7A - Testing the Hypothesis

Opportunity:

The opportunity I would like to pursue is distributing virtual reality headsets that are geared toward helping online education more engaging for kids K-12.

School age kids, K-12 are not as engaged in their online education because they are accustomed to having face to face interaction.

·      Who: Kids from kindergarten to twelfth grade.

·      What: They are not as engaged in their online education.

·      Why: They are accustomed to attending school 5 days a week.

Testing the Who: Others who would benefit from the need are educators, gamers, and work from home employees/companies.

Testing the What: Do you feel more or less engaged in classes since moving online? How would you like to see virtual reality incorporated to help you become more engaged? Would you have any concerns about using virtual reality to learn?

Testing the Why: The who for virtual reality can be very broad so I expect to hear different whys.

Interview 1:  Female, 4^th grade Educator

Ms. Broughton sees the way we learn as always changing. She explained that the way I learned is not the same way my daughter is learning. She spoke of the dramatic transition COVID made the kids go through so quickly and how that has affected the engagement of her kids. She seemed hesitant of virtual reality being used for learning. She actually sees it as adding another obstacle for children and their parents to learn and believes both can become frustrated.

Interview 2: Female, 4^th grader

I interviewed my own daughter, Nylah, next to get her perspective on her teacher’s thoughts as well as her own. She mentioned not having a hard time with learning how to use the computer, but missing her friends and just being around kids. She likes the idea of having fun with a “video game” during school and would like to enjoy reading and learning about the history of Texas using the virtual reality. She likes history the least and think the video game could help her understand it more.

Interview 3: Male, High School Junior

I interviewed my cousin who will be a senior next school year. He attends one of the schools in San Antonio that had a tough time getting laptops for their students. He did not receive a laptop until mid-April, so he did say the transition to online was stressful. He thought the idea of using virtual reality was really cool and said he could really use it for his Physics class where information can be tough. He unfortunately saw something that I had not thought about before this idea, and that was the affordability to widely distribute virtual reality in schools.

Interview 4: Female, 7^th grade Educator

Yvette is a 7^th grade teacher who said it was hard for both her and her students to make a transition to online. For the first couple of weeks she struggled providing good content for her students that promoted learning. Now she believes her content has improved and she has been using YouTube to make her own videos so students can still see her. When I mentioned virtual reality, she said she didn’t know much about it. She did not see it as being an everyday tool, but she said she imagines she could get some pretty good “field trips” out of it that could be a change of scenery for her kids.

Interview 5: Female, 27, Mobile Plan Provider

Sharmae started a new position as a mobile plan provider 1 week before COVID. For the first two weeks of the shut down in San Antonio she was instructed to continue to report in for training. She didn’t seem interested in the idea of using virtual reality in the work place. She did wish she was able to stay home and complete training online for her job, but believes that’s something that could be done in a less costly way with zoom and online training sessions instead of using virtual reality.

Reflection: After holding these interviews I realize that I did not complete enough research. I am not even sure what virtual reality could potentially offer to students, it just seemed like a fun way to learn. Having said that, I do have concerns on every school district being able to afford virtual reality as a learning tool. I don’t believe this was a good opportunity to take on as there doesn’t seem to be enough interest.

6A - Identifying Opportunities in Economic/Regulatory Trends

Economic Opportunity 1: Grocery Prices are on the Rise – Here are 6 Ways to Keep your Food Budget Under Control

A.   https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/15/how-to-save-money-at-grocery-store-during-coronavirus-pandemic.html

B.    When there is an increase in price throughout grocery stores, people know that places like Sam’s and Costco can sometimes be cheaper because they don’t offer the same services as regular grocery stores.

C.    I believe big box stores and farmers markets will be able to take advantage of offering lower prices to consumers.

D.   The opportunity is relatively easy to exploit. Consumers are looking for deals and paying attention to prices even more so now so may be more willing to shop around for the lower prices.

I believe I was able to see this opportunity because of the way I live. I am always looking for a great deal. I will buy certain items at Sam’s Club because it is cheaper and other things at my local grocery to save money.

Economic Opportunity 2:  Schools Face Nightmare Scenario After Coronavirus Crisis

A.   https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2020-05-01/schools-face-nightmare-scenario-after-coronavirus-crisis

B.    Teachers needing to get more training on becoming online educators and kids needing to be more engaged shows me that there is opportunity here.

C.    Companies who make laptops and offer VR can potentially have great opportunities to present educators and children with more engaging ways of learning.

D.   Yes, the opportunity is easy to exploit because I am sure the sales of laptops/Chromebook have gone up due to kids and adults working from home.

I believe I was able to see this opportunity because I have a daughter that is currently been going to school online and am able to see that it is not easy for the kids or educators. Educators are trying to make themselves available for students through zoom and YouTube videos, but what if there were more options?

Regulatory Opportunity 1: Wisconsin Approves Measure to Send Absentee Ballot Applications to Voters

A.   https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/politics/wisconsin-absentee-voting-applications/index.html

B.    Ballots being sent by mail can potentially meet more people and making voting more convenient.

C.    People who work irregular shifts, single parents, older people could find it more convenient to vote and both parties could benefit by receiving more votes from people who don’t normally vote.

D.   Yes, the opportunity is easy to exploit because it makes voting so much more convenient.

I believe everyone would would see the opportunity because everyone (most) have waiting in line to vote.

Regulatory Opportunity 2: EPA Declines to Regulate Water Contaminant Linked to Fetal Damage

A.) https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/14/politics/environmental-protection-agency-water-regulation-perchlorate/index.html

B.) The fact that it is proven that there is a water contaminant, but the EPA does not plan on taking any action to prevent it.

C.) For profit hospitals will gain from this opportunity because there will be more sick people coming for visits.

D.) I think this opportunity is easily visible. There is a movie called Dark Waters (based on a true story in West Virginia) that this opportunity reminded me of.

Its possibly easy for me to see the opportunity because of the movie Dark Waters.

5A - Identifying Local Opportunities

5A – Local Opportunities

Opportunity 1: San Antonio’s Bill Miller Adds COVID Meat Surcharge to Prices

https://www.sacurrent.com/Flavor/archives/2020/05/21/san-antonios-bill-miller-bar-b-que-adds-covid-meat-surcharge-to-prices

Bill Miller’s is normally a low-priced BBQ option for San Antonio, TX locals. However, the pandemic has caused coronavirus outbreaks at meat processing plants disrupting the price of many of the meats offered. The problem presented in the article are the rising meat costs causing establishments to add a surcharge on meat to their customers. Both Bill Miller’s and the customers who are being blindsided by an additional dollar for every quarter pound of meat ordered. Specifically customers expecting to go out for an affordable meal and only suddenly find out about the “hidden” surcharge.

Opportunity 2: San Antonio’s Baptist Health System Furloughs Workers Amid COVID-19

https://www.expressnews.com/business/health-care/article/San-Antonio-s-Baptist-Health-System-furloughs-15203518.php

Baptist Health System is one of the largest hospital operators in San Antonio. Due to COVID-19, about 500 employees across 65 hospitals will be furloughed. The problem is the pandemic has put nonessential surgeries on the back burner and has therefore created less work, and has forced the hospitals to furlough employees. This has become a problem for employees of the hospital and patients that need non-essential surgeries.

Opportunity 3: Plans to Reopen School in North Texas Are Taking Shape

https://www.kens5.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/north-texas-plans-to-reopen-school-are-taking-shape/287-19efa3f4-1a39-4a48-8f8a-ad4379d7d22f?fbclid=IwAR1H64bq2qv0o0nLOsDPoye573RBxCr0q9wWnbjSCajuwNs05-dKrjKuBmU

This article addresses what next school year during the pandemic will look like. Teachers are used to having around 25 students in each class but will now have hybrid classes with some students attending Monday Tuesday, and others only attending Wednesday, Thursday with all students attending online on Fridays. The problem presented is the hybrid school because some children may not work as well online and parents may not be able to find childcare. Hybrid schools will be a problem for working parents needing childcare and kids who are more successful in a face to face environment.

Opportunity 4: Program Helps Much Needed Laptops to Families

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200523/program-helps-get-much-needed-laptops-to-families

In this article, a family from eastside of Gainesville talks about the struggles of continuing education online without access to a laptop. The family had recently broken their tablet and did not have the funds to buy laptops to continue their distance learning. The school received some laptops through a program called Computers for Kids. The problem presented in this article was not having the means to having a laptop and I imagine that during this pandemic where kids are forced to use distance learning it happens to many other families. Not having the means for a laptop is a problem for low income families, families with multiple children, and schools who do not have the funds to provide every child with a laptop.

Opportunity 5: Deadly Crash in Converse Caused by Erratic Driver, Witnesses Say

https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/deadly-crash-in-converse-caused-by-erratic-driver-witnesses-say/273-a35828b0-da50-4a6e-b937-2c8ec2ff6b60

Right outside of San Antonio, Police Officers had to respond to a call reporting a deadly crash. The problem was an impatient driver that began driving erratically. They started driving erratically to pass slower drivers and veered into on-coming traffic that caused a head-on collision. This became a problem for the driver who could not handle the car at a high speed, and other drivers on the road near the accident.

4A - Forming an Opportunity Belief

4A – Forming an Opportunity Belief

Beginning Point

My belief is that there is opportunity that exists in restaurants having scannable menus that connect to food tracking apps. Consumers will scan an item from a menu and be able to see the nutrition facts and with a push of a button be able to add that to their food log all from one page.

Description of my Belief

What is the unmet need?

While many restaurants have become more health conscious and have added healthy meals to their menu, their online listing of nutrition facts can often be a headache to look at due to jumbled small typing or only listing the calorie amounts.

Who has the need?

Scannable menus can be beneficial for dedicated dieters, consumers with food restrictions, and restaurants who would like to promote being health conscious.

Where did the need come from?

The need has developed recently since consumers have become more health conscious and restaurants need to keep up in order to cater to the masses and keep consumers looking for healthy options coming back.

What are people doing to meet this need?

Restaurants have listed the calories on a menu and have dedicated sections for “lighter meals.” Consumers are using food tracking apps to track their food and calorie counts which have the option of scanning the package and updating directly to the app, but I have not seen a scannable menu that easily corresponds to a food tracking app. I am about 70% sure that this opportunity exists.

Identify the prototypical customer

1.     Paige, USAPL powerlifter

Paige fit into many different categories; powerlifter, busy mother of 2, and surgical technician. She defined her eating habits as always calculated to either make weight for a competition or holding a certain body weight so she can comfortably cut weight before competing. She described the need for a scannable menu as a great luxury and explained that often she only goes to restaurants if she has viewed the menu online first and they have an option that fits her needs. She sees a scannable menu as convenient because if she would like to meet with friends after work she can scan and track quickly without having to scroll through the nutrition facts on the restaurant website and opening another app to track the food while trying to remain present with her company. She thought the opportunity was very innovative but was afraid not enough restaurants would offer it, so she would end up not using it.

Reflection

Paige seemed very responsive to the idea of a scannable menu. It surprised me most that she noticed that I was trying to make the scannable menu a one stop shop to include a food/calorie tracker. After this interview, I felt like getting the support of an athlete such as herself would be easy. However, I did wonder why she felt not enough restaurants would invest in the opportunity.

2.     Brandon, Avid gym goer & macronutrient counter

 Brandon is another consumer that is health conscious and uses a fitness app called My Macros to calculate his food intake daily. He goes out to eat no more than twice a week but frequents only a handful of places including Chipotle and Starbucks. He spoke especially high of the user friendliness of Chipotle’s nutrition calculator where he can customize his burrito bowl and it will calculate the nutrition for him. He also mentioned not so easy to use websites such as In-n-Out, that gives you the calculation of every individual ingredient, leaving too much unwanted math for him. He really liked the scannable menu as a solution to the problem but feared it wouldn’t allow the same flexibility as Chipotle’s nutrition calculator (Not being able to calculate the difference of a burger with/without ketchup).

Reflection

I really enjoyed this interview with Brandon because I felt he had so much insight about different things that really work for him vs things that did not. While I still like the simplicity of the nutrition facts to be listed when you scan, the opportunity might work well with having a level of customization with it as well.

3.     Ryan, Regional Manager of Dunkin’ Donuts

While Dunkin’ Donuts wasn’t my ideal restaurant to pitch to, it was the only person I knew in the restaurant industry. Ryan explained that Dunkin Donuts was trying to keep up with consumers change to healthy lifestyle. They offer egg white bowl and mentioned that its been pretty recent since they have added the calorie count on each donut type on the case. He says the idea of having to list the nutrition for a donut is weird, but he understands because sometimes customers will switch donut choices for a lower calorie option (from apple fritter to a glazed). Another Dunkin employee, Alison, pitched in and reminded Ryan of the multiple times customers have asked for exact nutrition information on coffee syrups and not having the information on hand. While Ryan said he wasn’t sure how useful the scannable menu would be, Alison thought it would be good because with the location close to an Air Force base, they see many Airman who come in after passing their physical fitness test looking to stay kind of healthy but also indulge a bit.

Reflection

It was an interesting interview as I felt Ryan did not see the value of a scannable menu at a donut/coffee spot where generally, people aren’t looking for healthy. Alison works in store with customers directly so maybe I should’ve interviewed her directly as she saw the opportunity as much more useful to her as an employee who needs to be able to answer nutrition questions. I realized the opportunity can be great for employees to be able to answer hard nutrition questions that customers may have about their products!

Summarize

How much of your original opportunity is still there?

I do still feel confident in the opportunity but customization may have to be tweaked to add more value.

Do you believe your new opportunity is more accurate than when you started?

Yes! I received some great feedback from all perspectives, the aspects that make the opportunity worthy and those things that may need to be changed or even focusing more on selling the opportunity to restaurants to deal with menu nutrition questions.

How much do you think entrepreneurs should adapt their opportunity?

I see the value in making the scannable menu customizable but I also feel that scanning a menu item and having it list the nutrition as easier and still desirable.

3A - Entrepreneurship Story

3A – Entrepreneurship Story

A time in my life that I had been exposed to entrepreneurship was unexpected and came about while I was a stay at home mom. I wanted to make my daughter’s birthdays memorable for her, so I began making and decorating cakes. Every year I made her a themed cake and would send my husband to work with my practice cakes. When my husband would have a party, I would make a themed cake and they became a staple for the parties. I began receiving cake requests from his co-workers and it was then that I began charging for cakes. The entire experience was new and exciting, but also very stressful because I was still a new baker and would get overwhelmed with delivering (without any mishaps in hot Las Vegas summers) and deciding how much to charge. I eventually stopped making cakes because although I was making money, I did not actually enjoy baking cakes on a large scale, only decorating them.

Honestly, I enrolled in ENT 3003 to satisfy my degree requirements. However, I never go through a class without wanting to learn something new! This semester, I hope to learn to think more creatively and see how things become opportunities. I would also like to learn more about different successful entrepreneurs and their processes to get to where they are today.  

                                 

2A - Bug List

2A - Bug List

1.     Bug: Trying to open a produce bag at a grocery store.

Why does the bug exist? Hands are to dry, and the bags are not user friendly.

2.     Bug: Neighbors who park their cars in the street instead of in their driveway.

Why does the bug exist? Neighbors might have other cars parked in the garage that need to leave earlier for work, so need to leave first.

3.     Bug: Smacking gum.

Why does this bug exist? The person had never been made aware that smacking their gum is rude.  

4.     Bug: When I need to charge my phone, but also only have headphones that need to be plugged into my phone.

Why does this bug exist? iPhone 11’s don’t have separate charging port/headphone port.

5.     Bug: When large dog breeds are not trained and jump or pull their owners.

Why does this bug exist? Owners are too lazy to train their dog or too busy with work.

6.     Bug: When people do not return their shopping carts to the store or to designated shopping cart areas.

Why does this bug exist? People find it inconvenient to return an empty shopping cart.

7.     Bug: Trying to fold a fitted sheet.

Why does this bug exist?  The corners of the sheet are not made to line up with each other.

8.     Bug: Neighbors starting to mow their lawns before 7am on a weekend.

Why does this bug exist? Neighbors believe it is too hot to mow the lawn later in the afternoon or evening.

9.     Bug: Taking a phone call with wireless headphones in a public place. 

Why does this bug exist? People can multitask. Shop and talk or workout and talk.

10.  Bug: Using multiple machines during peak gym hours.

Why does this bug exist? At most gyms, no rule exists against using multiple machines at one time.

11.  Bug: Not being able to play music and record a video simultaneously on an iPhone.

Why does this bug exist? iPhone is not programmed to allow you to do both at the same time without using an app.

12.  Bug:  The fact that it is the year 2020 and most cereals still don’t come in a resealable bag.

Why does this bug exist? Companies must not see the value in spending on      resealable bags.

13.  Bug: When you are filling out a job application and it asks you to upload your resume and list your work experience.

Why does this bug exist? The hiring company may use a software to search for certain words in the application and only look at applications after weeding people out .

14.  Bug: Switching to daylight savings time.

Why does this bug exist? Switching time allows for more daylight and more productivity.

15.  Bug: When people run/walk on the side of the street instead of on the sidewalk.

Why does this bug exist? Runners/walkers would rather run on a flat street than going up and down sidewalks.

16.  Bug: Many home builders use mulch in flower beds next to houses. Mulch attracts termites, I don’t understand why home builders would knowingly do that.

Why does this bug exist? Homebuilders believe mulch is visually appealing and adds to curbside appeal despite being a hotspot for termites.

17.  Bug: IKEA’s store setup.  One way in, one way out.  Even if you went to buy only one thing, you have to walk the whole store in order to reach the checkout registers.

Why does this bug exist? IKEA hopes that on your way out of the store you end up finding something else you need/want to buy.

18.  Bug: Leather seats in a car because they are too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer.

Why does this bug exist? Leather seats in a car look the most luxurious.

19.  Bug: Returning an item to a store.

Why does this bug exist? Companies don’t always make it easy to return items because there can be a lot of fraud in returning items.

20.  Bug: Receiving junk mail faster than I can get rid of it.

Why does this bug exist? Businesses want to promote themselves to you.

I found this assignment to be extremely challenging and believe that COVID-19 made this assignment even more challenging. While establishments have started to open up, I am still limiting the time I spend out to the grocery store and home. To complete this assignment, I reimagined what my normal day would consist of before COVID-19; where I would go, things I would see, how I interacted with people and my everyday routine.  This helped me reimagine most, if not all of everything on my bug list.

Test Post

Test post for ENT 3003.