30 the last One

1) The napkin assignment assignment sticks out to me to most because I received a lot of feedback on it. I will never forget trying to pitch my straw idea to all my friends and family and repeating my pitch over and over until I got it down. My most enjoyable experiences were completing the assignments because it gave me motivation. I was really proud coming up with the straw idea.

2) I have always seen myself as an entrepreneur but this class tested my skills and knowledge which is what I really enjoyed. Some of the assignments gave me questions that I would have never thought of on my own, this class brought me one step closer to being a more intellectual human being.

3) I recommend any student wanting to go down this path to stay focused and determined to competing tasks. Nothing is will come and motivation is all we can have to allow us to progress in life. One must remain challenged and interested to pass this class, let alone the determination to logging on and completing each assignment on time.

29A

My name is Mickel Fadel and I am a student at the University of Florida. I am here today to discuss my venture concept: The Strawisk. The ban on plastic straws in Gainesville, Florida pondered in my mind until I envisioned my product. I as an entrepreneur wanted a change for the paper straws because I saw a market that can be tampered with without causing damage with my interference.  I became a potential costumer for the product I invented. After having a few conversations regarding the transition from plastic to paper straws, I noticed that other people also disliked this new product and there were many different reasons to hate the paper straws. Many people America use paper straws, in fact, one estimates 500 million straws are used in the united states every single day. Many businesses are suffering from this change because paper is 2 dollars more than plastic. There are many restaurant owners in Gainesville who have changed from plastic to paper and that is when my opportunity sparked. With this information, I designed a well-textured straw that will stimulate the need of the customers and it will allow them to enjoy my quality product. This opportunity has capability of reaching restaurants worldwide and with the right amount of laws put in place, it will create a higher volume supplying the world. Until restaurants owners remove the sale of beverages, straws will always have a need in the market and I can seize this opportunity by creating a better product for the same price. Every person in the world has at least eaten out one time or used a straw. Straws are not meant to be important but providing that extra cushion of comfort will allow straw users to enjoy their meal even better. My window of opportunity is every lasting and it is market that can be sold to every country in the world. Plastic is always the option for people and humans do not care what they are drinking out of, as long as it is easy to use and comfortable. My invention gives straws a better platform to users and I see this invention becoming an everlasting money machine. 

My innovation is a paper straw with a twist. The Strawisk. My straw differs from other paper straws in the market because mine includes a glazed bees wax from the middle of paper straw all the way to the top of straw. This mechanism used will allow customers to to be satisfied when drinking out of the straw that I invented. The reason that my straw works better because original plastic straws rip in the middle but with my innovation we secure half of the straw allowing the straw to remain in water for a longer period without ripping apart. My straw is made out of biodegradable materials therefore it has a more positive effect on the environment than any other straw because wax is edible and is more likely to vanish faster than plastic or paper. Paper is much more expensive than plastic but due to this law passed, plastic will not be consumed by users therefore we must work with what we have got and nothing is wrong with a little twist to it from my end. Therefore, I decided to remove paper from the straw essentially saving more money than regular paper, because wax is cheaper than paper and as a user, I do want to decrease the cost for my merchants. I have decided to cut the paper in half and use wax for the other half reducing the cost of the straw, while also securing the straw. Depending on who I am dealing business with, is how my pricing will go because I refuse to sell thousands of straws to Costco and sell the same straws to local restaurants when they purchase 1/10^th of that price. What I will make sure to do is remain my cost a little under the cost that they are receiving to make sure that both parties are satisfied with this process. The only way my business can start running efficiently is to make sure I am hitting my goals and I am meeting my needs. My goal is to target a market with a high demand using The Straw-Whisk and I want to satisfy my costumers, my users, and my retailers/wholesale departments. I would essentially sell a pack of 24 straws for under 2 dollars which is cheaper than any other straw company out right now. With the packaging, the shipping, the making of the straws, the handling, the taxes, I would still be profiting from selling the straws for that much in retail price on the shelves of Walmart or Costco. My restaurant and wholesale businesses would receive a cheaper price because they are purchasing more than a few hundred straws and therefore I would be willing to drop my prices to a penny per straw. That would make 100 straws equal a dollar. I would be making so many of these straws at such a low cost that I would double my margins if I sold one straw for a penny.

My innovation will allow consumers to be satisfied to using the paper straws without complaining or feeling unhappy about their product. I for sure have felt the need to throw away my paper straw out many times due to the discomfort of the sogginess texture received from the straw. Not only will costumers be delighted from using the unique straw, we would also be raising awareness regarding out marine lives since the law was passed for that reason. The reason to why costumers would switch to my product is because it will be forced on them just how plastic or paper was forced on them, and it will be very easy to switch because it is a better product than the paper or plastic product used before. Moreover, they will switch to my product because my competitors are not giving me much competition when indeed my straw is the better product. My glazed tip includes a comfort around the lips causing a unique satisfactory in the brain to prolong the sipping action. My competitors are using other products with different materials and their weaknesses are that my product is cheaper and natural. My product is natural and has an enormous amount of supplies without harming our planet. I am more likely to succeed than anyone pursuing this venture because I have my distribution on lock down, with a demand in Gainesville for me to take advantage of.  My secret sauce is that I am cheap to make, in fact I can make the wax myself and I do not need to use a third party. My next venture is to create a professional prototype by the end of the year, and I see myself creating a large demand in the United States as an entrepreneur. This venture allows me to grasp an idea on my future.

I did not receive much feedback from my classmates, but I did speak to experts and they recommended that I think about packaging and or make the straws more personalized when ordering. We have with certain straws, we have with certain cups, why should I not franchise my straw and give it its own platform? It sounds silly but it is a market. Based off of the feedback that I received, I will be creating a curve on the tip of the straw to allow the straw to feel "funny" giving it a unique form of identification. 

28A

1)  My exit strategy on my business plan is to essentially sell it in a few years because I do not see myself expanding on my paper straw. I do not see that potential growth because I have different plans to pursue my law degree and correlating straws with it is not a match. I intend on making a few million dollars out of my business to start different ventures to grow.

2) I have selected to sell my venture because I would need more values and resources in regards of my business to boom and I could sell my business to a person to create capital in my pocket. I could create another venture like my straw invention and essentially sell that idea or grow from that idea. The reason to why I have selected this route is because I want to grow my capital, basically different plans for life.

3) It indeed has influenced me to think about ideas as much as I can. For instance, if I think about a business idea in the future, I would just need to ask myself the same question these assignments have asked me because I have came up with many new ideas in regards of my project/venture without noticing that this information is out there and all I need to do is access this information or reach out to experts in regards of questions that you may have. I now am adequate to expand on my business plan when thinking about any venture because I am capable of asking the correct questions to further assist me in my future.

27A reading reflection

Cognitive Surplus, Clay Shirky

1) This book's argument is that because of the internet, we will essentially transform a new cultural shift into how we interact with each other, the things we think about, what matters to us the most, and what our humanity will value. This book argues that due to the internet, our social engagement will shift into new perspectives and the relationships between individuals is going to have different values and principles.

2) The book enhanced my experience in this class because it taught me a few valuable things in regards of free time and utilizing social engagement. This class has made me connect virtually with other class mates and comment on their posts. Reading their venture businesses has allowed me to connect with my peers and this book discusses the new way of socializing. Not that we have not had this form of communication for a very long time, but it is the sense of what we are used to when talking to people face to face will change.

3) I would speak on correlating our normal lives and how the media impacts our day to day activities. We could be a news Chanel or a social media and we would see cause and effect of what happens to us physically and emotionally if we are on these channels for long periods of times. This book tests the means of our personnel lives and showed me that there will always be an agenda put in place, we just have to connect to one another.

4) When I read about personal values in this class, it was the AHA moment for me because we can all interpret this in a different way. My personal values will be different than my brother or my classmate and that is why the theme of this book can be taken into many different other themes depending on our experiences. For example: I will try extra hard to have a real moment with people because I have experienced that in my life but with the shift to internet of things, the next generation might not understand that value. And then that value will be forgotten about therefore it does not matter. But to me, it is my whole life so that was interesting to read.

26A

1) As the current semester comes to an end, I have reflected on the past few months and I have failed many times. My biggest failure is not receiving an A in this course. This is my biggest failure of this semester because I will receive an A average in all my other courses and if I had completed one more assignment in this course, then I would have received that A I was wishing for. There was a few assignments I could not do due to life problems, but that is no excuse and now I am sitting here with that 89.3

2) I learned that I should not be as mad as much as I am because I did not put in my complete one hundred into this course to receive that A. I have work, other classes, family problems, bills, and things that distract me from being the best version of myself. I have learned that I can either get stuck on this and allow this issue to effect me or I move on and work harder. 

3) I do not try to let failure faze me but depending on the situation, it can. I have always been the person to try new things, and take risks but failure is the reason to why I do not do such things. I am afraid of failing at the one thing I strive to do my best in school and receive a degree but there are many stops along the way that could possibility shut me down. For example, if I do not pass my bar exam, I would have to wait 6 months to try again and that is failure time lost to try again. 

25A

In my next actions, I want to get my invention a prototype to showcase my straw. As long as I have an idea of what my prototype is going to look like, then I will go out to my 5 mile radius and begin selling to restaurants near me.

Interview number 1 recommended that I try to create a curve on my tip to create a even more unique texture. Interview number 1 recommended that I give out a few samples for free before I charge and I will go ahead with that idea to make sure the consumers are satisfied.

Interview number 2 recommended that I try to speak with other straw merchants and become their top priority. If I am benefiting many producers, other businesses might go out and I will remain with relationships from all across the world.  Interview number 2 recommended that customers might want to be able to bite down on the straw but this straw will not allow customer to do such because it is wax.

Interview number 3 recommended that I should think about weather my straws should come in a wrap or not. It did not think about this previously and I was happy to learn this from my interviewer. He recommends that the customers would want a clean sanitized straw rather than a straw that has minor dirt.


In terms of growing, I do see my business flourishing all throughout Gainesville since I saw how paper straws grew rapidly in Gainesville. My business could expand in a matter of months and depending on how well my demand gets, I could cover most of Florida in just a matter of months.
I want to essentially grow my business throughout America, and nationwide if the ban on plastic straws continues. I could create a market in America only, but that would mean I am limiting my expansion worldwide.


New market


I could essentially target people who use reusable straws. I could create my own reusable wax straw to bring in more straw lovers and take them away from their current straws such as bamboo, metal, etc. The way I could attract them is the difference in tip texture and how the curve around their lips would feel. I believe if I can master the art of texture around the lips off of the straw, then I could attract those customers around my product completing the transition from any other straw to my straw.

Targeting a new market will allow my business to have a momentum. Creating a momentum will steer the demand to increase because now even straw users would be curious to how my product feels like and they would just want to try it if anything. Attracting different types of markets will allow my business to expand.

With the different types of markets that I would be covering, I have interviewed two people in this matters. the First interview went pretty well and the best advice I got from him was that I needed to make the straw feel a little more personal. Nothing is wrong with creating designs or finishes to the straw to allow straw lovers to have their personal straw. My second interview recommended that the straws should include a hole that gives a good ratio of drink per sip and that is something I did not think about. It sounds a little complicated, but depending on the hole of the straw, is how the ratio is measured. I would need to create the flow to be good enough, not too much. \

In this new market I have learned that it is much deeper than going to a drive thru store and receiving a straw with your drink. Some of these people truly care about the environment just as much as I do and when they hear about my biodegradable materials used for this straw, it will attract them more towards my straw. I learned that allowing the validation in people to resemble through the straw will work and if I need to expand in my idea, I need to allow people's opinions to matter. This market is not as attractive as my first market because I am targeting people who drink out of straws everyday, but this market does give me new ideas and insights on what I should do next when targeting new audiences. What surprised me the most is that people really do throw away paper straws without even using them because they are very uncomfortable using them,  and some even go the extra mile to carry their own straw in purse or car for daily uses. I am not a person that will walk around with a straw, and therefore this is why I believe that my straw should be universal.

24A

My name is Mickel Fadel. I am a student at the University of Florida. I am here today to share with you my description of a concept for a new venture. The Straw-Whisk. I have found an opportunity here in Gainseville, Florida and I am seeking to seize this unmet need using my innovation and venture concept. Since Alachua County passed the ban on plastic straws, I as an entrepreneur became more aware of this potential venture concept and desired a change for the paper straws. Essentially, I became a potential customer with a need for a reformation of paper straws. After a few conversations the effect of paper straws, I became aware of this problem that Gainesville and other regions have suffered and that created a window of opportunity for myself. My Straw-Whisk is geographically stable and demographically has the potential to flourish due to the number of students and individuals who eat out in general. There are many restaurants in the world and receiving a well-textured straw will stimulate the need of the customers and will allow them to be loyal to the higher quality product with the “nice” straws. This opportunity has the capability of reaching worldwide with the right amount of laws put in place and it has a high-volume demand worldwide. Until restaurant owners remove the sale of beverages, straws will always have a need in the market and this window of opportunity is infinite worldwide. Every person in the world has at least eaten out or used a straw, and they did not care which kind of straw they got, if they received a straw with their beverage. Plastic is always the option and therefore if I can get my product out there just like plastic did, then I see my invention becoming everlasting money machine.

My Innovation is a paper straw with a twist. The Straw-Whisk. My straw is different than any other paper straw because it includes a glazed bees wax from the middle of the straw all the way to the tip in order for the costumer to feel satisfied drinking out of his/her beverage without the soggy texture. Some paper straws even rip apart, and with my glazed protection we secure the middle part of the straw allowing the straw to remain in water for a longer period without ripping apart. My straw is made out of biodegradable materials therefore it has a more positive environment risk than any other straw because if it ends up in the ocean, the wax is more likely to get eaten by fishes and the paper will dissolve in the water, unlike plastic. Paper is much more expensive than plastic but due to this law passed, paper will not be consumed by users and nothing is wrong with a little twist to it from my end. Therefore, I decided to remove paper from the straw essentially saving more money than regular paper, because wax is cheaper than paper and as a user, I do want to decrease the cost for my merchants. Therefore, I have decided to cut the paper in half and use wax for the other half reducing the cost of the straw, while also securing the straw. Depending on who I am dealing business with, is how my pricing will go because I refuse to sell thousands of straws to Costco and sell the same straws to local restaurants when they purchase 1/10^th of that price. What I will make sure to do is remain my cost a little under the cost that they are receiving to make sure that both parties are satisfied with this process. The only way my business can start running efficiently is to make sure I am hitting my goals and I am meeting my needs. My goal is to target a market with a high demand using The Straw-Whisk and I want to satisfy my costumers, my users, and my retailers/wholesale departments. I would essentially sell a pack of 24 straws for under 2 dollars which is cheaper than any other straw company out right now. With the packaging, the shipping, the making of the straws, the handling, the taxes, I would still be profiting from selling the straws for that much in retail price on the shelves of Walmart or Costco. My restaurant and wholesale businesses would receive a cheaper price because they are purchasing more than a few hundred straws and therefore I would be willing to drop my prices to a penny per straw. That would make 100 straws equal a dollar. I would be making so many of these straws at such a low cost that I would double my margins if I sold one straw for a penny.

Venture Capital.

My innovation will allow consumers to be satisfied to using the paper straws without complaining or feeling unhappy about their product. I for sure have felt the need to throw away my paper straw out many times due to the discomfort of the sogginess texture received from the straw. Not only will costumers be delighted from using the unique straw, we would also be raising awareness regarding out marine lives since the law was passed for that reason. The reason to why costumers would switch to my product Is because it will be forced on them just how plastic or paper was forced on them, and it will be very easy to switch because it is a better product than the paper or plastic product used before. My glazed tip includes a comfort around the lips causing a unique satisfactory in the brain to prolong the sipping action. My competitors are other straw makers with different materials and their weaknesses are that my product is cheaper and natural. My product is natural and has an enormous amount of supplies without harming our planet. My secret sauce is that I am cheap to make, my next venture is to create a professional prototype by the end of the year, and I see myself creating a large demand in the United States as an entrepreneur. This venture allows me to grasp an idea on my future.

23A My Venture

A list of my resources with my straws...

Resources.

1) I have a hot market in Gainesville
2) I learned how to make Wax which is cheaper than purchasing it.
3) I have a storage to begin my process
4) I do not have capital, but I do have investors. If i pitch my idea well enough, I think I would have a shot to gain a few thousands to begin.
5) I am connected with a lot of restaurant owners.
6) I'm bringing in the cheapest straws on the market besides plastic straws
7) I can create a demand in the south region and create a flow worldwide
8) I have a few promoters on social media, not for straws but I could use that somehow
9) The way I would sell my straws would show Gainesville market that they would pay less for my straws and they are more comforting than paper.
10) Creating a law against the plastic straws would only assist my business to grow and that is all we need to happen worldwide. There needs to be a ban against plastic straws and then my business would flourish.

VRIN

1) This is rare because it is hard to get noticed in a city like Jacksonville, Florida but Gainesville Florida has that market to where if your business is good enough, then you will create a market that maneuvers from city to city.

2) I do not have to purchase wax to create the solution on my straw because it is a combination of a few materials and it is very cheap to make.

3) I have a mini lab storage that is big enough to produce a few thousand hundred straws for testing.

4) Investors from church, family and friends, etc. If I can pitch my idea well enough, I believe that one investor is willing to give me 20 to 30 thousand and I will show growth back in a few months.

5) I used to work at 4 different restaurants in Jacksonville and they would support me and purchase my straws instead of theirs. Other restaurants would adopt the idea and I could grow using that mechanism.

6) No other straw is cheaper than my straw, I am capable of creating the straw at the cheapest cost and I would essentially create a machine to assist me on creating it even cheaper.

7) Creating a demand in the south would help me create a demand in the north and creating a demand in the west would help me further my straws worldwide.

8) Creating a demand using social media is not hard for me because I am experienced in utilizing my social media. I can give a platform to my straws on social media and that would create a different demand for my business.

9)  Providing cheap cost to market guarantees purchases from businesses because it is always about receiving the most beneficial item for a cheaper cost and this is what I am providing.

10) I would need a law to create a demand for my business. Laws such as banning plastic straws world wide.

TOP RESOURCE

My top and best resource is being cheap and beneficial. It is most important because it hits a few home runs for users who are using them and users who are purchasing them.

22A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P
9ARtBMi_E


2) A really great feedback I received this time was that the wax should go to half way of the straw because it rips in the middle and leaves a hole. If I can wax the paper straw halfway, then the straw would not rip apart in the middle.

3) I changed a few things about the pitch, as well as my project. I am going to put wax on the whole straw instead of just the tip to prevent straw from ripping. The pitch is almost recognized and i was more comfortable this time recording on the camera.