Week 15 Reading Reflection

The biggest surprise for me in this final weeks reading was probably the supreme importance of customer loyalty. Obviously customer loyalty is important, but I figured it was more of a 'bonus' than an essential tool for growth. Though I guess having people you can rely on to come back for repeat business would be very important.

The bit about sending loan information via text messages confused me. It seemed a somewhat sub-par way of relating important information like that, and certainly not the way I'd wish to receive such information. If I could ask the author any two questions, I'd ask for more info about the motivations for using microfinance as a tool against poverty, and the success rate in using such ventures in a more focused, local environment. There was nothing in particular I disagreed with the author on, though I would like to see a bit more info on the success rate of microfinancing.

Final Reflection

After browsing through the blog I've kept over the past semester, a few moments stick out. I think my favorite activity I did was interviewing people in my demographic about my venture idea. It was kind of scary but a lot of fun and taught me a lot about conducting interviews. I remember dreading the first entrepreneur interview I did, but it was a lot easier the second time around. I think overall the in person interviews were the most formative experiences for me, I really learned a lot about getting over my insecurities and approaching people, which is useful in and out of the business world.

I suppose I definitely see myself as more of an entrepreneur than I did at the beginning. I wouldn't call myself a full fledged entrepreneur, what with haven't actually started a business, but I definitely feel more comfortable and in-tune with that sort of mindset. If I were to give advice to future students in this course, the number one piece of advice would be to not be too afraid to leave your comfort zone. Its essential for success and for growing as an entrepreneur and a person overall. If you let go of your insecurities a bit, you'll find yourself having a lot of fun!

Elevator Pitch No. 4

In my 4th elevator pitch I made a significant effort to include the feedback I had gotten for my venture idea in other assignments. Specifically, I included the feedback about how my app would be paid for and how I could offer it as a service package to schools to offer to their students. I feel that adding these pieces of feedback significantly improved my overall elevator pitch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HayXdB6T1SQ&feature=youtu.be

Venture Concept No. 2

My venture concept idea is an app targeted at college students for planning out their semesters schedule, viewing degree audits, and viewing class catalogs. The app is called AdviseMe. This is meant to alleviate the problem many college students face which is long waits and inconvenient hours to see their advisers. This app will replace the need to see these advisers for basic questions about class schedules and what is needed for their degree. The app will make money via ad-support, and an optional 1 dollar fee to remove ads permanently. Our 'secret sauce' is the convenience factor of exploiting the prevalence of technology among the college demographic to solve a very common problem. In the future, I would like to expand this venture by selling it as service packages to colleges for them to provide to their students free of charge. I would like to manage this venture for awhile, and eventually sell it off.

The primary feedback I received while talking about this venture with people was positive. People in my targeted demographic agreed that they would find such a product useful. Originally I was going to charge everyone for the app, but feedback suggested that I make it free with ads with an optional buy in to appeal to college students more. Additionally the idea to sell as a package to schools was an idea I gained from feedback with a professor at UF.