portmanteau: Stu-sic

Stu-sic: noun. The music you listen to while studying or other work.

My portmanteau is Stu-sic. I combined “study” and “music” for the idea of what people listen to while studying or doing other work. It was fun thinking up a new word and I got the idea when I was listening to Art Blakey and was thinking to myself what other people like to listen to while studying.  I used this work for about two weeks and received many curious faces. I would ask friends, “What kind of stu-sic you like?” and “I can hear your stu-sic from across the room!” Most poeple responded with "ok, Will" and a chuckle. Many people would ask what stu-sic and I would inform them that I am trying out a new word to see how it feels. I used the word about 5 to 10 times a day to see how different people reacted to it. Unfortunately, I never heard anyone else using my word. I don’t think that stu-sic will take off like I had hoped. It was still fun coming up with a new word.

Halfway Reflection

Hello future students of ENT 3003! You have an amazing road ahead of you and I am sure many of you are excited to get started! There are a few things I want to inform you all before you all start this fun and exciting class. This class is not structured like your normal college class. The majority of this class will be centered on assignments to help you develop your own personal venture, weather product or service. There are a lot of assignments throughout this class to help develop different skills and it takes effort on your part to keep up with these assignments. There are going to be times where you want to not do an assignment and just quit, but if you keep at it you will see the true glory of what you can do.

By taking this class I have developed to be more organized and have consciously becoming a more outgoing person. I learned organization by keeping in date with assignments and by building a schedule to help me complete them. A lot of the assignments require you to reach out to strangers and ask about their opinions and I have felt myself becoming more comfortable around strangers and friends. There have been a couple times where I wanted to not do an assignment because I was exhausted and didn’t want to do any work, but I thought about what this class was teaching me and I heard my professor’s inspirational voice in my head telling me that I should finish the assignment. I thought about not wanting to do the elevator pitch and just taking a nap, but the voice in my head got to me. So I got up, finished the layout of my pitch, rehearsed a few times and gave it a shot. It turned out better than I thought and didn’t take as much time as I thought. I feel as though I have developed a tenacious attitude and a desire to do well in this class.

I have a few tips for those of you that want to take this course. One tip is find a friend or reach out to someone who is also taking the course so that you can brainstorm ideas together. Another tip would be to start your assignments early so that you are not pushed for time to finish them the day the assignment is due. Another tip would be to pick a product or service that you really care about so that you will be fully invested in the potential success that you can bring.  

Need Awareness and Information Search

https://soundcloud.com/user-26021784/interview-002

https://soundcloud.com/user-26021784/interview-003

https://soundcloud.com/user-26021784/interview-004

Draw conclusions.

I learned about some pretty important things from my interviews. I learned that a lot of people go to friends and occasionally yelp to find out information about products. So being there for the 20% of my main customers and keeping a good online appearance will be crucial. By getting customers and then building relations with those customers, they will tell their friends and family and word will spread of my product. This segment in the market is focused more on word of mouth for picking out a product. The people interviewed seemed interested in the product and if good word of mouth were to spread about the kegerator I am sure it would sell very well in a college town.

Reading Reflection No. 1

I read the book The Wright Brothers by David McCullough and was thoughouly entertained throughout the book.  The book tells the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright and their tireless efforts to create a “flying machine.” They were inspired by the countless people who tried to conquer the skies including their friend and mentor Otto Lilianthal. These two bright men with no college education were able to create a printing press, a newspaper company and a successful “safety bike” company which lead to their involvement in aeronautics. The book discusses their constant trial and errors to eventually making a flying machine that they were proud of.

            What surprised me most was at how sacksful these brothers were without any college education. They were able to build their own bike design that lead to an early success and learned about the dynamics of flight on their own time. I most admired the tenacity of their efforts of constantly pushing through many failures to make slight accomplishments. There tenacity to make this flying machine shows just how much hard work can pay off. There wasn’t anything about the brothers that was striking that I didn’t admire. They faced constant failure and their ability to rethink the problems and to try out multiple solutions allowed for them to overcome obstacles.

            I really enjoy McCullough’s writing because he is very is able to extrapolate complex ideas into easy to understand terminology and has clear writing style. The only thing that was slightly difficult was to grasp was their father. He was a pastor and yet let his sons and daughter have free reign over their beliefs. I would imagine a pastor father would be upset if his children didn’t want to study religion and instead wanted to conquer the skies. If I could ask the Wright brothers two things, they would be: would you have been happy if you stayed with the bike business? And what was the hardest obstacle to overcome when building your flying machine? I think the Wright brothers had a strong opinion for hard work. They were able to get everywhere the wanted through hard work. They overcame and persevered through many tough obstacles that lesser men would have left alone. I also believe in hard work and its ability to open doors for those who tough through the hardships of life. I think that the Wright brothers are two of the greatest entrepreneurs that have shown how hard work can pay off.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1) Me: I am a student at the University of Florida currently on track to graduate with a degree in advertising with a minor in geography and innovation. I brew my own beer so I know the majority of the technical aspect of brewing. I have also worked with many different companies, from a hot tub company to a medical research team, so I know many aspects of the business world. If I were to start my business, I would put my heart and soul into finding the best way to distribute my kegerator system.

2. What am I offering to my customers? I am offering a cheap way to keep kegs cold without the use of a trash can and ice. My cheaper alternative will work just as well as expensive and bulky kegerators. It will cut down on weight and size to maintain space for the room.

3. Who am I offering it to? I want to offer to the young adult crowd, above 21, that enjoys throwing parties. Kegs are generally a party item and I want to appeal to those people. They will be mostly people on tight budgets, so I want to appeal to their price range and keep prices reasonably low. I will be mostly targeting males because males consume beer more than women.

4. Why do they care? Customers would pay money for my product because individuals who like to throw parties don’t want to be inconvenienced by having to constant tend to a keg. They will see that this product will be step up from trash can filled with ice. It will be a classy item while also appealing to their wallets. They will see the product as a good item to have during parties and their friends will certainly appreciate it.

5. What are my core competencies? What set me apart is that no one has entered this market and I will be able to make my mark. I also have knowledge of the beer industry and of how kegs operate. I also have experience from being at these parties with a keg in a trash can and know how obsolete they are.

I believe that all previous elements fit well together and that my knowledge will help my business venture succeed. My experience with business and beer will give me experience needed to start my business. I know who my target market is and I will develop ways to advertise to their needs. I need to settle on what my final product will be designed to look like, but I believe the logistics are covered.

Elevator Pitch No. 1

My opportunity is the need for a better way to keep kegs cold. People tend to just surround it in ice or or use an expensive kegerator. My solution is a cost effect keg cooler that I call Chilly Brew that keeps kegs cool at an affordable cost for the average young adult.

Tweaking the Innovation

Complete kegorator
6th barrel kegerator
Slim Quarter kegerator
Half Barrel kegerator

Map Each Item:

6th barrel kegerator

Benefit: The 6th barrel kegerator appeals to home brewers because this is the keg size they tend to use for their batches.

Tangible: The best equipment to the beer clean, cold and flowing properly.

Augmented: Free delivery with installation with purchase as well as 24 hour help desk number. 

Slim Quarter kegerator

Benefit: the slim quarter keg holds two extra gallons compared to the 6th keg which means a longer party

Tangible: this kegerator can also store the 6th barrel keg with ease.

Augmented: Free delivery with installation with purchase as well as 24 hour help desk number. 

Half barrel kegerator

Benefit:This is a great kegerator that is great for any occasion and is ideal for college party scenes 

Tangible: This kegerator can store any half barrel keg or smaller and with its ability to pump cold beer effectively will allow for the party to continue throughout the night.

Augmented: Free delivery with installation with purchase as well as 24 hour help desk number.

Describe the Innovations:

6th barrel kegerator

-I would use the most efficient insulators to keep the small keg cold for the home brewer.

-The home brewer would also want to display the elegance of his creation so having a dignified exterior would be crucial.

Slim Quarter kegerator

-The slim quarter keg could have a more flexible inside to allow for 6th barrel kegs to reach more people.

-having interchangeable handles to allow for individualism.

Half barrel kegerator

-Having the kegerator be able to hold one half keg, or two smaller kegs to allow for different flavors.

-Half kegs are large, so keeping down on with would help at crowded parties