4A – Forming An Opportunity Belief

• I have a very strong feeling that there's an opportunity for healthier and improved eating in a college students lifestyle that can be implemented through the creation of vending machines that store healthier food  options in a controlled temperature to maintain the quality and freshness of the product.

• Belief: In a day, 10-12 hours of a college students time are spent on campus. With a busy schedule, most students don't really have the time to stand in long lines and and wait for their order to be taken first, then wait for their food to be cooked and served. While time is an important factor, a lot of students are on a tight budget as well and hence they either skip their afternoon meal or purchase something from the vending machine which plays an important part in students life. Its cheap, cost effective and takes less than a minute for your item to be in your hand. With new diet trends on the rise vending machines that serve healthier options can really fulfill the needs of athletes, students on strict calorie, low sugar/sodium/fat diets etc. Take UF for instance, a lot of the vending machines on campus are stacked with unhealthy options leaving students no option. While most schools are aware of this problem, little implementation has been done over the years.i am 90% that if my idea were to be executed, it would be greatly successful. 

• The first person that I spoke to was my brother about this since hes greatly involved in sports and tries to stay  healthy. Since hes in his senior year he spends almost all day on campus so either hes attending classes or hes studying in the library. With limited healthy options that are either too expensive or just not according to his taste results in him skipping his afternoon meal most of the times. On days when he skips breakfast, he ends up going to Publix or target right after his class ends and either buys hummus and flatbread or tuna. Upon discussing my idea with him, he said that if selected vending machines were stacked with healthier options at low effective rates, labeled with stickers and all to promote the campaign it could be really successful. 
• The next person I spoke to was my roommate.Since my roommate is on a strict diet due to medical reasons, she can only consume gluten free, vegan options. and since those options aren't really available on campus, she ends up having lunch from outside. if she doesn't feel like having anything from outside, she ends up going grocery shopping and makes herself a meal at home and then goes back to campus. On days when shes on a time constraint, she too ends up skipping lunch. Upon asking her whether vending machines stacked with healthy options and food items for everyone could help solve the problem, she replied with an affirmative yes. 
• The third person that i got a chance to speak with was a guy trying to figure out what to get from the vending machine. The first thing I asked him was about his class schedule and how long does he stay on campus on average. So his first class starts at 9:30 and then the next class starts at 3 and ends by 5. And in between  classes he has a 2 hour break which he mostly spends at Heavener hall completing  assignments. Since he doesnt have time to make it back home and cook  a meal he either carries some fruits or nuts from home and ends up having that in school. But on days when he doesnt have anything, he ends up buying something from the vending machine and that usually is either a pack of ruffles, Doritos or then some peanut m&ms. When I asked  why doesnt he buy lunch from the food court, he said that going to Reitz union, then waiting in line just wasn't worth it and usually snacks light in the afternoon and has a bigger meal at night. When I asked  if the vending machines stored sandwiches or salad bowls or tuna/hummus/ fruit bowls, would he purchase those and he replied with a yes. 

After conducting these interviews I realized how wide the scope was and how successful it would be because a lot of the time students are looking for something that isn't messy to handle, light snack able lunch and something that full of nutrition but also light on the pocket.and is a fast solution to their hunger pangs and cravings without actively going out and searching for it. The food that is easily available to people is what they will eat and if we can change that for them then we change eating habits over time and create a healthier culture. When i started my process I wasn't sure of the kind of response I would get and thought that mostly only girls would support this change however after my interviews I realized that a lot of guys preferred healthier options but it should definitely taste good. I think its important for entrepreneurs to consider and take customer feedback and constructive criticism because their business hugely depends on getting the support of customers. They should be willing to adapt to changing customer needs as well. 

5A – Identifying Local Opportunities

Article 1: High-priority violations: Alachua County restaurant inspections (Jan. 20-25)
https://www.gainesville.com/photogallery/LK/20200129/PHOTOGALLERY/129009984/PH/1

After a complaint call was received the health inspection department conducted an investigation at 4928 NW 39 Ave (Ichiban Sushi) and discovered high priority violations with serious health hazards for the consumers dining at the restaurant.

There was no proper sanitation and employees were handling dirty dishes and clean dishes at the same time without properly washing their hand. Apart from that the raw food was stored at the same temperature with the cooed meals. There were toxic chemicals stored with the food.

Who has the problems: regular customers, college students, families, hospitals, food inspection departments, meat and vegetable suppliers, USDA, silent partners investing in the restaurant, banks. Future potential customers. Future potential employees, visitors.

Article 2 : Health experts: Human-to-human spread of new virus worrying

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200129/health-experts-human-to-human-spread-of-new-virus-worrying

Death toll for coronavirus rises as the virus has started to spread not only in China but in other 16 countries as well, US being one of them. While the numbers in other states are relatively small compared to china, they do hold potential for a much larger outbreak.

The coronavirus is a relatively new virus with symptoms similar to SARS and MERS however no cure to this virus has been developed as of yet as global experts from all over the world are still learning it affects on people and what countries can do to respond.

Who has the problem : citizens in China and the other countries where the virus has spread, World Health organization, hospitals, tourists, students, teachers and faculty, businesses chin trading in seafood, global health experts, the media, restaurants, patients, hospital staff members, airports. Travel agencies, ticket booking agencies.

Article 3: ‘I thought I was going to die.’ Tenants flee high-rise fire

https://www.gainesville.com/ZZ/news/20200129/i-thought-i-was-going-to-die-tenants-flee-high-rise-fire

A 25-story high rise building was caught on fire in Los Angeles, which led to 6 people being hospitalized including two men in their 30's who were in critical condition. While the fire only started on one floor but because the building lacked fire sprinklers, it was out of control and hence received sever damages causing the 339 residents to be temporarily homeless. Despite being caught on fire 7 years ago, the building took no preventative measures which could have saved most of the infrastructure.

Who has the problem : residents living in the building, bystanders, the building owner, building staff and employees, police department, fire department, neighboring shops and supermarkets,  citizens of Los Angeles, hospital, investors of the building, potential residents, restaurant in the building, the food and vegetable supplier, fire inspection department.

Article 4: Kobe Bryant’s death throws spotlight on crash-warning system

https://www.gainesville.com/ZZ/news/20200129/kobe-bryants-death-throws-spotlight-on-crash-warning-system

On Sunday a helicopter crash was reported in Los Angeles that took the lives of 9 people on board including the famous NBA star Kobe Bryant and his 13 year old daughter Gianna. The deaths of the 9 victims has lead to debate of whether TAWS ( Terrain awareness and warning systems), a security alarm sound that informs the pilot if the aircraft is in danger of hitting the ground would have supposedly prevented the crash, and because of that the federal regulators have been heavily criticized for not carrying out this recommendation of mandating such a equipment on commercial transport that boards 6 or more people.

Who has the problem: families of the victims who lost their lives, fans of Kobe Bryant, National transportation safety board, pilots, The Lakers,  celebrities who use commercial transport, airport, FAA’s Pacific division, bystanders, residents where the crash occurred, ambulance, basketball team, Mamba sports academy, investigators, fire county, air traffic controller, potential and frequent flyers, helicopter company. 

Article 5: Tampa Bay gas prices drop 13 cents over the week

https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/2020/01/29/tampa-bay-gas-prices-drop-13-cents-over-the-week/

According to the AAA, Florida have been facing a downward trend after an unseasonable uptick. The decline in price is majorly because of lack of demand and increased supply as temperatures drop, however prices have been higher compared to previous months. Tensions between US and Iran has started to ease and alleviated some of the upward pressure on gasoline. But prices are expected to bounce back as temperatures rise and refineries conduct maintenance and switch to summer gasoline.

Who has the problem : OPEC, Gas companies, export companies, oil industry. 

3A – Your Entrepreneurship Story

Back when I was in my senior year of high school, I was a part of a lot of community service projects that majorly involved me teaching at schools set up by NGOs's  In my country the literacy rate is low and with the cost of education on the rise, people with low incomes that come in the absolute poverty range are not able to afford it and hence their kids are deprived of even the most basic education. The schools and the classrooms that we taught in weren’t properly structured or developed ad lacked basic facilities that every school should have, so it was hard teaching 50 kids in just two rooms. I was a teacher there for 2 years and in my time there I came up with an idea of starting my own service organization. I gathered a team of 6 chair heads and decided that instead of going to that school, we would get the kids to come to the high school where I was currently at to provide them a proper teaching atmosphere and facilities that they truly deserved. In order for the plan to work we had to conduct a needs assessment to see how many classrooms could be assigned to us for our cause, how many students we could gather, their demographic, arrange a transportation system like a school bus for them and design a teaching curriculum for them. After that we organized a fund-raising event to arrange for funds to buy their school supplies etc. Our planning took about approximately 4 months and we started off with about 25 students and now we have 60, with plans of reaching to other different underprivileged communities within the area.

in underprivileged communities.

                                                 A field trip that we arranged for the kids

I decided to roll in ENT 3003 because I want to learn the basic skills needed, the thought process of an entrepreneur and what it takes to set up one’s own business. I come from a family of entrepreneurs and seeing their journey and progress has inspired and motivated me to do as well. My grandfather started with nothing, just basic education, however he had the skills of an entrepreneur and by conducting a needs assessment in his community, he established a product that catered to everyone’s needs and later set up an industry for it which is now being run by my father and by taking this course I hope to learn the skills needed and apply it to our family’s business.

2A-BUG LIST

1) Waiting 40 minutes at Starbucks inside Library West just to get a small black coffee

Why it exists : A main reason could be because they are short staffed. Last time I was there, there were 20 students in line and just three staff members and all of the orders have to be prepared on the spot, students have to wait for a while for their order.

2) Having to replace my apple headphones every 6 months because it stops working 

Why it exists: Since the connectors aren't reinforced, one hard pull and the cord can get damaged really easily. 

3) Expensive housing accommodation for students in Gainesville

Why it exists: Since Gainesville is a college town, with a population comprising mostly of students, there's a lot of demand and market and hence employers decide to lease the apartment at higher prices. 

4) Increasing tuition cost and limited financial resources for International students. 

Why it exists: There aren't a lot of scholarships like Bright future or Fulbright available for international student and hence only other available option is to take a loan at higher interest rates ( with no co signor) to pay off the tuition fee and then work for another 10-15 years to repay off the loan. 

5) Food wastage in America 

Why it exists: It really annoys me when I hear of a problem like this. I saw a  video on Youtube where this waitress was throwing all the left over food items of that day in the trash. By trying to produce more so they don't go short and lose on sales, they produce an excess of items that is later thrown out.

6)  Shopping at grocery stores is the worst because its time consuming 

Why it exists: With a vast variety of brands and types of one single product, it takes forever to decide which item to go for. 

7) When cars take time or don't start on cold winter mornings 

Why it exists: In cold or freezing temperatures, the engine oil changes consistency and hence requires more energy and power to warm the oil and start. 

8) Unpredictability of weather conditions in Florida 

Why it exists: Its kind of hard to predict weather conditions in advance and a lot of these weather apps are a subject of error and inconsistencies and fail to take into account the changing weather conditions. 

9) Sephora's virtual face camera that lets you try on makeup virtually but ends up placing eyeshadow on the cheeks 

Why it exists: The apps face recognition feature isn't able to actually emphasize on all facial features and hence it misses out on a lot of the spots when applying makeup. Also the colors aren't actually what they appear to be. 

10) Deciding what to wear each morning to class

Why it exists: For me this problem exists because my wardrobe isn't organized most of the time and it gets especially hard when there's an excess of item in my wardrobe.

11) False advertising of clothing

Why it exists: In trying to sell their products, employers write false claims on their sites like one size fits all when in actuality that item might either be too tight or lose on someone. 

12) Feet pain or back pain due to lack of arch support shoes 

Why it exists: A lot of the arch support shoes come in limited designs and colors and hence they might not seem nice to look at. Hence we have no option but to go for fit flops that are pretty to look at but have no arch in them. 

13) Students writing misleading reviews on websites such as rate my professor

Why it exists: Some times when a student misses out on assignments or doesn't do to well on a test either because they missed most of the classes, they use such kind of platforms to try and tarnish the reputation of the professor and dissuade other students from taking his/her class. 

14)  Unexpected delays at the bus stops/ public transportation

Why it exists: Waiting for a bus that's been delayed for 30 mins can be hard especially when there's no proper seating arrangements and its really hot at the bus stop. In Dubai for instance, a lot of the bus stops have proper indoor seating arrangements. 

15) The time it takes to travel back home to Pakistan from Florida 

Why it exists: Taking an international flight to Pakistan is expensive and takes about 28-30 hours which can be mentally and physically exhausting. 

16) Lack of leg space in aircraft's especially on long flights. 

Why it exists:  Since a lot of the aircraft's have been designed to accommodate as many people as it can, there isn't enough room left for leg space and hence it can really uncomfortable to sit in a straight position on longer flights. 

17) Overpriced healthy food items 

Why it exists:  A lot of healthy food items that are labelled as organic, non GMO tend to be over priced because they aren't processed and are manually harvested. Also because the supply tends to be low, the prices are high. 

18) Fluctuating exchange rate 

Why it exists : This is a huge problem for me because it makes the cost of my education and living much higher. 

19)  Using a key fob to use the elevator, staircase and opening the door to throw the trash 

Why it exists :  Key fobs are an added element of security however there have been times where i have forgotten my key fob and hence couldn't use any of the elevator, staircase services mentioned to go up to my room. 

20) When transportation becomes impossible due to the rainwater accumulated in the streets, back in my home country. 

Why it exists :  lack of drainage facilities 

Reflection: When I sat down to write all the challenges mentioned above, I thought it was an impossible task and for a minute or two my mind was blank. While some of the challenges were pretty easy to come up with since I had personally encountered them, there were a few that I have seen other people witnessed at public locations and hence decided to write from their perspective as well. 

Testing

“Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice.” – Peter Drucker, author