14A – Halfway Reflection

Tenaciousness is a competency

Since this class is completely online, I have learnt how to prioritize my time. By assigning a single date for all assignment submissions, its definitely easier to keep track of it. I used to procrastinate a lot but with this class its harder to do that since the assignments do require a lot of materials like interview sessions, video recording and book reading. So I  make a schedule and on days where I have don’t have a lot of workload or during exam weeks, I try to complete my assignments beforehand so that I have one less thing to worry about.

Tenaciousness is also about attitude.

While I haven’t had that moment in this class, there have been times where I felt like giving up in my finance class because I felt none of my hard work was paying off. Before my first exam, I decided to devote my entire time to that class and for that I stopped socializing and attending classes for my other lectures. Even after all, when I saw my exam score, I had a moment where I felt like maybe I should just drop out of the class and change my major. At that moment I became so negative that I didn’t realize that finance was a very new concept for me and for concepts to develop it takes time and work. You just need to keep at it and keep working hard for that course because life isn’t going to get easier from this point and if we give up at every hurdle then what’s the purpose of it all. So at hard times I try to give myself small pep talks and I try to stay focused on my vision and what I want out of life.

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?

First tip would be to not leave your work till the last moment because if you do then really you’re not going to be able to pass the class. Go over the assignments and see which ones require more information so that you can start them beforehand rather getting surprised and annoyed at the last moment.

Second tip is try to attend the live lectures if you can because they are way more interactive and this way you can build a relationship with the professor which can help you later when you need recommendations.

Third tip: don’t be afraid to speak up in class and pitch your ideas. Sure your first idea may not make enough sense and so might your second, but at least you’re not stopping the thinking process. Your small problem might be affection millions of students at large and the good thing is Professor Pryor gives good feedback and he helps you understand where you’re going wrong when you pitch the idea to him.

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

1)     You read about an entrepreneur: Twenty seven dollars and a dream

The book that I read was a biography on Muhammad Yunus who developed his own banking system called Grameen Bank that lent out small loans to the villagers and women of Bangladesh. When Katherine Esty went to interview him at Grameen Bank, she noticed that his office had no air conditioning, and was simply set up with basic tables and chair. A man who had won numerous international awards and a Nobel prize, instead of living a lavish lifestyle, he chose a life of simplicity. The thing that I admire the most about him are his efforts in trying to eliminate poverty in the rural areas. As Esty describes in the book women in Bangladesh at the time had an inferior position in society who were told never to speak up or go out. Most of the women had never even held money in their hands and were actually afraid just by the thought of it. However Yunus wanted to empower the women and elevate their status and position in society so he focused most of his time and efforts on convincing women to take loans because he knew that they would be able to bring more benefits to the family compared to the husband. At a time when male domination was prevalent, he worked on breaking the stereotype and convinced women to take the loan and start up their own small business. His banks had been successful “in lending money to nearly seven million poor people, 97% of whom were woman.” Banks at the time weren’t willing to invest and work with poor people because they no collateral to offer and didn’t have any credit history. Even if they did give out loans the interest rate was always high, and they would just make the women worse off because they weren’t really able to get any profit out of their business. After discovering the problem, he went on to find out how many people were stuck in this slavery and discovered that in Jobra (village), 47 people together had a debt of $27. So, he decided to lend them the money without any interest and worked on a system for them to easily pay him back easily and surprisingly they did make small payments every single day. His blind faith in them in them is inspirational. In 2006 when he won the Nobel Prize, he wrote his speech in one day despite being told from everyone  that he should have started a month early and instead of asking executives to represent his bank, he got the women was the rural areas to represent his bank. While I couldn’t find anything in the book, I found out that him joining politics wasn’t liked by a  lot of people and hence he lost a lot of support from the people. Like most successful entrepreneurs who owe their success to their past experiences and hardships Muhammad Yunus was one of them. After developing his idea, he decided to go and pitch it to the bank and see if they would be willing to help him in his cause and lend ton the poor. However, they straight up refused to help him. So, he approached another bank who were willing to help him out but had concerns about the collateral. So, he decided to be the guarantor for all the villagers and cosign their loans and if anyone defaulted in their payments, he simply wouldn’t pay them. But they all were regular on their payments.

2)     What competencies did you notice entrepreneur exhibited?

His persistent efforts and dedication in trying to alleviate poverty is inspiring. He always found a solution to any setbacks he faced and had blind faith in the villagers. He saw the financial problem the villagers were facing especially the mistreatment of women in society and after interviewing a few women, he conducted a needs assessment test to see how many people were affected by the problem. He then decided to interview people outside the boundary of the problem like banks and figure out why they were willing to lend out to him and not poor people. As a child he had exhibited signs of entrepreneurial skills. In school he started his own stamp business and then later started a packaging company. He had great leadership skills and was well versed in every field from art to photography to drama. His travel to the United States exposed him to different people and cultures which shaped his personality. 

3) If i had to ask him any two questions, is what was he getting in return and how was he generating revenue. Second question was how did he develop that blind faith in the villagers because he knew that they had no collateral or credit history and yet he decided to be  a consignor for them. So what was his thought process at that time. 

4) I believe his definition of handwork is being persistent and if faced with a setback then its okay because there will always be another way. you just need to keep at it and not give up. 

12A – Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

SEGMENT: For my segment I chose to target colleges University of Florida and University of South Florida, because all these institutes haven’t catered well to student’s health needs.

Interview Summaries: My main targets were college students and staff members. After conducting my interview sessions with all three members, I was able to gain a better understanding of customers criteria when it comes to purchasing a product or service  and based on the feedback I received I do think there is potential in my idea. When it comes to buying food, students I interviewed look at the nutritional info of it first. Since most kids don’t have time to cook or meal prep for themselves and with such hectic schedules it might be the only meal/snack before they head home. So, it’s important or them to see if their nutritional needs are being met before purchasing anything. Second thing I learnt was that most students are either broke or on  a strict budget and hence cant really afford to have meals from outside every single day so either they pack up their snacks from home like fruit, nuts, tuna cans,  which are purchased from superstores like Publix at like Buy one get free deals which is a pretty good value for their money. On days where they get nothing from home because they were in a rush or were about to miss the bus and just had to get to class then their next best alternatives are the vending machines which are conveniently placed in every floor on campus buildings. While its easily accessible and convenient the major problem are the items placed inside. Also students dont like waiting in long lines to place and then wait for their order. For one student it took about 30 minutes for her order to be prepared at Panda Express. Even though the vending machines do have some healthy options like protein bar, granola bar those items are priced higher which makes them look less appealing and hence students turn to other unhealthy options. One bar of granola is for $2.5 but the entire box can be purchased for almost $4.00. When they become aware of this need, they do discuss it with their friends at different colleges to identify if they have the same problem. None of my participants conducted google search on the problem because they felt it was out of their reach and could only be solved by the school’s staff and faculty department. One of the participants had taken this matter to a faculty member to figure out a solution to the problem but she wasn’t given a satisfactory answer so eventually she forgot about it. So now she makes sure to pack up her meals and snack the night before incase she forgets.

Conclusion: This segment went exactly as I hoped it would. My interviewees and I agreed on the fact that how important it is for colleges to promote a healthier environment by having vending machines stocked with healthier items. The reason there’s this still unmet need is because of lack of motivation and how we think this is something the college faculty should be responsible for. Its important to come up with an organized and innovative plan and systematized plan and draft a proposal for it which can later be presented to interesting parties who are willing to help invest in this idea.

11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

YOU: I am Maha Rehman, an international student currently majoring in Finance. Being a part of the student council in high school has taught me how to work and lead a team, owning up to mistakes and most importantly punctuality. I have always been involved in community service back home and my biggest aspiration is to start a nonprofit organization.

Offering to customers: My plan is a simple one. In a lot of countries food wastage is a serious problem and roughly 40% of the food is said to go to waste every year. As a distribution company, I plan on collecting the left-over foods from the restaurants, repackaging it securely and then distributing it to underprivileged communities.

Who am I offering it too: I plan on catering to the needs of minorities, and the less privileged in my communities by conducting a needs assessment and then estimating the amount of people living below the absolute poverty line, who aren’t able to afford the basic necessities of life.

Why do they care: Food is important for survival and a lot of the people in these communities aren’t able to afford their meals in a day. So hopefully through this service we can help reduce the food wastage problem as well help cater to the needs of people coming from underprivileged backgrounds

What are your core competencies: I feel that I have the ability to execute a plan like this. I am persistent with my work and make sure that all my work achieves a certain level of perfection. Even if that means going into all the tiny details and most importantly, I have the vision and patience for it and I know I won’t give up that easily.

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Summary of the opportunity: The need for vending machines that stocks healthy affordable snacks and lunch items for students.

Who: There are a few people who don’t feel the need for such an opportunity and hence fall out of the boundary? After speaking to different students across campus and in restaurants, I did come across a group of people who weren’t really affected by the problem mainly because they like to meal prep on the weekends. Sarah, a junior at UF had some concerns about the quality and freshness of the items and since she enjoys cooking and meal prepping for herself, she said she would rather make her own meal than purchase something from the vending machine. Being an Indian who adores her spices in just about anything, my friend Sanjana wondered if the items stored in the vending machine would have the same taste as the food she likes to have at home. She likes to have a heavy breakfast that keeps her full till evening and then goes home and has dinner with her family. My other friend being on a strict budget would prefer buying a chips packet because that would relatively be cheaper compared to the food stored. I met another group at Just Salad, and they said that they like to see their meals prepared in front of them. But they all also mostly agreed that such vending machines would be really beneficial around campus and would definitely promote a healthier environment.

 What: I realized that in order to gain the students attention towards this cause, it would be of great help if we could collaborate with some food companies that most students prefer and get them to provide their foods in our vending machines at discounted rates. Its also necessary to have vending machines placed all over campus and make it look appealing from outside so that students are able to differentiate it from the other vending machines. To maintain the freshness the items should be stored in a cool environment and should be restocked after every hours and should be made fresh daily.

Why: Its important to cater to the needs of all students in order to promote a healthier environment on campus.

	INSIDE	OUTSIDE
WHO	College students on campus Faculty staff Healthy restaurants Athletes	Students who like to meal prep Those with dietary restrictions Those on strict budgets
WHAT	To improve eating habits and lifestyle To provide a faster easier way of getting food	Would rather prefer to dine out Cant compromise on taste
WHY	To lower the spread of different health conditions	Could get better healthier options elsewhere

8A – Solving The Problem

Since a lot of students are on a strict budget  and with hectic class schedules that don't really give time to the students to choose off campus options or stand in long lines and wait to place and receive their order, i think the best alternative would be vending machines. A lot of the vending machines on campus have foods with high sugar, fat, sodium intake and low nutritional value. But since vending machines are a one curb stop to hunger, easily accessible across campus and are convenient a lot of student end up using that to fulfill their needs.  The healthy items like granola bars and nuts are a bit over priced which can be a problem for some students.

My solution to the problem is vending machines that stores healthy lunch able items like hummus and crackers, fruit bowl or just single fruits, salad bowls, sandwiches that are kept in a suitable required temperature to maintain the freshness and quality of the items. In order to distinguish this from the other vending machines, they can have stickers and healthy posters pasted on the front or be in a color that attracts students attention from afar. To make it convenient for students, the items should be reasonably price, should taste good and be  placed conveniently at different location across campus especially in central areas where students like to hang out a lot. This will promote a more healthy and sustainable way of eating across campus.

7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

College students access to healthy and affordable options on campus is very limited. While students have close and fast access to fast foods restaurants and vending machines that are located at every corner on campus, their choices are limited when it comes to healthy, affordable food/snack options.

The who: College students, staff members and faculty members who spend most of their day in school and end up skipping meals or choosing other unhealthy alternatives because of the lack of healthy options available. 

The what: what kind of healthy snacks do students prefer? Being able to cater to the needs of students with dietary restrictions? 

The why: Testing to see why despite having a few healthy alternative options for lunch or a snack, why are students still preferring fast food joints, vending machines as their only option for lunch. 

Discussions with students on campus 

1) The first person i interviewed was a student n her freshmen year at the University of  Florida. Originally from Tampa and  with this year being her first year at Gainesville she wasn't aware of the options around her and chose to opt for a meal plan instead. While she seemed relatively satisfied with the quality of food being served at Broward hall, she did claim that the meal plan was costly and hence she wouldn't be able to continue it in the future. I then asked her if she was aware of the options available on and off campus as well. To which she replied she knew of The Hub and the fast food joints available at Reitz, but due to the inconvenience of long lines and her hectic schedule she wasn't able to go there often and instead if she really feels like enjoying something from outside she just orders it online which is way more convenient for her. 

2) The second person I spoke to was my roommate who is in her senior year at UF. Since most of her classes are online she doesn't spend much time on campus except for when she feels she really needs to attend class. Upon asking what she has for lunch on campus on days when shes short on time, she said she just goes to the salad bar and grabs that or skips a meal and comes home and cooks herself something. I then asked why doesn't she prefer the on campus options that are available, she said that there are limited healthy options and plus she has some dietary restrictions and hence she cant really have anything from outside. So she ends up buying a bunch of groceries from Publix and ends up cooking herself something at home according to her diet plan and taste which she enjoys a lot because she finds cooking to be very therapeutic. 

3) The third person I spoke to regarding this was my friend who goes to Ohio state university. He informed me that since his liberal arts campus is small with only about 2000 students enrolled, and limited options, finding healthy inexpensive food on or off campus can be quite challenging and a hassle, so he and his friends mostly stick to the dining halls and end up consuming the unhealthy options available. Living in a dorm he cant really cook the meals for himself and the off campus options available leads to sometimes in abundance. But he does go to gym regularly and keeps himself in check. Being a fruit lover in the past I asked how many of servings of fruit he has in a day to which he replied he has three apples in  a week because he rarely goes grocery shopping. 

4) My other friend at City University of New York, stated that her university department has done a great deal in creating a healthy and sustainable way of eating and promoted it a lot in her 2 years of being there.  They have started their own Healthy CUNY initiative which ensures that students have easy access to healthy options and leave CUNY healthier and better than when they previously entered. By conducting numerous surveys on the kind of healthy snacks and drinks most students preferred, they devised a plan that catered to the students needs easily by reducing processed snacks and food and candy offering to store more salads and fresh ingredient items. 

5) I then spoke to my brother who is in his senior year 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. 

After conducting my interview sessions with the respective people, I have realized how challenging it is for most students to find affordable options on campus and when they arent able to they resort to the other unhealthy alternatives available. 

6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Trends 

1) U.S. weekly jobless claims hit nine-month low; productivity rebounds

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/u-s-weekly-jobless-claims-at-nine-month-low-productivity-rebounds-idUSKBN20020K

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits has significantly decreased and the economy is set to grow at a moderate pace. With low productivity, compressed profit margins, firms have become more cautious while hiring. Labor market strength is helping to underpin consumer spending, supporting the economy, now in its 11th year of expansion. But tepid productivity remains a challenge and is one of the reasons the economy has struggled to achieve the Trump administration’s target of 3% annual growth.The Prototypical customers nclude, labor department, employees, trade unions, producers, consumers, economists.
An opportunity definitely exists here, majorly because low productivity levels affect the level of investment in the country.With job cuts ad low employment rates can definitely impact the level of productivity as well.

2) Coronavirus: The economic cost is rising in China and beyond

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51386575

While death tolls are on the rise in China and other countries,  the economic costs are rising globally. Strict regulations and preventative measures especially in Wuhan which is currently under lock down, has led to restrictions on travels which has negatively impacted business, airlines and tourism industries. With customers avoiding public places, restaurants, cinemas and grocery stores are also feeling  the impact, especially with Lunar new year coming up, these shops have had to experience losses due to the decline in sales. And for manufacturers selling goods abroad, there may be some issues with buyers becoming more reluctant to buy from China.
Prototypical customers;  International retailers -IKEA and the coffee shop chain Starbucks, residents of countries affected by the virus, hospitals. 
This is an opportunity definitely difficult to exploit as its on the rise and currently has no cure for it. 

REGULATORY TRENDS 

Tackling Tobacco: January 2020 Legislative & Regulatory Roundup

https://csnews.com/tackling-tobacco-january-2020-legislative-regulatory-roundup

Local lawmakers have voted for the ban of the sale of flavored tobacco products which will go into effect in 6 months includes all items like flavored cigarettes, electronic cigarettes cartridges, cigars, etc. The Florida Senate is considering a bill to raise the state's legal minimum age to buy tobacco products to 21, a move that would match the new federal rule. If passed in the state Senate, the legislation would move to the Florida House of Representatives.

The prototypical customers would include the tobacco industry and the individuals from ages 18-20. This opportunity would be difficult to exploit and I see this as an opportunity because tobacco is really harmful 

To Limit Abortions, Kansas Lawmakers Target State Constitution

https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-limit-abortions-kansas-lawmakers-target-state-constitution-11580904003

After the Supreme Court ruled that the constitution protected abortion, republican lawmakers decided it was time for a change and aimed to amend the state constitution to weaken such protections to bolster regulation and restrictions on the procedure. The legislation has already passed the state senate with 2/3rd majority vote and the House is expected to consider the amendment which explicitly states that it doesn't require government funding nor secure a right to the procedure. This opportunity can be exploited if it doesnt earn enough votes at the ballot. The prototypical customer are the women whose rights are being taken away from them.