30A - Final Reflection

• The most formative experience in this class for me, was creating an elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is something I did not have to do very often in my life. There was a time I had to do something like it for UF's IA Catalyst and me and my team had to come up with a whole product prototype and pitch it to real investors at UF. Not to say the least, it was pretty intimidating. But recording my elevator pitch for this class became slightly easier because of that past experience and the feedback I received then. I probably wont be able to forget that, just because I believe it will help me in the future should I bring my venture to life someday and need to pitch it to real investors.

• I think the experience that was both the most joyous and I'm most proud of for accomplishing is progressively creating my venture as the course went by and we added more and more aspects to our ideas. I really liked watching how my venture grew from just a mere idea at the start, not very sure how I would follow through with it, to having a full out plan of what it consists of and the plans for its future should I pass it on to others after it's become widely known and successful.

• I'd say I have always seen myself as an entrepreneur but I don't think I ever went as far with a venture as I did with this one. I also don't recall coming up with one that I was so passionate about until this one. I think in the future if I choose to move forward with my service/product and make it a reality, I think thanks to this class I would have some good tidbits to help me get to where I would like to be.

• One recommendation to the students going down this path, would be "don't give up and don't take no for an answer". Often times, we let the naysayers and the strongly opinionated get in our head about our ideas and kind of dim our lights and shut us down, making us think our ventures will never make it. But reading the books that I did in this class for the reading reflection, helped me realize that the successful entrepreneurs in those autobiographies once had a lot of people saying "No." in their faces, ripping their dreams apart. I agree that hard work is a big part of success but also taking the time to reassure yourself and have the confidence to stand behind your product/service regardless of what others may think of it.

• I would also like to add, that in order to do best in this course, future students should take all assignments seriously. The points may look small but they really do add up and completing all assignments was something I personally struggled with and hope the future students don't repeat. Manage your time, set up your own personal deadlines for each week however it works out with your life schedule, do all the work required, and you'll be just fine.

29A - Venture Concept No.2

Opportunity:

• Need: The need lies with families with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and related disabilities.
• The need itself is a downloadable application that links these families with resources and caregiving services specifically tailored to the needs of the ASD population.
• Geographically, this market is anywhere you are. The consumer's locations and local neighborhood will filter out the services available in that area that would be a match for them.
• Currently, this need is in a way being met by other services out there. There are caregiving and babysitting apps out there that include a special needs population option if you fall in this category but there is only a small number of sitters on these sites that actually have experience with this population and/or are willing to take on the job.

Innovation: 

• My app, Allies 4 Autism would be a concoction of services and resources, all freely found on a singular app easily downloadable on all phones and modern devices. Parents with kids with ASD and other related disabilities would be the primary users of this app and its resources. Access to available sitters and caregivers (all with previous experience caring for or providing clinical therapy to this population) in their area, support groups, ABA clinics, Autism awareness events and walks, etc.
• It would simply be a free app installation so there would be no cost for the app itself, but the caregivers and parents would be the ones setting up their rates and what they're willing to pay for services offered and that way, matches would be made.

Venture Concept:

• Other competitors do not currently have services tailored specifically to the ASD population nearly as extensive as Allies 4 Autism would be.
• Parents and families would be willing to make the switch because there is no existing competitor that would match and meet their child's exact needs.
• The rates and prices would be solely determined by the parents and caregiving providing the services. So the "employees" would be the sitters registered on the application but will self-manage their pay according to how much they decide to work.
• Considering the future, I would plan to pass the business down through my family (that has been briefed about how meaningful this venture is to me) or to an organization that is currently working towards creating more resources for the Autism community and needing families.

Feedback and Adjustments:

• Although I did not receive feedback for my first venture concept, there were some things I felt I could adjust in my venture that would help explain my concept better.
• I also looked at feedback other student's left on other parts of my venture in my blog, and some said that I should branch out to other existing organizations if I were to ever sell or pass the business down.

27A - Reading Reflection No.3

For my second reading reflection, I chose to read "Grinding it out", a book about how McDonald's became what he is today. I think reading this book taught me a lot about how to cope with failure and dealing with the challenges throughout, especially when creating a business. Ray Kroc didn't become successful and make millions overnight. He had a very good ability of working in the business field, knew how to deal with the challenges he faced and overcame them. I think like a lot of us, Kroc has to go through a lot of unpleasant jobs and work all different kinds of areas to get to where he got to, bringing a huge business as an entrepreneur and helping McDonald's get to where it is today.

One of the aspects I really liked about Kroc was his hard-working demeanor. He knew hard work was one the very important pathways to success and I tend to agree with him. If effort and dedication is put into your work, I think there is a lot that can be accomplished. However, hard work alone sometime just is not enough and I think that was one of the points i missed in this book. Sometimes a lot of outside factors can make or break your success. But I think his path can inspire so many others that wish to become entrepreneurs.

28A - Your Exit Strategy

1) My exit strategy I have planned is to keep the business in the family, retire myself after years of carrying it on and pass it down to my children in the future.

2) The reason I'm choosing this strategy is because I don't want this business to go to just anyone. I'd like it to go to someone who is passionate about the cause and the purpose of it and I would plan on educating my own children and other family members on its importance and hope they grow to know more about the special needs population this business would target and what their needs continue to be. If I were able to pass the business down to another organization that works with the ASD population or is focusing on furthering the resources in this area, I would not mind partnering up with other organizations and allowing them to take the business over. But intially, I would like to keep it in the family.

3) My exist strategy influenced other aspects of my concept because I knew this was a business I wanted to keep in the run for a long time because ASD needs will always exist. I came up with my venture as an app because technology is something that will always be around as well, and as newer generations come in and awareness about the special needs population grows, my venture would become more useful and more accessible to all kinds of individuals because of it's flexibility and ability to be adjusted to anyone's location and area.

26A - Celebrating Failure

Throughout this semester, I can't say there's only been one thing I've failed at. To be completely honest, I fail at a lot of things, a lot of the times and I often don't handle my failures very well and can be very harsh on myself for it.
One thing I'm still kind of putting on myself this semester, is not doing as well as I should be in this class and one other I'm currently taking.
Not that either class is terribly difficult, I feel that this class is one that can be very easily passed if you stay on top of things, and that was my problem, staying on top of things. I could say I am the best student and that I do all my work on time and study and get things done quickly and I totally can be that student, but often times, I am not.
Often times, I get caught up in my own things going on outside of school or put school work off until last minute and end up procrastinating the night before trying to get things down.
It's shameful, I know. But I'm letting it all out there, and admitting to it all.
I'm never proud of failing, whether it's failing a quiz, an exam, or a class, I always seem to not take it so well and I get pretty harsh with myself, because ultimately it is no one else's fault but mine. It could have been prevented.
I'm still working on learning how to handle failures in my life, be it small personal failures or big public ones but it is something I continually struggle with.
Ultimately, what I've learned from failing and what I continue to learn from failing is that there's always a new day, a new start to change your technique, change your habits and your point of view.
Failure is something we all face, whether we're successful in the end or not.
Learning how to cope with failure is something even harder, but definitely doable.
And I hope I keep learning to celebrate mine.

24A - Venture Concept No.1

Opportunity:

• Need: The need lies with families of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and related disabilities.
• The need itself is an application that links these families with resources and caregiving services specifically tailored to the needs of the Autism population.
• Geographically, this market is anywhere you are. The consumer's location and local neighborhood will filter out the services available in that area that would be a match for them.
• Currently, this needs is kind of being solved but not by much. There are caregiving and babysitting apps out there that include a special needs population option if you fall in this category but there is only a small number of sitters on this site that actually have experience with this population and/or are willing to take on the job.
• This opportunity is big enough that it will always be around because it will always be needed, just like parents somewhere will always need a babysitter or caregiver at one point in their lives.

Innovation:

• My app, Allies 4 Autism would be a concoction of services and resources, all freely found on a singular app easily downloadable on all phones. Parents of kids with ASD and other related disabilities would be the primary users of this app and its resources. Access to available sitters and caregivers (all with previous experience caring for or providing clinical therapy to this population) in their area, support groups, ABA clinics, Autism awareness events, etc.
• It would simply be a free app installation so there would be no cost for the app itself but the caregivers and parents will be the ones setting up their rates and what they're willing to pay for the services offered.

Venture Concept:

• Other competitors do not currently have services tailored to the Autism population, nearly as extensive as Allies for Autism would be.
• Parents and families would be willing to make the switch simply because there is no competitor that meets their child's exact needs.
• The rates and prices would be solely determined by the parents and the caregivers giving the services. So the "employees" would be the sitters registered on the application. But will self- manage their pay according to how much they decide to work.

Final thoughts:

I would love to actually be able to make this app come true and be used by a lot of families in need of services like these.

23A - Your Venture's Unfair Advantage

Ten Resources in my venture

1. Experience working with kids on the spectrum as an RBT

• V- very valuable when looking for opportunities to interact with this population and in needed situations
• R- I think generally it is rare to find individuals that are passionate or interested in this field or in this population.
• I-it might be hard to copy by others because the app will be tailored to the individual's needs in the area they are in (starting off locally in Gainesville, FL)
• N- not substitutable because it is tailored to my personal experience as a behavior therapist.

2. Patience

• V-Patience is a very important virtue to possess when creating a venture. You must be patient with your consumers and listen to their wants and needs.
• R-Not alot of people are fit to handle other people in a professional manner. In other words, some people are just not people persons and may not know how to handle an uncomfortable situation or not have the patience to take care of their consumer's needs.
• I- I think patience is inimitable because not everybody possesses this quality.
• N- I dont think there are other resources that can substitute patience.

3. Compassionate persona

• V- I've been told by people close to me that I am compassionate and care alot about others. This is a valuable resource to have because in order to serve the people, you need to care enough about them to find out what problems they may be facing and what you can do to resolve those problems.
• R- This is not everyone's persona.
• I- I think compassion varies from person to person. How someone makes another feel heard and understood, i think that is not replaceable nor imitable.
• N- Compassion is needed behind every business where humans and/or animals are the consumers, therefore it is not replaceable.

4. Multi-lingualism

• V - Being able to understand and speak various languages I think benefits anyone in any area of work they are trying to succeed. Communication is very important in everything we do. And if we don't have access to that, if our consumers don't have access to that, it becomes a business that is lacking the ability to help its people.
• R- It is rare to find people that bilingual let along multi-lingual.
• I - Although, technically a language can be imitable, as it is something that can be learned with much dedication and practice but is not easy to replicate.
• N- Multilingualism will always be present and useful in any scenario regardless of work field.

5. Broad network 

• V- I have a broad network of resources and individuals around me that I can reach out to with questions about how to go about my venture or if I'm looking for a second opinion. A good network is a backbone to a successful business.
• R - A good network is rare to find especially if you do are not active in the community you are interested in.
• I - Every network will be different.
• N - A good network is irreplaceable and necessary to help start up a business.

6. Leadership skills

• V - My experience at my current job allows me to develop and showcase my leadership skills among my team. Teamwork as well as leadership is important in running any business and can determine the success of the business.
• R - Leadership skills can be difficult to develop especially if you are like me, someone who is more reserved and prefers to be a part of the crowd instead of standing out in one but over the years I've been able to overcome that and watched myself grow in my leading capabilities.
• I - Anyone can be a leader, but your personal qualities that make you, you can play a part in how you lead an organization or business.
• N - There are many different types of leaders. Does not mean that one is substitutable for another because there are different ways to lead that can be effective.

7. Organizational skills

• V - Coordinating is a valuable skill to have to make sure things are in place and your business is starting and running smoothly.
• R - Some people are not that good at organizing or planning.
• I - Not imitable.
• N - Not replaceable.

8. Ability to control finances

• V - I am able to responsibly handle money which would become more valuable in a business setting.
• R - It might be rare to find people in my age range (college aged) who are able to develop good money habits.
• I - Not imitable
• N - Not substitutable

9. Social capital

• V - I already know some families who would be really interested in this app if I were to actually go through with it. These kinds of prior connections end up being very valuable to the business and help you get off your feet.
• R - It is rare to have potential customers before even starting your venture.
• I - The personal relationships created in the process of putting the business cannot be imitated.
• N - These relationships cannot be substituted.

10. Come from generations of small business owners 

• V - I come from a family of small business owners (relatives that live in the Dominican Republic who run their own shops) which is valuable because I gain experience when I help them with the shop or gain insight from them.
• R - Not many business start ups have a model to follow or people to guide them through the process.
• I - This cannot be imitated.
• N - Personal experiences and insight from generational family owned business are non-substitutable.