The 20%

Editors Note: Please send positive vibes to ya boi in these hard times. Anthony recently had his phone dropped in water and is in the process of buying a new one. At the time he was able to meet with his intended entrepreneur he didn't have access to any other type of recording device so please bear with us as we attempt this assignment the old-school way with only literal pen and paper to record the responses..


Who: Kate Cook
What: ARTini's Art Lounge
Where: Athens, GA

Questions: Who do they think their target customers are? What are their customers' unmet needs? Where do they find their customers? What are their customer's demographics? What kinds of media do their customers consume?

Responses:

"We tend to attract customers that are creative, somewhat wealthy, and of legal drinking age, obviously."

"At it's root, art is just plain fun. As a child i'm sure you finger painted, and I'm sure growing up you've at least doodled in class. Our customers want to try something fun and new, and don't have the time or place to paint on their own. Also, I think that most people don't have the confidence to be able to decide to paint whenever they like. We offer everything, a comfortable spot, fun atmosphere, and instruction."

"Um, I'm not sure if there's one specific place we find customers? We enjoy a lot of word-of-mouth referral so that brings in a lot of out-of-town folks. We also see a lot of people come in from college, or other institutions that look for activities to promote."

"I feel that we try to cater to multiple demographics. As you can see there are several types of people here. Families, Young, Old, ethnically diverse, ya know? It is a leisure activity, so i suppose financial status is important."

"I think our customers are largely social media based. Our best source of advertisement and feedback is Facebook." 

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Customer 1:

"My guess is they try to attract middle aged people"

"It's hard to find new, fun things to do in town"

"I'm not sure"

"Demographics. Hm, I'd say Middle-aged and younger adults with spending money"

"I've only heard about  this place from friends"


Customer 2:

"I think Artini's target customer is families and the 20-something crowd depending on the day."

"I love painting, but never have time for it!"

"[the owner] finds her customers from locals that invite their touring friends"

"I've seen all types of people each time that i've been here."

"I watch t.v and pay attention to flyers and posters because I've found a lot of cool places that way. Wait, does that answer your question?"



Customer 3: 

"target customer is probably 20-30 and looking for a unique experience in town"

"My unmet needs are no skill in painting, and finding places to bring friends."

"I think she finds customers from a whole bunch of places, Like, social media, and advertisement around town."

"Like what kinds of people come here? Oh, I've seen all types of people, If I were her I wouldn't limit it to any set thing."

"Social Media mostly"

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Overall, I think this entrepreneur has a very decent understanding of her customers. It is a unique and great idea, and practically can sell itself based just on the experience. I did notice that it was more the customers themselves that misunderstood some of the questions.

Week 8 Reading Reflection

Once again, I found myself immersed in the fledgling yet oddly enjoyable text of Kuratko's Entrepreneurship. This chapter focused on sources of capital and the finacial practices of businesses. Lets take a look, shall we?....


Two things stood out to me, the myths surrounding venture capital, and the decline of commercial banks. Before reading my views were a little naive but now I understand that for people to fund your project initially, they're gonna want a controlling voice into the future. I also was surprised that theres projected to be only 4000 commercial banks by the end of the  decade, a decrease I did not expect.

If anything was difficult to understand it was the section regarding "angle investors". I get the idea, I just wish that the text went into more detail examining the motives and results of the investor's actions. Things like this need anecdotes along with it to capture the underlying thoughts behind decisions.

Hey Kuratko: "What do you see the future of social lending and VC being like?" "Let me hear your opinion on what types of businesses are best suited to take on which type of investment?"

I can't really debate any of the evidence presented in the chapter, but I would like to contend that chapters like this could be better organized and need a lot more in-depth detail for students to truly see how the process of investment and equity works.

HALF-WAY REFLECTION

Tenacious: Not easily stopped or pulled apart; very determined to do something

  To all my readers and fellow students, it has been my pleasure to keep up with this blog and strive to hone my entrepreneurial ability. This class is interesting in the sense that it works towards making intangible skills tangible. In order to keep up with the various projects and assignments, I have needed to become more proactive and better organized. Time waits for no man and neither does a weekly ENT3003 grade. Constantly checking canvas for updates or notifications was a major key (S/O DJ Khaled) as was the ability to push myself and work ahead.

  Has it been at times frustrating, annoying, made me want to give up? Yes. All of the above? Yes. However, I had to realize that in the grand scheme of things, this class is easy compared to other things in life. If I can't succeed here, how do I expect to succeed elsewhere...magic? No, wizardry is unfortunately not an option for me, but I have come to realize a few things. As pointless or tedious as some of these assignments are, they all serve a purpose. Even things like giving a dollar away teaches you a lesson; in that case it was to drive home the concept that even ideas with great value to consumers requires effort and persuasion put into the message. I am continuing to develop the tenacity to push past complacency and doubt to unearth new potential.

  Just cause I like you guys, here are 3 tips

1) Read and plan ahead for each assignment. Does that mean you should finish everything months ahead? Hell no you over-achiever, but it does mean that greater success comes from having enough time to think critically and execute.

2) Always try to relate things to a bigger picture. This will help when you don't understand something or question the relevance of it. Life is all about connections, and if you stop to take a moment and find them, good things will come your way. (Like A's in the class)

3) *cliche alert* HAVE FUN. Really though. Tenacity has the connotation of being this cold, calculating, beastly mentality that you unleash painfully to fulfill your mission or whatever. Wrong. It becomes much easier to stay proactive, determined, and persistent if you lighten up and enjoy what your doing. Want an example? Look at Google, possibly the most powerful and influential corporation in the world. Are they tenacious? Yes, definitely they continue to innovate and dominate the industry. Do they have fun? Yes, they have fun with it as well; their company culture is full of creativity, fun, and happiness.

Free Money

Before giving out these 1$ bills, for free, no really, for free I had to decide a few things to set up. I chose Campus Lodge (my complex) as the location. I will do it randomly and approach the first people i see. I would initiate the conversation by saying the dollar was a initiative to build brand trust by the complex management. I then would make small talk, and say polite stuff. I anticipated giving away maybe 3 of the 5.

In the end my guess was actually right, 3 out of 5 accepted the free dollar. I didn't know that some people really had some type of trust barrier or buyer beware mentality. It was harder than I would think. It gives you a new perspective on consumer behavior and how faceted the whole marketing segmentation process really is!

Week 7 Reading Reflections!

Rediscovering Market Segmentation: Daniel Yenkelovich and David Meers, Harvard Business Review 2006

Overall this article exceeded my expectations. I came just assuming paragraphs of summaries and graphs or an occasional research study, but this write-up was incredibly in depth and full of examples. In particular, I was interested in the section claiming the widely popular and comprehensive method of market segmentation was actually very disappointing in ratings of real value by executives.

Perhaps one part that left me a little confused was the paragraphs explaining the the notion of "levels" of segmentation that layered the target marketing process. It really makes the idea more complicated when you think about it.

Two questions I would ask the authors given a chance would be:
"In your opinion what might other scholars try to argue with you on?"
"How extensive was it compiling all this information?

In the end, I wouldn't know if they were necessarily wrong about anything. I do think it was somewhat editorial and subjectively written. It is definitely backed up with study and evidence but you can tell the authors feel a certain way on topics.

Elevator Pitch No. 2

 Thanks to the lovely commenters, I started thinking about a few things that could be done to make the planning process of JUKEBAUX even better. I began to utilize my interviews and similar product reviews to determine my market, and I thought about the specifics such as design and potential pricing.

As far as my pitch, I honestly didn't change much if anything. I think I paused on a word or two, but hey who's perfect? Talking is literally on my top 3 favorite things, so keep the assignments like this coming Mr. Chris Pryor!


 If I could leave you all with any piece of advice it's this: Life is too short to worry about the small stuff. If something has you down, angry, confused, stressed, take a moment to stop everything. You have a purpose, you have a choice, you have a talent. Stay focused on where you want to be, not so much where you might be now. Get out there and Be Great Today. :)

Weekly Reading Reflections Vol. 6

What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

The article brought up an interesting point in "why a fast-growing industry is not always a profitable one, how eliminating today’s competitors through mergers and acquisitions can reduce an industry’s profit potential". If I recall correctly it is taught in Economics classes that when companies are first founded, they're most profitable because the low competition. 

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

The charts on profitability seemed strange because I've interpreted it as a very abstract and subjective measure, but I suppose they do solidify the evidence.

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

1) How come only 5 points?

 2) Does this still apply today because it was created in 1979?

Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I think that it would be wise to examine Porter's theories in today's more modern society in order to count for any new variables.

Customer Interviews No. 3

 Well, it took three assignments but I'm finally starting to not hate customer interviews and to have fun with it. For this round of interviews, I typed up a brief synopsis of my business model and product and had the person read it. From there I could get a better idea of if people understand the concept and how interested they were. I interviewed at my apartment complex, politely informing people walking towards their cars that I was a UF student with a few questions about an entrepreneurship project. I also asked if they enjoyed sharing music at parties or in the car, how much they were willing to pay for my system, and what types of audio equipment problems they faced in work or at school? I decided to survey people in my complex because they are of different upbringings and can shine light on family use, and because I could get interviews with participants of varying age.

  I liked seeing people react positively to my pitch. I learned that older people would definitely not be the most interested customers, but that middle aged people will be the main purchasing customers because they have more channels to distribute to (kids presents, for their workplace, they use bluetooth radios themselves frequently) I also discovered I need to make my pitch or even parts of my product simpler to understand. A couple people had to have me repeat what I meant about the functions.

The last participant stated she preferred not to be video recorded. I will transcribe the results.

Emma (30)

So how do you feel about the idea?

I think it's really smart. It really is a constant problem of getting your music to work correctly. I like that you thought of personal and professional uses too. So, Is this something you're actually building for class or something? 

Do you enjoy sharing audio with friends? Is it something you do often?

Yea we do that a lot in the office, and I always try to have a cord in the car for friends.

How much would you be willing to pay for a product like this?

Uhm, I'm not sure possibly 30 or 40$.

What type of audio issues have you encountered at work or school?

The usual bluetooth connection problems. For work we have presentations often and some of the older employees choose not to use powerpoint because they don't feel comfortable with that type of technology, that's just something i've noticed. I really am clueless with cords so  thats a problem I have, and where your system could come in handy.

IDEA NAPKIN NUMERO UNO

ME. Anthony Davila. That's my name at least. At the heart of my being, I am ambitious, creative, laid-back, and observant. Currently I am in the midst of my sophomore year at the University of Florida, and have learned that I have considerable talent in the form of networking, public speaking, leadership, and persuasion. By the end of my college years, I want to turn degrees in business and advertising into the foundation of my own social entrepreneurship venture. When it comes to my aspirations for my other concept, JUKEB(AUX), I see it becoming a time-consuming, yet fruitful, side project. If anything, it will turn from a personal success, into one I can share with the world.

WHAT? Despite all the advances in the music and audio industry, there are a few key inefficiencies yet to be addressed. Why does it take so much effort to connect to speakers? Why do we waste so much time with adjustments and errors in between presentations? Why is sharing music, the very thing that links us all as human beings, not instantaneous and intuitive? JUKEB(AUX) serves to answer all these questions and more. There are two components to the system. An antennae receiver and a mobile app. The anttennae plugs into any speaker/amplifier input and opens up a channel where several users can connect their bluetooth devices simultaneously. From there, the mobile app will allow people a chance to instantly take turns sharing and organizing playlists. Everyone will get a chance to contribute, and all information is stored in the app so you can revisit and download tracks you enjoyed at your leisure. This system has benefit for the professional industry as well. For conferences, forums, or performances, JUKEB(AUX) will allow the real-time organization of speakers and acts so that the audio in every performance is handled smoothly and efficiently. Rather than waste time and resources adjusting mics, switching outputs, and waiting impatiently for audio clips to cue, my system will have each presentation be able to cue their audio on the app and effortlessly move forward one after the other.

WHO? There are two main use categories I am targeting: personal use and professional use. For the personal use, my demographics will be aimed heavily at the younger population (< 35) as they dominate usage of music sharing services and sales. However, im in luck. Since music has no limits or boundaries, there is no set psychological or ethnic group I would have to focus on. Economically, this product would be aimed towards the middle and upper classes. The product itself will not be incredibly expensive, but because it incorporates the use of smart phones and speakers (expensive products to begin with) there might be some need to differentiate the economic audience.

When it comes to the professional market, there will be a shift in this rationale. This market is older and wealthier. Rather than individual consumers buying for entertainment, companies would pay for this service. While my product can and should be used for any type of meeting or presentation, I believe that mostly companies within the entertainment or presentative community would have the most interest.

WHY? Customers continually stay on top of current music technology trends, and half of these products can't even be considered innovative. Here comes JUKEB(AUX), a product that solves many people irritants and problems with the current system of music/audio sharing AND is priced moderately. I think consumers will jump at the chance for something like this since they already do for more expensive and pointless audio products.

BOTTOMLINE. I have the idea. I have the ambition. I have the solution to a continuing inefficiency within the audio tech industry. I have the marketing knowledge and selling power to make this dream product a reality. As I have proven again and again throughout my life, if there is something I want: I GET IT. Many people have ideas and skills, but if anything sets me apart it will be my persistence to achieve what I set out to do, no matter how or the time it takes.

Week 5 reading reflection

 It's that time again. This will be Week 5's installment of reading reflections. Come with me on this journey through my opinions on Kuratko's Entrepreneurship.


1) Now things are getting interesting! I was most interested in the details surrounding patent laws and the application process.

2) It took me the longest to comprehend the information surrounding the differences in business types. All the details surrounding partnerships, liabilities, and corporations.

3) Ok, Kuratko answer me this. Do you or your writers have any personal experience with filing patents? How many patents do you think have been lost over time?

4) This chapter was very structured and you can't really get the law wrong. I don't disagree with anything here, I thought it was a very important and often overlooked topic to focus on for young people interested in business.

Interviewing Customers No. 2

Yesterday (saturday the 6th), I took to the streets and got 5 customer interviews at Best Buy. I chose this location because my opportunity concerns music and technology, something Best Buy is a big proponent for. To get some diversity, I talked to two families with people of ranging ages (Father and two daughters/Older Couple). However, after mentioning that these interviews would be posted for a class blog, they politely asked me to not record them so I will transcribe each interview instead.


Questions:

1: How do you usually listen to music at parties or in the car?
2: Do you enjoy sharing your music tastes with others?
3: Similarily, do you like listening to friends playlists and favorite songs? Why?
4: How would a system where you could connect your devices and instantly trade turns sharing, listening, and downloading songs with your friends appeal to you?
5: What problems do you encounter with audio during presentations at work or school?



1: (Frank, 43)

How do you usually listen to music at parties or in the car?

For car rides, I have bluetooth in my car so i'll connect my phone to that. For parties, I guess we'll usually have our computer hooked up to our speaker system.

Do you enjoy sharing your music tastes with others? and do you use a particular method of this, like emailing particular songs, showing in person, or services like spotify?

Yea I do enjoy it actually! I think the kids use spotify like you mentioned, but I'll play songs off youtube if I want to show someone a song.

On the other hand, do you like listening to friends playlists and favorite songs? Why?

Yes. My friends and co-workers seem to find things I'd never even heard before.

How would a system where all of your friends could connect your devices and instantly trade turns sharing, listening, and downloading songs appeal to you?

That would be fantastic! It's getting harder to keep up with all these new updates and 

What problems do you encounter with audio during presentations at work or school? If any.

A lot of my time at work is spent speaking at meetings, so I deal with issues all the time. Mostly I find its visual technical issues, but I've also had problems loading audio clips and setting up PA systems for conferences. It's very frustrating when things don't work like they  should. 



2: (Lily, 12)

How do you usually listen to music at parties or on car rides?

Um, well I sometimes have my headphones in, or ask my dad to play something on our car speakers. Most of my friends have bluetooth speakers or something.

Do you enjoy sharing your music with others? Is there a particular way you do this, like emailing songs, in person, or spotify?

Oh I have spotify! It's cool because you can see what the other person is listening to, like it'll show up on the side of the screen. I'll always show my friends a new song that i'm obsessing about.

On the other hand, do you like listening to friends playlists and favorite songs?

Mhm. Yea of course.

How would you like a system where you and your friends could all connect devices to a speaker and instantly take turns listening, sharing, and downloading each others song choices?

That would be really cool! I think it would be easier to find good songs.

And what problems do you have with audio or music when making a presentation at school?

Um Im not sure... Well, last week for our group project no one could get the sound to work so that was awkward.


3: (Rachel, 16)

How do you usually listen to music at parties or in the car?

In my friends cars we just use the radio or aux cord. Um at parties I guess someone will just DJ and use their phone for the speaker.

Do you enjoy sharing your music with others? How do you share it? Like spotify, sending links, in person.

I definitely do! I use spotify a lot, but at school or something I'll just play something off my phone from like youtube or something if I'm gonna show someone.

On the other hand, how do you like listening to friends playlists and favorite songs?

I love it! Im proud to say that all my friends have really good taste in music so they'll always play good stuff.

How would you like a system where you and your friends could all connect devices to a speaker and instantly take turns listening, sharing, and downloading each others song choices?

Ooh that sounds cool. Like you would all be connected to the speaker at the same time? Yea, that'd be really cool especially downloading songs on the spot before you forget what they were.

What audio problems have you encountered giving presentations for school or work?

Hmm ok, so sometimes different formats won't work on other people computers. And then not me personally, but the last couple school plays I went to had some sort of small technical difficulty.

4 (Al, 79)

How do you normally listen to music at parties or in the car?

In the car, radio mostly. For parties we stick to good ol fashioned CDs. *laughs*

Do you enjoy sharing your music with others? How do you do it? Such as send emails, in person, music streaming services

If theres something that I know someone will enjoy, I always try to make it a point to share it with them. So yes, maybe in person is my method. That or sending a record or CD on birthdays and Christmas.

Likewise, do you enjoy listening to other's playlists and favorite songs?

I do, I do. It's always interesting to see what the new trends are. I'll always ask my son or our grandchildren to show me what they're listening to.

Would it interest you to have a system where you and friends could all connect your mobile devices to a speaker and instantly share, listen, and download each others song choice?

I think that would certainly make things easier. Im not the best person to ask, I'm not much one for using mobile devices, much less knowing how to use them. It would be nice to simplify things though.

What problems have you encountered with audio during presentations at school or work?

Oh I couldn't tell you. I owned a restaurant so if I needed to give any type of presentations they were always given in person. 


5: (Jean, 80)

How do you normally listen to music at parties or in the car?

Oh, well, we normally just have the radio on.

Do you enjoy sharing your music tastes with others? How do you go about it, email, in person, or music streaming websites?

I do enjoy it! It's fun to share things like that and see people enjoy it as much as you do. I will usually try to write down songs I like and tell people about them, if I don't forget first *laughs*

Likewise, do you enjoy listening to others playlists and favorite songs?

Certainly, I always enjoy learning about new artists and albums. I think it's good to be introduced to new music all the time.

How would you like a system where you and your friends could all connect devices to a speaker and take turns instantly sharing, listening, and downloading each others choices?

Oh well, I'd like that a lot! It'd have to be easy to figure out though, I mostly use my phone and laptop communicating, I don't know much about connecting or downloading. 

What problems have you encountered with audio during presentations at work or school?

I can't really think of any right now.


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Doing these interviews turned out to be a good experience! It allows other people to bring up ideas you might not have considered. From these answers I learned a few things about my opportunity and product idea. I found that I'd have to find tune my marketing. I'd hoped to appeal to all demographics, but from the more elderly couple's perspective, they were either fine with the way they listened to music or would have a harder time adjusting to the technology involved. I also found that I'd have to make sure to highlight and elaborate the features of JukeBaux so that it would offer more than Spotify. Next time I'd like to find out more about how high-level corporations do presentations, so that I can make sure my product offers them a solution to their audio problems.

For the next generation of ENT3003 students doing these interviews, all I would say is don't be shy, be friendly, and make sure you have a solid list of questions you can ask so that you can control your surveys and have consistency.

Elevator Pitch No. 1: JUKEB(AUX)

Opportunity: Music and audio are crucial components of any personal or professional event. However, although technology has come a long way, we still face the hassle and technical difficulties of disconnecting devices and switching outputs, which detracts from the experience and becomes a waste of time and resources.

Solution: For parties, road trips, or any other occasion, Jukebaux will allow users to organize, share and listen to each others music seamlessly, keeping the flow of audio at the touch of a button. Jukebaux is a small receiver that plugs into any speaker/amplifier system and will pair with up to 10 bluetooth devices simultaneously. With the free Jukebaux mobile app, users can simply select a song, tap or use voice command on the cue button, and have one song start immediately after the other. Fully customizable, users can instantly and easily schedule the perfect playlist for all to enjoy. If you particularly like a tune, you can save the track information to buy or download it right after.

For professional or educational settings, Jukebaux can be used to organize audio for speakers and presentations. There will be no need to stop and take extra time adjusting mics, extra equipment, or wires for the next person. With our system it's effortless to connect, switch to the next act and cue up anything you need to take your presentation to the next level-all at the touch of a button. 


Seamless audio at the speed of sound. JUKEBAUX