Week 15 Reading Reflection

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

I thought it was interesting when the author explains how to make money at the bottom tier of the economic pyramid while raising the living standards of the people who occupy it.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

There was nothing in this reading that was particularly confusing to me. 

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

I would ask Akula what inspired in the most in deciding to start a firm which provides loans to poor women in India.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I don't think there was anything in this article that the author was wrong about.

Final Reflection

2) What sticks out to you as the most formative experience? The experience that you'll remember years later? What was your most joyous experience? What experience are you most proud of yourself for accomplishing?

I think the experience that I will remember years later are the ones that involved recording videos. These assignments pushed me out of my comfort zone, especially since I am studying abroad and struggled to find English speakers that I could use to complete the interview assignments. The most interesting one for me was Free Money, since the people I recorded didn't really understand why or what I was doing, so it was a confusing and frustrating experience to say the least! I think the parts I am most proud of our my venture, capital, etc. posts because I actually put a lot of thought into writing those, and it helped me to realize what I would excel in if I were to become an entrepreneur.

3) At the beginning of the semester, I mentioned that I wanted each of you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. And we repeated the mantra -- I am an entrepreneur. Now, at the end, do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you think you have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset?

I don't see myself as an entrepreneur quite yet, but I definitely feel like I've developed more of an entrepreneurial mindset. It's something I didn't put that much thought into before taking this class.

4) What is the one recommendation you would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future? What would you recommend they do to perform best in this course? What would you recommend they do to foster that mindset?

I would recommend that they use the mindset to "just go for it." I was hesitant to complete a lot of these interview and recording assignments, and I skipped a few of them because I didn't know how to approach it. I would recommend planning ahead of time so you don't have to miss out on points like me!

Venture Concept No. 2

For my venture concept, a lot of people gave me feedback that this service would be useful and successful to a wide range of people. However, I also got a lot of feedback saying my idea is too common and needs to have something that will make it stand out from the rest.

Instead of repeating everything I wrote the first time around, I will sum it up. My idea is almost exactly the same as that business idea we had to do a survey on for extra credit. (An app for food deliveries, help moving, as well as ride-sharing like Uber, the options are endless.) Seeing my exact idea come to life in the video those people provided was really cool. It makes me feel like I know I came up with an idea that could be useful. On the downside, I had no idea until taking that survey that there is someone in Gainesville trying to make this idea into a business already. I guess time will tell if my idea really is something that will work. I am thankful for this feedback and for taking that survey because I honestly didn’t plan an actually becoming an entrepreneur anytime soon but it would be interesting to see hypothetically how it would work out.

If I did want to develop this app the one advantage I would have is that I actually live next to UCF campus in Orlando. UCF has the largest student population in the country and it’s so close to so many other schools. For an app that is especially helpful to students, and ran mostly by students, I think that would put me at an advantage over someone starting the business in Gainesville. There are also a lot of young professionals living in Orlando, as well as families from all over the world, retirees, and many many tourists that I think could benefit from using my app. The advantages I would have just from the market size in my area are what I think would really help this app to take off. With all that being said, the main thing I would change is to focus on a broader range of demographics than just students.