Elevator Pitch No. 1

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

In my first Testing the Hypothesis assignment, I discussed the need to have an easier way to eat while driving. In order to complete part 2 of this assignment, I needed to find people who should have this unmet need, but they have discovered a way to solve it. With this need applying to pretty much everyone who drives, I searched out people who only eat in the car when someone can assist them in the process or refuse to eat in the car.

Who:

When conceptualization this opportunity, I figured the people who lie inside the boundary are people who eat in the car and people who lie outside the boundary are those who refuse to eat in the car or people who only eat when someone assists them. When interview people who refuse to eat in the car, I decided they are definitely consumers who would never need my product because they lie very outside of the boundary. If they never eat in the car, then they never have a reason to simplify the process. When interviewing people who only eat when someone assists them, the overall consensus was that even though the process was simplified for them when someone was helping, they said that the passenger could have benefitted from a product that ease the process of eating in the car. 

What:

When exploring more into the "what" of the need, the interviewees were actually very helpful when defining the boundary of the need. Many went into how the use of a table would help, but the process of eating in the car would still be difficult. That led into realizing that the need I have identified could lead into the need of having a self-driven car in order to perform more functions while driving. 

Why:

When thinking about the "why"the needs exists, I dove further into what was discussed in the "what" section. It is very difficult to perform any tasks while driving. Driving requires a lot of focus and constant awareness of your surroundings. A table to assist the process of eating while driving could prevent spills and make it easier to place your food down when you need to two hands to drive. With that being said, it does not result in a perfect scenario for eating while driving. There are still dangers involved that cannot be solved when eating and driving. A self-driven car would be able to monitor what is going on and drive the car properly (if this technology was actually invented).

Inside the Boundary                                                   Outside the Boundary

- Who: People who eat in the car                              -  Who: People who refuse to eat in their car or 

- What: Assistance when eating and driving                          people who only eat in the car when 

- Why: It is easy to spill in the car with your lap                   someone can assist them

           being uneven and there isn't a safe place to   -  What: Complete assistance of driving; 

           put your food between bites                                         some kind of hands free assistance

                                                                                  -  Why: There is still no car that is self-driven 

Overall, interviewing people this time showed me that a table for eating and driving can only help so much and people who refuse to eat while driving still will most likely continue to refuse to eat until there is a completely safe way to perform this task.

The Second-Most Important Part of Entrepreneurship

In a previous blog, I found an article discussing the massive amounts of dead fish that are currently in neighborhood canals because of red tide. Residents have been waiting for weeks for assistance to remove the dead rotting fish from the canals. When the fish die because of the excessive algae bloom, they rise to the surface, bloat from the sun exposure and then emit toxic smells.

County officials have said they are working to solve the issue by hiring contractors, but there is not a very efficient way to collect the dead fish from the water. One news channel showed workers using a net attached to a long poll to scoop the fish from the water and placing them into trash cans. They often can only collect 5-10 fish at one time with this method.

I believe there could be a product to help assist these contractors to speed up the process in order to restore the canals for the sake of both marine life and homeowners along the canals. An idea that could help speed up the process would be to create an attachment for a boat. This attachment could have a net attached to a powered mechanism that can be lowered to scoop up the fish and then have the ability to raise the net onto the boat to empty the net and collect more fish. The net would be attached to a powered crane like pole to raise the net from the water and dump the fish back into the boat for further transportation. This would be a large net catching up to 1000 fish per scoop. With the count of dead fish reaching upwards of 150 tons, this could greatly increase the efficiency of cleanup efforts compared to the current process.

Testing the Hypothesis

Everyday across the world many people participate in eating and driving. Our world has turned into a face paced environment where going through drive thrus are a common activity. Even though it is common, it’s definitely not an easy task. Food you get from a drive thru is usually wrapped in paper or place into a closed box. With that being said, you either have to figure out how to drive with one hand or both knees. Your lap is an uneven surface which often leads to spills and further distractions. I think an opportunity could be creating some type of platform that can withstand bumps, speed, and turns while offering a level surface to eat your food.

Who: Any driver who eats in a car

What: A product to make eating in the car easier

Why: The current process for eating and driving causes many accidents

In order to test the need for a tool to make eating and driving easier, I asked five people the following questions:

Do you think a lot of people eat and drive?

Describe the process of how you eat and drive?

Do you think there is a need to make driving and eating safer?

Do you think a car table would be helpful?

Do you think people will ever stop eating and driving?

Interview #1:

Do you think a lot of people eat and drive?

-       Yeah definitely. With all of the fast food places, people eat on the go when driving from place to place or picking up a quick meal.

Describe the process of how you eat and drive?

-       I usually just try to keep the food on my lap somehow or I ask the passenger to feed me.

Do you think there is a need to make driving and eating safer?

-       Eating and driving can be distracting especially if you spill or drop something.

Do you think a car table would be helpful?

-       I think it can be helpful as long as it solves more problems than it causes. If it is not sturdy and leads to spills then I don’t think it will make eating and driving safer.

Do you think people will ever stop eating and driving?

-       No I think as long as fast food chains are still popular people are still going to eat in the car.

Interview #2:

Do you think a lot of people eat and drive?

-       Yes. Sometimes people are in a rush and they don’t have the time to sit down to have a meal.

Describe the process of how you eat and drive?

-       I don’t participate in eating and driving . It is not safe for myself and possibly others.

Do you think there is a need to make driving and eating safer?

-       No, it’s like texting and driving why would we encourage that.

Do you think a car table would be helpful?

-       No it would be in the way and also a safety hazard.

Do you think people will ever stop eating and driving?

-       Yes when we get driverless cars.

Interview #3:

Do you think a lot of people eat and drive?

-       Yes, there is usually a limited time offered for lunch, therefore most workers must be quick with their meals.

Describe the process of how you eat and drive?

-       I typically drive with one hand or I use my legs to steer. It is not safe, but I have gotten pretty good at it.

Do you think there is a need to make driving and eating safer?

-       I believe it would be difficult to remove using your hands while eating, but if there was a better method than I would answer yes.

Do you think a car table would be helpful?

-       I think a car table would help the cause, but not completely fix the problem.

Do you think people will ever stop eating and driving?

-       No. Our society is always moving, so I think this will only increase eating and driving.

Interview #4:

Do you think a lot of people eat and drive?

-       Yes. Since people are so busy I think they try to save time.

Describe the process of how you eat and drive?

-       I try not to unless someone is in the car that can help me prepare my food.

Do you think there is a need to make driving and eating safer?

-       I think a safer way to eat and drive could eliminate a lot of accidents and issues.

Do you think a car table would be helpful?

-       I don’t think a car table would be the answer since the food could still slide right off.

Do you think people will ever stop eating and driving?

-       No. It is the same concept of texting and driving, just not as severe.

Interview #5:

Do you think a lot of people eat and drive?

-       I actually think it might seem like it, but I don’t think many people eat and drive.

Describe the process of how you eat and drive?

-       Of course my goal is to not eat and drive, but if I do have to then I wait until I am at stop lights.

Do you think there is a need to make driving and eating safer?

-       If there was a way to make it safer I think this would be great!

Do you think a car table would be helpful?

-       A car table is a good idea unless it gets in the way of the driver.

Do you think people will ever stop eating and driving?

-       If there is a law against it I think it could be limited, but I don’t think it will ever go away.

Overall, I found that many potential consumers are worried about how this opportunity could work because of the safety implications that could be correlated with a product that assists with eating while driving. 

Opportunities from Economic Trends and Regulatory Changes

In this blog, the first two opportunities I will discuss will be dealing with economic trends and the last two will be associated with regulatory changes.


The first opportunity I found is in the trucking industry. Their is actually a massive shortage in trucks drivers. Companies have to compete with Amazon and Walmart for drivers to take their products all over the country.

A) I found out about the opportunity originally this summer while working for Bealls, Inc. As a clothing retailer, they have to ship there merchandise all over the southeastern United States. They also have to ship the paper used for advertisements and the advertisements themselves. When learning more about this process, I was told how volatile the trucking industry is right now.

B)I believe that there is either employment opportunities for being who are willing to live this rough lifestyle or for some innovative company to figure out an alternative method for how large quantities of products are currently shipped. The railways are too damaged to easily fix and do not have as much access as trucks do. Boats take a long time and again do not have a great amount of access to large cities unless they are located on the coast.

C) I believe the most likely person to take advantage of this opportunity would be someone single or someone with a lot of extra funds to spend. A single person can start their own trucking companies so they can invest in quality trucks and show value to their employees. I chose a single person as the one most likely because they can devote a lot of their time to the business rather than having to spend time at home. A rich person can invest in finding an alternative shipping method.

D) There are so many different unknowns about the future of the trucking industry besides one. In a nation of consumers, retailers still very much rely on trucks. With this being said, it still takes a lot of commitment and investment to take advantage of this opportunity.

I believe this opportunity exists because of evident articles talking about truck driver shortages as well as witnessing how necessary they are to a company. I saw this opportunity mainly because of my employment at Bealls, Inc. Here's one article discussing this topic.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/05/28/america-has-a-massive-truck-driver-shortage-heres-why-few-want-an-80000-job/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7443a1b9db6a



The next opportunity I think is found in the paper industry. It has become harder and harder for companies to find good supplier to build relationships with when acquiring paper. Paper mills have been shutting down all around the country due to a couple different factors.

A) I heard about this opportunity also at my summer internship. As a company that has an older target customer, they still use many newspaper advertisements that require paper (obviously).

B) With that being said, it seemed to me like there could be an opportunity to make the process more efficient and better run. Paper mills are currently closing down because of the amount of power and wood it takes to run effectively. Although we couldn't change the amount of wood, we could change what powers the mill and automation to help improve how the paper is processed.

C) Current owners of paper mills, investors in energy sources, and innovators of product development and machinery could all possibly take interest in this opportunity.

D) This opportunity could be easy or hard to accomplish depending on your current involvement with paper mills or energy sources and/or how much capital you have to invest.

I believe there is a possibility here because of how many paper mills are shutting down and the opportunity to create paper or paper alternatives in an environmentally friendly way (such as replanting forests and recycling paper products). Like the previous opportunity, I saw this because of my employment at Bealls, Inc.



The next opportunity has to deal with regulatory changes to social security. Let's get real... the chances young adults right now will be able to receive social security in their 60s is pretty much non existent.

A) I found this opportunity or problem just by watching the news and reading articles. I have changed my mindset to think of social security as a maybe in my future. The only thing that would be for sure is 401K and long term saving.

B) There is so much talk on how many new regulations are to come when talking about social security. When social security was first put in place, the life expectancy age was not near as high as it is now. People are now struggling to live off social security when they retire in their mid sixties. It leads me to believe that many people will have to work beyond their sixties in order to sustain the lifestyle they wish to have.

C) This most likely customer for an alternative to social security would be anyone between the ranges of 20 - 50 who is working a job.

D) This opportunity would be difficult to come up with an innovative way to save/raise money for retirement. There would also most likely be a lot of legal implications.

This opportunity came to mind when thinking of my grandparents. They rely on social security checks (and savings) because they are both retired. I feel unsettled when think about how I might not even have social security when I reach that age.



The last opportunity comes from regulatory changes being made to student loans.

A) I heard of this opportunity through the news as well. There have been many people who have either fought for student loan forgiveness or that have had to deal with the long process of paying off student loans.

B) I think an opportunity exists when dealing with student loans because of how many people need to take out loans in order to complete college. Obtaining a higher education has become somewhat of a necessity when looking to apply to jobs. Often times it does not necessarily matter what major or school you attended, but employers like to see that you have received a higher education.

C) All college students especially those pursuing a masters degree, out-of-state degree, a law degree, or looking to become a doctor. These are the students who will have the highest bill to pay after their time in school.

D) This opportunity would be difficult to figure out due to the fact that it deals with money and with that comes many regulations.

I believe this opportunity exists because of how many students struggle to pay off loans as well as how many laws are being created or revised that deal with the payment of student loans. I thought of this opportunity because of watching my friend struggle with now trying to pay off her student loans.

Five Local Opportunities

I decided to look into five local opportunities that were presented in the local newspaper of Bradenton, Florida. The Bradenton Herald has been sharing news stories in the Bradenton area for almost a century. They report on many different aspects of the community. Here are a few examples of problems in the community that could eventually be developed into an opportunity. 

Side Note: The links featured are the links that were available when I was viewing the articles. Some links have had trouble reopening so it would be best to use the "eJournals" tab on the UF Business Library page, type in Bradenton Herald, open the World News Research Collection, and then search for the titles using the search bar.

Opportunity #1:

Title: 

Red tide is weaker, but still hanging around Anna Maria Island. Is the worst behind us?

https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ABTHB%21Bradenton%2BHerald%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0912%21September%2B12&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E69B5ACC2F7DD8

In summary, this article talks about red tide and how it is effecting Bradenton and the surrounding areas. This spell of red tide has been around since August of this year. Red tide causes deaths among wildlife causing their carcasses to be washed up on shore. The smell and fumes in the air cause respiratory problems among visitors. It moved from only being present on beaches to traveling into the canals and creeks. Tropical Storm Gordon helped a little to change the winds and distance the algae from the beaches. 

The problem in this article is red tide. It is a natural phenomenon that we unfortunately have not found a solution to. We simply have to sit back and let it run it's course until the algae disperses and then the fish population can regain proper numbers. 

This problem greatly affects many aspects of the beach and ocean environment. Fish and vegetation die which hurt the ocean ecosystem as a whole when there is an imbalance in the typical food chain. Once the dead fish wash on shore, people often can no longer visit the beaches because of how the smell makes them cough. This will also damage house rentals near the beach, restaurants, and shops that depend on tourists and beach goers. 

Opportunity #2:

Title:

Dirty Dining: These Bradenton-area restaurants cited for mold, food temperature issues

https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ABTHB%21Bradenton%2BHerald%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0906%21September%2B06&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E45AF734D9C518

This article shows glimpses of health inspector reports of local restaurants in the Bradenton area. The inspectors cite many cases of mold, food not being kept at the appropriate temperature, and food not properly dated. 

The problem is that some restaurants are not keeping up with health regulations that are put in place for the safety of their customers. The article says that there was more information said in these inspector reports, but these are a few of the worst to be mentioned. 

This problem mostly affects the customers that come into eat at these restaurants. It puts their health at risk. In addition to the customers, the workers handling these food products are also put in danger because of the possibility of coming into contact with germs that could affect their health. 

Opportunity #3:

Title:

Manatee school district is struggling with paying its employees. Here’s what went wrong

https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ABTHB%21Bradenton%2BHerald%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0905%21September%2B05&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E44CBAA6703D90

Basically, this article talks about the effects that have come from the installation of a new software system for the School District of Manatee County. There have been many negative outcomes to this installation due to software issues, human errors, and faulty leadership. The implementation of this software has effected the payment of teachers, how soon supplies can be delivered to classrooms, and put tension on leadership and those in charge of the software. 

There are multiple problems mentioned in this article; some include faulty software, human error, misunderstandings of how to assess a teacher's paycheck, multiple investigations into the leadership behind this software "upgrade", and also the mistake of not continuing the use of the old software in order to serve as a back up for the new software. 

The people affected by these problems are teachers and their families, students and their families, leaders of the School District, anyone involved in the supply chain of school supplies, and faculty members of Manatee County Schools. 

Opportunity #4:

Title:

Two pygmy killer whales stranded in Clearwater now on the road to recovery in Sarasota

https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ABTHB%21Bradenton%2BHerald%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0831%21August%2B31&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E260BB55B69FD0

This article outlines the rescue of two pygmy killer whales. These whales were found beached in Clearwater and were then taken to Mote Marine Aquarium to begin rehabilitation. Both whales were very thin and considered to be in critical condition. After a few days of working with the Mote staff, both whales, named Thunder and Lightning, could swim mostly on their own. 

The problem in this case was the two pygmy killer whales getting stranded on the beach in Clearwater. They would have been helpless without the assistance of local marine volunteers to save and rehabilitate them. 

This problem mainly affects the whales and also could have been a danger to pedestrians visiting the beach.

Opportunity #5:

Title:

A 76-year-old man answered knock at his door. Gunman got away with pills, cash, cops say

https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ABTHB%21Bradenton%2BHerald%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0830%21August%2B30&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E1FE2152449AF0

This article talks about an unfortunate incident where a young male barged into the home of an elderly man to steal medication and money from the household. 

The problem that presented itself in this article is the elderly man was threatened with a handgun and got his medication and money he lives off of taken away. In terms of business opportunities, advanced security and fast response systems could have possibly helped this poor man. 

In this particular case, this elderly man had this problem. I think many older people are taken advantage of and threatened due to their perceived vulnerability. 

Simpler Saturdays

The season of fall would not be the same without football. Every Saturday you can find me in orange and blue representing the GREAT gator nation! With that being said, it is often a struggle to find those perfect orange and blue outfits for every football season. The opportunity I believe exists is bringing a new fashion forward clothing store near campus that specifically targets college students looking for game day apparel.

Although any big box store in Gainesville sells gator apparel, I am not necessarily talking shirts that say "Go Gators" or shorts with gator heads on them. I am talking about trendy, fast-fashion clothes that are blue, orange, denim, or white that are fit for college students to look cute while supporting the University of Florida. Currently, students are having to shop online and in-store looking for color specific clothing, typically fit for hot weather. This process means looking through multiple websites and filtering the results by color and style or visiting various brick and mortar stores hoping that the colors orange and blue are trending in the fashion world.

To break it down, the unmet need is a cute, accessible game day apparel store near campus. Mainly female college students have this need. This need has become more prevalent probably within the last decade, but I am sure if I interviewed older gator graduates they could relate to this problem. Currently, students are shopping at various stores online, in-store, and altering clothing to create the style they wish to have.

In order to gain more insight into this opportunity, I interviewed three prototypical customers. I asked them the following questions: 

1. Please describe the need for a trendy game day apparel store near campus.

2. When did you first realize you needed a store to provide game day clothes?

3. When do you realize this need? All the time? Every week? Every year?

4. How long have you had this need?

5. How are you currently addressing this need?

6. How satisfied are you with having a game day store near campus?

Prototypical Customer 1: 

1. I need to support my school along with my fellow students when I go to the games. I want to do that by wearing cute game day clothes which is very hard to find. 

2. I realized it as soon as I got to campus. I knew game days were just around the corner and I had to find clothes fast. I felt even more pressure when I started talking to new friends and they already had purchased clothes. As a freshman, I thought there would be a store to go to that had cute clothes, but was sad to find out you just had to search through the mall or hope you found something online. 

3. I realize that every week girls wear a different outfit to the game. So I either need to find multiple outfits now or shop every week in the fall.

4. Since I am a freshman, I have had this need for a couple of weeks now.

5. So far, I have been shopping online to find clothes. My friend recommended a couple of websites to me, but it is hard to find things that aren't sold out. 

6. I would love to have a shop like this near campus. It would make life ten times easier and so much less stressful. I would definitely shop there all the time.

I learned that there is definitely possibility for this opportunity. I found it interesting that this student had expected there to be a game day store other than the bookstore, but was let down when there wasn't. 

Prototypical Customer 2: 

1. There really needs to be a store that provides trendy game day clothes because a lot of people don't have transportation to somewhere as far as the mall. It needs to be easily accessible to students. 

2. I realized it over the summer before my freshman year. I saw on social media that girls had worn such cute outfits last football season and I wanted to fit in and be happy with what I was wearing once I got to the University of Florida. 

3. I like to have a new outfit to wear every week for the games and it would be easier if there was a store close to provide that shopping experience for me. 

4. Being a junior now, I have had that need for a little over two years. 

5. I mainly shop on Amazon for game day clothes. I really don't like how it isn't fully reliable though. I never know if the sizes are right or if the package will be delivered when I need it. 

6. I would be super satisfied! Honestly, that would be so convenient and save so much headache for me. 

Again, this interview proved that students would be interested in this type of store. I found it interesting how this student was influenced by others on social media. This shows that there could be an opportunity for future campus ambassadors.

Prototypical Customer 3: 

1. As of now, the bookstore is the main place I go to get my game day clothes. The problem with the bookstore is the clothes are very basic, but more importantly they are very expensive so I definitely need a new store to shop near campus.

2. I first realized that there weren’t any options when I started looking for game day clothes my freshman year. I always found myself buying stuff online and altering it to make it a better fit for game day.

3. I think that this need would be most important in the fall for football season, but I still realize it is a need in the spring with other sports and events going on as well.

4. This need started when I was accepted to UF and I wanted to start filling my closet with Gator apparel right away.

5. Currently I am buying clothes online that are just orange and blue and making them into game day outfits, or I will go to the mall or the bookstore.

6. I think this would be an awesome idea! It would make finding outfits for game days much easier than the process now.

Although this interview made me a little concerned about the competition I would face with the bookstore and other stores near campus, I still think there is opportunity if I differentiate myself. I think the most surprising thing about this interview is how early this student began shopping. The only way to fully capture her interest would be online unless she visits campus or lives close to Gainesville. 

After the interviews, I still see an opportunity for this trendy game day apparel store. All interviewees seemed excited about the idea and slightly annoyed that it didn't already exist. Understanding that most customers currently fill this need by online shopping is definitely an important aspect of this exercise. It would be important to have a fully operating online site because that is where most of this business is occurring now. I would have to perform a great amount of comparable shopping to see the prices at which my potential customers are purchasing products at, the specific types of products that are most desired, and obtain any demographic information I can. I would love to see if game day apparel shopping decreases as a student approaches their senior year. Overall, I think entrepreneurs should ask for a lot of customer feedback to make sure they are getting a proper representation of future customers. From that feedback, I think they should definitely adapt to the current market, but also not be afraid if they think they're new idea or new way of doing things could benefit their customer. Always be open when starting a new business. You will receive a lot of criticism whether your idea turns out to be profitable or not. Listen, but do not get discouraged. 

My Entrepreneurship Story

The entrepreneur that I would like to look into today is my father. Being an extremely optimistic person, he loves almost any new idea. If you ever need some encouragement, he is your go to guy. Over the years of his life, he has worked basically every career in the book. From making donuts to painting roads to phone service to sales man, he has gained knowledge in so many different fields.

The first business opportunity he took advantage of was lawn care. When my family first moved into the area that is now known as Lakewood Ranch, there was no major businesses around them just suburbs, fields of cows, and dirt roads. Being one of the first homeowners in the area, he realized how much suburban expansion there was going to be and knew these people will be needing lawn service. He then started a company, Tailored Lawn Care (inspiration=my name). With this company he got his first taste of what it's like to run your own business. Investing in equipment, scheduling employees, running payroll, employee paperwork, managing clients, and creating marketing material were just some of the tasks he had to overcome. He ran that company for over 6 years.

Once he decided he wanted to move on from that, he tried out a couple different jobs. His latest venture is home improvement and renovations. He's always loved being creative, building new things, and the bottom line: helping people. Castor Services Corporation is now his company that is doing anything from basic hanging of pictures to full kitchen remodels. He loves getting to visit and meet so many new people while also helping them fix problems or make their vision come to life.

Being a people person has made is career path look more like a mountain range than a plain. It has been a hard journey to realize not every person you meet can be trusted and they might not have your best interest in mind. It has been difficult to watch him get hurt by people who he had invested time into just to learn that they were using him. Thankfully, in this recent season of life he has found business partners that believe in him and value him. I always wish him the best when any new opportunity finds him. He has impacted so many people throughout his career and his life. I respect him and his ability to see a need and pursue it; not for his own benefit, but for the benefit of others. That to me is a true entrepreneur.