Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1. The Hypothesis: Friends and family divided by long distances have few opportunities to enjoy board and RPG games like many of them use to play when together.
• Who: Friends and family that enjoyed board/RPG games
• What: Don't have the ability to play these games with each other, losing the connection between each other
• Why: Divided by long distance, and lacking options to fulfill the need
2. Testing the Boundaries:
• Who: There are few others that have this need, but not everyone friend group or family that splits apart played board/RPG games together. However, with the ever increasing population playing online games, I feel there is a chance to even market towards divided groups that didn't once play board/RPG games.
• What: Again, not all divided groups used to play these kinds of games with each other. And there are a few alternatives that reach into this opportunity (roll20, online social deduction games, etc.).
• Why: The why remains the same for most every customer, long distance friends and family is a common problem.
3. Interviews:
• For each interview, I talked with people I knew had this problem (friends, family, and others), as well as several people where I didn't know if they had the problem.
• Most interviewees had tried and were unsatisfied with the attempts at patching the problem that are out in the market today. An issue that many of them had was a steep learning curve in the software, as well as a lack of communication ability when using the software. Also, many of them seemed to miss the physical aspect of most board/RPG games, presenting the idea that giving customers something physical to interact with while playing online with friends and family might help set us apart from the other products out there.
• Some pros for the online RPG simulators out on the market that I got out of the interviews however: people liked the easy ability to store and retrieve information for RPGs. People also liked the opportunities that technology offered, such as secret messaging between players that could not be done when in the same room together.
4. What I Learned
• From the interviews, I learned that many people had been scared away from the issue by difficult and inadequate software, as well as a lack of something physical to interact with. I also learned that, for those that didn't know they had the problem, they could be easily convinced that they had it to some degree with questions such as: do you have younger siblings you wish to interact with more? Do/did you play online games such as Clash of Clans or Pirate/Wizard 101? Many people that had these problems or had played these games agreed that they could possibly enjoy whatever would come from this Opportunity Hypothesis.

Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends

Economics

1) Rising purchases through e-commerce of toys and games

• https://www.marketresearch.com/academic/

• (Through the UF Business Library)

• The opportunity here is the apparent ability (or at least possibility) to forgo brick and mortar retail shopping all together and simply have an online presence. 

• The prototypical customer is the board game buyer that would prefer the ease of ordering online rather than going to retail stores. Online shopping is on the rise, and there seems little evidence of it declining.  

• The opportunity will be somewhat difficult to exploit for one major reason: advertising. Some of the money saved by not having a physical presence will have to be used to get the word out about the product, as nobody will see it while walking through the store looking for games. This can partially be mitigated by offering game stores (retail stores focused on board games and the like) the product not for retail, but for use by their patrons on hosted game-nights. I personally know several game shops that have nights once a week or so dedicated to allowing patrons to play board games in-shop. Another method to get by this is online fund-raisers like Kickstarter. Many companies go on Kickstarter not just for raising money, but also to showcase their product.

• I saw this opportunity because, as a singular company rather than the whole board game industry, I may be able to take advantage of it. Larger companies and the industry as a whole would require the retail store because of their high demand. However, I believe while a startup at least, a single company offering board games could save money by not paying retail stores to stock their product.

2) The future work force

• https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/technology-and-the-future-of-work/overview.html  

•      Found by searching for automation's effect on the work force.

• The article here states that the future of technology could have a beneficial impact on higher-up jobs like managerial and professional work. It also recommends that individuals seeking jobs adopt a lifelong learning mindset, where they must keep up to date with advents in technology. Assuming the seemingly-apocalyptic scenario that the "machines take over our jobs" has some merit in that technology is upending careers ad replacing workers, I believe an opportunity arises in this education of future workers on the advent of new technologies. However, this opportunity is not in higher-up positions, as that need for education is filled by Universities. The opportunity is in the education of middle to lower level jobs on technological innovations that apply to them. 

• The customer offering this opportunity is the person that didn't go to a university or trade school, either because they couldn't afford it, or because they didn't have the time to go. Paired with this is the company looking to hire a diversified workforce and/or looking to fill mid-level jobs. Essentially, a more formalized on-the-job training regiment of middle to lower class workers that can be offered to companies to speed up the hiring and job-training process.

• The filling of this educational opportunity will be difficult. Obtaining people with the knowledge to educate workers, offering this education opportunity to companies and workers that need it, and keeping companies and workers satisfied when someone in the chain (either the company, worker, or educator) inevitably screws something up. Essentially, whoever takes advantage of this opportunity would have to distinguish the brand from the patrons. 

• I've seen a couple services that fill opportunities similar to the one I describe: online universities, training videos and quizzes at larger, more construction oriented companies such as Home Depot, and training for more corporate jobs. However, the opportunity here can be filled by offering training on everything from construction to hair-styling to waiting tables. It can be more "free-lance" based (almost like DoorDash, if the delivery drivers were educated people with free time that didn't mind giving job training), offering jobs to people already with degrees or experience, hiring them to educate workers for patron companies in their area. Or one-on-one training for workforce jobs. It's complex and rambling and unfinished, but it's an idea.

Regulatory

3) Rental electronic or normal bikes on nature trails

• https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=BLM-2020-0001-0001 

•  The regulation page states that they wish to encourage the recreation of all Americans, including those with disabilities, as well as encourage the enjoyment of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. I believe, if someone were to come to the BLM or the National Park Service with the of having a bike rental station at these parks, they would welcome it. 

•  The customer is anyone that enjoys natural parks and recreation (a market that may be about to boom, at least momentarily, with the end of quarantine). 

•  The opportunity is relatively easy to take advantage of, just contact the proper agencies. The only issue I can think of is ensuring the safety of the user, and making sure the bike will be returned. 

•  I could not say why I'm the only one that would see this opportunity, but I've done a little research and I'm pretty sure there's not anything out there yet like this. It may be a little imposing, working with the government and dealing with all the regulations.

4) Fish and wildlife regulations

• https://myfwc.com/fishing/freshwater/regulations/new-changes/  

•  Fish and Wildlife regulations change all the time nationwide. My idea is an app that allows you to look up the fish you caught and see what the regulations are.

•  Recreational fishers, both onshore and offshore, would use this app. It would be a singular means of keeping fishermen up to date. Rather than having to constantly look up the changing regulations, the app could notify them when there is an update or change. There'd be the option to pick what kind of fish you've caught if you know, or search for what kind you have based on length, color, shape, etc.

•  The opportunity would be a little difficult to exploit, if not for the database of fish, then for keeping up with regulations in each state. 

•  I saw this opportunity while thinking back to what regulations most confused me. Back home when I would go fishing with my friends or offshore with my family, there was a lot of guesswork involved on what kind of fish we had, and especially on whether we were allowed to keep it. We had to go based on past experience, or go through the pain of looking it all up.

Identifying Local Opportunities

1) UF SG Senate meeting ends abruptly after “quorum bust”

https://www.alligator.org/news/student_government/uf-sg-senate-meeting-ends-abruptly-after-quorum-bust/article_30687a68-9a53-11ea-89b7-5f973555d870.html

This story describes how the minority party in the UF Student Government organized a "quorum bust," wherein several senators dropped out of a Zoom meeting at once in order to make the number of representatives below quorum, or below the minimum attendance to continue the meeting. This was in opposition to a bill that would do away with the 2/3 majority vote required to elect executive cabinet officers, replacing it with a simple majority.

The problem presented in the story, aside from one of the most childish methods of legislation I've ever heard of, is this: why should I, as a UF student, care?

I've been at UF for three years now, I have yet to find a reason to care about what goes on in Student Government, and I have gotten along just fine without a reason. This article didn't help one bit by the way, instead I now think they're just a bunch of bickering children.

I'm certain I'm not the only student that is focusing too much on my academics to know what is going on with the SG, and I'm sure it is a problem. The article mentions that the SG was able to swing around $500,000, with an extra $4 million in reserve. I'm certain this money is capable of making a difference, but I don't know what they do with it. I've talked with several other students, and they don't know either.

There may be something like this out there already, but I propose an app that updates students on the goings-on of the Student Government.

2) Why Gainesville faces some of the highest utility rates in the state

https://www.alligator.org/news/why-gainesville-faces-some-of-the-highest-utility-rates-in-the-state/article_b081958e-076b-11ea-a717-97472129ba59.html

This article describes some of the reasons GRU has high utility rates. Mainly, these rates are so high because of the purchase of a renewable generation station, but also because of the company's general fund transfer (the money they pay to the city).

The people that suffer are all GRU users as rates increase. I pay my GRU bill, and I can personally tell you that they're nothing to laugh at. On top of high rates, I've often run into a lack of communication with GRU. In one instance, there was an issue with my account that I didn't hear about until there was a $30 upcharge for the payment being late.

I think the main issue here is a difference in values of GRU's users. Of course, everyone will want renewable energy sources, but everyone also wants cheaper rates. This is the problem with monopolies, natural or otherwise. It's a terrible situation, but there will always be compromises that leave everyone disappointed. Government involvement doesn't make it any easier, as the general fund transfer will show. That cost is put on the backs of people that use the monopoly's service. (By the way, this is not an argument for communism, which, put simply, is the epitome of big government and monopoly. That may ruffle some feathers).

3) UF, SEC announce plans to return athletes to campus

https://www.alligator.org/sports/_breaking_news/uf-sec-announce-plans-to-return-athletes-to-campus/article_57c87940-9c52-11ea-a6ad-37fbe72c1dce.html

This article is about UF allowing student athletes to return to campus workouts on a voluntary basis, starting May 26th.

The problem I find in this, as a sports fan, is that I still have no idea what the football schedule will be, or whether it will even happen or not. I am 100% certain that all other sports fans are a little worried about what will happen with college football due to COVID-19.

I offer a solution very similar to what NASCAR has been doing, should the season not be opened up. Get the coaches of all college teams Madden 20, allow them to make a team with only players that attended their school, and start them on the normal schedule that they would have played. You can have players and other coaches on conference calls offering advice, but only the coaches are allowed to play

4) Inside Gainesville gyms’ first week after reopening

https://www.alligator.org/covid-19/alachua-county/inside-gainesville-gyms-first-week-after-reopening/article_117625f2-9c96-11ea-aa61-63eb5fe36a45.html

This article is on how some gyms are taking precautions while reopening from the COVID quarantine. They are sanitizing regularly and enforcing social distancing by keeping machines and weights six feet apart.

The problem here is, I and many others still don't trust this. The gym is a nasty place to begin with, but we brave it for fitness and (should) shower off quickly afterwards, not just for the smell. Now however, people with half a brain that once enjoyed going to the gym (myself included, except maybe on the half a brain) don't trust that the person 6 feet away from me slinging sweat all over the gym won't have the virus. Most gyms aren't even requiring masks. Flattening body curves may be what... unflattens?... fattens the infection curve.

5) The social distance between us

https://www.alligator.org/the_avenue/the-social-distance-between-us/article_aa617a48-6d23-11ea-8a5e-9f7d04bbc7dc.html

This article describes how some UF and Santa Fe students are handling the social distancing and quarantine. One story in particular stood out to me, however. A girl had to drive home to south Florida because her sorority house closed down. The student's mother asked her to pick up toilet paper on the way, because the mother had been searching for four days and couldn't find any. This made me think, a lot of people have this issue in larger cities probably, and this solution of asking someone from farther away to pick some up may not be crazy.

I'm willing to bet, in these times of boredom, some people in jobs like Instacart would be willing to take a couple hours to drive some toilet paper out. Apps like this could have a voluntary "expanded range" section, where people that enjoy the drive could take essentials from towns to larger cities, at least while this pandemic still goes on.

Forming an Opportunity Belief

1) Through experience, I believe there is an untapped opportunity for an online roleplay/social deduction game designed for long-distances.

2) I am 90% certain this opportunity exists. The other 10% is there because there may be a software out there I haven't found, or someone may have already designed an rpg or social deduction game that satisfies the need I've described.

1. People move away, it is unavoidable. Friends go off to college, family moves out of state, people you enjoyed spending time with now are only accessible through phone calls and online games. These are well and good, but no phone call or game of Minecraft will give the same enjoyment and connection as sitting down and playing a board game with your friends and/or family.
2. I used to play board games with my friends and family all the time: Secret Hitler, Twilight Imperium, D&D, Betrayal at the House on the Hill. Now that I'm in college, a lot of my friends are back home, and my family members are in different cities or states, I'm unable to enjoy those battles of wits, those sessions of creativity, those truly enjoyable times of bonding. I'm certain a lot of other people used to enjoy these same pastimes, and now have the same issue as I do.
3. This need has existed always existed.
4. There are a few websites and softwares that try to bridge the gap between players: roll20, dnd beyond, tabletop simulators. However, they are a patch to an issue, and a lack-luster one at that. They are clunky and subtract from the experience by software difficulties. Online games as well, while enjoyable, do fill the same craving as sitting down and accusing your friend of being a Fascist, or having to reroute your whole campaign in D&D because the players don't want to follow the omen you spent hours coming up with. For those of you who don't know, that was a reference to the social deduction game Secret Hitler, I'm not actually accusing anyone of fascism.

3a) The prototypical customer is anyone who enjoys board games, social deduction games, or RPGs that used to play with their friends and family, but can't now because those people are gone. It may sound very niche, but think back to how many friends you've had to leave behind, and now look at the booming market for board games and such.

4a)

What is the exact nature of the need?

A steep learning curve in RPG softwares like roll20, and a lack of ability to really conceptualize your idea to the players

How long have they had the need?

At least 5 or 6 years now. Their family eventually joined them at college, but now they're going away to grad school in another state.

When did they become aware of the need? Why?

When they moved away to college, they couldn't play RPGs with their old group of friends and family.

How are they currently addressing their need? How satisfied are they with this solution?

Tried using roll20 several times, even payed for a pack designed to help with the roleplay experience, but still can't get the players or themselves hooked.

3b) The prototypical customer's description remains the same as last iteration. The interview was with a different person, however.

4b) What is the exact nature of the need?

A group of friends they used to play RPGs with now lives in several different states.

How long have they had the need?

A couple years.

When did they become aware of the need? Why?

They move around a lot, so as soon as they moved away from that group the first time

How are they currently addressing their need? How satisfied are they with this solution?

They use a tabletop simulator bought off of Steam literally called Tabletop Simulator that works pretty well for them. It's a little clunky to use, and takes time to understand, but once they all beat the learning curve it worked fine.

3c) The prototypical customer still remains of the same description.

4b) What is the exact nature of the need?

Software issues in RPG simulators like bad camera quality and lag. Also, a lack of physical objects to play with.

How long have they had the need?

Since most of their friends that play these games moved out about 3 years ago.

When did they become aware of this need? Why?

Since before those friends moved out they realized they wouldn't have anyone to goof off with.

How are they currently addressing their need? How satisfied are they with this solution?

Tried roll20 once and couldn't understand it, now plays with another group of friends, but prefers the GM style of the old group. (GM stands for Game Master, which is the person that designed the campaign in D&D and controls the story that the players go through. Each person has their own style)

5) There apparently are a few softwares out there that attempt to satisfy this need, but again, they seem to be a bandage over a problem. With a game designed for play over video-chat that could even take advantage of some of the options that these softwares offer, like muting and turning off cameras, there would be no problem to bandage over.

7) I am now down to 80% certainty that my opportunity is there. Some software issues seem unavoidable: lag, bad camera/sound quality. Also, possibly going into the RPG market would be a little futile, given the near-monopoly of D&D. That doesn't ruler out social deduction games however.

I believe a lot of ideas I had about the opportunity have been trimmed away. RPGs are difficult to design, let alone design for use over computers. They require a transferring of imagination between GM and player, which is difficult to do over a video camera. And there are plenty of simple RPGs in the market that may be what my opportunity would turn into, should I continue down that path.

I believe entrepreneurs should allow customer feed-back to sharpen their idea, not shave away at it entirely. Use their ideas and their needs to hone your own. How could yours fix this problem? By losing this segment of the idea and retaining this one? I hope that makes sense.

My Entrepreneurship Story

Entrepreneurship and Me

    Last fall, when I had just started as a Finance major in the college of business, my friend asked me if I wanted to join his company. Change-Up Health was his creation, providing a platform for easy donations to in-need hospitals. It worked by tracking your transactions on your credit or debit card, and rounding up the change to the nearest dollar. That amount was donated to a rural hospital near you.

    My friend wanted me to join as the Chief Financial Officer, in charge of the company's budget, financial statements, and taxes. It was a great opportunity, and I happily accepted. I learned a lot while I worked with my friend: I helped table meetings between the officers, spoke with business advisors and possible investors, and kept track of company expenses.

    Sadly however, my friend the founder seemed to lose his vision for the company, putting it to the side a lot. Now, nothing is going on with Change-Up, and my friend hasn't mentioned it or worried about it in several months. He has gone on to start a real-estate wholesale company, and it seems to be going well.

    I won't regret working with him however. It was a lot of fun, and I gained some good experience in the process. I learned that starting a business isn't nearly as imposing as I'd expected. Even the company falling by the wayside taught me that a business is only as good as the vision of its owners. Once they lose the desire to continue it on, it is bound to fail.

    I've enrolled in ENT3003 to hopefully find what sparks that entrepreneurial spirit that my friend has. I have a couple ideas for starting my own business, but I don't know how to get started or what direction to go in. I hope to learn, if not methods for starting a company, at least some ways to drive my creativity and realize my visions for my business.

My Bug List

My Bug List

1. When you click a button on an important website like your when your transferring money in your bank or redeeming a code for a text book and the computer just sits there doing nothing or spinning and loading forever. Scares me. What if I refresh and try again and the first one actually worked and I'm just transferring twice the funds or signing up for two textbooks?
• This happens because my internet drops at inopportune times, or because I didn't check my sign in information and something is wrong?
2. When people walk across the street and there's a crosswalk not 30 feet from them. I think at that point it's fair game to hit them, especially when they don't even look.
• Probably happens because some people are just intrinsically, flagrantly stupid.
3. When people don't have their dog on a leash, and they get mad when their dog comes running up to mine (who is on a leash), and mine isn't all that pleased with their presence.
• Admittedly, my dog should behave better. But this probably happens because they're still in the process of training their dog to not need a leash, and my dog is there to teach that silly little hopping cockadoodle-whatever that she shouldn't go running up to other dogs.
4. When I'm going through my playlist and in that rhythm of skipping and accidentally pass a song I want to hear. Then, when I hit back, somehow it's not the same song.
• I honestly don't know how this happens. Maybe it has something to do with the randomize code?
5. Just like Mr. Incredible, when I clean up my place and not even a day later it gets messy again. "I just cleaned up this mess! Can we keep it clean for 10 minutes?"
• I need to learn organization and clean up after myself constantly.
6. When people try to take my food without asking. Not random people, like my girlfriend or my family members. It's my food, do NOT touch it.
• I lack manners, and so do they. But they started it, so I must finish it.
7. When I have a great vision of a comic book character or scene or something, but I can't seem to draw it.
• I like to doodle, and I'm trying to get better at drawing. I need practice, but it's so discouraging when your great vision won't be realized.
8. When they sell "Avengers" memorabilia, but they don't include Iron Man for some reason! There's ALWAYS Captain America, the most boy-scout Avenger, but there is never Iron Man for some reason.
• Not that many people must be as big of fans of him as I am, so he's not marketed as much. There's still a bunch of his stuff, don't get me wrong, but when I see that Hulk and Black Widow have their own wrist braces at CVS, and there's not one with an Iron Man Repulsor in the palm?! That's just laziness on the manufacturer's part.
9. When people say Superman is a Mary Sue, but are fans of Batman. Really? You talk about how Superman is always a deus ex machina, but then say that Batman can beat him because "Oh oh oh, he's sooooo SMART. He's got a plan for EVERYTHING." How can you plan for a fist going through your skull at light speed? If Superman wanted Batman dead, Batman wouldn't have time to prepare for it. But SOMEHOW he always does, and Superman is still the Mary Sue?
• People just haven't read the comics. The Superman Unchained series or the Death of Superman or the new Justice League comics shows that there's at least 20 different things out there that can and have beaten Superman, but he perseveres through strength of will, not by a contrived plot device (like every one of Batman's little gadgets).
10. When someone says something funny, but then I find out a day later they got it from a meme and they acted like they were so original.
• The times they are achanging, and I'm not changing with them. I'm just behind on the sense of humor.
11. When people don't treat books correctly. Dog-earing or just being negligent. They're sources of knowledge and entertainment, treat them right!
• People don't see books in the same light that I do. And that's fine, I just think it's disrespectful is all.
12. When I just washed my car, and a bird decides it's a porcelain throne.
• I need to stop parking under trees, or start bird-hunting from my driver-side window.
13. When my dog doesn't eat the food I spent $50 dollars on.
• I guess I'm a bit like an Italian grandmother that gets offended when someone doesn't eat. I just need to be patient with the dog.
14. When I'm trying to put an anchor in the wall, and it doesn't bite and starts spinning, messing up the drywall around it.
• I need to use a stud finder, or realize that my whole freaking condo is made of concrete and the anchors won't go in all the way.
15. Star-head screws.Why would you design something to strip so easily?
• I couldn't say why these things were invented, but I know the Devil had something to do with it.
16. When you have to repr something in your condo because whoever owned the place before you didn't know what a wall-anchor was, or how to properly use mortar behind the shower tiles, so now your shelves are falling off the wall and there's a crack in your shower.
• People just don't have the skills for remodeling, and I should just be proud that I have some knowledge of it.
17. When people name their kid Kyle, but it's spelled like a physicist threw up alphabet soup.
• Elon Musk was a bit of a jerk before-hand, but did he really have to go that far? As in number 2, some people are just intrinsically, flagrantly stupid.
18. How few fruit snacks there are in a pack.
• Too much of a good thing I guess?
19. When I forget things.
• I need a planner.
20. When a professor doesn't profess. They just post a recording from a couple years ago, then go over examples with very little soul. I'm not paying college tuition so they can reuse crap, I'm paying them to teach me now. (Obviously this semester and last don't count, nobody could have predicted the quarantine.)
• I understand the idea of "I should be teaching myself," I really do. It can help with understanding, and sometimes it works. But if I'm teaching myself, what do I need you for? (Not you specifically whoever is reading this.)

    This was relatively difficult in that I'm pretty forgetful and can't remember when something bugs me. Past number 14 I was kind of stretching. I'm pretty happy overall, and these things do bug me, but I get over them fast. Also, I had some trouble coming up with why some of these happen, because a lot of them are based on other peoples' actions. Some people are just intrinsically, flagrantly stupid.

First Blog Post

Here there is a post.

It is also a haiku.

Are you satisfied?