Reading Reflection

Reading the part where Vikram walked away from a $285,000 portfolio surprised me the most because instead of caring about money, he cared for the people and the suffering that would follow if he continued with his portfolio. Theres a very few people who would even consider doing that. The part that sort of confused me was how a group of ladies got a loan and if one of them couldn't pay, the others would have to chip in. Reading this made me wonder how exactly does this end up working out. What happens if one of the girls are tired of chipping in? This is also a question I would like to ask the offer along with how did he come up with his idea.

Final Reflection

Looking back at what I did throughout the semester for this course, I must say that coming up with my product-Coverella and receiving both positive and negative feedback on it was my most formative, joyous and something i'll remember years from now experience. Coming up with my idea and receiving feedback, transformed my product to what it was then to what it is now. Transforming my product has been a ride, and right now I can say I'm a pretty proud person and I hope I can further pursue my venture and even start showcasing it in events. Being in this class has allowed me to use my creativity and entrepreneurship mind much more than my other classes. It allowed me to put myself out there in the world, and reach out to people for class interviews that were mainly about my product. This made me more confident in myself.

The best advice I can give someone who will be taking this course in the future is to take this course seriously. This course can teach you many entrepreneurial things and will also allow you to gain confidence in yourself as well as tap into your creativity side that you probably don't use as often as you should. However, to be able to achieve this, you must do the assignments even if you need a recording. That one recording you didn't want to do because you were either too scared or too lazy can cost you your grade. Go buy a calendar notebook and start writing down all your due dates and star one that include an interview . Best of luck.

Elevator Pitch No. 4

After posting my third elevator pitch, I started realizing my product has gone a long way since turning in my first assignment for this class. This was proven by all of the positive feedback I received by my fellow commenters. All of them seemed to like my idea, and the majority related to being stranded somewhere when it's raining or having to be somewhere at a certain time but was stopped by the rain. With all the feedback I received, I ended up changing just a few things on my model but that doesn't mean there isn't more things I want to add. I'm hoping i'll have an estimate of how long it would take someone to set the cover on their bike or scooter. With that being said, thank you to everyone who has helped me shape my product to what it is for now. I'm hoping to develop something more simpler for those who don't want something as complex as my product but something that would still work against the light rain .

Venture Concept No. 2

Holding my bike with one hand and an umbrella on the other while walking around University of Florida, I realized I wasn’t the only one who was forced to get off their bike due to the rain. Seeing how this was a regular occurrence, I asked myself “why?”. Why should I get off my bike rather than continue on biking through the rain? Well I and the majority of UF don’t want to get our personal items wet. Why not just juggle an umbrella on one hand while biking? That takes focus and too much effort. With all these questions roaming around my head, I thought of a product that would meet many bikers needs. Why hold an umbrella while biking when you can have one already installed onto your bike? No longer would bikers have to get off their bike or be forced to wear garbage bags on them. This is a big opportunity because this need is yet to be met and with the constant rainy weather in Gainesville, many students who both ride a bike as well as a motorcycle/moped will now be protected under a bike cover, umbrella.

   The name of the product I have designed is called “Coverella”. It’s not a normal umbrella attached to a bike, but rather a clear plastic material that is collapsible. You first attach it to the bottom of your seats bar and it will extend a few inches out towards the wheel and then be able to be pulled up and around you towards your handle bars under bar that is attached to your frame. This will allow you to be safely protected from the rain and wind while you’re biking. Not only is it a simple cover, but there will also be two things installed onto it to allow you to have clear visibility while biking. You will have collapsible rain wipers on all sides of your bike that are to be put into outlets that will power it to function. The second installation will be a small heating mechanism that will be attached to all sides of the cover that will heat the cover and evaporate the fog from the cover. The cover will also include to windows that you’ll be able to unzip if you need to. Once this product is officially developed and looked at it, I will start contacting stores who want to buy my product and have them in turn sell it to their loyal customers. I will also develop a website where customers will also have the option to buy it online rather than bike shops and other stores. It will go for sell on line for about 100-200$ depending on how much it cost to develop one and other related costs to keep the business running successfully.

   The main reason customers will buy this new product is because it's something they haven't seen yet nor heard about. It's exciting. This product is the solution to constantly getting rained in while biking or having to get somewhere on a certain time but is stopped by the rain forcing them to have to walk to their destination. I'm sure there are many out there who are tired of having to walk their bikes through the rain or tired of having to wait for the rain to stop to continue on scooting around town. Yes, my product will be hard to introduce and capture the audience, but once they see others around them biking around with Coveralla, they'll be wishing they had one or that will give them the push they need to buy my product.

    My product will be hard to copy because there none out there in the market like my product. You need to understand how and why my product is designed a certain way and how each mechanism works. People who wish to copy my product may only be able to make a cheap umbrella version of it. What's next for my venture ? I'm hoping to be a part of several innovation hub events where others will approach me with their feedback which I will then use to better my product and eventually seek investors.

The feedback I received was extremely helpful and informative. Two of the commenters were concerned with my product being too time consuming, little room space and my product seeming to ambitious due to it complexity . One other comments suggested turning my product to a more simpler product which would consist of a package that would include a poncho, umbrella holder for the bike and an umbrella. All feed back was helpful but I don't wish to change my product to just an umbrella because that was my original idea which was eventually shaped to the one I have now. I will however look into how much time one would need in order to install the product onto their bike or scooter.