Eric Richard UF

1.       This course requires a lot of work.    It’s very hands on, in a way that requires some time to do right.    A lot of time is spent doing interviews and reflecting upon what you have learned.   For me, it’s been about clearing one day a week to go somewhere and find people to interview.    I have to write down key points while I’m interviewing, so I can remember what I learn and draw conclusions back on that.    You have to be disciplined or you won’t get as much out of the class as you put in. 2.       I remember when I was doing the interviews for people who should have been in my boundary but weren’t.    I was asking people what was wrong with my product, or why they wouldn’t be interested.    I had done a lot on this opportunity at this point, and I was fairly optimistic about the outlook.    However, many of they had pretty negative things to say a...

1)       I chose to read Ray Kroc’s  Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s .    Ray Kroc founded McDonalds Inc. with the Mcdonalds brothers in his early 50’s, using a few of the entrepreneurship skills we have been practicing.    This was what surprised me most to learn.    Usually I think of successful people becoming successful when they are young.    For Ray Kroc to take such a life altering risk at a later stage in his life is uncommon.    To build it into an empire in the course of the rest of his life- at 50- that’s unheard of.   What I admired most about him was his determination.    He wasn’t ever content with things the way they were.    He always worked to make his life better, and his company.    It didn’t matter how long it took, or if everything was completely orthodox. He recognized a problem, and committed to finding a solution to that problem. This kind ...

The segment I chose in this market was people looking for smart home products for a working class lifestyle.  I interviewed three people who worked jobs in Gainesville- two of these people had families. These people seemed to have very similar needs out of their smart home systems.  I seems like the times they most felt they needed the products were in the mornings, and when they got home.  These were their busiest times, and when they felt like they might need a little extra help around the house.  One of them also said that right before they went to sleep it could be useful. He said that this was the time he thought about his plans for the next day, and that these products might help him get to sleep earlier, or better plan his day.  All of them seemed to see the products as only something they could need in their home.  One interviewee specifically called my attention to her shopping habits.  She said th...

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 kind of life that I want, and any kind of business of my own would be a step in the right directio...

I am researching for an opportunity I recognized in the smart home gadget market.   Smart home gadgets are electric appliances which are very intuitive and can make people’s daily lives easier.   However, they are expensive, and average people don’t know much about the products.    I think this creates an opportunity to sell the appliances in bundles (making the total price of the items cheaper), with an optional service to install these bundles. I spent time trying to find people to interview who could have been inside of my boundary; but had some reason not to be.    As I stated in Part I, I assume that anyone in the smart home gadget market would be interested in this idea.    Most people in the smart home market are middle-to-upper class.    I expected potential consumers to be people with busy lives, or with kids, or elderly people needing help around the house.    These are the people who I thought would see the most...

The problem I explored in the last exercise was the difficulty of entering the smart-home gadget market as an average consumer.  The prices are very high to buy all the electronics separately. Plus, it’s hard to understand what pieces connect to what; and how they connect. This leads to a lot of frustration for the consumer.   My solution to this opportunity is to sell smart home bundles, filled with compatible appliances.  I could find a group of smart home devices that work together (10 or so), like an Amazon Alexa, wifi-theromostat, lighting remote, ect.  I could buy these in bulk, and get them cheaper than the average consumer would.  I could sell these bundles for less than the retail sum price of all the products inside, because of this price cut.  The bundles could be customized to meet the consumer’s needs.  One consumer might want a certain combination of products, others might want another combinatio...