Final Reflection

The most formative experience I had was the first reading reflection. I read Grinding It Out, which opened my eyes to entering new businesses at any age. The author, Ray Kroc, entered his journey with McDonald's at 52 and grew it to become one of the most successful fast-food chains. I think the experience I'll remember years later is the Bug List. That assignment was so unique and forced me to think in a different way. It'll be hard to forget that assignment.

My most joyous experience is probably completing this assignment. This is the last blogpost I need to make for this class, and although I've enjoyed this class, I'm glad this semester is over. This summer semester has been very weird, especially with the global pandemic, so I am happy I can have some free time to (sort of) relax. I am most proud of my elevator pitches. I hate being in front of the camera, and it took me multiple takes to get through each elevator pitch. By my last pitch, it took me way less time to film, which I was very proud of.

I can see myself as an entrepreneur in the future if I choose to pursue it, but I don't actively see myself as an entrepreneur unless I fully commit. I don't think I'll be one of those few people who happen to stumble upon entrepreneurship, I'll have to knowingly and fully commit to it. I do think I have moved closer to developing an entrepreneurial mindset because the assignments in this class allowed me to view the world from an entrepreneurial perspective.

One tip I recommend is to pick a target market where you have access to interviewees. I am not sure if I had a problem finding people to interview because of the pandemic or because of my target market. Nonetheless, picking a target market with easily accessible interviewees will make interviews less stressful.

To do well in this course, I recommend working ahead and taking advantage of any breaks or days off of school to work ahead. I got the majority of the second half of this class done during the summer break, which really helped me out.

In order to foster this mindset, I recommend planning out when you will be completing assignments and setting aside specific times to complete those assignments. This will help to stay organized and ahead in the class.

Venture Concept No.2

Opportunity
There is an opportunity in the market of working adults (including working college students) about their job. Adults feel pressured to work outside of their normal working hours, causing an imbalance between their personal and professional lives. The opportunity identified in this market is as follows:

Develop a product that allows adults to "shut off" work after hours, allowing a distraction-free zone in their personal life, while still maintaining the option for contact in case of an emergency. 

Who Has the Need?
As aforementioned, working adults have this need. More specifically, people who work a job that does not require an "on-call" status at all times. The need is not immediate, but important. Careers that are not included are:

• ER Doctors/ ER personnel
• High-stake law enforcement, such as FBI workers
• Lawyers
• Paramedics

This list is not comprehensive but gives a general idea of careers that wouldn't benefit from this opportunity. On the other hand, careers that would benefit include:

• Non-emergency support staff
• Regional bankers
• Teachers

Therefore, working adults and college students in the above career fields and more are the potential customers for this opportunity. 

Demographically and psychographically, the market is defined by these characteristics:

1. Ages 18-65
2. All races and genders
3. Strives to maintain a work/life balance
4. Values a work/life balance
5. Struggles to distance themselves from technology pertaining to work at certain times

Other Considerations

The rise is technology contributes to creating this opportunity, as well as the societal mindset to continuously work hard. Currently, customers are satisfying this unmet need by ignoring it. Customers are giving into working after hours and deal with the stress or pressure. They are loyal to this approach, as company culture plays a large role in working after hours. However, customers will change if a viable solution is presented.

This opportunity is somewhat large. Feeling pressured to work after normal working hours is a problem, but other outside factors contribute to this problem. This opportunity can grow much larger, depending on the other external factors. Furthermore, the window of opportunity will stay open for years, unless another competitor enters. As long as technology keeps growing and becomes more prevalent, this opportunity will continue to exist.

Innovation
Idea
My innovation idea is software that integrates with a company's messaging system. The software is similar to the Do Not Disturb system offered by Apple but different in that it's compatible with various systems. Once the software is connected to the messaging system, employees have a visual cue they can alter to display the status of working. Some statuses include: working in-office, working out of office, on vacation, and finished work for the day. Employees can choose the appropriate status, and their colleagues can see the status, making it easier to set professional boundaries, especially after hours.

There is a feature that automatically switches an employee's status at certain times of the day. For example, if the employee is done working at 5pm, then the status will automatically change to whatever is set at 5pm every day.

If an employee's status is not involving work, such as finished work for the day, the sender of the message will get an automatic reply, in which the employee can customize. In case of emergencies, there is an override button in which the sender can choose. The sender will write a small description of the emergency. This override option then sends a notification to the employee's work and/or personal phone, and the employee can choose to accept or deny it.

Making Money
We will make money through sales, upgrades, and additional features. The product will start at a flat fee of $200, including installation, support videos, tech support, and a free trial for upgraded features. There will also be an option to purchase upgraded features, ranging anywhere from $50-$500.


Venture Concept
How My Innovation will Solve the Problem
My innovation will solve the problem by allowing employees and companies to take control of their personal and professional lives by instilling some balance and relieving pressure. The system sets up clear, professional boundaries for employees, allowing others to respect when they are working, and when they are not. My innovation will also address a larger societal issue, which may trigger some societal change in the way we approach working after hours.

Customers, Competitors, and More
Customers will want to buy the product because a concrete system helps alleviate the pressure felt to work after normal working hours. Although there may be a learning curve, this product will help establish boundaries to help maintain a work/life balance.

The only competitor I'm currently aware of is Slack. Slack is a professional messaging system, which has similar features to the presented innovation. However, the company's weaknesses and vulnerabilities include:

• No emergency feature
• Inability to connect with a company's email
• Bugs in software

The packaging doesn't play a large role since our product is not a physical product, but tech and customer support, price points, and customer experience play a larger role. I want the product to be affordable while making a profit. Furthermore, offering tech and customer support are important to further improve the product and take care of the customer, ensuring that the experience is pleasant. 

Minor Elements
Secret Sauce
My most important resource will be creative skills. Creativity allows for a business to have a first-mover advantage in an industry. Being the first business to do something is vital, and creativity allows this situation to be possible.

What's Next?
I want this venture to trigger a snowball effect that elicits societal change. Society values overworking and ignores balance. If this product is the beginning of a societal movement, even more opportunities will be created.

What's Next for Me?
Five years after launching, I want this venture to generate enough revenue to make a profit and sustain its employees. I think five years is short for a new venture, so if a profit is being made and the business is sustainable, I'm satisfied. In the next decade, this venture would've hopefully taken off greatly, and I'd find myself entering causes similar to maintaining a work/life balance and possibly pursuing a new, related venture.

Summary of Feedback
I didn't receive much feedback on my first venture concept. However, in the What's Next assignment, I had a suggestion about some sort of automation with a status change, so that employees don't have to always manually change their status. I also received compliments on the compatibility of my product, as well as praise for planning to create a prototype as my next step in this venture.

Even though I didn't receive much feedback, I think people just want a prototype at this point. The features of my product sound good on paper, but creating a feasible prototype will be the ultimate test.

Changes
I added a small paragraph in the Idea section about a new feature. The new feature allows employees to automatically switch statuses at a certain time, so they don't have to manually change it.
This will allow employees to create consistency within their schedule and removes the slight hassle of manually changing the status every day.

Your Exit Strategy

Exit Strategy
I've decided to archive my venture. I think in the future, I could pull out this idea and actually pursue it. If I do decide to pursue it, I would keep it as a side venture, and eventually sell the company, or rid its resources until the company went out of business. While I like my venture, it was never something I wanted to greatly pursue.

Why
I chose this exit strategy because I currently do not have an interest in pursuing my venture. I have other goals I want to achieve first. I also do not have a large interest in an entrepreneurial venture at the moment.

Influence
I think my exit strategy has indirectly influenced other previous decisions I've made regarding my venture. I always knew in the back of my mind that I would archive this idea at the end of ENT3003. It's possible that I didn't come up with the best decisions for my venture in previous assignments. I don't think it influenced how I identified an opportunity, but I think my strategy affected any future growth plans. Since I don't plan on pursuing my venture anytime soon, I haven't paid much attention to growth plans, or acquiring resources.

Reading Reflection 3

For my last reading reflection, I read How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams.


1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The general theme of the book was Scott explaining the multiple failures he had, and how he has overcome them. Despite countless failures, Scott is an extremely successful cartoonist who battled a few medical conditions that hindered his professional career. The most notable 'failure' he had was losing his ability to speak from a rare disease. Despite not having any recognized cures or trusted treatments, he was able to overcome this large adversity. 

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

This book connected to the topic of failing in ENT3003. People generally don't like to fail, and some entrepreneurs avoid failing because it's not a pleasant experience. However, Scott provides a completely different perspective on failure. By laying out numerous failures he encountered along with his methods to overcome them, the book successfully provided insight on how to fail and still be successful. 

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

I would design an exercise where the students would have to adapt one of Scott's methods to their own lives and report the results. For example, Scott wrote a section about the importance of diet and exercise. He explained that he meticulously tracked each food he ate and reported how that food made him feel after. By doing this, he figured out which foods gave him sustainable energy, and which foods made him tired a few hours later. I think it'd be a cool assignment for students to do, and it would allow them to learn more about their personal habits and patterns. 

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

My biggest surprise reading the book was his perseverance through all the failed ventures he encountered. If I was in his position, I think I would've given up on many of the business ideas and ventures he pursued. I originally thought the book was going to be about knowing when to recognize failure and determine whether or not to push through or concede, but rather the book was about how Scott gathered information about the failure and used some unconventional methods at times to continue on. 

Celebrating Failure

A Time I Failed
A time that I failed this past semester was not consistently abiding by a running schedule. I know this failure sounds quite lame and menial, but I've been wanting to develop a solid running schedule for months.

I have a treadmill in my home so I tried that. I usually ran on the treadmill at the gym, so running at home shouldn't be too different. For some reason, I hated it. I got mentally bored within 10 seconds of running, to the point where I gave up.

Soon, I tried running sprints three times a week. This schedule started to become effective, as my brother and I ran together to keep each other accountable. However, after about a month, I was tired of running sprints, and the unpredictable weather further helped me make my decision.

What I Learned
From this failure, I learned the power of our minds. Mentally, I didn't want to run because I find it boring and prefer other forms of cardio. However, I know the benefits of running, and usually feel good after. Since my mental state was stuck in an "I hate running" mentality, I convinced myself to forgo the habit. I knew our mindset was quite important, but I didn't realize how a negative mindset can completely take over and make undesirable decisions.

Reflection
I think failure is a necessary evil. Nobody likes to fail, but we learn the most from our failures. Failure puts our mental strength to the test, and pushes us to our limits, revealing what our true capabilities are.

I like to think I handle failure well, but I don't think I do. Often times, I get stuck in a perfectionist mindset, so any ounce of failure ruins what I am doing. Failure affects me more emotionally rather than behaviorally. Recently, I've been trying to change my outlook on failure by reminding myself that it's okay to fail, and at least I learned what didn't work in a specific situation.

This class positively changed my perspective on failure. For my third reading reflection, I read How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, which greatly helped. The author dedicated a whole chapter to some of his failures, but he didn't seem ashamed. I am not sure if I am more likely to take a risk as I've always been a more cautious person, but this might be the beginning of me learning to take more risks in the future.

What's Next?

Existing Market

Step 1
I think the next step for my business venture is to come up with a prototype and test it. While I think my product is feasible, I need to actually develop it and come out with a beta version that I can advertise to consumers. I also think that my venture can create those extra features I mentioned in my elevator pitch.

Step 2
I had one person who really liked my concept. She stated that I should come up with a prototype and test, as that would allow for a more clear understanding of my product to others. I had another interviewee who also encouraged a more clear path for my venture in a prototype, and how my product is different than the typical 'out of office' email.

I had one interviewee suggest that customers may want an all-encompassing system, similar to Google (slides, docs, forms, etc. The system would allow employees to clock in and out of work, and potentially limiting employees' hours to maintain a balance. My first interviewee suggested an automatic status recognition, rather than manually changing an employee's status from working to unavailable.

My last interviewee also agreed about creating a prototype, and again suggested an emergency feature to receive alerts for certain situations. She wasn't sure about any future adaptations customers may want, though.

Step 3
Based on the feedback I received and my own expectations, I think the next step for my venture is to create a prototype and test it on a few companies and employees. I've gotten lots of feedback on the idea, including a need for a sense of clarity on my product. A prototype will help clear up any confusion regarding features, how the product works, and more. In addition, testing a prototype on a group will allow for even more feedback, allowing me time to improve my product.

In terms of growing my market, I think first testing on a small group, and then using word-of-mouth combined with some commercial-level advertising will help increase the number of customers. Word-of-mouth is important because my business isn't paying for it, so the reviews are much more authentic. However, some commercial-level advertising is necessary in order to make my product known to the market.


New Market

Step 1
A radically different market from my current target market (working young adults and college students) is stay-at-home moms.

Step 2
Honestly, I am not sure if my venture will create direct value for the new market. Stay-at-home parents are essentially working 24/7 because they are raising kids and taking care of familial tasks. If their spouse were to enter into my venture, they may indirectly gain value by being able to spend more time as a family with fewer work distractions.

Step 3
The first interviewee suggested the product be compatible with her phone and contacts to fit her needs. As a stay-at-home mom, she oftentimes feels that people don't respect her time because they think she is at home doing nothing. If the product somehow showed her status to her contacts, she'd benefit from it directly. She also thought that this product would indirectly benefit her if her husband had the product because he would not disturb family time with incoming work calls at night. My second interviewee liked the idea, but the main struggle will be getting people to use a product that isn't necessarily targeted towards them. She wasn't sure about any adaptations and suggested a prototype for people to try.

Step 4
I learned that the stay-at-home moms market is quite hard to target. Apple's Do Not Disturb feature can likely solve their needs of getting phone calls and text messages at undesirable hours. However, what surprised me the most was their encouragement for my idea. I fully expected them to respond in a way that rejected my product completely, but instead, I received feedback for ways I could adapt my products to their needs.

My assumption of benefiting indirectly from my product was correct. One interviewee specifically said that she would benefit indirectly if her husband had the product. However, I don't think this market is as attractive as my existing market. I think in the future, I could target this market and be successful, but in the early stages, I don't think stay-at-home moms would have a strong enough need for my product.

Elevator Pitch 3

Link: https://youtu.be/t23DO90rGU4

Reflection
I didn't receive too much feedback on my second elevator pitch, but overall the feedback was similar to the first elevator pitch I recorded. The feedback stated that I spoke well, had good gestures, and professionalism. The feedback was positive and included some concrete suggestions about improving my elevator pitch. I didn't have any outrageous or silly feedback. Some feedback suggested that I added more details about how my product specifically works, and how the Do Not Disturb feature on Apple products is inefficient. I agree with this feedback and think that adding more details to my elevator pitch will make it better.

Because of the feedback I received, I decided to add more details about how my product worked. I specifically explained how my product allows employees to set boundaries, and why my product is essential. I continued to speak at a moderate pace, and decided to dress even more professional by adding a blazer and some jewelry.

After performing my pitch three times, it is almost memorized, I am more comfortable in front of the camera, and the pitch is better. It took me less time to film this pitch since I was more comfortable, and I think the changes I made improved the pitch overall.

Turn Off Work-Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity
There is an opportunity in the market of working adults (including working college students) about their job. Adults feel pressured to work outside of their normal working hours, causing an imbalance between their personal and professional lives. The opportunity identified in this market is as follows:

Develop a product that allows adults to "shut off" work after hours, allowing a distraction-free zone in their personal life, while still maintaining the option for contact in case of an emergency. 

Who Has the Need?
As aforementioned, working adults have this need. More specifically, people who work a job that does not require an "on-call" status at all times. The need is not immediate, but important. Careers that are not included are:

• ER Doctors/ ER personnel
• High-stake law enforcement, such as FBI workers
• Lawyers
• Paramedics

This list is not comprehensive but gives a general idea of careers that wouldn't benefit from this opportunity. On the other hand, careers that would benefit include:

• Non-emergency support staff
• Regional bankers
• Teachers

Therefore, working adults and college students in the above career fields and more are the potential customers for this opportunity. 

Demographically and psychographically, the market is defined by these characteristics:

1. Ages 18-65
2. All races and genders
3. Strives to maintain a work/life balance
4. Values a work/life balance
5. Struggles to distance themselves from technology pertaining to work at certain times

Other Considerations

The rise is technology contributes to creating this opportunity, as well as the societal mindset to continuously work hard. Currently, customers are satisfying this unmet need by ignoring it. Customers are giving into working after hours and deal with the stress or pressure. They are loyal to this approach, as company culture plays a large role in working after hours. However, customers will change if a viable solution is presented.

This opportunity is somewhat large. Feeling pressured to work after normal working hours is a problem, but other outside factors contribute to this problem. This opportunity can grow much larger, depending on the other external factors. Furthermore, the window of opportunity will stay open for years, unless another competitor enters. As long as technology keeps growing and becomes more prevalent, this opportunity will continue to exist.

Innovation
Idea
My innovation idea is software that integrates with a company's messaging system. The software is similar to the Do Not Disturb system offered by Apple but different in that it's compatible with various systems. Once the software is connected to the messaging system, employees have a visual cue they can alter to display the status of working. Some statuses include: working in-office, working out of office, on vacation, and finished work for the day. Employees can choose the appropriate status, and their colleagues can see the status, making it easier to set professional boundaries, especially after hours.

If an employee's status is not involving work, such as finished work for the day, the sender of the message will get an automatic reply, in which the employee can customize. In case of emergencies, there is an override button in which the sender can choose. The sender will write a small description of the emergency. This override option then sends a notification to the employee's work and/or personal phone, and the employee can choose to accept or deny it.

Making Money
We will make money through sales, upgrades, and additional features. The product will start at a flat fee of $200, including installation, support videos, tech support, and a free trial for upgraded features. There will also be an option to purchase upgraded features, ranging anywhere from $50-$500.


Venture Concept
How My Innovation will Solve the Problem
My innovation will solve the problem by allowing employees and companies to take control of their personal and professional lives by instilling some balance and relieving pressure. The system sets up clear, professional boundaries for employees, allowing others to respect when they are working, and when they are not. My innovation will also address a larger societal issue, which may trigger some societal change in the way we approach working after hours.

Customers, Competitors, and More
Customers will want to buy the product because a concrete system helps alleviate the pressure felt to work after normal working hours. Although there may be a learning curve, this product will help establish boundaries to help maintain a work/life balance.

The only competitor I'm currently aware of is Slack. Slack is a professional messaging system, which has similar features to the presented innovation. However, the company's weaknesses and vulnerabilities include:

• No emergency feature
• Inability to connect with a company's email
• Bugs in software

The packaging doesn't play a large role since our product is not a physical product, but tech and customer support, price points, and customer experience play a larger role. I want the product to be affordable while making a profit. Furthermore, offering tech and customer support are important to further improve the product and take care of the customer, ensuring that the experience is pleasant. 

Minor Elements
Secret Sauce
My most important resource will be creative skills. Creativity allows for a business to have a first-mover advantage in an industry. Being the first business to do something is vital, and creativity allows this situation to be possible.

What's Next?
I want this venture to trigger a snowball effect that elicits societal change. Society values overworking and ignores balance. If this product is the beginning of a societal movement, even more opportunities will be created.

What's Next for Me?
Five years after launching, I want this venture to generate enough revenue to make a profit and sustain its employees. I think five years is short for a new venture, so if a profit is being made and the business is sustainable, I'm satisfied. In the next decade, this venture would've hopefully taken off greatly, and I'd find myself entering causes similar to maintaining a work/life balance and possibly pursuing a new, related venture.

Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

Resources

1) My organization skills

Valuable: Being organized in business is important and valuable since it's important to stay organized when running a business.

Rare: Many people/products are organized, so my skill isn't rare. 

Inimitable: Again, many people have this skill or could develop it, making it easy for others to copy.

Non-substitutable: Many products are out on the market to help with organization, including 'experts' who help people get organized.

2) Financial capital

Valuable: Having some money to start up a business is a must.

Rare: Depending on the amount, this could range from extremely common to extremely rare.

Inimitable: Getting a loan from the bank is a little inimitable, but depending on the person's financial history, it could be hard to copy.

Non-substitutable: There really is no substitute for financial capital, since money controls the way we buy things. 

3) Social capital

Valuable: I know multiple people who would benefit from my product and would gladly support it.

Rare: Social capital is quite common, although sometimes it can be tough to develop.

Inimitable: Social capital is quite inimitable, as anyone can develop it.
Non-substitutable: Social capital itself is non-substitutable, but again, anyone can gain it.

4) Strong technological skills
Valuable: These skills are quite valuable, especially with the increase in technology.
Rare: Many people are developing their technology skills now, making them more common.
Inimitable: Very easy to imitate by taking a class or learning about technology.
Non-substitutable: I don't see a direct substitute for technological skills, although you could try a different method that omits technology altogether.

5) Professional network
Valuable: Professional connections are very valuable, and can come in handy when starting a new business.
Rare: Many people have professional networks, so they are common.
Inimitable: This is not unique, and many people can develop their own networks.
Non-substitutable: Good friends may be a substitute, but I think this is rather non-substitutable.

6) Creativity skills
Valuable: Creativity is very valuable, and comes in handy when improving and developing products.
Rare: Creativity is a common skill, although not everyone has it.
Inimitable: Creativity is easy to copy after someone already came up with the original idea.
Non-substitutable: Creativity is not substitutable, and the more creative, the better.

7) My time management skills
Valuable: This is very valuable because I know how to properly allocate time which helps run a business.
Rare: Time management skills are quite common.
Inimitable: One can easily develop time management skills.
Non-substitutable: Time management is non-substitutable, and can't be completely replaced by something else.

8) Hardworking employees
Valuable: Employees are very valuable to a company, and hardworking ones can make the business extremely successful.
Rare: Hardworking employees are not rare, but they are not common either.
Inimitable: Any business can gather hardworking employees or train employees.
Non-substitutable: Hardworking employees are non-substitutable, and cannot be fully replaced by something else.

9) Flexible location
Valuable: Having a product that can work at flexible locations is valuable.
Rare: I think this is a little rare, as some products are not able to adapt to different locations.
Inimitable: Some businesses may be able to replicate, but I think this resource is not easy to copy.
Non-substitutable: I think location flexibility can be substituted for other pros of a business/product.

10) Personability (as a human character trait)
Valuable: Personability as a human character trait is very valuable, and leads to good relationships.
Rare: Personability is not rare; many people possess this quality.
Inimitable: This resource can easily be copied, or taught, by anyone.
Non-substitutable: This resource is substitutable as personality isn't usually the main driving force of a business.

Reflection
I think my creative skills are the most valuable resource. Creativity is a limited skill that varies amongst people, and not everyone has it. Although it is easy to copy the final product, creativity gives me a first-mover advantage within the market for and ideas or additional products I come up with. Creative skills allow my business to be the first entity to do something, which I why I think this resource is more valuable than the others.

Growing Your Social Capital

Interview 1 (Slack)
1) I interviewed Brian, a Customer Experience Agent at Slack who's been working for the company for a few months.

2) Domain Expert: Slack is a well-known professional messaging system that already offers very similar features to my proposed idea.

3) I've used Slack at a previous job, so I went up on the company's website and submitted a message through the 'Contact Support' section. I provided my name, background information about the assignment, my business idea, how I've used Slack before, and a request for someone to answer.

4) Brian said that my idea is quite solid and that the company has already implemented some similar features. Slack allows you to set a Do Not Disturb feature on your profile, as well as setting up a notification schedule. The company doesn't have an emergency notification feature, and he seemed quite intrigued by the idea. He offered the opportunity for me to reach out further if I have any follow-up questions, or if I have any other ideas I want feedback on.

5) I've received real feedback on my idea and was completely unaware that Slack already implemented some similar features I was proposing in my business idea. Since he offered for me to follow up, I can take that opportunity to further develop my idea, or come up with new ones.


Interview 2 (Social28)
1) I interviewed Abigail, the Assistant Property Manager of Social28 for about two years.

2) Market Expert: Social28 is an apartment complex that targets college students, some who are working part-time, which is part of my target segment.

3) I am familiar with some of the managers at Social28, so I emailed Abigail directly. I provided my name, connection to Social28, background information on the assignment, the business idea, and a request for feedback.

4) Abigail loved my idea. She personally is always checking her email after hours, even checking her email right before she goes to bed. She stated that she feels the stress of conducting work at home, so if my product were to hit the market, she'd enjoy it. She offered the opportunity for me to reach out further if I had any more questions for her to answer.

5) Since she works for a company that targets virtually the same segment my product is targeting, I've gotten a better idea of how my product would resonate with the target segment. Also, I can contact Abigail as a follow-up if I have any more questions or inquiries pertaining to this topic. I am quite familiar with the company, so the relationship I have with Social28 can be used as leverage in my professional network.



Interview 3 (Monday.com)
1) I interviewed Bianca, a customer service employee who's been working with the company for about six months.

2) Supplier: Monday.com sells their product specifically to large companies and employees, a similar market and industry my product is targeted towards.

3) I've used Monday.com before at my job and personally as a student, so I reached out to them via a tech support request. I provided my name, the background of the assignment, my idea, and a request for them to answer.

4) Bianca responded rather quickly, which pleasantly surprised me. She gave me good advice, stating that she liked my idea, but the usefulness of the product will ultimately depend on the culture of the company. She added at the end of her email saying that she'd be more than happy to help out more if needed.

5) Once again, I've gotten some real and constructive feedback from a company offering a similar product to my target market, so I can use this interaction to further help my idea, or possibly even get a job in the future.

Reflection
This experience will shape how I participate in future networking events positively. I was genuinely surprised that I received a rather quick response from Slack and Monday.com because those are both large, established companies. I didn't think I would get a legit response, but both interviews went very well, and each person was more than happy to help out. I did try to provide a paragraph praising the product because I have used both products, which I think helped me considering I am genuinely familiar with both companies. Social28 was also quite helpful, but because I am familiar with some of the managers, I was not as surprised that the company offered to provide feedback. Because of the quick and helpful responses, I will not be as scared to reach out for networking opportunities in the future.

This experience differed greatly from other networking experiences in the past because all of these interviews were conducted through email. I have only been to a small handful of networking events, but they were all in person. Conducting the interviews over email was a little impersonal, however, I still felt the interviews were genuine since my request was quite unique. Overall, I am glad that this experience was different, and that it went well.

Reading Reflection 2

I read "The Art of Social Media" by Guy Kawasaki.


1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?
The general theme of the book was about understanding social media as a whole, and how to become successful on social media. There are various components and multiple platforms, and this book attempts to consolidate lots of information and tips into one easy-to-read book. The author covered an array of topics, including how to optimize your profile, how to gain followers, and how to respond to comments.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
The book enhanced with what I am learning in ENT3003 by suggesting ways to add social media to my potential business idea. This class has taught me the importance of understanding the viewpoint of consumers and non-consumers and building a relationship with them. By creating a presence on social media, my business can connect with others to strengthen the business-consumer relationship, gather feedback on the idea and new developments, and have the opportunity to reach out to other potential customers. 

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
If I had to design an exercise based on the book I read, I would design an exercise that required the creation of a profile and two posts on any social media platform mentioned in the book. Using at least three tips from the book, the profile and two posts would be based on the business venture the person chose at the beginning of the semester. 

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?
My biggest surprise when reading the book was how often the author mentioned  Google +. The book was published in 2014, and Google + was officially shut down in 2019, so the author couldn't have known that the platform would be discontinued. However, Google + was never a popular platform, which is why I was surprised at the number of tips and tricks he spent devoted to improving a presence on that platform. By realizing the number of pages he dedicated to Google +, only for it to be discontinued reminded me how quickly ideas become outdated. The rise of the internet and social media have made trends come and go quickly. I knew trends these days are very quick, but I didn't realize that a book written in 2014 could already contain a decent amount of outdated content, which is crazy.

Idea Napkin 2

1) You
 I am an undergrad student who is very organized and detail-oriented. I've been in school the majority of my life, and enjoy learning and getting an education. I am a very studious person who enjoys working hard and performing well. I don't miss deadlines and am excellent at keeping track of multiple assignments at once. I also genuinely care about people and make sure to check up on my friends often, especially during the pandemic when I can't see them. I see this business first playing the role of a side hustle in my life. I want to go to grad school and I have lots of goals I want to achieve first, so I think this business would first be put off to the side. However, once (and if) the business gains some popularity, I would transfer the business and try to make it my main job. Developing my business would take a lot of time to do, so it could be years, even decades before I can successfully quit my actual career job to work the business concept I am proposing.

2) What are you offering to customers? 
I am offering an app similar to the Do Not Disturb function on iPhones to company messaging systems. The app/extension would provide a way for employees to select their status on work, which allows colleagues to see if a certain employee is available or done with work for the day. There is also an emergency feature for urgent situations. This system will allow employees the opportunity to respectfully disconnect from work, while still allowing for some availability in case of an emergency. 

3) Who are you offering it to?
I am offering this product to established companies and employees. If a company were to use this product, it would connect with the company's communication system, allowing all employees to see the status of everyone. If only a single employee had it, a notification would be used to indicate if the employee was done working for the day. The demographics would vary, but mainly my product is designed for companies that work typical business hours and have no need to constantly be "on-call." The product can also be altered to work for employees without the company. The psychographics of my customers would also vary, but some characteristics include motivated employees who strive to maintain a work/life balance and stay productive in both their personal and professional lives. My customers would have possibly struggled with maintaining or promoting a work/life balance within their company. Overall, all of my customers would want a way to professionally balance their work and life through a system that eliminates the temptation to check emails and take work phone calls after hours. 

4) Why do they care? 
Customers care about a work/life balance because it is very easy to slip into the workaholic mindset. I have personally seen it, and have many friends who have witnessed it as well. With the growing technological trends recently, it is becoming easier than ever to work at any time. This can be helpful, but many employees find themselves working from home for hours after they have left the office, even though there is no specific need to. Customers will want to pay money for this product because it gives employees a chance to take back control and instill a work/life balance into their lifestyle.

5) What are your core competencies?
My core competencies include witnessing the workaholic mindset first-hand and living with the person for years, which is unique. I've seen this unhealthy relationship with work with my dad, and have come to understand that this is a problem, and customers need a solution. I have also already heard friends complain about the pressure they feel to work outside their normal working hours, despite barely entering the workforce. Although I am not the only person who has witnessed this workaholic lifestyle, I witnessed it for many years, and believe that my perspective is a strength when developing this business concept.

Elements Fitting Together
I think most of these elements fit together. Maintaining a work/life balance is very important and a problem that needs to be solved, however as mentioned before, I have never explicitly worked a 9-5 job. I may not be the most qualified person to come up with this business solution. Furthermore, most companies take a hands-off approach to a work/life balance and place that responsibility on the employees, so I am not sure if companies will want to get involved in this aspect of their employees' lives.

Feedback Memo
I didn't receive any feedback on my blog post, but I did receive some feedback when I interviewed people. One thing I took from the feedback is understanding that this is not a problem for everyone that needs to be solved. I had at least two people who agreed that feeling pressured to work after normal working hours is a problem, but they don't need a product to fix it. I didn't explicitly incorporate this into my Idea Napkin, but I did address that some companies may not want to get involved in their employees' lives. Another thing I took from the feedback I received is creating a clearer description of how the product would work with the entire messaging system, and with a single employee. I included a better description in question 3.

Elevator Pitch 2

Elevator Pitch

Link: https://youtu.be/h2pe_n5h3wc

Reflection
I didn't receive too much feedback on my first elevator pitch, but overall I agree with what was said. I received a few comments stating that I spoke at a good pace, which I agree with. I generally speak very fast and was very cognizant of the pace I spoke at when filming. I think speaking at a moderate pace is very important, especially when delivering an elevator pitch. I also received some comments about how they enjoyed my opening. I opened with a hypothetical situation relating to my product and got straight to the point. I did receive feedback stating that I seem a little unsure of myself, which slightly surprised me. I was memorizing my pitch, so it's possible that my unsureness in memorization came across as unsureness overall.

Based on the feedback, I added more content and spoke a little faster, so the pitch didn't seem like it was dragging on. I also placed the camera closer, although nobody explicitly commented on that.

Create a Custom Avatar

The prototypical customer in my segment (college students and young adults) would enjoy work the work hard play hard lifestyle. Some hobbies include going to the gym, participating in an intramural sports league, playing an instrument such as the piano, and taking the dog out to the dog park. They tend to drive affordable, but reliable cars, such as a Toyota Camry or a Nissan Altima. Some customers may drive an upgraded Dodge Charger or even a BMW if they are making good money. The color will likely be a generic color, such as black, white, or beige.

The customer would enjoy very popular shows such as The Office, Friends, Parks & Recreation, and more. Some customers would also enjoy the short documentaries that Netflix produces, such as Tiger King. My segment most likely does not have children. The customers in my segment would enjoy the classic books (1984, The Great Gatsby) as well as several popular self-help books. The customers in my segment are between the ages of 18-29 and feel their age. Some may feel older than others, such as a 26-year-old who has been out of college for a few years. However, the customers in my target market thoroughly understand and live like they are in their 20s.

I have some things in common with the prototypical customer in my segment, which makes sense since I am in college. I do drive an affordable black car, and I also consider going to the gym as one of my main hobbies. I don't really watch the same shows as the avatar described above, and I don't go to the dog park because I don't own a dog. However, I do enjoy reading classic and self-help books. I don't think this is a coincidence because my age fits perfectly into this segment, and I built this avatar based on some of my interests and my friends' interests.

I created an avatar out of curiosity, and I included a picture of a dog I think the prototypical customer would have.

What's Your Secret Sauce?

• Ambition: I think I am a very ambitious person. I have big goals and will do everything I possibly can to achieve them. I want to be as successful as possible, and I have big goals and dreams to (hopefully) get me there.
• Discipline: I am a person who thoroughly enjoys stability and structure, leading to my discipline-like nature. I always follow through on my word and tasks, and rarely give in to temptations.
• Intelligent: I grew up in a household that greatly values education, and I have been exposed to so many different topics from various sources. I love to learn and continue to find new ways to expand my mind.
• Time Management: I have impeccable time management skills. I don't miss deadlines because I always plan ahead, and I am pretty good at anticipating potential obstacles. 
• Caring: I care about the relationships I have with my friends and family, and make it a point to consistently reach out and check on them. Even if I don't talk to someone for several months, I let them know that I care about them, and enjoy their friendship. 

My childhood (and current) best friend, Rhianna

https://soundcloud.com/tara-routie/rhianna/s-yofhgzg5FmI

Rhianna and I stopped attending the same school after 5th grade, so her perspective was quite unique. She brought up the point that we can go without talking for several months, but then pick up where we left off like nothing happened, which I completely agree with. She attributed this to my dedication to developing and keeping long-lasting connections with others. 

My Mom

https://soundcloud.com/tara-routie/mom/s-S1JxRHTNo0Y

My mom described me as someone who is highly motivated and enjoys working independently. I definitely agree with this, and while I am fine working in groups, I prefer to work by myself. She also said that I am detail-oriented, which I very much agree with. 

My Dad

https://soundcloud.com/tara-routie/dad-part-2/s-slknD23i5Vl

My dad described me as someone who is a pleasant and driven person. I set very high goals for myself, and am very determined to see it through. I do set high goals for myself, and think that I am a pleasant person to be around, therefore I agree with what he described.

My Brother

https://soundcloud.com/tara-routie/devin-part-2/s-cI6nRRe5ryD

My brother described me as someone very organized and a person who doesn't procrastinate, which is true, and the complete opposite of him. I always like to get my work done ahead of time and will do my best to avoid procrastination. 

My good friend from college, Allie

https://soundcloud.com/tara-routie/allie/s-7Lsmgcp3WcC

I've known Allie for about 2 years now, and we've had multiple classes together. She described me as a good problem solver, which I agree with, but never thought of. She also said that I can juggle multiple things at once, which I agree with. I'm involved in various activities and find myself able to juggle a lot of activities simultaneously.

Reflection
How I see myself is pretty consistent with how others see me. The way I describe myself is how the people who know me best describe me. I do think there were some surprises. For example, I never explicitly saw myself as a problem solver, but Allie described me as one. I think what causes some of these differences is dependent on the situation I am in with the person. Before I moved away to college, I lived with my family, so they constantly saw me studying or completing my work. Rhianna would only hear about what homework I had to do since we didn't attend the same school, and heard more stories about my extracurricular activities. Overall, I think the interviewees were correct about me, and after reviewing the list I created, I would not change anything about it. Everything that I wrote down on the list was covered by at least one person I interviewed, and I believe the list is very accurate.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior 2

Alternative Evaluation
All three of my interviews had a different aspect deemed the most important when picking among alternatives. One interviewee looked at price, one looked at recommendations from others, and the last one looked at the quality. However, all three interviewees said that price and quality are two important characteristics they look at when choosing a product. Other features such as aesthetics and popularity, are less important. 

How/where do they buy?
I had one person state that they mainly shop in-store, another person state that they mainly shop online, and another person equally shopping in-store and online. In terms of how they buy, two interviewees usually buy with a debit card or cash, while the last interviewee mainly purchased items with a credit card. I had the most varied responses in this section. 

Post-Purchase Evaluation
All of my interviewees agreed that product functionality determined if the purchase was a good idea. The convenience and durability of a product also played an important role for two of the interviewees.

All of my interviewees agreed that they determined a product was a bad purchase decision if it was faulty. This makes sense since most people do not like receiving a faulty product. One interviewee in particular noted the durability or if the return on investment played a role in this stage. A different interviewee stated that she has no opinion on customer service in terms of a bad purchase decision unless they refuse to refund or fix the faulty product.

Conclusions
Overall, I found the responses to be quite similar to each other. I am not surprised by this because all of my interviewees are college students or young adults who are only a few years out of college, so they tend to think alike. However, I was surprised that aesthetics didn't play a larger role in the alternative evaluation section. I think many products that are geared towards this group focus heavily on aesthetics, so I was fully expecting that characteristic to be a major component of the alternative evaluation stage.

I would describe this segment as a group that mainly focuses on price, quality, and functionality. This segment expects to get a good product, and doesn't want to deal with faulty products. This group will likely not buy items with money they don't have, hence the use of cash and debit cards. Other less important characteristics play a role in the process, but price and quality are by far the most important. Overall, as long as the product is functional and not faulty, they are happy with the purchase.

Halfway Reflection

Tenaciousness is a competency
The behaviors I have used to keep up with this course is working ahead when I can. I try to complete the blog posts at least a day or two before they are due, and I complete the peer reviews and quizzes as soon as they are open. This has allowed me to enjoy my weekend without worrying about the homework I have to complete. I also write down everything due in my planner and organize assignments by due dates, so I can prioritize what needs to get done first.

Tenaciousness is about attitude
A time I felt like giving up was this past semester. I was working while taking classes full-time, which was the first time I ever worked and took classes simultaneously. It was very different, and although I am very organized, I found myself having almost no free time. Also, the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic made it even harder to focus on school and perform well. I pushed through, mainly because I told myself "if you can get through this, you can relax in the summer." It wasn't the most motivating way to get through this struggle, but I persevered and successfully completed last semester.

I think I strengthened my tenacious attitude over the past two months. I believe that I already had a tenacious attitude before taking this course, but this class and the current global situation strengthened this attitude. I think the interviews and uncertainty surrounding my life right now in terms of what will happen in the Fall semester contributed most to strengthening my tenacious attitude. I had to commit to find good people to interviews and obtain quality information, which was not easy. Furthermore, the uncertainty surrounding the Fall semester has taught me to keep pushing through, even though I don't know what will happen in August.

Three Tips
1) Organize your time in advance- By organizing your time in advance, you'll feel more structured and more productive, allowing yourself to stay on schedule. Your discouragement for not wanting to complete an assignment will dwindle if this tip is practiced.

2) Know the difference between a lazy mindset and needing a break- If you can understand the difference of when your mind is being lazy and when you genuinely need a break, you can learn to push through a lazy day without burning out your mind.

3) Work and plan ahead if possible- Working and planning head will remove procrastinating on assignments. If you feel like taking a day off, you won't feel guilty because of how ahead you are on assignments. This skill will support tenacity while creating room for frequent breaks.

Reading Reflection 1

For my first reading reflection, I read Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's by Ray Kroc. 

1a) What surprised you the most?

I was surprised at his age when he started working for McDonald's. Ray was 52 years old when he first began working for McDonald's. Many entrepreneurs start out quite young, but Ray already had an established life and many jobs before this venture.  He was married and made a living by being a great salesman selling paper cups and milkshake mixers. The success he received at an older age shows that entrepreneurship can strike at any age, even if the person already has an established life.

1b) What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
I admired Ray's honesty the most. He was very blunt, and would clearly share his opinion of an idea he disapproved of. Sometimes, his opinion made him appear as a stubborn, subordinate person, but I think his blunt honesty saved time on potential bad ideas. Many times, people try to be too polite about disagreements, which only wastes time. He may have hurt some feelings with his honesty, but that only increased his credibility and saved him time that could be put to use on developing worthwhile ideas.

1c) What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
I least admired his spontaneity. Ray struck me as a person with lots of energy and zeal, which led to many spontaneous ideas. While this can be great occasionally, he sometimes didn't think through his ideas completely, which led to large disagreements with other executives. Spontaneous decisions work well for low-stake situations, such as deciding to get cookies at midnight, not for big decisions affecting a company as large and established as McDonald's.

1d) Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
Ray encountered failure at least twice in his personal life. He was married three times and divorced twice. Although not directly affecting his business, I think his quick marriages caused some underlying issues that indirectly affected his work ethic and goals. He didn't do much to correct the marriage. Sometimes he would talk with his wife, while other times he didn't inform her of his plans until the last minute. He used divorce as a solution to solve his marriage problems, mainly because he developed feelings for someone else, or the marriage wasn't supporting his professional goals.

Ray experienced adversity with one of the executives, Harry Sonneborn. Harry became the president and chief executive of McDonald's, and he and Ray disagreed on virtually every topic. The disagreements became so bad that the executive office had an unofficial divide of "Team Harry" and "Team Ray" workers. Ray didn't have a solution to this problem either. Harry and Ray would argue about the current topic and sometimes come to an agreement. Harry ended up resigning, due to some health problems and further disagreements about the direction of the company. Both men were very stubborn and rarely conceded.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
The entrepreneur understood relationships with customers very well. Before McDonald's, he sold paper cups. He quickly became the best salesman in his company, and a large part of his success was attributed to developing a good relationship with customers. He even pointed out in his book that he was going to beat out a competitor selling paper cups to a particular business because of his relationship with customers. This further benefited him when working with McDonald's because he always found ways to take care of the customer, rather than solely focusing on the transaction.

Another competency Ray exhibited was sticking to his word. He was extremely dedicated to doing a good job, whether that involved selling cups or creating a new food item. He never backed down on his word. Specifically, he quit his job as a salesman because he didn't feel as if his compensation was adequate, despite his position as the best salesman in the company. Ray bluntly told his boss he was going to quit and said he refused to come back until his salary was fixed. He stuck by his word, and a few days later, he was called into the office for a plan to receive a better salary.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
One part of the reading that was confusing to me was about the McDonald's brothers. When Ray began working for them in the early stages of the company, both parties agreed that Ray must explicitly state his plans in writing, and the brothers had to approve it. Multiple times in the book, Ray explained how the brothers would approve plans over the phone, but would never put the plans into writing. I believe this was part of a ploy for the brothers to keep control over McDonald's without explicitly telling Ray, but nonetheless, this part confused me.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
"Why doesn't McDonald's have a dedicated healthy section on their menu?"
I would ask this question because, like many fast food chains, McDonald's may begin to financially suffer from the push for healthier foods. Ray wasn't alive when the push for healthy foods became extremely popular, but I would still be curious to hear his opinion.

"How did you not let the money get to your head?"
I would ask this question because as I was reading, I noticed that Ray's personality did not change from when he was struggling to pay the bills while selling paper cups, to when he was making millions of dollars at McDonald's. He seemed like the same honest, blunt man who genuinely cared about his customers. So many people change once they succumb to a large sum of money, and more often than not, that change is negative. I think Ray is one of the few entrepreneurs who didn't become greedy once he became wealthy, and it'd be interesting to see his perspective on this topic.

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? 
I think Ray greatly admired hard work. He explained in his book how intelligence doesn't matter for running a McDonald's franchise, as long as the owner is a hard worker and a good person who is dedicated to the job. He even refused to donate to colleges unless they added a trade school because he didn't deem postsecondary education necessary for becoming successful. After all, he never went to college. I think Ray is a firm believer in hard work, and I also share that opinion. Hard work is very important, and a great skill that must be developed to make a living. Unless success was handed to a person since birth, everyone must work hard to become successful. Whether that is through going to trade school, attending college, or working in the family business, hard work is an important skill to develop that can lead to great rewards. 

Figuring out Buyer Behavior 1

Pick a Segment
The segment I picked is college students and young adults who either work a part-time job or a full-time job.

Need Awareness
All of my interviewees feel pressured to work after their normal work hours, and all interviewees find themselves working after their normal hours a few times a week. This need of feeling pressured to work after their normal hours happens frequently in various situations. Even though nobody's job is crisis-related, such as employees working in a hospital, the pressure still exists. Their jobs likely assign a disproportional amount of work that cannot be completed in their normal workday, or the pressure is coming from another source, such as fear of a tarnished reputation. More specifically, two interviewees become aware of this need when a task can be done more efficiently, while one interviewee recognizes her unmet need when she analyzes what she must complete after entering her work office.

Information Search
All of my interviewees conduct an information search in the same way. They all conduct research, mainly through a google search, to understand more about the problem and potentially find a solution. One interviewee supplements this by talking with friends and family, while another interviewee looks at Amazon for a potential product. My third interviewee only conducts research.

Conclusion
Based on what I learned through interviews and prior knowledge, this segment's need awareness consists of recognizing whether or not something is efficient. Once a situation or method is no longer efficient, they move into an information search. This segment heavily relies on the internet for information. The segment is very familiar with technology and quite comfortable with it, so consumers in this segment are not afraid to conduct a quick google search or consult a website for information. Overall, it seems like this segment wants to complete all tasks more efficiently and consults the internet for their research needs, however, this unmet need isn't an urgent problem that needs to be solved immediately.

Idea Napkin 1

1) You
I've been a student for the majority of my life. As soon as I graduated high school, I went straight into college, and I plan on attending grad school after I obtain my Bachelor's Degree. I am a very studious person and enjoy working hard to perform well. In terms of talent, I believe that I am very good at leading people, as well as time management and organization. I rarely miss a deadline, and I am a responsible person who can be trusted to carry out tasks. My business is centered around helping employees maintain a work/life balance. If I were to start my business, I think it would greatly help me in my professional life because sometimes I tend to enter a workaholic mindset and forget to take breaks from work. I thought of my opportunity based on my own habits, and I think my business would play a large role in my life if it was pursued.

2) What you are offering to customers?
I am offering an app similar to the Do Not Disturb function on iPhones to company messaging systems. The app/extension would provide a way for employees to select their status on work, which allows colleagues to see if a certain employee is available or done with work for the day. There is also an emergency feature for urgent situations. This system will allow employees the opportunity to respectfully disconnect from work, while still allowing for some availability in case of an emergency.

3) Who are you offering it to?
I am offering this product to established companies and employees. The demographics would vary, but mainly my product is designed for companies that work typical business hours and have no need to constantly be "on-call." The product can also be altered to work for employees without the company. The psychographics of my customers would also vary, but some characteristics include motivated employees who strive to maintain a work/life balance and stay productive in both their personal and professional lives. My customers would have possibly struggled with maintaining or promoting a work/life balance within their company.

4) Why do they care?
Customers care about a work/life balance because this concept is getting harder to maintain with recent technological trends. My product will allow people to not feel guilty about not working after their normal working hours, and establish some reasonable boundaries between the company's work schedule and an employee's personal schedule.

5) What are your core competencies? 
My core competencies include witnessing first-hand an unhealthy relationship with work and personal matters. I've seen this workaholic mindset with my dad, and have come to understand that employees may not know how to stop working after hours while keeping up their reputation within the company. Although I am not the only person to witness an issue in a work/life balance lifestyle, I think my perspective has greatly benefited in developing my opportunity.

Evaluation
I believe some of these elements fit together. Maintaining a work/life balance is definitely a concern amongst many people, and customers care about finding a solution. However, I have never explicitly worked a 9-5 job, so I am not sure if I am the best person to market this product. In addition, many companies prefer to let employees handle the responsibility of maintaining a work/life balance, rather than intervening with a solution. I think my product has a good start, but some weaker points need improvement.

Elevator Pitch 1

Below is my elevator pitch for my business idea! I also provided the link at the bottom in case the video doesn't play. 

Link: https://youtu.be/VMiSNo1cxM4

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Who: People such as restaurant workers (waiters, hosts, etc.), remote workers, and entrepreneurs in a startup business simply don't feel pressured to answer work calls/emails after hours, or need a solution to this problem. This could be due to the nature of their job, their personal preference, or simply their lack of interest in a solution to a minor unmet need in their life.

What: I think some people don't see a need in having a product/service that prevents work calls/emails from coming through. Many people just turn their phone off or don't answer until the next workday. The need I identified used a product as a solution, while some people would rather have a cultural change as a solution.

Why: Again, some people simply don't have this need. Many workers work their job and come home without any need to answer work calls or emails after their shift is over. Although the need may still be there for some workers, such as an entrepreneur in a startup business, it may not be worth putting off some work emails till the next day for an extra five minutes of free time.


Interview 1 (Late 20s male med student and entrepreneur)
He doesn't feel pressured to answer work calls/emails after hours because he is currently working for a startup company. He explained that because of the nature of startups, there is no specific time that work officially ends because he is constantly dealing with clients, his team, and other situations that further develop the business. Although his job requires a lot of work, he genuinely enjoys his career, which accounts for the fact that he doesn't feel pressure to work outside his normal business hours. He doesn't necessarily need a product or service that alleviates the pressure of answering emails/work calls after his normal business hours. He approached the feasibility of a product/service from a business standpoint. If there happen to be a feasible product/service that had low opportunity costs and the ROI (return on investment) was high, he would consider investing in a product/service that potentially eased his working habits after hours. However, he didn't see a beneficial reason to consider such products/services, hence his lack of interest in a solution.

He agrees that technology contributes to his ability to work outside his normal business hours because all he needs is his phone and an internet connection to conduct business. He constantly checks emails and credits the recent technological trends for this ability. Nonetheless, he doesn't view ease of access to technology as a problem, but rather an opportunity to grow his business.

Interview 2 (Early 30s female employee)
She currently doesn't feel pressured to answer work calls/emails after hours because she just started a new job. She believes that it is too early to tell if she'll eventually feel pressure to work after hours or not. However, she did feel some pressure to answer work calls/emails after her normal working hours at her previous job. She does clarify that she personally enjoys knowing what is going on, and often times chooses to put in the extra work at night when it's not required. While there are no set rules or expectations for her to work after hours, she engages with clients daily and chooses to put in the extra work after her normal working hours to show her clients that she cares. For her personally, she frequently communicates with her boss to clarify when she is not available for extra work calls/emails after hours unless the situation is urgent. Because of the communication channel she uses, she does not believe that she needs a product or service to alleviate potential pressure felt while working.

She agrees that technology has made it easier to work after her normal working hours, but has also made it harder for people who prefer not to work after their normal working hours. However, she disagrees that adults feeling pressure to answer work calls/emails after business hours is a problem that needs to be solved. She explained that sometimes, the industry requires that work is conducted after hours, and at the end of the day, she is working with clients who want a certain job to get done, even if that means answering calls/emails after she has left work.

Interview 3 (Early 20s female college student with a part-time job)
She feels pressured to answer work calls/emails after hours for personal reasons. She likes to relax when she goes home and doesn't engage with any work-related tasks unless necessary. To ease her anxiety about accumulated calls/emails, she'll answer them after work but right before she goes home. Although she feels some pressure, she does not believe that she needs a product/service to solve this need. Her solution to alleviating any pressure is to stay organized by setting reminders to reply to work calls/emails within a reasonable amount of time. While she is open to trying different methods to stay organized, a product or service is not one of them.

She believes that recent technological trends have made communication outside of normal working hours much easier. She explains that instead of writing things down or waiting to communicate with someone in person, a simple email, text, or phone call can communicate information faster and easier. However, she believes that working college students and adults in the United States feeling pressured to answer work calls/emails after their respective working hours is a problem that needs to be solved. She approached this problem from a financial standpoint. She explained that many employees are underpaid for overtime, but still expected to put in extra hours at home. She also elaborated that many employees feel obligated to work after hours because society has made the workaholic lifestyle a norm.

Interview 4 (Mid 20s female employee)
Because of the nature of her job, she doesn't completely feel pressured to answer work calls/emails after hours. She works remotely and can set up her own hours. Thus, she can easily shut down her office at home for the day and her job must respect that. With that being said, she doesn't feel like she needs a product or service to help her disconnect. She implements her own ways to distance herself from work after hours by going to the gym the same time every day, muting her email on vacation and weekends, and communicating with her colleagues about when they should expect a response from her.

She believes that recent technological trends have made communication outside of normal working hours much easier. She personally relies heavily on technology for her job, which makes it extremely easy to check up on phone calls and emails on her off days. She also explained that many companies are no longer providing a work phone or work laptop. With work calls and emails now being directed towards personal cell phones and laptops, working after normal hours is easier than ever, and separating the two on the employee's personal devices is challenging. However, she believes that working college students and adults feeling pressured to work outside their normal working hours is a problem. She explained that it is very easy for someone's job to take over his/her life, so creating a separation between a job and life is necessary.

Interview 5 (Early 20s female college student with a part-time job)
She doesn't feel pressured to answer work calls/emails after hours due to the nature of her job. She is a host at a restaurant, so all of her duties can only be conducted while she is at work. Her job doesn't require any extra tasks after she finishes her shift. She also doesn't believe that she needs a product or service to help her avoid working after her normal working hours. Although she uses social media to relax and take her mind off of work, an extra product/service to assist in this action is not necessary for her.

She believes that recent technological trends have made communication and working outside normal working hours easier for certain industries. Clients can be contacted at any time, making it easier for the business to receive an answer to a problem, but also creates the dilemma of never having a specific time to stop work calls and emails from coming in.

Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Working college students and adults in the United States are the “who” in this situation.	Workers in the startup business in the US, workers outside of the US who don’t feel pressured, workers inside of the US who don't feel pressured, and full-time college students who work a low stake part-time job.
The need is finding a product or service that solves the problem of feeling pressured to work outside an employee’s normal business hours. Whether that is an app or a service, the solution is provided to ease the pressure felt by the “who.”	The need is not necessary to disconnect from work. Also, the need is not wanting a product or service to help avoid answering work calls/emails after hours, and the solution to this problem potentially stems from something else.
The need exists because technology is much more accessible and prevalent within the last few years, which causes employees to have quick access to their work tasks. Employees may have a hard time disconnecting from work-related tasks and feel pressure to continue working after hours.	The need may not exist because people have a good job and don’t feel pressure, people may genuinely enjoy working after normal business hours, or people simply don’t want this need to be corrected.

Solving the Problem

The Problem
The problem I came up with is that working adults and college students in the United States are pressured to answer work calls and emails after business hours because of recent technological trends and ease of access. If there were a product on the market that prevented work calls and emails outside of business hours without the user looking irresponsible, companies and employees would use it.

The Solution
The solution I came up with is an app. The app is a product that connects with the company's messenger and email database, which shows if the employee is currently accepting emails and calls or not. If a colleague attempts to send an email after hours, a message will pop up explaining that the email cannot be sent due to outside business hours. There will be an option to override this command for emergencies, but the colleague sending the email will have to explain the nature of the email. The explanation message will get sent and notify the employee, and the employee can choose to accept or deny the email as urgent. This app will also have a component that can also be connected to phones. The colleague calling will automatically be sent to voicemail but can choose to override this action and send a voicemail message to the employee's personal cell phone.

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Opportunity
Working college students and adults in the United States are pressured to answer work phone calls and emails after business hours due to the increase in technological trends and ease of access.
The who: Working college students and adults in the United States
The what: They are pressured to answer work phone calls and emails after business hours
The why: Technological trends have increased and access is easier

Hypothesis
I believe that most working college students and adults in the United States would like a formal system/product to prevent the pressure of answering work phone calls and emails after business hours.

Testing the who: Working adults and college students in the United States who work a job during normal business hours, or have set business hours for being on and off-call, are the people who have this need.

Testing the what: People find it difficult to say 'no' to answering work calls and emails after hours. The workers may want to uphold their reputation, or get a head start on the next day's workload. Other reasons for working after hours may also be the culprit.

Testing the why: Technological trends in recent years have allowed for workplace software to be accessed on personal computers, making it much easier for employees to work after hours. It is also possible that some people genuinely enjoy working extra hours.

Interview 1 (Mid 20s male employee)
Gaining insight from a young adult who worked a few jobs after graduating from college, he shared the pressure he felt for his sales job. His sales job required a quota, so he oftentimes found himself coming home and answering emails. He didn't want to be behind for the next day's workload, as well as ensure that he hit his monthly quota. He wished that there was a way to prevent this pressure, and suggested a computer extension that sent an automated email to anyone who contacted him after hours. The automated email would show contact information in case of an emergency, but would nonetheless relieve the pressure of conducting work outside of working hours.

He agrees that this is a problem because of recent technological advances. If employees don't have access to computer software, then they are unable to work on business tasks. Since most people have a personal computer with internet access, checking work emails and conducting business is much easier to do from virtually anywhere.

Interview 2 (Early 20s female college student currently working full-time)
She expressed the pressure of answering emails after hours more so from an academic perspective. She found herself emailing her professor at night because she was worried about a time-sensitive matter. However, she also currently has a job and is working remotely, and sometimes finds herself working after hours. Her rationale for working after hours is that she doesn't want to get behind on the following day's work, and feels pressure to check her work email to stay up to date on new information. She also experienced her dad taking work phone calls during personal hours, which she found to be slightly disruptive. She wished that there was a way to implement a "Do Not Disturb" feature on work emails or the workplace messenger.

She agrees that this is a problem because of recent technological advances. She has access to her work database because she works from her personal laptop. Lack of access is not stopping her from completing extra tasks outside of normal working hours. In fact, access to work materials is almost encouraging her to work outside of her normal business hours.

Interview 3 (Early 60s male employee)
Gaining insight from a worker who has over 30+ years of experience in the public and private sector of the United States, he stated that he felt pressure to work after hours mainly in his private-sector job. He held the title of Vice President in his private-sector job, and explained that it was expected of him to work after hours and occasionally on the weekends. Since he was compensated well as a salaried worker, he didn't mind too much when working occasionally outside of normal business hours. He currently works with the government and does not have a problem with working outside normal business hours unless it is an emergency. He is also invested in a small start-up company, and finds himself working outside normal business hours for this company. However, he explained that since it is a start-up company, he enjoys putting in the extra hours, knowing that each hour he works, the company is growing and moving in the right direction. Overall, he didn't seem too bothered about working outside normal business hours, so long as he is appropriately compensated. Though he did express a need for some government intervention about encouraging a work-life balance, rather than creating a product.

He doesn't necessarily believe that recent technological trends contribute to this problem. In the 90s when technology wasn't as prevalent as it is now, he owned a work phone and work laptop. Even though most people didn't have a personal laptop, he used his work phone and laptop to complete business tasks outside of his working hours. However, he does agree that feeling pressure to work after normal business hours is increasing for others, as most work databases are accessible from personal laptops.

Interview 4 (Early 20s female college student with a part-time job)
While attending school full-time, she works a job that does not have normal business hours. She works with kids in an afterschool program, but she still finds herself putting in extra hours at home. This includes drafting up newsletters, organizing the client's profiles, and more. She often feels pressure to put in extra hours because she works for a small business and wants to see it succeed. If she doesn't put in the extra work, she knows that tasks are going to get delayed, which ruins the reputation of the company. She genuinely cares about the company, as well as her reputation, which is why she puts in the extra hours and conducts business-related tasks outside of her normal hours. In terms of finding a solution, she thinks the problem of feeling pressured to work after hours is more so a company problem, rather than a problem that the government needs to regulate. She believes that the company should limit the worker's ability to work at home, possibly making work software inaccessible or removing the expectation of completing tasks after hours.

She believes that recent technological trends slightly contribute to this problem. She thinks that once the global pandemic is over, working after normal business hours is going to significantly increase. Because companies are finding ways to conduct business at home at different hours of the day, she thinks that the pressure to work after normal business hours will significantly increase.

Interview 5 (Early 20s female college student with a part-time job)
She expressed the pressure of completing work-related tasks after hours, and have witnessed her colleagues and middle managers doing the same thing. She works in the marketing industry, and explained that sometimes clients answer time-sensitive emails late, which makes it imperative to work outside of normal business hours on urgent matters. She finds herself working outside of normal hours about three times a week. She does this partially to stay informed, and partially to uphold her reputation of completing tasks on time. To manage a work-life balance, she refuses to complete any task that is not urgent. This ensures that she is taking time for herself to focus on school, hobbies, or other personal matters. She doesn't know how much a tangible product, such as an app, will do to fix this problem.

She believes that to relieve the pressure people feel about conducting business outside of working hours, the United States needs to experience a cultural change. Although she thinks that recent technological advances are partially to blame for this pressure, a cultural change contributes more to this problem. Part of the reason she checks her work emails outside of business hours is the societal expectation to go above and beyond to be successful. She doesn't think the government should get too involved, as many people enjoy putting in extra hours at work, but admits that minimal government regulation may be necessary.

Summarize
Given these five interviews, I found that there is a clear generational difference in terms of this problem. The third person I interviewed has way more experience than the other interviewees and justified working outside normal business hours with financial compensation. I also found that my problem cannot only be fixed with a product; government regulation or company policies will have to be put in place. Some interviewees suggested a product such as an app or browser extension, while others didn't and thought the government or society needs to make a change. Overall, it was interesting to see everyone's opinion on the matter, since overworking is becoming a problem in our society.