Daniel Kaplan Blog: January 2020

Thursday, January 30, 2020

Identifying Local Opportunities

Here are the 5 local opportunities from the Gainesville Sun

GPD: Police didn’t leak auditor documents

https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200130/gpd-police-didnrsquot-leak-auditor-documents

This story describes how an auditor had medical documents leaked and believed that the Gainesville Police were the ones who released his information. After an internal investigation, GPD revealed that internally they were not at fault.

The problem presented in this story is data protection.

Every American is affected by this because everyone has personal information that can easily be hacked and stolen.

Effort Raises 50k for injured UF student
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200129/effort-raises-50k-for-injured-uf-student

This story describes how a UF student got injured after falling from a parking garage and needed money to pay for bills. His parents set a goal of 55k and were able to raise 50k of it already.

The problem presented is being able to raising money for a cause

This problem effects those who want to fundraise any sort of way to get money for an organization or person.

As Clarence Thomas arrives to teach, some students protest
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200127/as-clarence-thomas-arrives-to-teach-some-students-protest

Clarence Thomas is a US supreme court justice who was invited to teach a two week course related to law. Some students are protesting against this because he was accused of sexual assault.

The problem being presented is conflicting opinions on a speaker

This problem occurs a lot on campus where people have conflicting opinions about each other and are very passionate about it

Lane Ranger Why are four lanes slower than two
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200126/lane-ranger-why-are-four-lanes-slower-than-two

State Road 20 causing some confusion in many local residents as the speed limits are changing

The problem being presented is bad communication between local government and residents

This problem effects everyone in Gainesville as the local government is having communication problems with them

Expanding Disability Resource Expo Brings Info To Families
https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200126/expanding-disability-resource-expo-brings-info-to-families

There are a lot of families with a child with a disability that come together for the annual resource expo. This is a great opportunity for families to communicate with each other and find out any information they need.

The problem being presented is having more information about how to raise a child with a disability

This problem effects every parent with a child with a disability

Forming an Opportunity

1. The older generations of people need a phone that is made for them.

2. This unmet need arose because the most popular options for phones are difficult to use for some people. The need is for a phone that is very easy to use and accessible for older people. Phones are hard to use if you are not used to it, and it can cause problems of frustration for those that find it difficult. Currently, there are software programs people are using to dumb down phones. I am 70% sure this opportunity exists.

3. The protypical customer would be someone between the ages of 60-80

4. The first protypical customer I am going to interview is my grandma.
I asked my grandma the following questions and added her answers below.

What is the exact nature of the need?

My current iphone is too hard to use because of how complicated it is

When do they become aware of the need -- that is, do they experience their need all the time or only sometimes?

I experience the need almost every time I use my phone

How long have they had the need?

I have had the need since I got the phone

When did they first become aware of their need? Why?

Once I became very fustrated with how hard it was to place a simple phone call, I want something thats easier to use and still up to date

How are they currently addressing their need?

I am searching for new phones that are easier to use

How satisfied are they with this solution?

I am still in the process of shopping for a new phone

5. I learned that my grandma is very interested in the opportunity as she is having a lot of difficulty using her phone. She grew up in a time where they did not use as much electronics as we do and is very confused with anything too technological. I think asking other people her age would really help to find out if other people are experiencing it as well.

Next, I interviewed my grandma's friend Barbara

What is the exact nature of the need?

I need a way to contact my friends

When do they become aware of the need -- that is, do they experience their need all the time or only sometimes?

I experience it anytime I want to talk to my friends

How long have they had the need?

I have always had the need

How are they currently addressing their need?

I am not doing anything to address my need

How satisfied are they with this solution?

Not satisfied

I decided to ask my grandpa the same set of questions and added his answers below.

What is the exact nature of the need?
I am having trouble using my iphone and want something easier to use

When do they become aware of the need -- that is, do they experience their need all the time or only sometimes?
I experience the need whenever I try to text someone I cant figure it out

How long have they had the need?
I have had the need for a year now

When did they first become aware of their need? Why?
I first became aware of the need today once you mentioned it, I didnt think it was a big deal until now

How are they currently addressing their need?
I am not doing anything to adress my need

How satisfied are they with this solution?

I am not satisfied

5. My grandpa seems to be having the same issue as my grandma. It seems like he also wants to have a more simple device to be able to call people and use as a phone. He thinks the current phones are too complicated and wants something easy. He is used to a lot more simple tools.

7. How much of your original opportunity is still there?
I think after doing this minimal research that there is a pretty big opportunity out there to make phones designed for older people.
Do you believe that your new opportunity is more accurate than when you started?
Yes, I think now that the opportunity is more accurate than when I started. It seems like a lot of older people would be interested given my grandparents are an accurate representation for them.
How much do you think entrepreneurs should 'adapt' their opportunities based on customer feedback? (In other words, is there a trade-off between adapting and staying firm?)

I think it is very important for entrepreneurs to adapt to opportunities. This allows them to be able to always be on top of things and see the next thing coming. When you don't adapt, you can be wrong much easier and lose a lot of money. It is very helpful to test the market before you make any commitments to doing anything.

Entrepreneurship Story - Emoji Bracelets

One day at lunch, my uncle randomly told me he was going to start selling emoji bracelets. I was confused at first, but once he explained how holiday season is about to start and people are looking for great gift ideas. I was very interested and told him I would help him start selling these emoji bracelets. After we designed the product, I started selling it through ebay and amazon. It was an instant hit! We designed our own website for it and started selling them through the website as well. This lasted about a couple months of steady traffic until the fad eventually fell short and we stopped selling them. It was a very good experience and a great opportunity for me to learn more about starting my own business.

I enrolled in ENT3003 because I am very interested in becoming an entrepreneur one day. I look to my uncle as inspiration as he is a serial entrepreneur himself. He has inspired me to want to start my own company once I gain some more knowledge and experience. I hope to gain some skills that are pivotal in growing my career. I am interested in learning more about how to be an entrepreneur and what is necessary to be able to start your own business.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Bug List

Daniel Kaplan

The bugs that annoy me the most

1. In the mornings, my food taste really bad if I eat after brushing my teeth.

-This exists because of a chemical inside of toothpaste

2. When I shower, the water temperature is either Antartica or Haides.

-This exists because plumbers don't need a college education

3. My feet get really dirty from the walk from the shower to my closet.

-This exists because my floor is pretty dirty

4. If I brush my chair up against the front of my wall, little paint chips fall off

-This exists because the painter of my room did a horrible job

5. My room has a very weird and unique smell to it.

-This exists because I do not take care of my room

6. If I see someone I know on my way to class they try to talk to me even if I am running late.

-This exists because I do not say anything about me being late to class until its too late

7. Turlington preachers do not take no for an answer whenever I pass through.

-This exists because I do not wear headphones when I walk past them

8. My mom will get mad at me if I don't call her, but gets mad at me for asking for something everytime I call her.

-This exists because I love my mom but I am usually only calling her when I need somehing

9. If I get hungry past 12 am there is very limited options for food.

-This exists because many places close earlier for some reason

10. My shoes get very dirty if I wear them for too long.

-This exists because I am a very messy person

11. It is way too cold to be using my scooter during any sort of cold temperature.

-This exists because the wind + freezing cold weather is too strong for my weak body

12. My hoodie falls off of my head in the wind while I am on my scooter.

-This exists because the hoodie is not attached to my head enough

13. I get very bored during class if it is only lecture or a really long class.

-This exists because I might have AD/HD and I get bored very easily

14. On Tuesdays, my first class is always so cold, but my second class is always so hot

-This exists because each teacher has their own style of torturing their students

15. The second I get home from class I want to take a nap but it is too bright to sleep

-This exists because their is a window directly next to my bed which exposes direct sunlight

16. If I am hungry not during a meal time it is too expensive to use uber eats by myself

-This exists because I am a broke college students and uber eats is very expensive

17. I want to watch the gator basketball game but would have to wait in at least a 3 hour line to get good seats

-This exists because there is a very high demand for gator basketball games especially if we are playing a good opponent

18. I spilled some hot sauce on my pants during dinner and couldn't get the stain out.

-This exists because I am a very messy child and had not detergent or whatever people use to get stains out

19. I like taking a nice jog every once in a while but recently it has been too cold to not go without a sweatshirt but then I sweat too much

-This exists because even though its cold outside, I can still sweat because my body is overworking itself

20. The elevators at the standard take way too much time to get to my floor and way too much time to get called.

-This exists because the standard elevators are over used and sometimes brake

Overall, I did not find this assignment too difficult. As a very judgemental individual, I can easily find things going wrong with every situation. Over time I have been collecting small data through notes on my iPhone. I have been writing down anything that didn't seem right to me. After less than a week, I already came up with over 30 different mini bugs that I could live without. I chose my favorite or I guess least favorite 20 and put the thoughts into paper. It did not take too much difficulty id imagine because I complied this list over time versus thinking about it a day before or even while writing it. I also found this assignment easier because I go through a lot of bugs throughout my day to day life but do not have the effort to fix them. This is because it would take too much money or too much effort in order to do so.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Elevator Pitch #1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4buSA2oyXWQ

Copy and paste the link to the web site you'd like to submit for this assignment.
Website URL: