Making It Real

Here is my resume through the following link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7JArDPaOi-Pd3ZFOTZsUjdZRkk/view?usp=sharing

My Exit Strategy

For my venture, I could see myself continuing to run the business in the City of Orlando for as long as possible. Because my venture would be created specifically for Orlando, I would not attempt to add other cities to my venture. I believe I would only sell "Experience Orlando" when I choose to retire. I would, however, consider selling the platform and software to other companies for use outside of Orlando. These purchasers would be required to only focus on their own city and will not be allowed to be used in the state of Florida. Other than the usage of the same interface, these companies will not be tied to "Experience Orlando".

I chose this exit strategy because I want my venture to remain focused on Orlando. I would not want to see this business sold to a large company and applied generally to every city across the nation. I could make money off of selling the platform for other companies to focus on their own city, but I want to remain personally focused on the original city.

This exit strategy influenced how my website would be designed. It can be something that can be applied to other cities and sold, but the venture will always be designed specifically for the original unmet need in Orlando.

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity: Every year, millions of tourists travel from all over the world to the City of Orlando to visit its world-class attractions and experiences. Although most tourists travel from within the United States, there is an increasing amount of tourist from international countries, especially Brazil and Argentina. Most visitors come to Orlando as part of a convention group or with their families. When someone has decided to go to Orlando, they usually have a hotel reservation, flight booking, and a rental car prepared months in advance. Once they actually get to Orlando, they have to decide and plan what they are going to do with their precious time. In Central Florida alone, there are over 45 attractions to choose from and most of them are not well-known outside the state of Florida. There is currently no way to easily plan which attractions will be visited and also no way of knowing which attractions will be entertaining for everyone traveling together.

Orlando has been continuously expanding over the past decade in both residential and commercial zones, which has brought increasing amounts of people and new businesses to the city. This upward growth has ultimately led to an increase in the tourism industry which makes it harder for tourists to make the best of their time. Currently, tourists are relying on their own knowledge to plan their vacations. This leads to people who are not able to make the most of their time and who come to Orlando to visit only the major theme parks that are known across the nation. This window of opportunity will always exist because Orlando will always rely on tourism as its main industry.

Innovation: The innovation that will be at the backbone of this new venture will essentially be a new “vacation planning” software that can be accessed through a mobile application or website. Users will first create an account so all their information can be saved and accessed from any device. After creating this account, every person in the family or group will take personality/interest quiz. This quiz will be composed of questions that ask of the preferences of each user based on scales from one to ten. Using this information, the website will notify the users which experiences/ attractions will best suit everyone in the family and how much time they should spend there. A specific calendar will be displayed for the days of the vacation and users can drag the attraction onto the day they wish to go there. The calendar will automatically calculate how long the user will be there for and how long it will take to get to travel to the next location afterwards. Users will then be able to purchase all of their tickets together online. This will not only save them money, but also time by keeping away those pesky will call lines and allowing tickets to be printed at home or saved to their smartphones.

Revenue will mainly be made through two services. Most of the revenue will come from advertisements on the website. Every advertisement displayed on the site will be limited to attractions and experiences in the vacation city. This means that users will only be seeing relevant options instead of their most recent amazon search while they are planning their vacations. A smaller portion of revenue will come from a small convenience fee added to every online purchase.

Venture Concept: This innovation will specifically be designed and customized for the city of Orlando and will be called “Experience Orlando”. This website will allow guests to plan out every attraction they want to visit while knowing that everyone in the group will enjoy the entire vacation. Nothing like this has ever been created before, therefore, customers will not have to switch to this service, but they will need to log on for the first time.

Celebrating Failure

1) This past summer has definitely brought several new experiences that I had never before expected. One failure this summer was actually during a job interview that I had. It was just for a seasonal position for a tourism company in Orlando. I had spent about an hour filling out the online application and then got an in-person interview. I went to the interview and answered all the questions. Apparently, during the interview, I had contradicted information about my availability and the next thing to happen was that the recruiter said they can't hire someone who lied during the hiring process.

2) Although a small mistake on my application over what hours I could work should not have led to me being labeled as liar, I think it is safe to say that this was a failure. In this instance, I learned the importance of double checking job applications and any other important documents.

3) It was especially embarrassing to find myself being called a liar by an employee for the company that I wanted to work for. It definitely made me think twice for any future job applications that I have had to do. When I face failure, I usually don't really react behaviorally but I do feel a little emotionally down. After some time, however, I am usually quick to come back with the expectation to do even better. This class has shown me that failure is a good thing that everyone can learn from. Failure in many ways can be the only way to get better.

Elevator Pitch No. 3

The Pitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZTD3HW8Ow8&feature=youtu.be

The Feedback: The feedback I received on the last pitch was actually very good. Most people said that my tone of voice throughout the video was really good and well-rehearsed. Most people simply said that with more practice it could become closer to perfect. Someone said that my transition to the product features wasn't too well done but only one person said this.

What I changed: I practiced my pitch several times before making a final video and I tried to work on smoother transitions. I also tried to add a little more detail on some of the details.

Amazon Whisperer

Revenue Drivers: The main revenue drivers in my venture are ticket sales, sponsored attractions, and advertisements.

The Next Product: This product will be a portable phone charger with my company logo on it. It will have a flashlight built into the side of it and will also contain an alarm clock. I believe my customer's would want this because it would help solve many of the problems people have while on vacation. 

Enhancing my service: This product could improve my customers' experience when they go on vacation. It will keep them from phones running out of battery and while the external battery is charging, it can be used as an alarm clock. If I was to offer this product as an incentive for booking a certain amount of attractions through the website, it could lead to higher customer loyalty and higher customer sales.

Amazon product: The amazon product that I found is an external battery with an embedded flashlight. It has a huge capacity and output. It can actually fully charge an iPad Air and an iPhone 6s six times. (https://www.amazon.com/External-RAVPower-16750mAh-Portable-Technology/dp/B00MQSMEEE/ref=sr_1_5?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1468742653&sr=1-5&keywords=portable+charger)

Customer Reviews: The reviews for this product are amazing and they even say how great this product is for frequent flyers. The customers love how long the charger lasts but several customers have said they hate that the company does not replace defective products.

Design Changes: The biggest change I would make to this product would be the addition of an alarm clock to the device. Many people like using actual alarm clocks over their phones and this could give them that ability even when they are traveling. I would also put my logo on the external battery. 

This product would add a great incentive for customers to use my service and could even make their vacations just a little bit easier. I feel as though it could bring in more revenue to my company and would increase customer loyalty.

My Unfair Advantage

My Resources:

1) Programming Skills

• V- This gives me the skills to create a website that is innovative and appealing to customers.
• R- This is not very rare because anyone can learn how to code.
• I- This can rely on creativity so in some ways it can't be imitated.
• N- The only substitution would be to pay someone to code for you. 

2) Multiple computers capable of creating websites

• V- Good computers are expensive so having several in my possession is very valuable.
• R- This is not very rare because anyone can go to the store and buy a computer.
• I- Anyone can buy the same computer that I have.
• N- Tablets and phones aren't as powerful as computers so they aren't substitutable yet.

3) Great knowledge of the Orlando area

• V- This is incredibly valuable for a website based on the City of Orlando.
• R- This is only available to someone who has lived in Orlando for an extended amount of time.
• I- This is not easily copied if you haven't lived in Orlando.
• N- This is not substitutable for a venture based on tourism in Orlando.

4) 12 years of experience in tourism

• V- This is extremely valuable for a business based on tourism.
• R- This is extremely rare for someone to have working experience in travel agencies, several hotels, and the biggest theme park in the world.
• I- This is not easily copied at all.
• N- This is not substitutable for a ventured based on tourism in Orlando. 

5) Access to an existing private database of attractions in Orlando.

• V- This is extremely valuable because I can rely on professional information that is already written. This will save a lot of time in my venture.
• R- This is pretty rare because not many people can find a connection like this one so easily.
• I- This could possibly be copied but it would be extremely time-consuming.
• N- This is not substitutable because info on attractions will make up quite a bit of the website.

6) Connections to several sales departments in attractions across Orlando.

• V- This is very valuable for the ticket bundles and sales that will be offered on my website. It will allow me to partner directly with the companies for tickets.
• R- This is rare because not many people can find multiple partnerships so easily.
• I- This is not very easily copied because it is hard to quickly develop relationships with other companies.
• N- This is only substitutable by paying full price for tickets, which could possibly hurt my business plan. 

7) No debt and good savings

• V- This is very valuable because it could lead to faster returns on my venture.
• R- This is somewhat rare for students in college.
• I- This is could be easily copied for students who are working through their education or with people who are receiving substantial scholarships.
• N- This is not substitutable.

8) Knowledge of Photoshop

• V- This is valuable because banners and pages in websites can actually be created using the Adobe suite. 
• R- This is not very rare because anyone can learn how to use photoshop.
• I- This is easily copied because it is easy for people to learn how to use photoshop.
• N- This is not easily substitutable because there aren't very many alternatives to photoshop that are as powerful.

9) Ability to use Social Media

• V- This is highly valuable in today's world because social media can be a powerful way to advertise and market.
• R- This is not very rare. Most people above the age of twelve know how to use social media of some sort.
• I- This is easily copied because anyone can use social media.
• N- This is not very substitutable because social media is one of the strongest industries today.

10) Great Credit Score

• V- This is valuable because starting a venture can be expensive and a good credit score can allow you more access to loans and lines of credit.
• R- This can be somewhat rare for students in college.
• I- This can be easily copied because anyone can get a credit card and use it responsibly.
• N- This is not easily substitutable because many resources can revolve around credit for a new business.

I believe that my top resource is my twelve years of experience in tourism in Orlando. This is simply because my venture revolves around the tourism industry and my experience has allowed me to see all sides of tourism, both as a guest and as an employee. 

Reading Reflection No. 2

The book I chose to read was "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big."

1)What was the general theme or argument of the book?The general theme of this book in particular was how failure and unexpected situations could actually bring you success. This book relies on the stories and experiences of Scott Adams (the author and creator of Dilbert) and how he used it to find the success of his future.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003? I would say that one of the biggest themes that I am learning in ENT 3003 is how knowing yourself and the resources that you have can lead you to a successful venture. I feel like Adams wrote about the same theme through much of the book. He said "goals are for losers". He specifically emphasized it was important to rely on a system instead of goals. I personally believe that this "system" is composed on human capital, social capital, and our other resources. These resources are more powerful than goals.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve? The exercise would involve defining a system for your venture. It seems like a majority of the blog posts that I have read throughout this course have been composed on goals. I would specifically create an assignment that asks students to throw away their goals and come up with a system composed of their resources that could lead them to success.

4) What was your biggest surprise or "aha" moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn the differed most from your expectations? Other than the fact that the author said goals don't help anything. I would say that the biggest "aha" moment occurred when I read that being passionate does not mean anything. I always thought that passion was a resource that could drive you to success in what you care about. According to the author, passion leads to the demise of your venture almost every single time.

Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You
 I live in Orlando and have lived here for my entire life. I have a strong passion for tourism because my family had owned a travel agency business for over 40 years in Puerto Rico and in Orlando. I currently am a cast member at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando. I have always dreamed of being a mechanical engineer so that I could design and update the rides in the attractions. Because my business venture is heavily based on tourism, I feel like it would be something that I could enjoy doing for years to come. I could see this as a business where I could make some extra money on the side, but would still have to be constantly updated to meet current tourist attractions. I do not think this would be a business that I would sell off to another company unless it was to somehow change my life for the positive.

2) What are you offering to customers?
 I feel as though that there is no where for guests to the Orlando area to be able to find information about the attractions they should visit all in one place. My business will create a website and mobile application where people will be able to view every single attraction that is available to visit in Orlando. They will also be able to purchase all the tickets they need in one, easy online interface. The biggest feature of this application will be its ability to tell guests what attractions they should visit and how much time they should spend there based solely on the interests of everyone in the family. 

3) Who are you offering it to?
 The customers that will use my application will for the most part be located everywhere outside of Orlando. Most of the people who will use the application will most likely be from outside of the state of Florida. Anyone who has never been to Orlando before will also be a likely customer for the application. It will mainly be designed for people who have never been to Orlando before and have no idea where to start.

4) Why do they care?
 People will pay to use my product because they are choosing to spend large amounts of money on their vacations to Orlando and will want to to make the most of every penny they spend. Time is also a scarce resource for guests to Orlando and the application will help every guest make the most of every second. People in Orlando should care about a venture like this because it could raise the revenue of smaller attractions across Orlando and even for the City of Orlando itself.

5) What are your core competencies? 
 I have lived in Orlando for twenty years and have advanced knowledge about all the attractions and transportation in the area. I have a passion for tourism and planning vacations that not many people have even in the Orlando. This will be an application that will help guests plan vacations based solely on their interests, which can be found through personality tests. This will be done through a rating of one to ten on how much they like particular subjects in an interest quiz. This quiz will be what separates my venture from existing companies.

I truly believe that all the components of this business combine together in a beneficial way. Unlike Expedia and Travelocity which focus on flights, hotels, and rental cars, my new software will focus exclusively on the attractions that make Orlando great. This focus on the attraction over logistics will make the website different and unique from websites like Travelocity. Because of my background in tourism, I believe that I could make this venture a success.

Feedback: Most of the feedback I received on the last napkin idea was positive. The two comments I had really only had a few pieces of advice for me to follow. The five main points I took away were:

• How the interest quiz was going to be setup
• If I was going to sell or keep the venture
• How I was going to set myself from the competition
• The focus on attractions over logistics such as flights and hotels
• the rise in revenue for smaller attractions and the City of Orlando.

I was able to incorporate this feedback by simply adding some explanations to some of the major points. I really didn't have to change anything; just mainly had to add some extra details.

Growing My Social Capital

1) Domain Expert:

• I made contact with Irmarie. She runs an online tourism website for Orlando and relies mainly on sponsored advertisements. 
• The person fulfills the domain expert "slot" because Irmarie's website is focused on tourism just like mine will be. She is also an expert on building and designing websites for tourism purposes.
• I contacted Irmarie through my grandparents. My grandparents used to own a travel agency that focused on Orlando and was therefore able to obtain the contact information through them. I had already known about the website from previous meetings.
• The exchange I had with Irmarie was actually through a meeting that occurred at my grandparents house. I mainly talked with her about advertising and the website design itself. She told how to show that which attractions were sponsored and which ones were not. I could also use her existing database to supply info on attractions for my website.
• Including Irmarie in my network could allow me to partner with her website in order to obtain recent information about Orlando attractions that has already been researched and created. This could also be good advertising for Irmarie's website.

2) Market Expert:

• The second person that I talked to is named Paula. She has worked in hotel and attraction sales for over twenty years.
• Paula fulfills the market expert "slot" because she has dealt with tourism sales for over twenty years. She has seen Orlando grow over time and she knows the ideal customers for different types of sales.
• My dad works in a local hotel and Paula works in their sales department.
• I met with Paula inside a local hotel restaurant. We talked about how I would sell the tickets online with bundles, sales, and an added convenience fee. She said to make sure that my customer's knew about the added fee from the beginning so that there were no surprises last minute. This website could possibly bring Paula more sales.
• With Paula in my network, I could have access to knowledge about sales from the past twenty years and how to be successful in sales based on tourism. With her help, the website could also bring more traffic through Paula's sales department.

3) Supplier:

• This third person was named Tony. He works in sales out of the biggest theme parks in Orlando. 
• This person fulfills the supplier position because he is responsible for the distribution of tickets to the theme park. 
• I found the person internally at the theme park I work for. I emailed him and we continued the conversation online.
• Our exchange was over email. Tony explained to me how they use online ticket sales for their own company and how I can use their system to sell tickets. The return expectation would be to increase their sales through this website.
• Including this person in my network will allow me to easily obtain tickets for the website and could also lead to the implementation of mobile online tickets for the biggest theme park in Orlando.

Reflect:

This experience taught me that for future networking I should target exactly who I need to reach success. Finding people who are experts in little portions of my needs could be better than finding people who are just like me. This differed from other networking events because I was looking for resources for my venture instead of just for myself.

Elevator Pitch No. 2

The Pitch: https://youtu.be/QYVmhKm3qOQ

Reflection on Feedback: The main feedback I received was actually to describe how I would distinguish between sponsored and non-sponsored attractions on my page. Other than that, people had said that I should include "teaser" videos for each attraction and that I should cut out my introduction of who I am.

What I changed: Based on the feedback I received, I explained how I would notate exactly which attractions are sponsored and I also cut out my introduction of who I am.

My Secret Sauce

How I feel about myself that makes me different:

1) I am very focused on details. I wouldn't go as far to say that I am a perfectionist but I do believe that whenever I am responsible for something that I make sure all of my work is up to certain standards. Sometimes the little details can make huge differences.

2) I am always setting goals for everything that I do. It has gotten to the point where my family and friends have actually made fun of how I approach the goals I set. It seems like have goals for everything I do, especially in work and and school.

3) I am very good at envisioning what I want my future to look like. Ever since I was a little kid I have known exactly what I wanted to be and how it is I should get there.

4) I have always believed that it is important to be kind to be everyone. You never know what opportunities the people around you can bring you and its important to treat everyone with respect. I try and make sure to follow this with every person I meet and talk to.

5) I have a strong passion for tourism. I love living in Orlando and seeing tourists experience new things that they will remember for the rest of their life. Even though I am studying mechanical engineering, I hope to use my skills in the future to create more state-of-the-art experiences for thousands of people to come.

Interviews:

1st Interview with Austin:  https://soundcloud.com/user-443175550/160702-0015a
Austin said that he thought my loyalty stood out from other people. His main point was that I notice every single details and observant with everything in my life. He even went as far to say that I am trusting, extremely smart, and very thorough. (Ignore the comments about the Puerto Rican soda, its amazing, just take my word for it)

2nd Interview with Ethan:  https://soundcloud.com/user-443175550/160702-0016a
Ethan started with how I am able to remain focused in all situations like driving or watching lectures. He also said that I am able to understand people very well to the point where I actually got to see what people were really like "behind the scenes" in many different occasions. He also said that I am able work and understand new material easily and quickly.

3rd Interview with Jayleen: https://soundcloud.com/user-443175550/160702-0014a
Jayleen said that I was kind to everyone, mature for my age, and that I am willing to go out of my way to help others.

4th Interview with my Dad: https://soundcloud.com/user-443175550/160702-0013a
My dad said that I set my goals early and was easily able to visualize what I want to do. He continued to say how I am extremely focused on details and planning important things out. He finished talking about my sense of humor and how it can actually help me in the future. He also added in the end about how mature I always was growing up.

5th Interview with my Grandparents:  https://soundcloud.com/user-443175550/160703-0018a
My grandparents said that I always try my best to make the best use of opportunities in my life. They said that I always do what is correct and that I make goals for myself. They also talked about working hard and taking risks.

Similarities between the interviews and what I thought:

The people that I interviewed for the most part talked about things that I had already thought of myself. It did surprise me how mature and focused on details a lot of the other people had said. It also surprised me to hear my dad talk about my sense of humor and how it can actually help my future in many cases. I specifically like what my dad said about visualizing and I know that it has actually helped me in many cases. I feel like the ability to easily visualize myself in different places and situations is something that many people are not easily able to do.

My Customer's Avatar

My new business specifically relies on the tourists who come to Orlando. After working for the Walt Disney World Co. for a year now, I have already established sort of a mental customer avatar for my business. It is a 42 year old man who is married and has two kids. One kid is a 11 year old boy and the other is a 16 year old daughter who just started driving. The man has black hair and brown eyes. It looks like he hasn't shaven in a couple of days and is wearing a t-shirt and cargo pants. He has a Pennsylvanian accent and drives a light blue Honda Odyssey mini-van. The entire family loves to spend time with each other, but everyone once in a while they do love to fight with each other over questionable topics. The father loves Star Wars, but the rest of the family is mainly interested in Disney movies. The father specifically likes to plan out his vacations,  even if his wife would rather just wing the whole vacation. 

I think the only thing that I have in common with the avatar is that I personally love to plan out my vacations. With the amount of money I am spending to go somewhere, I want to know going in that I making the most of everything I do. I believe this coincidence exists because I would imagine myself using an application to plan out my visit to all of the attractions in Orlando if it was my first time there and I can see how I would get frustrated having to go to a hundred different sources for information.