to learn how to fully use my devices in the most efficient and effective way would be very beneficial.”


Reflection: Older people usually have younger people in their life. Their children or grandchildren to help them out. If more people knew how to shop online businesses might be able to make more sales.




#2 Gender:Female Age 21


Do you have a grandparent who is over the age of 65?

“Yes”

Do they own any high technology such as a computer or smartphone?

“They do not but my grandpa always wanted to learn how to use a phone. Every time we would take out are phones are computer he would want us to teach him.”

Have they had any major difficulties with using technology that caused a negative outcome.

“My grandma was once scammed into buying WiFi. My grandparents do not own minimal technology and nothing that can be connected to WiFi. My grandma did not understand what WiFi was and was tricked into buying a monthly subscription. If there was a service for them to learn new technological terms and how to use devices, then being scammed might have been prevented. My grandparents are really bad with technology. They struggle to turn on a TV.”
What do your grandparents do know to teach themselves how to use new technology.

“Right now they are very old. One is 90 and the other is 88. They both have dementia so it is difficult to teach them anything now. However, if it was a few years in the past being able to teach them would be beneficial. I think my grandparents would be able to have more independence if they knew how to use new technology. They could should shop online and order stuff to their house instead of having constant assistance.”

If your grandparents were a little bit younger and did not have dementia would you get them a service to teach them how to use technology.

“Yes I would. I think it would be very beneficial. I also think it would be beneficial for middle aged people like my parents. My mom always wants to know how to use new features on her iPhone but doesn't know how. She has gone to the store to try to get help but it is inconvenient for her. My grandparents and parents and parents are from Cuba. In my community in Miami many of the older immigrants struggle with technology and do not have the opportunity to learn it.”


Reflection: In this interview I saw that immigrants from poorer countries already have a hard time adapting and technology can make things more difficult if you do not understand.



#3 Gender: Female Age:64

Do you own any technological devices such as a computer or smartphone?

“Yes I do.”When did you get your devices and what do you use them for

"I started really using high technology for my work as a school teacher. I use it for work email, making class assignments etc."

Do you struggle with their features?

"Simple features I can learn pretty quick. However, the school system is bring in more technology and wants the teachers to use it more. Now all the students have iPad. The students are better at using the iPad than me it seems."

What are you doing now to try to teach yourself?

“I have to beg people to teach me to stuff. It is embarrassing at my age. This is such a big change and I do not have a main source to teach myself. I wish there was something for teachers to learn during the summer when we are not at work”

Would you be satisfied with a solution that could teaching program.

“Yes. An opportunity to be more knowledgeable in technology would be great. It would help me a lot in my career as a teacher and I am sure for many other teachers that are older.”



Reflection: I learned that older teachers struggle with the new technology being mixed into the school system. It can also be embarrassing for people to ask people questions that people a lot younger can answer. 



Summary: The opportunity I originally believed in is still there. Interviewing three different people I was able to see the opportunity better. Seeing different perspectives and viewpoints made the opportunity seem like it could potentially turn into something. I think entrepreneurs should adapt their opportunities based off customer feedback. The prototypical customers I talked to made me see more opportunities. For example, one of the people I talked to talked about how immigrants struggle with technology. My originally opportunity was geared more towards senior citizens. I also their is an opportunity with school teachers.

3A - Your Entrepreneurship Story

The high school I attended invited a guest speaker once a week. During my sophomore year, a man who was one of Steve Jobs first investors, gave a speech. I can not recall the man's name because he was not Steve Jobs. However, I do remember his story. He was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. After graduating from high school, he took a year off to travel. After the break, he attended the University of Tampa and pursued a major in business. He did not want the typical 9-to-5 job. He wanted to take risk and be part of something big. While he was an entrepreneur and took risks, his risks were well calculated. Steve Jobs showed him a business idea and he saw how the potential in his new technology that would have a major impact on the world. Many people doubted Steve Jobs and did not want to be part of his team. In the beginning of Apple, there were a lot of questions on if it could compete in the market because of established competitors such a Microsoft. As an entrepreneur, he saw the worth in the risk because if Apple worked, he could live his dream and if it did not, he could try again somewhere else.

I enrolled in ENT3003 because I have always had an interested in starting my own business. I also registered for this class because it is different than the other classes in the business college. I am majoring in food and resource economics and minoring in business administration. I have taken several classes in the businesses college such as financial accounting. While these classes might be beneficial for a future career, they were kind of boring and stressful. ENT3003 is not as stressful as business fiance and looks a lot less boring than than a typical business class.

2A - Bug List

20 Bugs

1.) I get dog hair on my dark clothes a lot. This leads me to take out a lint brush and spend time getting all the hair out.

• This happens because I have a golden retriever in my house. If I do not brush her, she will shed all over the house which collects on clothes in the house.

2.) Taking gum off the bottom of my shoes that have very small ridges on the soles. 

• This happens because people dump their used gum on the ground instead of a trash can.

3.) Realizing there is no toilet paper after going to the bathroom.

• The reason for this is because I am not the only person who uses the bathroom in the house and the previous person did not take the time to replace the roll.

4.) When I do laundry my socks are always a problem. I seem to always have a sock that goes missing which leaves me with a stranded sock. 

• Socks are smaller than other articles of clothing and can easily be kicked under the bed, get tangled up with a shirt or pants in the washer, or buried with another load of laundry 

5.) Driving in my car listening to Spotify and the music stops playing. Car rides without music are terrible,

• The reason this happens is because sometimes I drive on the interstate in a location with bad service.

6.) When towing companies in Gainesville tow cars for unnecessary reasons.

• Parking in Gainesville is very limited and confusing. If you do not have a lawyer read to you where and how you can park there is a good chance you will be towed in Gainesville. It is an easy way for companies to make easy money.

7.) Struggling to squeeze out toothpaste onto my toothbrush.

• After a bottle of toothpaste has been used for a while, the paste gets stuck in the back.

8.) Trying to get peanut butter at the bottom and sides of a peanut butter jar when it looks empty but really there is a lot of peanut butter. It is just hard to get to.

• This is caused because the shape of a butter knife and the opening to a jar do not align well with each other.

9.) When I have exams I usually drink coffee at a coffee shop. I prefer hot coffee when studying. However, it really bugs me when hot coffee becomes lukewarm or cold.

•  Coffee shops do not give out thermal coffee cups that help the coffee stay warm, so if you can't drink the coffee fast enough, it will cool down an become lukewarm.

10.) When I go to a store such a Walmart or Target I like to use the self checkout line, but sometimes it seems as if it is longer than the line with a cashier.

• People who do not know how to use self checkout might go in the line anyway, which potentially can hold up the line.

11.) College apartments can get really loud at night, and if I am trying to sleep it can be difficult because the neighbors are loud.

• The design of some of the apartments in Gainesville are very cheap. The walls are paper thin which allows me to hear my neighbor next to me or right above me. 

12.) I have to take the bus to campus because parking at UF is difficult. While I have to take the bus and it is free, it seems as if my classes end right when the bus is at my stop making me wait for it to come back.

• UF has many students living at various locations. Not all the buses take same route. My bus route only has two buses running at the same time.

13.)  Forgetting passwords to accounts.

• This exists because everything online requires usernames and passwords. People have so many different accounts that remembering each password by heart can be impossible, unless you keep the same password for every account and want to get hacked. 

14.) Getting a follow from someone on social media, and then the person unfollows  you within hours.

• Social media has a lot of bots and trolls. People also spam because they think they will get follows back and believe that the more followers they have the better they are. 

15.) Walking into a kitchen and seeing a pile of dishes in the sink. 

• This may happen because people do not clean right after they eat and cook. 

16.) Going to an afternoon football game and seeing the alumni section being way better than the student section. The alumni get to watch the games in the shade and have cleaner concessions and better food options.

• UF alumni donate money to the school's football team. The money helps pay for things such as Dan Mullen's fat pay check.

17.) At restaurants, waiters or waitresses can take a long time to take orders and bring back checks, even when the restaurant is not that packed.

•  This happens because when people go out to eat they depend on someone to take their orders and check them out. Very few sit-down places have self-ordering and checkout. Waiters or waitresses can be very responsive or lazy and slow. It is a gamble.

18.) I ordered a tender meal at PDQ and asked for chipotle BBQ and honey mustard sauce. When I got home and opened my bag, I had no sauce.

• Uncompleted orders happen because of miscommunication.

19.) Playing video games online such as "Rocket League" and losing to a 7-year-old.

• Young children today have no lives besides playing video games. They get really good and make the competition online for scrubs like me impossible.

20.) Right before the Orlando exit going south, there is always bumper-to-bumper traffic. It does not matter what time of the day it is.

• This happens for several reasons: The road does not have enough lanes. People will slow down and look at someone change their flat tire on the side of the road, and start a chain migration of slow cars waiting to look at the man change his tire. 

I did not find this assignment as challenging as I thought. After making this list I realized their are a lot of little bugs that I tolerate. Putting all my attention on bugs that I notice in my life was interesting. It made me realize that their are thousands and thousands of bugs out in the world. Some big some small. These bugs usually have solutions and if not, they have opportunity to create solutions to fix the bug. 

Test Post for Ent3003

Testing