Final Reflection

tures1. Looking at all my posts, I definitely some highs and lows throughout the semester. The extremely high times were during the 2-week break between Summer A/C and Summer B starting. I completed almost all of the remaining assignments in the course, so I just had to worry about the peer reviews of the assignment. The lows were times where I had to stay up late and finish some tasks at close to 4am because I had weak points of planning ahead in the course. 

2. My most formative experience in this class was the format of the course, actually. I had never had a class like this before in my class, which made me very nervous at the beginning of the semester. I am typically a very anxious person, and anything that falls out of line haunts me, it is unfortunate. The experience that I will remember years later are all the examples of myths and realities that Dr. Pryor mentioned in his lectures actually. His lectures were fascinating and different then any other class I have taken. The myths and realities of entrepreneurship will stick with me as I look ahead in the career I am leaning toward pursuing. I would like to use those myths and realities to teach and mentor those younger than me about entrepreneurship. My most joyous experience finishing all the assignments ahead of the due date during the break. The experience that I was most proud of accomplishing was the Growing my Social Capital because I love networking and mentorship and try to pursue as many opportunities regarding the matter to broaden my skills and learning. 

3. Personally, I do not see myself as an entrepreneur, probably not, not ever. As a person who loves learning, I constantly see myself as a student to those of whom I am learning. But this entrepreneurial mindset has definitely sparked a flame that I looking to exploit as much as I can even use with a virtual platform. This virtual platform has provided me with so many opportunities that I wouldn't trade for the world (also though some things aren't ideal), but we are definitely sharpening this mind for the future. 

4. One recommendation I would make to the students who are going to journey down this path in the future is that don't be discouraged by the title of the class Principles of Entrepreneurship, you may think it is a class filled with only business students who are interested in starting their own company or working for one. I would recommend this cost to anyone of any major because it is so practical in everything that it teaches us. Entrepreneurship is a skill and topic that is going to be continually evolving as time goes by. To best succeed in the course, use a planner because due dates will creep up on you. To best foster that mindset, my biggest suggestion to a student would be to be open to opportunity and let it come in and play out. 

Venture Concept Florida Residence Educational Initiative #2

Opportunity

For this second Venture Concept, I will repeat the opportunity from the first Venture Concept. 

The opportunity that I have identified is a way for Florida residents to attend state-universities. The potential customers would be incoming high school seniors as well as state government officials. The nature of need is the fact that the state governments fund these state universities, and they can't provide enough funding to everyone to receive a college education. I am looking to see if some of the Florida taxpayer dollars can go into funding future college students' learning. Because a college education is now seen as an expectation rather than a luxury, I believe that this is a significant force that creates this opportunity for many who can't afford to go to college have at least the ability to obtain a college education.

Innovation

My innovation is the creation of the Florida Residence Educational Initiative. In terms of the initiative, the purpose of it is to allow Florida residents to obtain a college education without the stress of student loan debt. Student loan debt is a massive plague that takes on our country, and if there is one state that should attempt to attack first, it is Florida. 

Venture Concept

The Florida Residence Educational Initiative would work to reduce the student loan debt starting in the state of Florida and then expand outwards to across the United States. I would begin by proposing a bill to the local Orlando area and then work up to Tallahassee. 

Feedback

I am incredibly appreciative of the feedback that was provided to me from my team members regarding the initiative. One question addressed at my initiative was if taxes would increase because of the initiative. To that question, I would say no because this initiative works to reallocate the current funding Florida has for education and expand it in the education sector. Another response addressed was if public or private financing would be the best choice for funding the initiative. Please don't misunderstand, I understand that tossing money into a broken system is wrong but because these schools are supported by the state they run on really thin ice. However, I received one response that praised the concept of the initiative because it advocates for one to receive higher education. Overall, my feedback was a mix of positive and negative, which helped me correctly complete this assignment.  

Venture Concept Change

I fixed my venture concept to say this:

The Florida Residence Educational Initiative is an initiative that looks to bridge the gap between obtaining and affording a college degree. By uniting the two premises, the initiative will work to reduce the amount of student loan debt in our current society. 

This is the SchoolHouse Rock animation of a bill that turns into a law through the song on YouTube. 

Elevator Pitch #3

https://youtu.be/T_UFukGJAIo

Unfortunately, I did not receive feedback on my Elevator Pitch #2. However, looking back at my Elevator Pitch #2, I think it is best to incorporate all three elements of "persuasion tools" in my pitch. I noticed in my second Elevator Pitch that I was leaning a lot towards the pathos. The pathos appeal is designed to persuade the audience and assert the argument with emotion. I decided this time around to include more elements in my presentation—for example, a statistic to emphasize the importance of my initiative to reduce student loan debt. I used my statistic of how much debt is contributed to student loan debt in the United States as a whole because it provides a more extensive scope about the amount of money that people suffer through paying their way to an education. I think it was beneficial this time around gathering information about the United States as a whole because currently, I am located in Florida. Being Florida has an advantage in which it can start a movement that can eventually pave the way for several states in our country to follow. 

Your Exit Strategy

1. Because of the fact that I am providing an initiative, I think it's very difficult to develop an exit strategy. Generally, I see an exit strategy if you are developing a product versus an initiative or a service. I do not intend to sell the business concept after five years because it will be part of the state government laws and proposals. When building an initiative I don't think that I will keep the legacy of the concept in the family for several decades but it will definitely go down in history as a reform to the current college/university system in the United States. Personally, as a future legislator who wants to reform a bunch Of state and national policies and laws, it is not possible to pass that down to your family unless they want to pursue a career in politics as well and in that case, you can provide guidance and awareness. 

2. My exit strategy would have to be if I decide to retire or do not work for the government any more in building reform. That would be my only option compared to that of the CEO of a company who could step down from the position and pass the Position to someone else either in their family or in their immediate circle. I think for an initiative that is extremely difficult and I don't think it is even possible. This exit strategy would be my only choice and that's sad to hear but if that's what is possible then that is what I have to do. 

3. Generally, I don't think this exit strategy has influenced any of the other factors in my business concept. I just think that it has definitely limited its ability to be substituted by another option. Using the concept that Professor Pryor taught us about the VRIN analysis, it really helps with any kind of business concept no matter though if it may be a product, service, or/and idea. I mentioned in a previous post but I plan to start in the county and maybe expand statewide and if it goes further we can even go nationwide in this concept of receiving a college degree can provide a lot of opportunity to many to pursue their dreams. The mission of this initiative is to reduce the amount of student loan debt in this country first in foremost. 

Reading Reflection No.3

1. The theme of the book is how to craft a social media page that will help the person to want to learn more about you on the page and even on a deeper personal level. 

2. As an upcoming entrepreneur, it is essential to understand the power that social media possess in the transactional and globalizing world. Kawasaki really informs the reader of how your social media presence Should be catered around your target audience just as a product or service would be. So, for example, Kawasaki uses the fact that If your account is promoting Androids, the best type of information to post on that page would be things that would apply to Android users because that's how you can gather enough following and wouldn't need to rely on other factors. He says, "Success favors the bold as well as the interesting on social media, so don't hesitate to express your feelings and agenda" (Kawasaki, 67). Many people are often afraid to express feelings on social media, and the author makes the point that to not be scared because the goal of social media is to promote outreach and a following and to gather narrow interests and not please everyone. 

3. After reading this book, I think an exercise that I would include in this course is to "Reach out, and Cold Call 3 People on LinkedIn" and see if they would be willing to perform an Informational Interview to build social capital. I know it can be terrifying to complete an Informational Interview, which I understand entirely. Still, I think that that fear only prohibits us from reaching a growth mindset, as Dweck says. Personally, I believe that learning from other people's mistakes is the best way to avoid making your own. Still, you know every situation and every person is different, so I think that hearing from other people's experiences could maybe help one grow further as an entrepreneur. Especially if you make an effort to seek someone out, I think it exerts a massive amount of confidence and assertiveness that you want to get where they are. A lot of these professionals like to talk to about themselves, so seeking them out on their expertise is a great way to build a relationship with someone. Social Media makes the world feel so much smaller. 

4. People often use social media as a source to produce contrary word-of-mouth about a product, service, or/and idea. I think that it is essential to understand that you're allowed as an entrepreneur to delete those posts that prevent new viewers from coming to your page to seek the guidance that they may need. Guy Kawasaki says as an entrepreneur, you do not have the moral obligation to respond to everyone's comments, and you don't have to owe them a response. And personally, I found this extremely helpful because I am the type of person to let what other people say affect me. I think that he really just set it out and said, don't let that get to you because whatever you say back to them only pushes you lower than them. 

What’s Next?

Existing Market

1. Katelin Dang: a 17-year-old incoming high school senior looking to pursue the different options available for her college. 

2. Dominic Mellone: a 17-year-old incoming high school senior looking to pursue opportunities either out-of-state or maybe even considering studying internationally. 

3. Gabriella Aulisio: a 17-year-old incoming high school senior who is looking at a variety of schools that offer scholarships for soccer. 

    Personally, I believe that because a lot of my existing market, in this case, would be U.S citizen high school seniors, it would be critical to include testimonials or quotes of these high school seniors' concerns in my pitch. These testimonials and quotes can provide insight to the state government officials that these are widespread concerns that many of the students face. Incoming high school seniors can help in creating a way to promote the initiative as well as gathering support from their classmates. 

    I know that Gabriella Aulisio goes to a small school in Oak Hall in Gainesville, and by gathering the support of the kids in her class as well as maybe their parents can be extremely beneficial. Dominic Malone goes to a school in downtown Orlando, and I think that downtown is very close to where the action happens for Orange County. I believe that starting small is extremely important before we decide to expand to Alachua County and even the entire state. I know that Katelin Dang goes to Lake Nona high school, and that was the high school that I graduated from, so she knows a lot of people who can help provide awareness in the Student Government. Knowing the fact that there is a state representative in almost every single district really helps in trying to seek recognition in the matter. With that being said, I think that Rep. Anna Eskamani would be in full accordance with this matter. 

New Market

The primary purpose why I am bringing up this initiative is that there are a lot of limitations to receive specific funding from the government. Under the Bright Future scholarship, it requires you to be a U.S. citizen who would mean that many people in Florida would not be eligible to obtain the bright future award strictly because of their immigrant status and not their academic ability. Looking at the eligibility requirements, it says that a person can qualify for Bright futures if they're an eligible noncitizen. Personally, I have no idea what that means. Does that mean that they need to have a work visa I need to hear more information to see how this works? If this is confusing to me as a U.S. citizen, imagine a person who has never set foot to the United States and is considering moving due to a better opportunity. With this being said, I wouldn't know what that opportunity is and what is required just by using the word "eligible noncitizen". The Florida residence educational initiatives will bridge the gap between the limitations that the Bright Futures Scholarship has. The 12 public universities in the state of Florida receive a lot of funding from the state governments because they are funded by the state, and I think that my initiative has a great opportunity in these institutions because of the amount of money that is provided to them. 

Danna Ferrer: a 19-year-old college student isn't eligible for Bright Futures because she isn't a U.S. citizen yet. 

Manuel Delgado: a 19-year-old college student isn't eligible for Bright Futures because he isn't a U.S. citizen yet but But will have to pay Florida Residency tuition and fees price.

My initiative has provided the fact that it will help all Florida residence no matter if they are U.S. citizens or not, and I think that generally sets me apart from Bright Futures, who only look at candidates who are U.S. citizens eligible. The Florida Residence Educational Initiative looks beyond the citizenship status of incoming U.S. immigrants. Still, it looks at providing the ability to have a college education without the threat of student loan debt for all students seeking a Bachelor's Degree. Maybe offering a pathway for citizenship by the time they graduate from a four-year institution could be extremely beneficial to receive U.S. citizen benefits. What has surprised me most about this new market is that a lot of the times, these are Venezuelans who are moving to Florida to pursue a better opportunity pay for everything in cash because in Venezuela it is challenging to qualify for the credit, which is a different appeal to that of Americans. Americans are very used to paying for items with credit cards debit cards etc. and Venezuelans and people from other countries, in general, are very used to paying things with cash. Because of the various interactions that I've had with Venezuelans at my high school, I think it was very expected that this was a common theme that I traced with speaking with all of them. Many of them are looking to seek professional degrees in this country. This market has a lot of potentials, but I need to work harder to obtain support from their families as well as those in the existing market. As an incoming entrepreneur, I think it's essential to have that growth mindset that are potential is it limited by factors. It's actually unlimited. 

Venture Concept Florida Residence Educational Initiative

Opportunity.

The opportunity that I have identified is a way for Florida residents to attend state-universities. The potential customers would be incoming high school seniors as well as state government officials. The nature of need is the fact that the state governments fund these state universities, and they can't provide enough funding to everyone to receive a college education. I am looking to see if some of the Florida taxpayer dollars can go into funding future college students' learning. Because a college education is now seen as an expectation rather than a luxury, I believe that this is a significant force that creates this opportunity for many who can't afford to go to college have at least the ability to obtain a college education. I believe that this country has a lot of ignorance regarding specific issues, and I think a college education could help and combat that ignorance. This market is defined geographically as in the state of Florida and demographically from all kinds of backgrounds. Customers currently satisfy this need utilizing the Bright Futures scholarship provided by the Florida lottery, which covers tuition and fees for students who are US citizens and residing in the state of Florida. I believe that this country is the land of opportunity for many As many people come here to live a better life for themselves as well as their future generations. Currently, there has been legislation to further create jobs based on skill rather than a degree because of the expensive cost of possessing a college degree. I believe that this opportunity will start very small within the county then expand to the district and then eventually the state. Still, it also can cover the entire United States because now a college education was seen as the same as a high school diploma 20 years ago. I believe that the window of opportunity will be open for a long time.

Innovation

My innovation is referred to as the Florida Residence Educational Initiative. This initiative will allow Florida residents to receive a college education based on the taxes paid for by Florida residence, just as if it were public schools in the state. The way it would make money is by gathering the money from the taxes as well as finding local investors who would be willing to provide money To assist any student that might need financial help to pay for textbooks. This money could come from grants as well, but I cannot give an amount of money that it would cost to produce. It will make money by using the Florida taxpayer dollars as well as other resources.

Venture Concept.

    This innovation will solve the problem of student loan debt in the state of Florida and even go further into reducing the amount of student loan debt in the current United States climate. Customers would switch to this product because it is more affordable for their kids to attend a public university versus a private university. This initiative would cover all 12 public schools in the state of Florida but can provide good scholarships for those who are considering attending private universities around the country. It will be hard to get money to switch because many schools often have programs and areas of study is that other schools don't have. Currently, the competitors would be Florida Bright Futures because it covers tuition and fees for students who want to attend public universities as well as private schools. The possible weaknesses are they only include tuition and fees, not housing for those who don't want to participate in a college in their area. I believe that house is the most expensive expense of going to college, not the tuition and fees. Personally, because this is an initiative, there is no rule that packaging plays in the equation, but providing customer feedback and support is of utmost importance because people like to know where their money is going to. As well as being located in Florida is incredibly essential because it will help people afford Florida colleges. 

    To support the ongoing production of the service, I will work with state government officials to propose this bill into action and see if the governor would be up to pay for that resource that will benefit all Florida residents. Currently, I don't have several employees that I would like to work with to make this idea a reality, but the more, the merrier—the roles in the venture our business as well as a government official role. I believe that social capital and networking are very hard to replicate in a business sense. Because everyone has a way to gather different people into believing and supporting their business idea, it is understood that social capital is challenging. So let's say that it does work, and the governor decides to pass it, I believe that my next opportunity would be to tackle the Florida private school system because I think it would be more comfortable but also more difficult because of the nature of public schools and how they receive profits and money going inside the institution. I believe that this has the potential to go nationwide because of the fact being that a college education is now seen as an expectation rather than a luxury like it was in the past. In about five years, I could see myself going to different states and touring and promoting my ideas about I included college education that bridges the gap between geographical and demographic areas.