Halfway Reflection

Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course?

A few of the things that I’ve had to practice with this course are time management, planning, and prioritization. This semester has been specifically difficult because it’s my first semester at UF, I’m taking 4 courses, and working full-time as well. For this course specifically, I’ve had to learn to plan accordingly for the assignments. A lot of the assignments require you to interview people or read materials in order to complete them. This means that you cannot wait until the last minute or procrastinate. It’s also challenging because you have to deal with other people’s schedules for the interview, so you have to make sure to give yourself plenty of time.   

Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

I had a few moments this semester where I definitely felt like giving up. The most difficult moments are when everything that can possibly go wrong does at a moment when all of my obligations intersect. One that was specifically challenging for me this semester is when I had assignments due for two of my classes, an exam for another, and my brother’s graduation all in one week. I had to make time to study for the exam make sure my assignments were done on time and I was able to spend time with my family for my brother’s graduation. I definitely feel like having a tenacious attitude got me through these difficult moments. I think what contributes to this is the determination that I have to achieve my goals – graduate with honors will continuing to advance my career.

Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset’?

1. I would work on making sure to develop time management skills and prioritization. I guess how much this will depend on what your workload is for school and other activities. Either way, I think these two skills would be vital to your success.
2. To develop a tenacious attitude, you’ll need to make sure you understand your goals and what drives you. When things get difficult, the only thing that’s going to get you through is knowing what the end goal is.
3. Try to network and develop relationships with people who have similar goals as you do. This is helpful because you can help each other through those difficult times when everything seems to be going wrong.

Reading Reflection No. 1 Elon Musk

You read about an entrepreneur:

I really enjoyed learning more about Elon Musk. I’ve always seen him as a fascinating entrepreneur and probably one of the most notable of our time. Believe it or not, one of the things that surprise me the most was his involvement in PayPal. I had no idea that he was involved with it before it officially became PayPal, and that it provided financial means for him to invest in SpaceX and Tesla. What I admire most about him are his tenacity and resiliency. He was very steadfast in his entrepreneurial/business convictions and was able to make through the financial crisis of 2008. The thing that I least admire about him is that he seems to be a little arrogant sometimes. It seems like this come sometimes be a result of his confidence and grit, which I guess is a good thing for him. Elon did encounter adversity, especially during the financial crisis of 2008. He was able to get through it by securing financing for Tesla and keep SpaceX running by landing a government contract. I think this was a result of the grit and persistence that I mentioned earlier.

What competencies did you notice the entrepreneur exhibit?

Some of the core competencies that I believe Elon has as an entrepreneur are intelligence, ingenuity, grit, and the ability to manage people well. I think all of these things contribute to the success he’s had with his business endeavors.  

Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing.

I was a little confused when reading about SpaceX because I didn’t know much about it before this. I knew that it was part of Elon’s business, but I didn’t think it was successful at all. I really only knew him for Tesla.

If you were to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you say? Why?

I would ask: Did you ever feel like giving up? If so, what made you keep going? I would also ask: Do you think you would’ve had the same opportunities if you didn’t attend an Ivy League school? I would ask them the first question because I would like to know what kept him going and motivated him to not give up. The second question is because of many big-name entrepreneurs attending top tier schools. I would like to know if he felt that this afforded him opportunities he wouldn’t have had otherwise. Not just the education itself, but also through networking and connections.   

For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I would think Elon’s opinion of hard work is that it’s necessary to succeed. He seems like the type of person that does whatever it takes to make sure things get done. Putting it whatever amount of effort is required to be successful. I definitely agree with that opinion. I think that no matter what it is you want to achieve in life, you need to make sure you have a good work ethic.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Market Segment:

For my market segment, I decided to go with a household that has recently decided to get a cat. I tried my best to find people that got a cat within 3 months, but I was only able to find two interviewees that were within three months, the other was within 6 months. The first interviewee is a young female college student living alone who got a cat within the last 3 months. My second interview is a couple in their mid-twenties. They work full time and have had their cat for 5 months now. Lastly, my third interview was with a female in her early 30s that is living alone and working full-time. She got her cat roughly 2 months ago.

Interviews:

      I.         College student in mid-twenties living alone that got her cat 3 months ago.  

a.     What was the first thing you did after you brought your cat home?

                                               i.     We played for a little while, and then I decided to take a trip to the pet store to pick up a few much-needed supplies.

b.     Did you do any research to find a litterbox?

                                               i.     Not at all. I just went to the pet store hoping I would find one that would work for me.

c.     Did you go to more than one pet store when shopping for a litterbox?

                                               i.     No. I just went to one store and purchased everything there.

d.     Do you see yourself shopping for a new litterbox in the future?

                                               i.     I really haven’t thought about it that much, but now that you mention it, I would definitely consider something else. I just don’t think I would go out of my way to find one.

    II.         Couple in their mid-twenties that got their cat 5 months ago.

a.     What was the first thing you did after you brought your cat home?

                                               i.     We set everything up to make sure it got adjusted to our space as quickly as possible. This included a cat tree, litter box, food bowls, and other random things.

b.     Did you do research to find a litter box?

                                               i.     We did some research and asked other friends that have cats. We couldn’t really get good information about one particular litter “solution”, so we relied heavily on online reviews.

c.     Did you go to more than one pet store when shopping for a litterbox?

                                               i.     We actually didn’t go to the physical store. We purchased most of our supplies online (including the litterbox).

d.     Do you see yourself shopping for new litterbox in the future?

                                               i.     Absolutely. We just got something to get us through the first few months.

   III.         Young adults living alone working full-time that go her cat 2 months ago.

a.     What was the first thing you did after you brought your cat home?

                                               i.     I went straight to the pet store to pick up supplies.

b.     Did you do any research to find a litterbox?

                                               i.     Not at all. I don’t really think there are a lot of options out there. Are there more options?

c.     Did you go to more than one pet store when shopping for a litterbox?

                                               i.     No. I didn’t feel the need to shop around.

d.     Do you see yourself shopping for a new litterbox in the future?

                                               i.     Maybe. I don’t really feel the need to now, but I would for a better option that is reasonably priced.

What I learned:

I learned the need for this product is kind of mixed. It seems like most people aren’t necessarily happy about the solution they have, but they also aren’t actively looking or shopping around. I’m not sure if maybe this is because they don’t think there will be an affordable alternative. I believe that’s the reason. This is why I think the right product at the right price could win some market share in this area. I think this segment would be very interested in the product. It seems like marketing it would be very important because people tend not to shop around too much for litterboxes.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1)    You. Who you are? What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically, regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

My name is Elio Murillo, I’m in my first semester here at UF working on a bachelor’s in business administration. I also work full-time for Merrill/Bank of America in our Retirement Benefits Contact Center. My experience and skills are mainly in customer service and financial services. I think this has strengthened my people skills, which allows me to understand people and build relationships. This has helped me become a good listener, and I’ve also learned how to empathize as well. I think this would be useful in starting my own business because it would help me understand my customer’s needs and provided a great product along with good service. Like many business owners, I think starting this business would require dedication and resiliency to get through all the peaks and troughs.

2)    What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

I’ll be honest, at this point, I still only have an idea for a product, not an exact blueprint of what the product will look like. My idea is to provide a litter box that is low maintenance and self-cleaning while being welcoming and comfortable for your pet. There are currently a lot of “solutions” in this space, but I think there’s an opportunity to provide a better and more efficient product.   

3)    Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

This is pretty clear and straight forward for my product. The demographic includes households that have an indoor cat. Everyone that has an indoor cat has to deal with the pet’s way in some way or another. This is what creates an opportunity for my product.

4)    Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its value to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service.

Who doesn’t want to avoid having to clean cat poop? Anybody with a cat that has to deal with a litter box will be interested in a product that would make this chore easier.   

5)    What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

I would say that my competencies right now are understanding the problem and knowing that there is a need for a better solution.  I think this is what would set me apart from everyone else as well. I think that a lot of people are settling for the solutions that are out there. This is where an opportunity exists for a new product.

I think all of the elements of the business concept fit together well. There is a population that has a need for this product. This is clearly manifested by the market of different “solutions” that already exists and attempt to solve the issue. My weakest point is obviously not having a clear solution. I’m still in the phase of researching the solutions to come up with something better.

Elevator Pitch

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who:

Through the interview process, I discovered a couple groups of cat owners that don’t consider their litter box a problem. I was able to break this down into two main groups. According to one couple I interviewed, their litter box is not a problem because they don’t mind cleaning it. They don’t have anything fancy or special, just a box with litter that has to be cleaned out by hand. The trick for them is that they don’t mind having to do the maintenance every few days to make sure it remains clean. The other group has found a product that is providing an acceptable solution for them. One of my interviewees said that after trying several products, they found that what worked best for them was the sifting bags. They put a bunch of these bags in the box, and they just have to remove one bag every few days to get rid of the clumps and dried waste.

What:

That what for this product is pretty clear…cat excrement that no one wants to deal with. However, I think the desire to have an easy low maintenance solution depends on the customer and what they consider easy. Also, another big factor is cost. Some people would rather clean twice as much instead of having to pay twice as much for products that are already in the market.

Why:

I don’t think they need is different for the outsiders. It really just depends on personal habits and how comfortable they are with cleaning the litter box. Some people are comfortable with touching it a few times a week to save money, while others would pay anything to make sure they rarely have to get close to it.  

Inside Boundary	Outside Boundary
Who: Cat owners that are unhappy with their litter box	Who: People who already have a solution People who don’t consider cleaning their litter box to be an issue
What: To make the litter maintenance process easier To reduce exposure to cat excrement	What: They think the solution they have is best  Cleaning the litter box is easy for them regardless of how frequently they do it
Why: People don’t want to deal with cat waste often Cat owners want to make sure their environments are clean from cat waste	Why: Some people may be used to it if they grew up doing it People that have found products that meet their standards

Solving the problem

·       Opportunity – is to provide a low maintenance litter box or cat waste cleaning service that works well for all types of cats. Ideally, this would be a low odor and would require minimal manual cleaning or handling of the waste by the owner. It should also be comfortable for cats to use and cost-effective.

·       Solution – I thought about this a lot, and I honestly don’t think I have a unique solution at this point. I have an idea of what it should look like, but I’m still working on differentiating it from some of the solutions that are already out there. With that being said, I think it would have to be electric to automatically contain the waste in one area. I also think it should be hooked up to a water source to help it clean itself but should not be loud so that it doesn’t scare the cats away. I thought I had some ideas, but it’s been really hard to come up with something concrete. I guess I might not be able to solve the world's litter problem!  

Testing the hypothesis, part 1.

Low maintenance self-cleaning litter box

Opportunity: According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, 25.4% of American households own a cat. There is an opportunity here to provide a product that is going to be more efficient and easier to maintain than what’s currently available in the market.

·      The what: American households with indoor cats

·      The what: They have a need for containing, cleaning and disposing of their pet’s waste

·      They why: Unlike dogs, indoor cats are usually not walked to use the bathroom. They need to have a designated spot in the house for their needs

Testing the who: The who is pretty clear in the case. It would only include people who have indoor cats. I don’t think any other groups would have a use for this product.

Testing the why: I think this situation is generally a challenge for most households that have a cat.

Testing the why: There are many different options already available in this market. While I think everyone with a cat has the need, it seems like the severity of the problem depends on the person. Some people may already have litter boxes that, in their opinion, solve the issue and work perfectly for them. My theory, however, is that most people are settling for a solution that is not necessarily ideal for them.

Interview 1

·       This interviewee has two cats and lives alone. She has a couple of traditional litter boxes that have to be cleaned out by hand. It seems like she’s fine with this solution because it’s the cheapest way to handle the waste, but they are not happy with having to constantly clean it. She does tend to keep up with it really well.

Interview 2

·       This interview was with a couple that have one cat. They have one of the traditional litter boxes that use sifting liners. They also use a crystals litter that seems to last longer and requires less. This couple has been through 3 or 4 different types of litter boxes. They seem to like what they currently have but are definitely open to trying something new. They are still not happy with the maintenance and are not doing such a good job with the upkeep.   

Interview 3

·       This interview was with a couple that have three cats. They have a self-cleaning “litter robot”. They appear to be very content with it because they don’t have to clean it as often. It seems like they did try several different products before finding the one that would work for them. They did mention that it sometimes scares the cats when it’s cleaning itself, which has caused them to sometimes “go” outside of the litter box. While this solution doesn’t seem perfect, it appears to be working for their three cats pretty efficiently. It was very expensive and so it the upkeep. The maintenance is not frequent, but they say it’s painful when you have to clean it.  

Interview 4

·       This interview was with a male that lives alone and has one cat. He has a traditional litter box. He has not tried different solutions because he doesn’t think anything else is worth the money and hassle of trying to switch. He keeps up with it as best as possible but doesn’t seem to be too concerned about it.

Interview 5

·       This interview is with another couple that has one cat. They too have a traditional litter box. They haven’t tried to change it because it seems to work well for them. They also have a particular situation because their cat is handicapped, or as they call him, a “handicat”. He’s had a serious of back surgeries, which means he can’t jump as high or as often as other cats. They need a litter box that is low to the ground and that is not enclosed.

After conducting these interviews, I still believe an opportunity exists in this market. I noticed that a lot of people are just living with what they have because they don’t want to go through the hassle of changing or because they don’t want to spend a lot of money. This means that the product would have to be relatively easy to use, but also cost-effective. I also learned that some people have cats with special needs. I’m not sure how large that population is, but it’s definitely something that I was not considering. This is something that may have to be taken into account when trying to find a solution that is going to win over a good amount of the market share.

Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Trend - Fed Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/business/economy/fed-interest-rates-decision.html

·      This opportunity is related to the economic conditions that result from lower interest rates. Maintaining these low rates has been consistent with recent fed policy, and according to the article, “the central bank does not plan to move policy in either direction unless something fundamentally shifts.”

·      I believe this opportunity creates two potential customers. On one end, consumers will have more purchasing power because they are willing to borrow more to make larger purchases, which will increase demand for many goods and services. On the other end, it provides an opportunity for financial institutions to lend more and for producers to sell more.

·      I think this opportunity is relatively easy to exploit; in fact, I believe these results are just a natural economic reaction under low-interest rate conditions. I don’t think it would require any “effort” to make these come into fruition, it would happen easily.

·      I think I saw this opportunity because I work in finance, and I’m constantly hearing discussions about this. I’m by no means an expert on the matter, but I think I’m a bit more likely to notice it because of my job.

Economic Trend - China Cuts Tariffs on $75 Billion in U.S. Goods. That Was the Easy Part.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/business/china-trade-tariffs-coronavirus.html

·      This potential opportunity comes not only from the $75 Billion tariffs that China is but the plan that this should lead to the Chinese committing to buy $200 billion in good from the United States over the next two years.

·      This opportunity would create several potential customers or beneficiaries. First and foremost, China agreeing to cut tariffs on $75 billion in U.S goods would lead to higher exports from the U.S. Furthermore, the $200 billion that they are agreeing to commit, should provide even more opportunities for U.S exporters.

·      As simple as it may sound at this point, I don’t believe this opportunity is easy to exploit. It seems like trade deals between the U.S and China have been going back and forth for a while now. Even though things are looking up at this point, it’s very possible for one side or the other to do something that will result in another halt in the process.  

·      I think I saw this as an opportunity because I try to stay informed with what’s going on in business, politics and the world economy. However, just like my previous example, I’m by no means an expert on U.S commercial policy. I just think I have more of an interest since I’m always looking out for updates.

Regulatory change - Surprise for New York Renters: No More Broker Fees.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/nyregion/nyc-landlord-rental-broker-fees.html

·      This opportunity exists because of the regulation passed by the state of NY. It seems like this is going to change the process of renting, which according to the article, was mainly controlled by the brokers.

·      The customers in this opportunity would remain the same, the renters and landlords. I think there’s still an opportunity for a service or technology to help arrange the agreement between landlord and potential renter without being a traditional broker.

·      I don’t think this would necessarily be easy to exploit in the sense that finding a replacement will be challenging. However, it does seem like the opportunity to fill that void is clearly there, the challenge is founding out how. Maybe an app that makes the process seamless for both parties?

·      I think I saw this opportunity because of a recent YouTube video that I watched about the creators of a technology called Lisa. It’s an AI-driven bot that automates responses for clients interested in renting properties. It then books the appointments for the leasing agents to show the properties, making it easier for the agents to focus on the showing, and not spending too much time on going back and forth with potential clients.

Regulatory change - The SECURE Act is changing retirement — here are the most important things to know.

Source: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/with-president-trumps-signature-the-secure-act-is-passed-here-are-the-most-important-things-to-know-2019-12-21

·      This opportunity exists because the U.S government passed these regulations to make several changes surrounding retirement plans. These changes are going to impact participants, they type of investments available in these plans, and rules about withdrawals.

·      The potential customers, in this case, would be the participants in these retirement plans and the companies that offer them. This would open up the opportunities for financial services companies that provide these types of services.

·      I don’t think this would be very difficult to exploit. In this case, the need already exists and is being met. This regulation would just open more opportunities in the same field.

·      I noticed this opportunity because of what I do for a living. I work in financial services, specifically dealing with employer-sponsored retirement plans, so this was something that impacted me directly.