Halfway Reflection

The behaviors I have used to keep up with the requirements in this course include being organized and being persistent. You need to make sure you know what is expected of you in order to be successful in this class. You also need to keep trying because you might not succeed in what you are trying to do right away. 

One time I felt like giving up in this class was one time I was looking for people to interview. Often, the people willing to talk to you are people that would not be in your target market. That is exactly what happened to me. I had to spend a lot of time looking for somebody that would give me relevant information. Many people feel bothered if you try to take time out of their day for an interview if they do not get anything out of it. I was able to push myself and ended up getting the information I needed. I believe this was because I have a drive to succeed. I badly want an A in this class and will do whatever I need to do in order to achieve that. I believe I already had a tenacious attitude before this class. I believe my journey to the school strengthened it. My car’s transmission went out when I was coming down from Chicago to register for classes. Somehow I still made it down here without my car.

Three Tips:

1. Always keep track of the deadlines. Every week, things are due at the same time. If you have everything planned out before hand, you will have no problem finishing everything that you need to get done.
2. Make sure you always declare the assignments. Many people have often did the assignments and did not declare that the did it, therefore not getting any credit for their work. It’s really easy to declare assignments and essential for this class.
3. Don’t wait until the last minute to do assignments. Some assignments you can complete in a little bit of time, but others require a lot of work. Some assignments require you to interview people and if you wait until the last second to do the assignment, you will not be able to find the people you need to ask questions to. 

Reading Reflection No. 1

1. The thing that surprised me the most about Elon Musk was the amount of ventures he started. I really only knew about Tesla. He also helped start SpaceX, a space transportation service and manufacturer of aerospace equipment. He helps run SolarCity, a company intended on producing solar energy. Paypal might not even be around without him. 
2. The thing about Elon Musk that I most admire is his willingness to take risks. After making so much money off of Zip2 and PayPal, he put an incredibly high amount of money into developing new products. Even though they are not returning much money, he still continues funding these new technologies in order to try to help future generations. 
3. The thing about Elon Musk that I least admire is the fact that he left South Africa for Canada in order to avoid military service. While I understand somebody not wanting to go to war, his country was depending on them and he let them down.
4. Elon Musk did encounter adversity along the way. He ended up going broke before after renting an office with his brother. He ended up living there and had to shower at a gym. He didn’t have a bed of his own and slept on a bean bag. After that business had success, he lost control of it. He kept his drive to succeed and never gave up. He lived the way he had to in order to pursue his dreams. 


2. Elon Musk was really resilient in his journey. Even though he faced many points in his life that made it seem like he wouldn’t succeed, he never gave up. Many products he funded seemed like they had no chance to be a success, but he went with his heart and overall it has worked for him. 
3. The thing I found to be the most confusing in the text was how he was able to get out of going to the South African military. Normally it is extremely difficult in order to avoid service, but he was able to flee the country and get to Canada. Normally it is a long process becoming a legal citizen of another country.
4. If I could ask Elon Musk two questions, I would ask him what inspired him to go through with the particular companies he funded and what gave him the drive to keep going after he was broke living in his office. There are so many different ideas he could have started but he picked the ones he did for some reason. They are also all over the place and not in a particular field. Also, not having a home of your own must be very difficult. It would have been very easy for him to just throw in the towel, but he kept pushing and was successful because of it.
5. I believe Elon Musk’s view of hard work is giving everything your all no matter what. He gives everything he can for his business and wants to succeed and help mankind. He always is doing something in our to succeed, similar to me. I always do anything I can in order to be successful. Before coming to the University of Florida, I was at a community college full time and worked as many as four part time jobs at once. 

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Segment: Those that are young adults with pets that do not have much knowledge on pet food

Interviews: I interviewed three University of Florida students who own pets

Interview #1: This person did not realize there were many dog products in our stores that are actually harmful to our pets. They said that they wished there was actually an efficient way for people to find out what is good and bad for their animals so that the pet owners do not unintentionally do harm to their pets. They said that they just buy something different every time they go to the store and if their dog likes it, they will buy that product more often.

Interview #2: This person is simply trying to buy cheap products for their pet in order to save money. They know there are probably more nutritious products out there for their pet, but they do not have the money to get them it. He did say that if there was a way to find which of the cheaper products is the best for his pet, they would not hesitate to get it for them. They have not done any research to find this out.

Interview #3: This person again did not know about some of the harmful dog products on the market. They did not know rawhide was bad for dogs and admitted to giving their dog some in the past. This person said that they have searched online before in order to find which products are good and bad, but they have not been too successful. Different websites claim different things. They said they would be interested in a product like this in the future because they care about their dog deeply.

From the interviews I conducted, I realized that people are still really unsure as to what is good and bad for their pets. Even with some research online, people are still confused. A good amount of people are completely unaware that there are products out there that are bad for our animals. When people do realize the problem, they usually just search online since it is one of the easiest methods to get information.

Idea Napkin No. 1

My name is Joseph Malinowski. I just transferred to the University of Florida. I have lived in Illinois my whole life. I went to a community college there to get my associates degree. I am a really hard worker and always do whatever I need to in order to get the outcome I want. I am also a very easy person to get along with, so people feel comfortable around me quickly. I have had many jobs even though I am only 20-years-old. I had as many as 4 at a given time. In the future, I want to start my business, but I am unsure as to what that will entail. If I were to start this specific business, I would see it as a big role in my life. I would do whatever I could to make it successful.

I am offering a service that allows pet owners to see what is good for their animals to consume. A lot of food on the market is available, even though there are harmful chemicals and other things in it. This product will help those that are not informed on what is good and bad for their pets find things they can feel confident about giving to their pets.

I would be offering this product to anybody that is old enough to be in charge of caring for their pets. Children would not have the knowledge or the money to buy pet food. Those that are very old would hopefully already know what is good and bad for their pets, so they would not be targeted as heavily. I would be offering this product mainly to people who do not know too much about pet food. Those that have already done vast amounts of research would find no need for my product. I will also be looking for those that are not trying to just spend the least amount of money possible because the cheapest is usually of low quality.

I believe that generally people care for their pets. They are essentially members of the family and owners would never want to harm their pets. If they knew that some foods out there were harmful to their pets, I imagine they would not keep buying them the same food. With this product, they would be able to make sure they are doing no harm.

I am not aware of any competitors in this field. However, my service would make it easy for customers to see what products are good for their pets. It would be simple to use, having many filters shoppers can use to find a product they specifically need.

I believe that all of these elements work together. I believe that personally, I would be the thing most out of place in this business. I do not have too much experience with pets. I have had some when I was younger, but it was never really my responsibility to take care of them. I am unsure as to what foods are good and bad for what pets and so on. Also, there may already be a similar service like this that I have not heard of before.

Elevator Pitch No.1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ-lIbPe_7o

Testing the Hypothesis, Part II

Who: After conducting my interviews, I determined the outside the boundary group to be those that already know what is good and bad for their pets to consume. They would not be willing to use my product if they can find the best product for their pets themselves. Also in this group could be those that are stubborn and believe everything on the market is alright for their pets to consume. If they do not see a problem, they would not be willing to spend anything on my service.

What: My product is designed to help find healthy food for pets. It would not be a service people go on trying to find the best deals on pet food. The products would be high quality so pet owners can feel good about their purchases.

Why: The people they already know pet foods just would find no need for my services. Others would try to just find the cheapest option in order to save money, their biggest concern.

Inside the boundary                                                   Outside the boundary

Who: Uninformed people who want to provide the healthiest food for their pets	People who already know what is good and bad for their pets and those who do not care
What: To help customers find safe treats for their pets to enjoy	People will not be able to find just the cheapest food around since it probably would not be the healthiest
Why: Their pets can avoid future health problems and they can feel good about their choices	They have no use for the product because they know already or simply want to save money and do not care

Solving The Problem

My product has to do with pet owners. Often pet owners give their pet products that they should not be consuming or playing with. The idea originated from the need to protect dogs, but through my interviews, people expressed concern for other types of pets as well. Often, people will give their dogs treats that are actually harmful to their dogs. Products go through different tests depending on where they are made. I am thinking maybe a website could be a solution to this problem. There can be lists of foods and treats that are good for our pets to consume. There can be ways to filter the results so that you can see dogs food, fish food, and so on, depending on the breed of the animal. For those concerned with spending too much money, there can be an option to see the products from low to high, but only showing options that are truly healthy for our pets to consume.

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Opportunity: Dog owners allow their dogs to consume and play with toxic materials because they are unaware of what is actually good and bad for their pets.

The who: Dog owners

The what: They allows their dogs to consume and play with toxic materials

The why: They are unaware of what is actually good and bad for their pets

Testing the who: While dog owners have this need, owners of other types of pets probably occasionally have similar problems. Dogs are probably the most vulnerable however, since it is hard to keep things away from them and they love putting everything in their mouths. People that have done lots of research would hopefully not have a problem.

Testing the what: Because other countries have different regulations on what is allowed and not allowed in pet treats, the biggest problem arises from imported products. What is deemed safe in one country may actually in fact be harmful to our precious dogs.

Testing the why: Products may say they were tested safe for dogs, but they may have gone through different testing than other products. Pet owners will often just see dog treats and toys and buy either whatever is cheapest or things labeled as safe. Dog owners need to take more initiative to research what is in these products and make sure they are not doing any harm to their pet.

Interview #1: In this interview, the dog owner showed concern for their pet. Being a college student, they do not have as much money to work with as they would like. This results in them buying cheaper products and not truly knowing what the best cheap option to give their dog is.

Interview #2: In this interview, the dog owner was not concerned about their dog. They were a middle aged adult and believed their pet was living a healthy lifestyle. They did not think any of the products they give their dog is a problem.

Interview #3: In this interview, the interviewee did not own a dog, but instead owned a cat. While he did not fear for his own cat, he expressed some concern pet owners other than dog owners could have. His cat tends to nibble on small things and then spit them out, but he is cautious to keep his cat away from harm.

Interview #4: In this interview, the dog owner was originally not concerned for their dog. After letting them know some of the harmful products out there, they thought something needed to be changed. They were guilty of giving their dog rawhide products at times and did not know the harm it could cause.

Interview #5: In this interview, the dog owner was not concerned for their dog. They are really close to their pet and tries to find the healthiest options for their dog. They did bring up a past experience in which their crayfish died shortly after switching the food they provided for them. They believe there are other concerns besides dogs.

From these interviews, I discovered that there might be more of a market than just dog owners. Multiple interviewees showed concern for pets other than their dogs. I also discovered that some people are just going to be oblivious to potentially harmful products because they do not see anything wrong in their situation. Price is also a concern for some. Generally lesser tested products are cheaper than ones tested vigorously. Some people are indeed unaware of the harms of certain products and think it should be more well-known.