Halfway Reflection (14A)

1. I feel the best thing for me has been keeping up with a schedule of when to do my work. I think I’ve developed more discipline in terms of focusing on getting the work done and working a little ahead to not fall behind on some weeks where my other courses took a heavier weight. Also changing my morning schedule to wake up earlier to get work done has really helped my mindset overall of getting work done.

2. I don’t feel like I’ve had a moment where I’ve wanted to give up. I believe it’s because I took a gap semester and as this is my first semester back, I feel really motivated to get the work done. I feel my attitude has developed in that I feel like I’m close to finishing school, so this is the last “push” before I get to do so.  I would say the experience that has helped me is that gap semester, as at that time I really didn’t feel motivated to study, but now I do.

3. I would say developing a tenacious mindset comes from being disciplined and having goals/ ambitions in mind. This becomes a “life” attitude as in college there are deadlines, and your sense of alertness comes from wanting to get a passing or good grade. I would say for three steps: Have a schedule and be disciplined about it, get involved in other things other than school to develop a work habit, and I’d say get sleep and wake up early. I’ve found doing the work early in the morning gets me feeling accomplished already throughout the day and makes me want to keep going.

Reading Reflection (13A)

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

1. What surprised me the most me was that he worked with Bill Gates early on. I never knew Bill Gates was helping Steve Jobs with software on the Macintosh, and the eventual betrayal Jobs felt when Gates made Windows. Though they technically both stole from Xerox, I found it interesting that Jobs felt as if Gates “stole” "his" idea of a GUI for computers. I most admired the perfectionist attitude he had with technology. I believe it shows as the quality of Apple and its innovation somewhat “peaked” or stagnated when he wasn’t there, and now as he isn’t here. I think that stems from that perfection he wanted in the products Apple made. What I least admired is his almost two-faced attitude or sort of thinking he was  above everyone else. Like the Bill Gates incident, he believed Gates stole the idea when making Microsoft, but Jobs stole the idea of the GUI from Xerox. Steve Jobs did encounter failure, and he handled it by just being resilient and he kept working. He moved from different projects, and in life, he was always able to reflect and then move on and try to improve on his mistakes and achievements.

2. The competencies I notices were his artistic ability, and his drive to achieve a “perfect” product. In his artistic capabilities, he was able to produce and envision technology that would be beautiful and efficient in how they were used. He didn’t just want it to work, he wanted it to look good and in a way that would improve efficiency in using the technology. His drive I would also say is a competency as he was always looking to make a product that was perfect. He wouldn’t settle for anything less, and that’s what made him achieve so much in terms of Apple and with Pixar.

3.I really didn’t find anything confusing, but one part of the reading I found kind of off was the Music Man chapter, as it deviated from the autobiography a little bit to talk more about musicians. It was in the part of the book about the iPod and iTunes, so it made sense somewhat, but I found it talking more about musicians rather than Jobs.  

4.Two questions I would ask Steve Jobs:

Did you enjoy your time more at Pixar or at Apple?

What would be the next potential product Apple should research into making?

5. I think he believed hard work was a symbol of who you are. I think he believed hard work was a factor for success and for a solid reputation. Though he had his problems with people, people also knew that he was someone that worked incredibly hard to achieve something special, which they had to respect. I would agree with this opinion as working hard can lead to a lot of success and build a reputation that can lead to success.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior (12A)

For my segment, I chose tech professionals, and more specifically computer programmers. Two of my interviews were with computer research scientists (one associate, one head of research), and my third interview was with a freelance software developer.

Interview Process Information:

After my interviews, I learned the need for my product is very sustainable for this segment. They all demonstrated a need in wanting to have wireless USB laptop charging. In particular, the head of research had a very intriguing need to have a product like this as she is always traveling on planes. Considering all the projects she undertakes, she wants to use her time as effectively as possible and sometimes using her laptop on the plane for a long time isn’t feasible, so she must stop. And considering planes are now offering Wi-fi she said it would make sense to have a product that can charge without the need of wires. All three also had a very interesting topic about being in a “zone” when coding, and that sometimes they must stop to go get their charger before their laptop turns off. They talked about cases where they didn’t plug in their laptop before starting to code, get into a “zone” and then have to stop to take out their charger which messes up their flow.  Also, as they sometimes program in any spot, they said it would be nice to just have the USB on them to plug in and not worry about carrying the wires, and then having to find an outlet. At work this isn’t so much a problem for them, but outside of their offices it is.

Their solutions were simple: 

They would just go get their laptop charger. They did say that sometimes they would wait until the very last second to go get their charger, as again they were in a zone; they didn’t want to get out of while they were writing their code. None of them really used Google searches as they really haven’t seen a product that offers that wireless charging need. They just annoyingly deal with the issue.

Describing this Segment

There seems to be a lot of potential with computer programmers. They all use laptops as they want to be able to program anywhere, yet they all have the inconvenience of having to plug in their laptop when they really don’t want to do it. They either must plug in their charger at the beginning of their “session” or risk having to do it later on.  There really aren’t many solutions they could look up with this need, as it really is just a matter of recharging a laptop.

Idea Napkin (11A)

You.

I’m Raul, a recent transfer into the University of Florida, majoring in business. I don’t really see myself as talented in one thing, but more of a person well rounded in many areas. My skills are in solving issues that are tech related, as that is what I’m currently working in, and would hope to for a while.  My aspirations are to hopefully just continue to learn about many different subjects and to gain as much knowledge as possible about the world. I would like to eventually master 1 subject area (probably in tech solutions) but would like to still hold that title of a person that is kind of handy for everything. I would see a business playing a major role, as it’s exactly how I would envision myself in the future; involved in a lot of areas. Not only in tech, but in finance, people managing and all the areas that encompass running a business.

 What are you offering to customers? 

What I’m offering to customers is a way for laptops to be recharged without having to be plugged into an outlet. It would be a USB wireless charger. Being connected to a network with the USB plugged in would automatically start charging the laptop. I believe as more people are using laptops as their main PC, a big issue is battery life of laptops and the hassle of having to plug it in while not at home. Many people are on the go most of the time with their laptop, so there is always the case of them running out of battery and having to recharge it in a public location.

 Who are you offering it to? 

I have 3 target audiences being college students, tech professionals, and in a broader scope the general public. The main reason for this is as I’ve seen the majority of (college students and tech professionals) their PC’s being laptops. The common characteristic is that both college students and tech professionals are frequently on the move. I also say the general public, as this is a product that really everyone can benefit from if they have this necessity (or some could say it’s a luxury). Anyone that has this need with their laptop could potentially buy.

Why do they care? 

This target audience has the need of wanting more convenience in charging their laptops. There are moments where having to sit near a wall outlet for your laptop to charge is inconvenient. Also, there might be times where because of time constraints someone may not have been able to charge their laptop at home, or potentially forgot to leave it charging and then they must go out with little battery life.  Having a wireless USB charger can eliminate these problems as you don’t have to sit next to a wall outlet anymore or must carry a charger in your bag. All you need to have is the USB (carry on your key chain: extremely portable) and a WiFi connection

What are your core competencies? 

I would say what sets this product apart is the fact that it is truly wireless and extremely portable. There are other wireless chargers out there, but they still must be plugged into a wall to have battery and are like a giant battery pack (heavy and blocky).  This is a true wireless product that doesn’t need the anything but a connection and a laptop to plug into. The size is like a USB stick, and it’ll come with the various USB adapter connections that computers are now offering today (USB 3.0, 3.1, USB type-C, thunderbolt)

In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others. 

I believe these elements fit together but my concern would probably be the reason as to why someone would buy this product, or the audience. As I said this could be more of a luxury item rather than a necessity, so the prospective buyers could be smaller than expected. That said this could be a product like the wireless headphones phenomena (ex. Apple EarPods). People don’t realize how useful they are until they are using it. That could potentially make this more of a need than a luxury eventually. If the market does turn out to be more niche than expected it could raise a problem in how valuable this product is to consumers.

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2 (9A)

Who: After these interviews, I did find people who fell outside the boundaries of my opportunities. I interviewed a couple of high school students who really didn’t feel the need of wireless charging. A lot of high schools are now permitting students to use laptops, but the students I interviewed don’t really seem to have a problem with their laptops going low on battery.  This is mainly because students use their laptops for shorter bursts of time, and they also are still primarily doing paper/ pencil work, so their laptops aren’t as needed. I also did interview one teacher who gave me an interesting response as to why she could use wireless charging on her laptop. Sometimes she just wants to put grades into the gradebook on her laptop while being on the couch at home. The next two interviewers were two graphic design major students. One brought up an interesting aspect I hadn’t thought about. One of them doesn’t use a laptop, but rather the iPad pro to fulfill their needs. They said for them specifically the portability, and the fact they can draw and design on it makes it way better than a laptop. The other graphic design student said that while they are using a laptop, if they had money they would switch towards an iPad or a Surface Pro.

                In looking up these last two products brought up by the graphic design students there could be a case that tablets offer better battery life, are even more portable than laptops, and for specific purposes would be better to use because of the stylus features that are integrated within these products. They also come integrated with Wi-Fi already so charging features could potentially be integrated within the tablet’s software.

What: I realized throughout the interviews that the need is more based on practicality. Some of the people I interviewed told me that the main reason they didn’t have the need was based on the efficiency of the laptop battery or the amount of time on the laptop. This could be true as there could be a difference between a real “need” vs having a nice “perk”. Sort of like the wireless headphones. Are they nice, absolutely, but will it kill you if you don’t have them, absolutely not. The real dilemma is how much more efficient will laptops be, or will people continue to use laptops. There is also a transition as I stated, where people are using tablets instead of laptops because of the portability and specialization. Though laptops are portable, an argument could be made that a tablet that has similar specs, are thinner, and lighter would be a consumer’s choice any day of the week.

Why: I would say there is a reason that some may not even want to use laptop chargers as they don’t have laptops altogether. However, with the high school student interviews I would say the main reason they brought up the unwanted need is that they aren’t required to use laptops all the time. If they eventually did have to use the computer (like in college), their need would then be like those in college. Like the teacher there would be more convenience for the high school students being able to charge their laptops wirelessly to do their work.

	Inside	Outside
Who:	Teachers	High school students, graphic designs majors
What:	To be able to have wireless laptop charging.	Some students don’t have to use the laptop all the time. Some people base their PC use from their job/ occupation and would be better suited with a tablet than a laptop altogether
Why:	To be able to have the comfort of being able to do grading in a casual setting. More convenient than wired option.	Some based on needs would rather have a tablet than laptop Also there is point that schools other than college still use paper and pencil more than laptops for work.

Solving the problem (8A)

My opportunity has to do with a more efficient way of charging laptops, particularly going full wireless. There are some “wireless” options out there, but they are more like battery packs that you still have to charge into a wall, and then you can carry that and plug into your laptop. My idea is full on wireless.

Its going to be using sometime simple: A USB flash drive wireless laptop charger (a little bit larger in size for a specific purpose)

How it works: So essentially it’s going to be a USB flash drive (except this one doesn’t store files, it’s to establish a connection, like how sometimes you need a wireless USB stick to connect to the internet, its exactly like that) you plug into your laptop, and as long as you have connection to a network the USB is going to begin charging your laptop wirelessly. The connection can come from the hotspot from your phone, restaurants, basically anywhere you can get into a network. If you’ve heard of Power over Ethernet (PoE), its essentially that concept (not entirely the same method) except wirelessly. What is Power of Ethernet?  It’s a standard or system which pass electric power along with data on twisted pair Ethernet cabling. This allows an ethernet cable to give both data connection and electric power to devices such as wireless access points, IP cameras, and phones.

Glaring problem right now would be: What if you can’t connect to a network?

                This is where it would be a little impractical (overnight maintenance/ charging) but would help: Once the USB drive detects the laptop is 100% charged, the flash USB drive will act as a battery reserve (which is why it has to be a little bit bigger than the average USB drive, it'll hold a little battery), meaning: the flash drive will hold reserves for up to 1 hour of charging. So, if the flash drive doesn’t connect to a network but does have battery life it’ll use it as “life support” for your laptop.

The other issue would be the multiple dongles (USB 3.0, thunderbolt, USB type C) and ports laptops have.

                My solution to this would be to just give adapters to attach to the USB flash drive. Also depending on the connection this would allow for faster charging speeds. The adapters would sort of be like those micro SD to SD card adapters. So, I would plug in whatever adapter I needed into the USB drive and then plug it into the port I need on the laptop. The adapters would come with the product.

Testing The Hypothesis (Part-1 7A)

Opportunity: More efficient way of recharging laptops

I believe there is an opportunity in a more efficient way to recharge laptops for college students and traveling employees as a lot of people experience inefficient ways of recharging their laptop. Students and employees are on the move more often so they can’t always charge their laptops for a prolonged period and some places may be difficult to find an outlet to charge them.

The who: College students, commuting employees

The what: In need of easier and more efficient method to charge laptops wherever one is.

The why: More people are on the move a lot of the time and don’t have time to leave a laptop charging. People have a laptop as their main PC which run on batteries.

Testing the who: I believe basically anyone with a laptop and is traveling frequently (whether short or long distance) have this need. Many people now use laptops as their main PC compared to desktops.  

Testing the what: There are already some wireless laptop chargers out there. However, they are still clunky, still need to be charged in an outlet to use, almost like a battery pack. Basically, it’s a laptop charger without the wire, making it “wireless.” It still uses wires though. Right now, in the age of wireless, laptops still need to be charged with typically a power brick and cables, which is inefficient.

Testing the why: More and more people are using laptops as their daily PC, mainly, because of the portability factor. College students have this need as they go to clubs, classes, and want to move around to do work. Employees, particularly in the tech environment have this need as well. They travel, commute, or sometimes must do work remotely, and need their laptop to constantly be on to function.

Interview #1

Software Developer Citi Bank

The software developer I interviewed has had some trouble with laptop charging issues. He has a main desktop PC, but also has a laptop for travel. He pointed out that one major problem depends on the power (in terms of computer specs and components) of his laptop. His laptop is basically a portable workstation to be able to do his work. He says because of this he usually has to lower some performance settings, so his laptop doesn’t die as fast as he sometimes doesn’t have a place to charge it in other than the hotel room. Also, he mentioned that in the couple of times he has had to fly out to meeting “conventions” for work the crowded meeting areas usually has laptop charger wires all over the floor.

Interview #2

College Student (Sophomore)

The college student I interviewed did believe a better way to charge her laptop would be nice, but she also put an emphasis that their laptop was very efficient in battery life. She really didn’t have to use the charger until she got back to her apartment. She believes though that at the times she did need to use a charger it would be nice to have a more efficient option. She said that her charger weighs more than her laptop, and for her personally, she doesn’t like to carry around that much in her day to day activities. However, she wasn’t too annoyed by it.

Interview #3

College Student (Freshman)

This college student has involved himself in a lot of activities, so he is rarely at his apartment. He spends a lot of time on campus and does most of his work on his laptop. He tells me he sometimes must accommodate himself to a spot near a wall outlet when he sees his laptop get low on battery life, which annoys him. He also told me that when he eats out or gets coffee and decides to do work he usually has to control the time he is on it as he knows he is going to be in other places that needs to use the laptop, and doesn’t want to be recharging it. He is uncertain if he would be able to make it throughout the day without recharging, so he just manages his time on his laptop to avoid that situation.

Interview 4

Computer Scientist IHMC

The research scientist I interviewed has a MacBook Pro to do his work. Even though he loves it, he also stated that his laptop charger wire is starting to come apart as the coat protecting the actual wires is beginning to rip open. The costs to replace the charger is expensive and he’s only had it for a couple of years. This is because of the amount of traveling he must do for competitions, and meetings. He usually ends up cramming his charger in his backpack at the last second when he leaves. He feels the wire coating for it isn’t very durable (he says in general most apple chargers don’t last). Even though he knows he should take better care of it, he doesn’t like how unreliable the cables can be. He is on his laptop and must have the charger plugged in at all times for the sheer amount of applications and google chrome tabs he has open.

Interview 5

College Student (Senior)

This college student feels that while it would be nice to have a wireless charger, he doesn’t feel like it’s an absolute necessity. He has a MacBook Air, and says it lasts him throughout the whole day. He also brought up the fact though that his usage is very sporadic and for short periods of time. He does carry his charger around just in case but doesn’t need to use it. He did say though that if there were a time, he would like to have a wireless option, it would be at his own apartment. Sometimes he wants to move around to work in a different area rather than his desk and finds that he has to sometimes go back to his desk or backpack to go get the charger and then situate himself near an outlet. But for him it was more of a “nice to have” rather than a need overall.

What I didn’t know before:

This opportunity may come down to a case by case basis. It seems like people who have more powerful laptops have this need more than others. However, I realized there also seems to be a case of people that have to be, let’s say “frugal” about the battery life with their laptops to make sure it lasts the whole day. It seems like people just want to avoid having to plug it into the wall until they are back home. Also, the research scientist I interviewed made me think about Apple Chargers. I’ve also had the experience of their wires not being durable and having to replace them. There could be more of an opportunity with laptop chargers on the Apple product side rather than the PC (HP, Lonovo, Dell, etc.) side. I also found out that maybe not so many people are annoyed of having to carry around their charger as I thought. They mentioned it, but not entirely annoyed by it which I found surprising.

Economic and Regulatory Trends (6A)

1^st trend (economic)

Economic Trend: Emerging markets will continue to tread water, as debt reaches new peaks

Link: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/global-growth-stabilized-2020/ (bottom of the page)

- I believe an opportunity exists as some of its factors that say emerging markets are in trouble are dependent on China, and commodity prices which are stated to be short term issues. If they are short term issues than emerging markets still have the opportunity of being able to grow and that these issues are “bumps” in the road

- I think the prototypical customer would be entrepreneurs, investors, or companies looking at new markets to develop or start in.

- If they are able to survive the short-term issues, it could be a 50/50 split between easy and hard to exploit as they would be the first ones to be able to create companies, products, jobs and revenue in those emerging markets with little competition. However they would still need to be wary of government and culture environments there.

- I saw this information as more of an incentive to risk going into these emerging markets to see if you can breakthrough and start something. While others seeing this information might stay away, I see this as a chance for someone to take advantage and get in “early on the action”. I have a belief that as long as nothing ridiculous globally happens, and stability comes into place, markets, nations, and economies will continue to grow overtime.

2^nd trend (economic)

Economic Trend: Housing

Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/06/05/major-economic-trends-all-downbeat/#2199b55f13fe

- It think an opportunity exists as with housing being so expensive as noted in living/ rent costs, and house prices in general, a price correction in the housing markets will allow people who couldn’t afford to buy to be able to get in.

- The customer would be potential house buyers, and real estate investors.

- I would say relatively easy to exploit as compared to house prices today, getting the house at a lower price means a safer purchase or investment, and you then can profit if housing surges again, or the value of your homes goes up if you are a buyer.

- The opportunity exists as when the housing crash happened, a year later my family was able to buy the home we wanted at a ridiculous “discount.” Many were unfortunate to lose their homes, but we were able to actually buy a home that fit our needs. While many might not want to catch a “falling knife” in housing as uncertainty can loom, I see hosing prices going down as the opportunity to buy.

3^rd trend (regulatory)

Regulator Trend: Technology/Data Security

 Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/waynerash/2019/12/19/regulation-in-2020--new-ways-the-government-will-affect-your-business/#5a35633d3f23

-I believe an opportunity exists because in the growing and expansive use of technology and transferring information through technology, a big issue affecting millions is data security. Many breaches have happened recently, and cyber-attacks continue to grow that affect everyone.

-Customers would be people that use the internet, technology/ data companies, government, businesses

-I say it wouldn’t be easy to exploit as one would need to be ready to invest a lot of time and resources to effectively protect data. There would also be a lot of regulation into how the data is being secured and if the ones inventing these solutions are to be trusted.

- I see this opportunity as I don’t really see that many people that are aware or scared of data breaches, even though they are happening at a very large scale and rate. People don’t usually think about getting hacked, or information about them being stolen online until they are affected by it somehow, which is why some might not see this as an opportunity.

4^th trend (regulatory)

Regulatory Trend: Privacy Regulation Will Reshape Personalization.

Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregpetro/2020/01/03/7-predictions-for-retail-this-year/#9471f5c78614

- I believe there is an opportunity here as privacy over the internet has become a big issue for everyone that uses the internet recently. Businesses want to know how to get information on internet users to help them sell online, through advertising, but that also leads into practices that could harm users and businesses if information is breached, which it has been.

- The customers would be internet users, e-commerce businesses, businesses that use the internet and online advertising agencies as well.

- This opportunity wouldn’t be easy to exploit as user privacy would be heavily regulated, and the ability to get useful information for business advertising would become extremely difficult.

- The opportunity is present as the challenges faced almost make it seem impossible to be able to get good information for advertising purposes. However there are always going to be loopholes that businesses can go through in order to get information, or they can come up with more generic ways of getting information and then “specify” is to cater to every user they want to reach through seeing sales demographics, memberships, and loyalty programs.