9A: Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Who: When conducting my interviews, I found that there was a decent amount of people that fell outside my market and opportunity. These people are those who have been smoking the juul or any other vape for a while and have come to terms with it and are convinced that it is better for you than smoking cigarettes even though there is little actual medical evidence to support this thought. My first interviewee said that he was not interested in stopping smoking the juul because he thinks there is no harm in it. My next interviewee said that, “this is not a nicotine issue, this is a parenting issue”. She, a 21-year-old female college student, said that parents can easily cut down on the “juuling” issue simply by parenting their children better.

·      I found a surprising market while conducting interviews. My third and fourth interviewees are parents of middle-aged school kids who they personally caught juuling. They took my idea for a solution surprisingly well and said that they would allow their kids to vape if the juice contained no nicotine at all. These results surprised me.

My last interviewee is a former Juul smoker who quit when after realizing just how harmful smoking these vapes can be. She said she did not think a product like this would work because the nicotine is what keeps people buying the product; so, taking out what keeps the customer coming back was “inadvisable” in her opinion.

What: When talking to the first interviewee, a really good point was brought up. My product that contains no nicotine may not be successful or stop anyone at all from using the nicotine-filled products. You can’t control what people will do especially when the trend is extremely popular and there has not been enough medical research done to convince the public of the true dangers of the device itself.

Why: The need is not any different- the only issue concerns whether or not you can actually convince kids to stop doing what they perceive to be “cool and in right now”. You also can not try to get someone to switch to a product that contains no nicotine if the consumer has no problem with nicotine itself.

                                    Inside the Boundary                         Outside the Boundary

Who:               Middle aged kids or teenagers that                 Middle aged kids or parents who do

                                    are hooked on nicotine                       not care about the danger of nicotine

                        College aged kids wanting to stop                  College aged kids who do not care

being addicted to nicotine                              about being addicted to nicotine

Parents wanting to help their children            Parents who smoke themselves

Combat the effects of nicotine addiction

What:              Need is stopping nicotine addiction               Stopping nicotine addictions

in under age kids

Why:               Smoking the juul is considered “cool”           Smoking the juul is considered“cool”

                        And is seen as a healthy alternative              

8A: Solving the Problem

I have two intended solutions to the opportunity outlined in 7A.



Solution #1

The first solution I have is to make a juul or otherwise similar vape that is teenage friendly (if teens/young adults really feel the need to vape) that contains absolutely no nicotine. Flavors could then be however sweet the consumer wanted and could target a younger audience without the dangerous side effects of nicotine on non-fully developed brains. The “juice” contained in the pods also must have no carcinogens or any dangerous chemicals so that all adverse health effects can be avoided on all fronts. The product can be tested by physicians and corporations alike ensuring the safety of the final product. Anyone craving a nicotine buzz would be out of luck, but anyone wanting to juul or vape just to go along with the current norms of society would have a safe option to do so.



Solution #2

Solution 2 involves making juul pods or juices containing progressively lower and lower nicotine levels to safely wean those already addicted off of nicotine. The pods would all be the same price and be sold everywhere these products are already sold. The goal would eventually be to get all those underage on pods which contain absolutely no nicotine at all as outlined in solution #1. While this solution still contains harmful chemicals, I think it effectively would be able to combat nicotine addiction since going “cold turkey” on any addiction is extremely hard to pull off. Those customers over the legal age are free to buy any nicotine level they choose since it is legal under the law to consume or use products containing nicotine.

7A: Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Cutting down on use of Nicotine-Addictive Vape Pens

· Opportunity: Every day in the United States, young adults and even kids under the age of 18 are using vape pens, juuls, or other e-cigarettes and contracting nicotine addictions.

· The Who: Young Adults and teenagers

· The What: Young adults and teenagers are getting addicted to nicotine at ages where brain development is still occurring

· The Why: Vaping is seen as “cool” or “trendy” and is advertised as being healthier than cigarettes. Flavors like “mango” or “cotton candy” are used to target a younger consumer base.





· Testing the who: Young Americans are not the only ones experiencing this issue; many young adults around the world have seen society shift away from cigarettes and turn to vapes. Some older age adults or former cigarette smokers now smoke vapes, but the real issue is the age of some vape users. Facts to support this include that 25% of people aged 15-24 surveyed by www.truthinitiative.org recognized the popular vape “the Juul” and 63% of people aged 15-24 did not know the product contained nicotine at all.

· Testing the what: Youth in America have become prey to tobacco and nicotine companies once again. The advertisers strongly show juuling as being “cool” and “trendy” and much safer than smoking cigarettes. While the juul may not contain as many harmful chemicals as cigarettes, it still contains the highly addictive chemical nicotine and scientists and researchers are still not sure the long-term effects/consequences of smoking the Juul. However, what is known is the effect of nicotine on young developing brains; it’s not a positive effect at all.

· Testing the why: Why people juul varies on a person to person basis. Knowing the consequences of nicotine addiction and being willing to accept the unknown future consequences of vape smoke all for the purpose of fitting in with the latest trend or getting “a buzz on” seems childish and immature to me. Some people say it helps with stress or even they just like to do it. Again, due to advertisements targeting a younger consumer base, the rise of nicotine addictions and vape-users has increased dramatically and not enough is being done to combat this wide-ranging health issue.





· Interview #1

o In this interview, I found that this young male in college got into juuling this year after smoking some at a few bars he went out at. He said to me that he knows that it’s not the best for him, but that he rationalizes it through telling himself that it could be cigarettes which is worse. He laughed when asked why he continues to do it and told me he didn’t really know. He thinks he is definitely addicted because every time he is stressed, consumes alcohol, or is even just bored, he finds himself reaching into his pocket to take out the Juul. He says he would like to stop, and that he thinks its “pretty messed up” that so many middle school and high school aged kids are getting nicotine addictions as a result of flavors like mango and crème brulee. This definitely constitutes a need for stronger regulations on the sale of this products to minors.

· Interview #2

o In this interview, I interviewed a female classmate who has a middle school aged brother. She expressed to me her concern that her brother’s friends juul and are encouraging him to do the same. She referenced many conversations she has had with him warning him of the consequences of such actions. She does not know for sure or not whether he juuls too. She has not found him doing so or found him with any products related to the juul or vape, but she still harbors concerns. She agrees with the notion that companies selling vape products should not have flavors that target younger consumer bases. This proves the need for the stopping of these companies targeting younger consumer bases.

· Interview #3

o In this interview I had a conversation with a close family friend who is a licensed pediatrician. She has three decades of experience being a pediatrician but says that this issue has only arisen the past few years with a real rise last year continuing into this year. I facetimed with this person, and she told me that while vaping is an alternative to smoking, there is little to no evidence suggesting that is a healthy alternative. She also strongly advised against anyone using vapes or the Juul before they are fully grown as nicotine can harm brain development. This again proves there is a need to stop the sale of these products to minors and younger children.

· Interview #4

o This person I interviewed is a college age female who does not vape or juul herself at all but has many friends that do. She worries about their long-term health but has not said anything to any of them personally because she believes the trend of vaping will die out soon. She considers it interesting that other countries such as Israel are outlawing the juul and thinks it “wouldn’t be the worst thing” to see that happen here in the United States as well.

· Interview #5

o This interview was conducted between an adult male and me. This adult male said that he grew up when cigarettes were really popular and got into smoking at the age of 16. He said that he has seen juuls more frequently at bars now and has smoked them and was surprised by the strength of the nicotine in them and said, “it feels exactly like hitting a cigarette”. When asked his viewpoint about how these products should be handled considering the youth, he responded quite strongly saying, “there’s no way people who don’t smoke already should use these. They will 100% become addicted to nicotine.”





· Given all of the interviews I conducted, I was surprised to find the public support for stopping the sale of these products to minors. I knew that the Pediatrician I interviewed would obviously not support minors using the Juul or any other vape, but I was truly surprised to see that all of my interviewees felt the same regardless of age. I think this shows a clear need to stop the sale of these products to minors and non-cigarette smokers alike.

6A: Identifying Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends

1. Climate Change is Causing More Natural Disasters (Economic Trend)

a. Source: https://www.thebalance.com/top-usa-future-economic-trends-3305666

b. I believe this to be a valid opportunity because it has been factually proven that global warming is increasing the overall temperature of the planet which leads to more dramatic natural disasters and droughts. This causes the destruction of crops, arable lands, and commercial buildings even in extreme cases. Wildfires also occur more frequently as a result.

c. The customer with the opportunity here is farmers and those who deal directly with the land. By coming up with a crop or product that protects against these natural disasters and increased temperatures, farmers (the prototypical customers) can be more prepared and still earn a profit despite the increased risks due to climate change.

d. I think this opportunity is relatively difficult to exploit due to the unpredictability of the natural disasters themselves. Also, due to the variety of natural disasters, coming up with a “one size fits all” solution would be nearly impossible.

e. I saw this opportunity because I grew up around farmland constantly. My grandparents are farmers who frequently have to deal with the unpredictability of Florida weather. My grandfather has personally told me how much worse the weather has gotten too since he first entered the industry.

2. The Economy needs more workers, last month it got fewer (Economic Trend)

a. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/07/upshot/jobs-report-economy-needs-workers.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FEconomic%20Conditions%20and%20Trends&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=collection

b. I believe that this is a valid opportunity because again facts show that the work force and economy is nearing its maximum capacity and for this level of growth to be sustained, more workers are needed. If the economy continues to see a drop in the labor force, the current growth rate will become unsustainable and a collapse could ensue.

c. The prototypical customer is anyone aged 25-56. This is the case because these years are seen as the prime years for workers. People have to want to work and have to actively seek out jobs for this growth to be sustained. Entrepreneurs who create jobs and see this need to sustain growth could help immensely with this opportunity.

d. I think this opportunity is relatively difficult to exploit because many people in this generation do not have as big a desire to work as previous generations have had. This generation is sometimes perceived as feeling entitled and less motivated than ever, which can definitely make this opportunity very difficult to exploit if the will to work in the workers does not exist in the first place.

e. I saw this opportunity because of my experience this summer. I worked in the landscaping industry for six weeks this summer and the turnover of laborers I saw was astounding week to week. People were simply just not willing to put in the effort it takes to be successful, and I know that landscaping is not the only field to experience this.

3. Sales Tax Regulations: E-commerce businesses no longer get to pay no sales taxes (Regulatory Change)

a. Source: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7671-regulatory-issues-changes.html

b. I believe this is a valid opportunity because the Supreme Court literally decided the issue. In the case South Dakota v, Wayfair the Supreme Court decided that E-businesses can no longer pay no sales taxes due to the fact that they don’t have a physical presence in the state where their merchandise is sold. It is now illegal to not pay sales tax so therefore it is unavoidable.

c. The prototypical customer is the E-businesses themselves who now have to analyze different state tax laws and implement them accordingly to wherever they conduct their business or ship their merchandise. This can affect overall prices of E-businesses merchandise now that they have to factor in different sales taxes, so it will affect the individual consumer as well.

d. I think this opportunity is relatively easy to exploit due to the fact that it is unavoidable now because the Supreme Court made an official ruling on the matter, so it must be followed.

e. I think I saw this opportunity because I know how influential E-businesses like Amazon have become in the marketplace, so I looked up regulations having to do with e-businesses.

4. Tariffs and Trade Policies of the Trump Administration and Resulting Backlash (Regulatory Change)

a. Source: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7671-regulatory-issues-changes.html

b. This is a valid opportunity because it came from President Trump himself. His tariffs on other countries products and the resulting backlash from those countries aimed at the United States makes this opportunity extremely valid.

c. The prototypical customer for this opportunity is any business that deals with overseas products whether that be importing or exporting. It also affects overseas vendors trying to get their products into the United States for sale.

d. This opportunity is relatively difficult to exploit because it is unavoidable because it is an executive order made directly by the President himself. All businesses must comply accordingly whether they like the tariffs and trade policies or not. By buying or selling essential products now before the policies go into effect, one can somewhat bypass these new regulations on tariffs and trade.

e. I came across this opportunity because I am a political science major and therefore am very interested in things such as executive orders and how they affect the overall economy all the way down to the individual consumer.

5A: Identifying Local Opportunities

1. Title: Orlando Airport adds shuttle buses to ease growing waits by workers at parking lots

Link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-orlando-airport-worker-buses-20180910-story.html

Description: The Orlando International Airport is adding 40 shuttle buses and training new drivers in order to facilitate faster commute times for employees waiting for shuttles to the airport from the employee parking lot.

Problem: The problem is that the workers were waiting too long in the employee parking lot because there were not enough shuttles to take all of the workers to the airport for their shifts.

Who has the Problem: The workers of Orlando International Airport are the ones who have this problem since they are the ones who were forced to wait inconvenient amounts of time in the employee parking lot waiting on too few shuttles to take them to their locations at the airport.



2. Title: Spectrum apologizes; please update us sooner next time

Link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/tv/tv-guy/os-et-spectrum-apologizes-give-updates-sooner-20180910-story.html

Description: Spectrum, part of Charter Communications, is a cable and internet service provider. Over the weekend, many people in the Orlando area lost service and were unable to watch television or get connected to the Internet. Customers who tried to get in touch with Spectrum to see what the issue was received an automated voice message that notified the customer that Spectrum had a high volume of calls and would not be accepting any more for the time being. There was no update on the interruption of services on their website either, for those customers that did have internet service and were checking for others who did not. Spectrum offered the following apology, “Spectrum is aware of the issue and apologizes for the inconvenience of the disruption of our services.

Problem: The problem was that many Spectrum customers experienced an interruption of their cable and internet services throughout Sunday and continuing into early Monday. Spectrum also failed to communicate effectively with those customers experiencing the interruption in services.

Who has the Problem: Certain Spectrum customers experienced this problem.



3. Title: City to explore open-container law for UF game days

Link: https://www.gainesville.com/news/20180908/city-to-explore-open-container-law-for-uf-game-days

Description: The city of Gainesville is looking into having open container laws instituted on game days along with soft closing for bars at midtown and downtown in order to alleviate the crowds of people who all leave the bars at the same time. The open container law would apply to University Avenue and the bar closing times would be extended to 2:30am while the cutoff for alcohol being served would remain at 1:45am. Both issues affect financial decisions for businesses along with safety issues for patrons and those consuming alcoholic beverages. By possibly instituting these new rules, arrests could be cut down along with traffic late at night near midtown and other high-volume areas. Also, by keeping the last call time at 1:45am, people now have a chance to close their tabs or pay the bill at a reasonable pace and do not have to worry about long lines in order to do so.

Problem: The problem in this article is arrests and fines related to open containers on game days in Gainesville along with issues over paying bar tabs and getting home safely while leaving with massive crowds at people when the bars have a hard closing at 2:00am.

Who has the Problem: The students of UF and residents of Gainesville can all be affected by this problem and all may have to deal with it.



4. Title: Feces-filled sewage flooded the streets. The city did nothing for 10 days, records show

Link: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-gardens/article217790205.html

Description: In Opalocka, Florida untreated sewage leaked into flooded streets for ten straight days while officials said nothing about it. The city has been in a state of government declared emergency for the last two years, but the sewage leak is a dangerous new development. This has led to a serious health hazard and a massive public relations issue for city officials. The sewage leak also got into local businesses which naturally affected their business as a whole. City officials say the problem lies in the 50-year-old piping that lays beneath the city. Storm drains are also wildly inefficient, leading to frequent flooding regardless of the sewage pollution.

Problem: The problem is the sewage leaking into the water which is affecting not just overall public health but also local businesses in the area who are seeing a decrease in business as a result. City officials have yet to come up with a quick fix. Long term solutions figure to take two years minimum to complete.

Who has the problem: City officials and all residents of Opalocka are affected by this problem. Areas affected include health, financial, and local government.



5. Title: Construction Company tried to hide that it cheated workers out of 111,000 in pay

Link: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article218097995.html

Description: A Florida metal framing construction company owes over 100 employees over 100,000 dollars in pay. They did not pay overtime and tried to use shady bookkeeping methods throughout.

Problem: A construction company did not pay their employees what was rightfully owed to them.

Who has the Problem: The workers have this problem since they were not paid fairly at all.

3a: My Entrepreneurship Story

I have been exposed to entrepreneurship pretty recently and frequently. My friend’s father is the owner of a prominent Orlando taxi company and realized one day that he could use that taxi company that he had made so successful to start an entirely new business. He took his pre-existing taxi company and started a destination management company that organizes corporate functions based in Orlando. The taxi company transported all of the corporate executives to the site of the convention or function and he hired a completely new team to manage and design the venue for the companies to use. He didn’t stop there however, he grew the company which he called Hello Florida into a company that does destination management in over 25 major cities in the U.S. I have always respected this move and have always thought it embodied a true entrepreneurial spirit. By combining his old company with an idea for a totally new company that utilized the services of the pre-existing company he developed one of the most successful businesses in the entire southeast United States.

I enrolled in ENT3003 because I needed a high-level elective class for my Political Science major here at UF. However, I am also interested in entrepreneurship because of that relationship I have with my friend’s father, so the class seemed like a really good fit for me personally. I hope to gain a deeper appreciation for the fact that repeated failure does not mean that you will not eventually persevere and succeed as many entrepreneurs know. I also hope to gain a thorough understanding of entrepreneurial principles and what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur in the real world today.

Assignment 2a: Bug List

Parker Blystone

Bug List

1. The wifi in my apartment cuts out all the time.

a. Why: Our internet provider in the apartment is not good at all, we did not take the time to properly research the internet situation when my roommates and I researched different apartment complexes.

2. The cell service in our apartment building is minimal at best.

a. Why: There are not enough cell phone towers near our building OR the signal is not strong enough near our building.

3. It always takes me longer than 15 minutes to drive to campus around the hours of 5-7pm when I really need to be there on time.

a. Why: This bug exists because I do not give myself enough time to factor in the traffic. I get sidetracked doing homework or procrastinating.

4. Our apartment is freezing 24/7.

a. Why: My roommates prefer the cold atmosphere in our apartment, so I compromised and allowed it to continue for the good of the group.

5. I am behind in my classes, I have so much work to do and not enough time.

a. Why: This bug exists because I procrastinate and do not get done enough with the time I allot for school because I value my free time too much.

6. I am not getting enough sleep during the week or weekend.

a. Why: Because of procrastination and other commitments, I stay up too late doing school work during the week and fail to catch up on sleep during the weekend.

7. During the morning rush hour, the Starbucks long takes much longer than any other time during the day.

a. Why: Because everyone else also wants their morning coffee, the line is much longer than any other time during the day.

8. My roommates come back late at night when I am sleeping and wake me up.

a. Why: The walls are thin and sounds can easily be heard throughout the apartment.

9. My grade in Biological Sciences is a high C right now.

a. Why: My grade is what it is because I forgot to do an assignment. I can plan ahead better and manage my time more efficiently with a schedule.

10. My stress levels are too high.

a. Why: I need to manage time more efficiently through scheduling and allotting specific amounts of time for all my commitments.

11. I have a project due in African Politics on September 12th that I have yet to start.

a. Why: I should have started my project earlier so that I would not nearly be as worried about it.

12. I haven’t called my family in two weeks.

a. Why: Because I have been so busy, I have neglected time with my family which is important to me. It can be fixed through time management.

13. My shower runs out of hot water if I don’t shower by 11am.

a. Why: My roommates have class earlier than I do so they shower before me and therefore all the hot water is used up.

14. I am unsure of my major.

a. Why: I am unsure of my major because I lack the confidence to be able to achieve all I want out of my major.

15. I miss playing lacrosse and having competition in my life.

a. Why: I had to give up lacrosse when I came to UF because I did not have enough time to carry on playing. Maybe in the future I will time to do so again.

16. I run out of money too frequently while being away at college.

a. Why: I do not make enough of my own food at my apartment and therefore end up spending too much money eating out.

17. My roommate plays music too loud when I try to study.

a. Why: He doesn’t realize the music is too loud and does not realize that it bothers me. I can voice my concerns respectfully.

18. I rarely get to see my cousins and extended family, and when I do it is only for a short amount of time.

a. Why: My parents moved to Florida from New York and my extended family lives in New York. Flights are expensive.

19. I am constantly getting sick while away at school.

a. Why: My eating habits are so irregular at school and I constantly forget to take my vitamins, so I get sick very frequently at school which makes all other aspects of life harder.

20. My twin sister and I do not communicate as often as I would like.

a. Why: My sister attends the University of Virginia while I attend UF. It is the first time we have been separated in our lives.








Reflection: This list was a lot harder to come up with than I originally anticipated. Thinking of "bugs" or bothersome things in my everyday life was hard. It required me to really dive into my mind to find what truly bothers me. Some of the items on the list may seem similar, but they are all deeply important to me. The reasons that they are bothersome to me all can be fixed through action of my own. A lot of the responsibility falls on me to improve my life because at the end of the day, the only one you can blame for your problems is yourself. I believe entrepreneurs have a similar mindset, they recognize problems in their lives and then analyze and come up with solutions that benefit themselves and others as well.