1. The biggest surprises for me were the myths (and rebuttals) about Venture Capital firms. From the five myths listed, it was crazy to realize what a Venture Capital firm's expectations were; those expectations really made me reconsider my idea and evaluate just how profitable it might be.
2. More on the topic of Venture Capitalist, how do individuals have so much trust in their own ideas to trust a VC with that idea? More specifically, it seems VCs are a fairly unreliable source for funding unless you have a) a stellar idea b) the management capacity to make it work and c) a full proof plan that's up the the VC's standard. I read that out of say 100 proposals, only 1 is chosen to be funded; not only that the VC expects enourmous returns from the idea. With standards and statistics like that I'm not sure how a VC could be considered reliable.
3. What are they're personal opinions of a VC, not just the factual information provided?
What in their opinion is the best, more reliable route to get your idea funded?
4. As per the past weeks, I'm not exactly sure how you disagree with a book that's supposed to be teaching you the business... However, I agree there are "advantages" to debt financing, but the entire idea of borrowing more while still under debt seems really risky. Even more so if your borrowing to keep your idea afloat.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Half-way Relfection
1. A skill that I'm still trying to perfect, is avoiding the desire to procrastinate. I'm confident enough to admit I'm a fairly lazy person when it comes to online classes, especially when I have class every morning and work right after that in the afternoons. That being said, I've started checking what assignments are due for this class much earlier in the week; this way I'll at least be able to judge how much time I need to put aside later in the week to complete the assignments.
This behavior has consequently made me more aware of my other classes as well. I'd say that I'm overall much more on top of my school work than previous semesters; I feel like I'm on canvas 24/7.
2. This semester has been rough, to say the least. In my major (construction management) it's arguably the easiest semester based on course load. Unfortunately I've decided to take on more personal challenges to add to my plate: a new job, a new girlfriend, and family issues I can't help soothe since I'm away from home. All of this aside, I think I'm developing a stronger backbone. I wanted to quit about two weeks ago, every little stress seemed to weigh on me.
What got me through it all wasn't something magical, or anything exceedingly special. In fact it was just a memory, just a realization; something I just had to take for what it was. Life isn't easy, it isn't fair. For as hard and as irritable as my life in that moment felt, I remembered how lucky I am to be able to have the chance to make it better. I reflected on my stresses, and can to the conclusion I should feel happy to even having those kind of stresses; that they're ones I can change/manage.
3. Three tips to develop a tenacious mindset? That's almost laughable, since I feel like most people develop that mindset not because they're trying to, but because they had to.
This behavior has consequently made me more aware of my other classes as well. I'd say that I'm overall much more on top of my school work than previous semesters; I feel like I'm on canvas 24/7.
2. This semester has been rough, to say the least. In my major (construction management) it's arguably the easiest semester based on course load. Unfortunately I've decided to take on more personal challenges to add to my plate: a new job, a new girlfriend, and family issues I can't help soothe since I'm away from home. All of this aside, I think I'm developing a stronger backbone. I wanted to quit about two weeks ago, every little stress seemed to weigh on me.
What got me through it all wasn't something magical, or anything exceedingly special. In fact it was just a memory, just a realization; something I just had to take for what it was. Life isn't easy, it isn't fair. For as hard and as irritable as my life in that moment felt, I remembered how lucky I am to be able to have the chance to make it better. I reflected on my stresses, and can to the conclusion I should feel happy to even having those kind of stresses; that they're ones I can change/manage.
3. Three tips to develop a tenacious mindset? That's almost laughable, since I feel like most people develop that mindset not because they're trying to, but because they had to.
- I'd tell them to not be afraid of a challenge. A person is defined by the risks they take, knowing full well they might fail.
- I'd tell them to sharpen their social awareness. Knowing how to respond to different personalities will allow you to control a conversation and build trust with different types of individuals.
- I'd tell them to take a moment to relax. There are a lot of different stresses and obstacles in the world, but there are just as many solutions; you won't be able to move forward to find those solutions without a clear head.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Free Money
1. I decided to give money to other students in a random class. Since my target range for customers is in their early twenties, I figured on the university's campus would be the best location.
2. There wasn't a large bias on the people I approached. The only thing that differentiated them for others in their classroom, was that they seemed somewhat more open and social. This let me to believe they were more likely to have a more active social life as well.
3. My original idea was to state that I'd just won a lottery and thought I'd give back to the community.
4. While the execution in the videos was slightly more awkward that I'd planned, I decided to approach these people claiming to have won a lottery, then proceeded to hand out the dollar (hoping they'd accept the offer).
5. I was able to give 4 away. One person refused to take money they hadn't earned.
Videos:
https://youtu.be/fZfsZyAXD3A
https://youtu.be/XMPi9rdWLA8
Originally, I thought that people would gladly take money without a second thought. I learned that people are much more selfless than that. There were two mindsets I encountered the most: "Why do I deserve this money?" and "Why is this money free?" What this tells me is that people either have a nature that questions whether or not they've worked/earned charity, or a nature that immediately turns to suspicion and distrust.
I hadn't realized that they be walking/on the phone was a requirement, but the people I did approach were at least in mid-conversation with friends in person.
2. There wasn't a large bias on the people I approached. The only thing that differentiated them for others in their classroom, was that they seemed somewhat more open and social. This let me to believe they were more likely to have a more active social life as well.
3. My original idea was to state that I'd just won a lottery and thought I'd give back to the community.
4. While the execution in the videos was slightly more awkward that I'd planned, I decided to approach these people claiming to have won a lottery, then proceeded to hand out the dollar (hoping they'd accept the offer).
5. I was able to give 4 away. One person refused to take money they hadn't earned.
Videos:
https://youtu.be/fZfsZyAXD3A
https://youtu.be/XMPi9rdWLA8
Originally, I thought that people would gladly take money without a second thought. I learned that people are much more selfless than that. There were two mindsets I encountered the most: "Why do I deserve this money?" and "Why is this money free?" What this tells me is that people either have a nature that questions whether or not they've worked/earned charity, or a nature that immediately turns to suspicion and distrust.
I hadn't realized that they be walking/on the phone was a requirement, but the people I did approach were at least in mid-conversation with friends in person.
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Elevator Pitch No. 2
1. The Pitch:
https://youtu.be/3CwtUSBhJlg
2. The most important feedback I received was that someone liked how I was trying to differentiate my app from the main stream apps (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, etc...). More specifically, excluding the ability to comment in the app. Commenting is a great form of free expression, however the point of this app isn't to hear any one person's opinion on an event, but rather to be inform them and make it an easier (more educated) decision about their future plans. Sadly there were little (if any) criticisms to my pitch, so it's hard for me to know just what to improve and exclude entirely.
3. The most important improvement I've added to the idea, is that its features need to be more efficient and more accessible than the current competitors. If I can make the information a person needs organized and if they can find it within 3 or 4 clicks, I think my app has a real chance of meeting the mass' interests.
https://youtu.be/3CwtUSBhJlg
2. The most important feedback I received was that someone liked how I was trying to differentiate my app from the main stream apps (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, etc...). More specifically, excluding the ability to comment in the app. Commenting is a great form of free expression, however the point of this app isn't to hear any one person's opinion on an event, but rather to be inform them and make it an easier (more educated) decision about their future plans. Sadly there were little (if any) criticisms to my pitch, so it's hard for me to know just what to improve and exclude entirely.
3. The most important improvement I've added to the idea, is that its features need to be more efficient and more accessible than the current competitors. If I can make the information a person needs organized and if they can find it within 3 or 4 clicks, I think my app has a real chance of meeting the mass' interests.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Idea Napkin No. 1
1. I'm Tyson, just a guy with an idea. And a ginger beard. I excel at interpersonal relations, but I'm a perfectionist when it comes to task-related objectives. I've worked as a lifeguard, Christmas tree salesman, and project intern for a construction company to date, the last of which I'm currently employed at. I'm hoping my experiences will one day lead to the creation of my own construction/engineering (possibly Design-Build) firm. Although I believe learning technical skills is a must and highly important, I'm an even stronger believer in the phrase: "It isn't about what you know, and it isn't even about who you know...it's about who knows YOU."
2. The service I'm providing is a quick, easy way for students to figure out what entertainment events are happening around their university on at any given time, on any given day. From my interviews, I learned that students don't know what events are occurring every single night (whether they'd planned on doing something or not anyway). That being said, the majority of students stated they would at least like to know their options so they might have the choice to explore them if they wanted.
3. The niche of people I've trying to appeal to are students at college universities around the U.S. More specifically, young adults from the ages of 18-26. The purpose behind my app isn't to focus on people that are more social than others, or to focus on those that party, drink, etc.. In fact, it's a way for students of all kinds to be informed of the entertainment events of different genres in or around their college campus.
4. Adding more to the explanation of my idea: the app will have a feature designed for users (students/moderators) to post the events around the university. The moderators will be in charge of posting generic events the entire student body would know about (i.e. football games/ Gator Growl/ concerts). By contrast, the students will make posts dedicated to more specific interests or venues (such as movie premiers or lady's night at a local establishment)
They will pay for the pay because it's a quick, casual why to make plans without asking others, or making ambiguous Google searches. They could even promote their own events, assuming it applied to enough of the populace. Moderators would be in charge or regulating repeat/ un-welcomed posts.
5. Being is app form, this idea has the advantage of being only a couple thumb-clicks away from its user, aka accessibility. Not only that, it organizes the types of entertainment events/activities into tabs, this way the user can efficiently find the genre of entertainment their looking for (aka methodized and fluid). This app will almost act as a week-by-week schedule (or even database) for students seeking any form of entertainment.
Reflection:
I believe all of the aspects of my idea flow quite uniformly, you can't really have one of the aspects without the others...at least not if the idea is to succeed. This app doesn't necessarily have to solely appeal to young-adults, but for the sake of our class they seem the most likely to actively use the app and be familiar with its interface.
2. The service I'm providing is a quick, easy way for students to figure out what entertainment events are happening around their university on at any given time, on any given day. From my interviews, I learned that students don't know what events are occurring every single night (whether they'd planned on doing something or not anyway). That being said, the majority of students stated they would at least like to know their options so they might have the choice to explore them if they wanted.
3. The niche of people I've trying to appeal to are students at college universities around the U.S. More specifically, young adults from the ages of 18-26. The purpose behind my app isn't to focus on people that are more social than others, or to focus on those that party, drink, etc.. In fact, it's a way for students of all kinds to be informed of the entertainment events of different genres in or around their college campus.
4. Adding more to the explanation of my idea: the app will have a feature designed for users (students/moderators) to post the events around the university. The moderators will be in charge of posting generic events the entire student body would know about (i.e. football games/ Gator Growl/ concerts). By contrast, the students will make posts dedicated to more specific interests or venues (such as movie premiers or lady's night at a local establishment)
They will pay for the pay because it's a quick, casual why to make plans without asking others, or making ambiguous Google searches. They could even promote their own events, assuming it applied to enough of the populace. Moderators would be in charge or regulating repeat/ un-welcomed posts.
5. Being is app form, this idea has the advantage of being only a couple thumb-clicks away from its user, aka accessibility. Not only that, it organizes the types of entertainment events/activities into tabs, this way the user can efficiently find the genre of entertainment their looking for (aka methodized and fluid). This app will almost act as a week-by-week schedule (or even database) for students seeking any form of entertainment.
Reflection:
I believe all of the aspects of my idea flow quite uniformly, you can't really have one of the aspects without the others...at least not if the idea is to succeed. This app doesn't necessarily have to solely appeal to young-adults, but for the sake of our class they seem the most likely to actively use the app and be familiar with its interface.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Interviewing Customers No. 2
1. After interviewing more people, my idea seems more solid and I think it could be very beneficial to students around college campuses.
2. I interviewed students that were currently out enjoying their evening on the weekend. I chose this group because seemed likely that they'd continue sending their evenings/nights doing different activities.
3. I asked the interviewees which activities they participated in and elaborated on the type of app that they would be experiencing.
4. Interviews link: https://youtu.be/7qLR2GWWS7M
5. I see this opportunity as one that has a real chance of taking off around college campuses. Most of the people I've interviewed seem to think the idea is really handy and could benefit them.
6. The tips I'd pass on to up-coming classes:
2. I interviewed students that were currently out enjoying their evening on the weekend. I chose this group because seemed likely that they'd continue sending their evenings/nights doing different activities.
3. I asked the interviewees which activities they participated in and elaborated on the type of app that they would be experiencing.
4. Interviews link: https://youtu.be/7qLR2GWWS7M
5. I see this opportunity as one that has a real chance of taking off around college campuses. Most of the people I've interviewed seem to think the idea is really handy and could benefit them.
6. The tips I'd pass on to up-coming classes:
- Be confident. If you act awkward and shy with your interviewees that'll cause them to feel uncomfortable and likely not respond well.
- Have your questions ready. Don't go into the interview without having fully thought out your questions, it'll make you sound more intelligent when interviewing people.
- Don't be afraid to bring friend! The first interviews I did I had a friend come with me because I thought I would look crazy. It'll make you and them more comfortable.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Elevator Pitch No. 1
1.) I've noticed that it seems hard for students to organize events (or have a good plethora of events to choose from) in college towns.
2.) I want to create an app that schedules (daily/weekly) events for students in a university. This app will be divided into tabs that describe what kind of entertainment event is taking place (Basketball game, movie, grabbing drinks at Swamp, etc...).
Those tabs will then be divided into hourly time slots (say Basketball lasts from 7pm to 9pm); these time slots will have 5 available sections for an event to be scheduled (meaning a max of 5 events can be scheduled at the same time on any available time slot). I limit the number of posts per time slot because it could easily get out of hand with unnecessary posts...
That being said, I'm also limiting the number if posts per week (maybe 1 or 2); this way one person doesn't take up every time slot. An account moderator would be in charge of clearing repeat posts or posts that don't pertain to enough people.
This app will also have a "like" or "going" button feature; this will allow the person who originally posted the event to easily get a head count of how many others would be interested in attending (an thus they could plan accordingly).
I'm leaving out any kind of "commenting" function for now because it would just turn into a Facebook-mimic; the goal of this app is to have a weekly schedule for students to easily check when entertainment events in their area are.
Here's my elevator speech:
https://youtu.be/qdopD9lk7R8
2.) I want to create an app that schedules (daily/weekly) events for students in a university. This app will be divided into tabs that describe what kind of entertainment event is taking place (Basketball game, movie, grabbing drinks at Swamp, etc...).
Those tabs will then be divided into hourly time slots (say Basketball lasts from 7pm to 9pm); these time slots will have 5 available sections for an event to be scheduled (meaning a max of 5 events can be scheduled at the same time on any available time slot). I limit the number of posts per time slot because it could easily get out of hand with unnecessary posts...
That being said, I'm also limiting the number if posts per week (maybe 1 or 2); this way one person doesn't take up every time slot. An account moderator would be in charge of clearing repeat posts or posts that don't pertain to enough people.
This app will also have a "like" or "going" button feature; this will allow the person who originally posted the event to easily get a head count of how many others would be interested in attending (an thus they could plan accordingly).
I'm leaving out any kind of "commenting" function for now because it would just turn into a Facebook-mimic; the goal of this app is to have a weekly schedule for students to easily check when entertainment events in their area are.
Here's my elevator speech:
https://youtu.be/qdopD9lk7R8
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