Eric Richard UF

1)  https://youtu.be/EA74ikYKMHw 2) I didn't receive any feedback on my last elevator pitch. 3) I tried to bring more energy into the presentation.  I wanted to seem trustworthy, but also to sell them on it.  I tried to do the pitch with a little more speed and passion.  It definently came to my mind easier this time around, and I had a lot more confidence in the pitch itself.

1)     I read Scott Adam’s How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big .   This book focused on the psychology behind being successful.   There are numerous ways to improve our productivity, but Adam’s argues that many of the best ways are the easiest.   The point that Adams tries to make- it’s even in the title- is that everyone is going to fail.   Everybody is going to hold themselves back at sometime.   No one is going to be able to be perfect.   However, the only way to combat our imperfections is to have a battle plan.   Says Adam “If you do something every day, it’s a system. If you’re waiting to achieve it someday in the future, it’s a goal”.   Living a productive life takes discipline and resilience.   These are the themes of Adam’s book.   To have a system, means having commitment and being prepared.   You should wake up in the morning and make good on the promises you made to yourse...

Domain Expert in your Industry: I emailed the COO of SimpliSafe, Jeff Krinsky, asking about his job and his company.  SimpliSafe is a smart home security system for individual consumers.  He had just gotten the job last year, but had been in tech design at Amazon for a number of years before that.  He is a domain expert because of his reach with his business, as well as vast knowledge of the products and their price points.  I sent him a copy of my elevator pitch, just to see what he thought.  I was honestly pretty surprised when he answered, but he said that he really liked seeing stuff like that.  He gave me some market information, and encouraged me to pursue my passion- because this is an emerging industry.  I think seeking advice from people who are wiser than you is one of the best ways to learn.  I think keeping Mr. Krinsky in my network could help me understand where the market is moving, and ma...

1)      I’ve always felt like I had a kind of mind that would fit well with entrepreneurship.    I think most of all, I’m good at thinking creatively.    I will see a problem, and some up with a solution that’s different than other people might see.    I’m not afraid to do things my own way.    I’m stubborn- not in the way that I am not open to other ideas- but in that if one thing doesn’t work, I’ll find some way to do it no matter what.    I think this trait is very helpful because it means I won’t give up if things aren’t going how I thought they would.    The main thing that drives me, career-wise, is that I don’t like having to answer to people.    I like the idea of working for myself.    I always feel more accomplished doing this kind of work.    This also allows me to work on my own time, while still feeling the pressure to do well for myself.    This is the k...

1) Link to video: https://youtu.be/FtvCl67ZmUs 2)  I received mostly positive feedback on my last elevator pitch.  People appreciated my idea, as well as my professionalism.  A comment about me being well dressed stressed how important it is to sell yourself as well as your product- because they do come together in buisness.  Another comment reinforced this, they said that they felt that there is a lot of mistrust in this market, but that they would trust me.  Since so few people are knowledgable about this stuff, it takes a level of trust to sell to them.  A couple people made comments that they thought that older generations would appreciate this product most.  This was surprising because, while I saw them as a key part of my consumer base, older people were definitely not the main target of my original pitch.  The last comment that I really thought was meaningful was one pushing me to start the buisness sooner rather than later.  This is ...

My customer avatar is a working class woman in her mid-30's.  In the mornings she wakes up still feeling tired, but knows that she can't get back in bed.  The first thing she does is start the coffee maker, and then she goes and wakes her two elementary school-age kids up.  They have thirty minutes before they have to leave the house.  Breakfast is anything that can be put in the microwave. Her kids never move fast in the morning, so she has to make sure they stay focused on getting ready.  She has to brush her daughter's hair, and make sure her son has brushed his teeth.  After another whirlwind morning, she puts her kids in the back seat of her 2010 red Kia Sportage (in their booster seats with their seat belts on of course).  She drives thirty minutes across town to get them to school just in time, then another thirty to get to work.  She spends her first few minutes at work getting in the right headspace.  She looks at the news, not becau...

1) ·       I’m stubborn.   I like to get something right.   Even if it takes me twice as long as someone else, it’ll still get it done.    When I start something, it’s hard to give it up until I’m happy with it.   This gives me an edge because I will work at a project until I think it’s a success. ·       I’m a creative thinker.    I am good at coming up with creative solutions to challenging problems.    The key is being proactive, and examining the problem from different directions.    This will give me an edge in facing the complex problems the business world presents. ·        I like to go fast.    Everywhere I go I feel like I’m in a rush.    This makes me complete my work very efficiently, and I can move fast from task to task.    I think this allows me to get a lot of valuable work done, which is what it takes ...

This week I investigated buyer behavior from the back end, for my product opportunity, smart home bundles.  What I really learned is how complex buyer behavior is, and how varied it can be. Each consumer is an individual, and has their own thoughts about how or what they should buy.  I am still investigating the working,  middle class segment of my opportunity.  This group is widely varied, and selling to them seems to mean that a something must meet all their expectations before purchase.               I interviewed three people that worked full time jobs, and considered themselves part of the middle class.  Overall, the most important thing to them seemed to be price and quality.  They wouldn’t buy something, no matter how nice it was, if they considered it overpriced. On the other hand, one interviewee told me that she was wary of prices that ...