30A - Final Reflection

The experience that sticks out to me as being the most formative were the assignments related to identifying opportunities. An experience that I will remember for years down the road were the elevator pitch assignments because it forced me to step out of my comfort zone, however turned out to be very positive. My most joyous experience was the further development of an entrepreneurial mindset. I have always had an entrepreneurial mindset, however this course developed this mindset even further and forced me to think a little further outside the box. I am most proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and performing the elevator pitches, regardless of my disliking for  talking in front of a camera.

I have been an entrepreneur for quite some time, starting several businesses and always trying to identify further opportunities. However, I definitely feel that this course has further developed my entrepreneurial mindset and has provided me with a different perspective and method to source out potential opportunities.

One recommendation I would give to future students is to be open minded throughout this course. This course is going to teach you to look at things a little differently, but will positively provide you with tools to further advance you in any direction you may wish to go! To perform best in this course, I would recommend to get ahead and to not wait until the last minute to complete assignments. To foster an entrepreneurial mindset, you must be willing to apply yourself and be open minded to look at things in a different light!

29A - Venture Concept No. 2

The opportunity that I have discovered is the implementation of a technological device on each table at restaurants. This device will allow for customers to order food and beverages from the table at their own pace. It will enhance the customer experience by ensuring that the customer’s needs are always met. In this case, restaurant owners have the need for this unmet opportunity. The nature of the need stems from the issue regarding poor customer dining experiences resulting from servers being unable to attend to them during busy hours. The biggest change in this environment creating the opportunity is in the form of technology. Technology has opened the doors for so many opportunities and implementing technology in restaurants and giving customers the access to place their own orders at their own pace could be beneficial to all. I believe the target market for this product is in young restaurant owners. Young restaurant owners are more familiar with the benefits and development of technology and are likely to be privier to the value that technology presents. Customers currently offer table side service with servers attending tables and taking customers orders. The biggest issue they are facing is the human element; servers can only be in so many places at one time. In other words, if a server is attending one table, she is unable to serve another at the same time that may be in a rush to leave. Restaurant owners understand the need for servers and are loyal to them, however, they are usually eager to learn of new and improved ways to offer the most to their customers. This opportunity is huge in the sense that it will greatly enhance the customer experience and result in more returning customers to the business. I believe the window of opportunity will not be open for too long because technology is available to anyone and this idea can be thought of by many others and acted upon quickly. This product can also be implemented in other environments besides casual dining. This can be implemented potentially in a drive-through scene in which customers could pull up, and instead of giving their order through the speaker, they could plug in their own orders.

My product is essentially a technological device that allows for customers who are dining out to order food and beverages to their table at their own leisure. The technological device would give the customer access to the restaurant’s food and beverage menu and would allow for a customer to follow the steps to order whatever they would like whenever they would like. Once a customer sends an order in, it would be received in the kitchen immediately and would begin to be prepared. The restaurant could then have a “runner” grab the order when finished and bring to the customer.

My innovation would address the opportunity that I have identified in the sense that it would reduce the burden put on servers to attend to many tables at once while enhancing the overall customer experience. Servers are human and are only capable of helping one table at a time. In working in the restaurant industry for a while now, I can tell you that some customers become unruly and aggravated when they are not attended to in a timely fashion. My product would eliminate this by allowing for customers to order their food and drinks at their own pace, regardless of how busy their server may be. I believe customers would implement this product because it would be utilizing technology to their benefit. I believe it would be fairly easy to get them to implement my product in their restaurants because of the tremendous benefits it would offer to the customer experience. In business, the happier the customer is, the more likely they are to return. Many restaurants could not survive without returning customers! The competitors would be other companies that offer similar type technologies to restaurants who could duplicate this idea. Customer support would play a huge role in my business concept in the sense that if there were ever any technological errors, we would need to be there to help immediately. We would also need to package and distribute personalized tablets to restaurants with their own menus on them. I would organize a team of professionals in the field of technology to produce and distribute this product. In the beginning I would consider hiring 2-4 employees, however that number would grow the more customers we gain. These employees would be in charge of customer support and setting up each tablet to specific customer’s needs.

As far as student feedback is concerned, I was told that my venture concept did a good job in describing the need of my product and how it is unique in its own way. As far as other feedback is concerned, I was told that this could be good in a drive through scene. I saw value in this as well in the sense that it could help speed the process up if a customer is ready to order and the employee was pre occupied. 

I changed my venture concept in the sense that I added the possibility of creating a device meant for drive through restaurants as well. I believe this could be beneficial for drive throughs and it could add great value to my product, along with bringing on an entire different set of customers. 

28A - Your Exit Strategy

If I were to start my business, I would likely sell it 5-10 years down the road. I love to generate new ideas, and could use the capital from selling my business to fund new projects down the road. I believe this exit strategy has influenced other ideas I have made in this concept in the sense that I understand I would have to move fast on this idea. I understand that technology is available to everyone and new products are being created daily, so I would have to capitalize on this idea quickly and get out when the value peaks.

27A - Reading Reflection No. 3

For this assignment, I chose to read Grinding It Out, by Ray Kroc. Ray Kroc was the founder of McDonalds's. I was surprised the most in the fact that Kroc did not start on his journey to making McDonald's what it is today until his 50's. What I admire the most about Kroc is that he used to work long days working several jobs. I admire the sacrifices he made during these times, sometimes working 19 hour days! What I admire least about Kroc is that he neglected personal relationships in the early days of his life, only focusing on business. Kroc faced adversity early on, notably in the second McDonald's he opened. He struggled with getting food to taste how he wanted it to. Kroc seeked professional help and fixed this problem. A main competency that stood out to me about Kroc was his ability to keep goin. It seemed as if throughout his whole life, he never stopped until his standards were met and exceeded. I was confused the most about how it was mentioned early on that Kroc struggled with personal relationships because his mind was so focused on business, however, he formed a quick relationship with the McDonald brothers and turned McDonald's into what it is today.

If I could ask Kroc two questions, they would be as follows:

What inspired you to keep going on your business journey?
What did you pick up on in McDonald's that impressed you so much?

I would ask the first question because Kroc had been a business man all of his life, however he never really hit it big. I would be curious to see what kept him motivated through these times to finally hit the jackpot with McDonald's. I would ask the second question because I am in the restaurant industry and would be curious to see what exactly Kroc saw in McDonald's that made him think it could be what it is today.

I believe that Kroc valued hard work over almost everything. Kroc was a true example of someone who never gave up. I share this opinion with Kroc. I believe everything is earned, not given. I am inspired by Kroc's willingness to persevere.

26A - Celebrating Failure

One time in which I failed was early in this semester. I am new to the UF online degree program so I was still learning how everything worked. I was not familiar with ProctorU and failed to register in time for one of my exams. Thankfully, there is an opportunity to take an end of course exam that will replace the 0 I received on that one.

My main takeaway from this failure was to be more careful in reading instructions. It is so important to learn and understand all details of a situation before believing that you know it already.

Although failure is often times tough, I do believe that a lot of good comes out of failure. There are a lot of lessons that I have personally learned stemming from failure. I generally get upset when I fail, but upon reflecting I try my best to take it as a lesson. My favorite quote is as follows: "Never a loss. Always a lesson." This class has further advanced my beliefs on failure. This class has taught me that with proper planning, taking a calculated risk is a good thing. If you look at failure as a positive rather than a negative, you are far more likely to take educated risks and achieve your dreams.

23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

Resource 1: Human Capital (group of friends very intelligent in the field of technology)

V: Very valuable

R: Rare to find people with this advanced of technology skills

I: Hard to find good workers who are extremely advanced in technology 

N: There are others intelligent in technology, but I have a group of friends that I know very well that are not-substitutable 

Resource 2: Network

V: Very valuable

R: It is not rare for someone to have a network, but my network happens to be connections in my existing market

I: Hard to copy because every business owner is unique in their own way

N: Non substitutable 

Resource 3: Funding

V: Very valuable

R: Not extremely rare

I: Anyone with the means can offer financing 

N: Non-substitutable - I have close family members willing to help me by funding my business at favorable terms that I would be unlikely to find anywhere else

Resource 4: Emotional 

V: Very valuable

R: Fairly rare

I: Hard to imitate

N: Non-substitutable - I am very good under high stress situations and feel that I have what it takes to handle the responsibilities of getting this business off the ground

Resource 5: Determination

V: Very valuable

R: Pretty rare

I: I believe one is either determined or they are not

N: Non-substitutable - everyone is unique in their own ways and I believe I have the determination necessary to keep going regardless until the outcome is what I desire

Resource 6: Knowledge 

V: Very valuable

R: Rarity depends on the specific subject, in this case quite a few people are knowledgable in this field

I: Can be imitated because the materials are there for people to learn

N: Substitutable - However, one must take time to learn what I may already know in this field

Resource 7: Experience 

V: Very valuable

R: Quite a few people have experience in restaurants

I: Can be copied - however one must climb the ladder in the industry to acquire the experience'

N: Substitutable - experience can be found in many different individuals, however I have management experience in restaurants and understand the ins and outs of the business, so it gives me an edge

Resource 8: Physical Resources (I own a tablet/iPad which could be classified as equipment)

V: Valuable

R: Not too rare

I: Can be copied

N: Substitutable 

Resource 9: People skills

V: Valuable

R: Rare

I: Can be copied, but one must learn it

N: Non-substitutable - because each individual is unique and the way one person says something may be interpreted differently than the way another says it

Resource 10: Value proposition 

V: Very valuable 

R: Rare in this industry

I: Can be copied

N: Non-substitutable - The value my product brings will likely differ from the value another individual's product may bring

My top resource is likely my network within the industry. This is so important because it gives me an edge up on competitors in the sense that I already know of people looking for this product that will give me business immediately. 

25A - What's Next?

Due to the current circumstances, I did not interview customers for this assignment.

For me, I believe what makes the most sense for my venture in terms of growing in my existing market is staying the technology route. I believe there are many opportunities that technology presents that could be super beneficial to restaurant owners. Retaining customers is the key for all restaurant owners and utilizing technology to enhance the customer experience could be key.

One such area of expansion within my existing market could be implementing tablets for servers to use as well. For instance, most servers write down a customers order and then plug it into a computer to send to the kitchen. However, this is time consuming. If a server had their own device in which they could copy down the customers order on a tablet and then immediately send to kitchen, it might make for quicker service.



As far as new markets are concerned, I could potentially target investors looking to create a brand new concept rather than an existing restaurant owner themselves. For instance, I could approach an investor looking to open a hands off restaurant. Customers would come in and order via a tablet, and someone would bring their food to them. This would eliminate the need for excessive payroll and would be the first ever of this concept.

This new market would be more for a creative thinker looking to take a risk on something that has never been introduced before. I believe that this presents an opportunity to a radically different type of consumer. Restaurant owners typically go the conventional route, however this opportunity would require someone with an open-mind eager to try something new.