Elevator Pitch No. 1

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Interview 1: A student living in 2nd Ave Apartments, uses her bike and the bus. She would be the perfect candidate benefiting from increased parking however, she does not have a car nor plans on bringing one up. Her need for a car is there, but since she does not have one she is not faced with the parking dilemma. Her need is different just because she does not have a car. She says at times she is conflicted living so far and not having a faster means of getting places. 

Interview 2: A student living in Savion Park, she uses the zipcar system. She lives in the direct range of congested parking, however she has gone to a different source to solve the parking issue. She was able to find a parking garage for cheap very far from campus where she keeps her car for trips home, and uses the zipcar for daily errands. Although she stated that this has been an easy fix to her parking issues, it seemed to have some holes as she has to walk to campus everyday and to the zipcar whenever she needs it. This could be an easy transition from a need to another need. She personally is not bothered with the parking situation and has found her "solution". She is technically in the boundary but has found her own solution that works for her but would not work for everyone. 

Interview 3: A student living in a house downtown, she has parking in front of her house. This student at times uses her roommates car so parking is only an issue the few times she uses it. However, she said that if parking were more available throughout Gainesville she would bring her car up from home. Although she does not directly face the need, the overall issue is holding her back from bringing her car. Therefore, the need is different just because she has not brought her car up. 

Interview 4: A student living in The Ridge, he has a car and has no problem parking in his apartment complex, however finds himself having to uber to campus most times. He does not fall directly in the boundary just because the lot would not directly help him since he is not parking near the apartments, however increased parking would open more street parking spots which could help his problem. Since this is unclear, the line as to whether the parking garage will help his need is not certain. Overall, his need is different because it is to have more parking on campus not in the surrounding apartment areas. 

Interview 5: A student living in the Delta Phi Epsilon house, she has a spot in the lot attached to the house, however will only be living here for the next year. At the moment she does not have the issue, but as she is looking for places to live next year she is also stressing about where she can park. For the time being she does not have the need but the date she will benefit from the parking garage is soon approaching. At the moment her underlying cause is different, but as she moves into her next apartment complex she will face the same need as everyone else. 

In addition to the descriptions of what you find in the interviews, I'd like you to include a table with two columns and three rows:

Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary - anyone who does not have a car, and does not have the need to drive to campus, or park closer to campus
- anyone who is living around campus (predominately on the north and east sides) who owns a car and uses it frequently
- the need is increased parking around the apartments and sorority row	- the need is not more parking for specific apartments
- the need exists because so many students are left walking absurd distances to their apartments or having to uber in order to get to their destination	- not everyone does need more parking since they may not even have a car, but at the same time many people hold back from bringing their car due to no parking

Solving the Problem

The easiest solution to a lack of parking spots, is to build more parking garages. This is obviously easier said than done. With all the up and coming developers around UF, the easiest solution would be to influence a developer to purchase a piece of vacant land and build a parking garage. Another solution would be for a developer to buy out one of the half way homes near sorority row and build a garage there. The second option would actually be taking care of two issues, parking and feeling unsafe walking from parking spots to apartments. The hardest part of completing this is to convince a developer that their money is better spent building a parking garage instead of an apartment building. I think the best way to go about this would be to have students in the affected areas sign a petition to turn into the city of Gainesville for the halfway house to be moved and the land be converted to a parking garage. In addition to the obvious change in parking, it would also reduce some of the street parking which has practically left most streets as one-ways. Although this would require tedious work on the side of the students, it would result in a massive change for parking. 

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1) Pick an opportunity you would like to pursue.  Parking in Gainesville, specifically near the University of Florida campus, is extremely limited due to the sudden increase in new apartments.

2)

• The who: any student, guest, or resident in the University of Florida campus vicinity. 
• The what: they are unable to find parking near their apartments or on campus at almost any time. 
• The why: developers in the campus vicinity have over built and not built the parking to satisfy all the new apartments. 

3)

• Testing the who: the who can be extended out to even one time guests and visiting families. The only exception within the who are the residents who pay obscenely expensive monthly rates to have their own reserved parking spot. This number is extremely small in comparison to the other residents who need to find street parking.
• Testing the what: Although all areas surrounding campus are in need or more parking the biggest focus and most populated area are the areas north and east of campus. However the areas west and south of campus are also running into even more parking problems as developers are also expanding in these areas. 
• Testing the why: After interviewing several people I have found various why's across the board. Some said that it is in fact due to the over building in these surrounding areas. Others turned the blame more on themselves and said they chose an apartment complex that just didn't have enough parking near by or by choosing a too heavily populated area. However, both of these why's also go back to the main why that developers are over building.

4) Throughout the course of interviews I was able to grasp a more broad concept of the parking issue and asked students with cars, scooters, and neither. I was surprised to find that many students actually don't bring their cars up to begin with because of the parking issue. They found it to be annoying and tiresome to constantly have to find parking and opted to leaving their car at home and using the bus on campus. Other students with the same dilemma opted for scooters, which is my personal choice, and still had complaints that scooter parking is also extremely limited. Although not as annoying to find parking, these students stated they are constantly getting tickets for illegal parking. Lastly, I was not surprised to find the most unrest within the students who do have their cars in Gainesville. Girls stated they felt extremely unsafe at times parking their cars at nights and said they sometimes have to park blocks away from their apartment. Essentially these students said most times they need a car just to get to their parking spot. Overall the interviews further solidified my belief that something needs to be done about the parking across the board. 

Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

1. Economic: Increasing minimum wage. I first came across this need over this past summer. My little brother got a job at home depot and was paid minimum wage, while being expected to do very rigorous hands on tasks. The many possible injuries that can occur at his job is what led me to believe that an opportunity for changes exists in the minimum wage field. The prototypical customer would directly be the employees, however the company who is employing would be the most affected. The opportunity is differing from company to company depending on the overall funds they can allocate to its employees. Overall I believe this opportunity is seen and felt by many across the country. However, this past summer I witnessed the problem first hand and was able to dig deeper into how many people are directly affected by minimum wage. It led me to further think about the struggling families who are fully dependent on the little pay that comes from their jobs. I also believe that higher minimum wage would allow people to then spend more money and in turn stimulate the economy more, so event though one company would have to pay more to employ their staff, they would be enabling more economic activities. 

2. Economic: Decreasing shipping costs. I found this issue over this past summer as I was ordering from various online stores more frequently than normal. I definitely believe this information suggests an opportunity exists, so many people pay shipping and sometimes the shipping turns out to be even more expensive than the actual item. I do understand the need for shipping costs, however in some cases I feel like the customer is over charged on items. The prototypical customer would be any person who shops online or even orders in person at a store that does not cover shopping costs. The opportunity could be difficult to exploit because it involves two industries, both the retail and postal service industries. Overall I have always seen this issue and found myself at times choosing not to order an item due to the shipping bringing the price above my budget. It became even more apparent when amazon began their amazon prime and student discount program. I believe Amazon has been able to cover such a wide market due to the fact that they are tailoring their shipping procedures. Amazon essentially solidified the idea in my head that shipping costs can be a driving factor to losing a customer base. 

3. Regulatory: Speeding tickets. I found this source through my roommate and her past month's driving experience. I believe there is an opportunity with this issue because there are so many bigger issues in today's society that should have a greater focus from police force. The prototypical driver is anyone of the driving age across the country. This issue would be relatively easy to exploit and would be accepted with open arms by most customers, as they find themselves with speeding tickets for extremely minor circumstances. I saw this issue as my roommate was telling me about a parking ticket she received by driving 8 miles over the speed limit. Since receiving the ticket she's had to deal with an online driving safety course, as well as countless hours on the phone dealing with the police department as well as the DMV. Granted driving safety is extremely important I don't feel that a first time violation to something as small as 8 miles over the speed limit should be dragged on this long when there are brutal crimes happening across the country. My roommates struggles made it clear to me that there is a definite need for change in this field. 

4. Regulatory: Drinking age. I found this issue while in college. I believe this issue has opportunity for change as it can put many students under the legal drinking age in very serious legal issues affecting the rest of their life. The prototypical customer is really anyone in the prime age before the age of 21. The issue is relatively controversial which I feel will make the overall opportunity harder to exploit. Overall over my past two years in college I have seen so many students receiving MIP's while out and illegally drinking, as well as felonies for the use of fake ids. While I understand the severity of drinking under the age, I do not understand how someone can be an "adult" at 18, yet still have a restriction until 21. I believe either the legal age should be raised to 21 or the drinking age should be lowered to 18. The main reason I thought of this opportunity is because of the hypocritical term adult being used to describe those above the age of 18. 

Identifying Local Opportunities

1. Students struggle to keep memory of IBC, La Casita alive.
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00028290/02486
The story identifies the issue that students who resonate with Weimer Hall are feeling forgotten and struggling to keep their heritage alive without this building. The true problem in the article was presented when the students went as far as to throw a rock at police further escalating the issue. It resulted in 66 students getting arrested and having the mark on their records. The students facing this problem includes those associated with the Institutes of Hispanic-Latino Cultures (La Casita) and the Institute of Black Culture (IBC).

2. Avenue's finals playlists to chill you out and cheer you up. 
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00028290/02486
This article is about the stresses of finals week and offers suggestions for relaxing music to help get through the finals season. The problem is the overwhelming stresses associated with finals week. Almost every student at the University of Florida and surrounding high schools goes through the stress of finals week.

3. UPD to move into portables amid building safety concerns. 
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00028290/02482
This article is describing a particular incident in which a police officer getting hurt further addressed the issue of a building safety concern. The problem is that a police department building has had various mold, weak flooring, and humidity issues over the past few months, putting various officers at risk. The issue has been occurring for months and the building is completely blocked off for the next few weeks. All 50 officers and office staff are directly affected at this location. The issue has further extended to affect other Gainesville departments who must accommodate the influx of officers reporting to their new stations.

4. Loblolly Woods Nature Park reopens after wastewater spill. 
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00028290/02482
This article is about a sewage spill that happened at Loblolly Woods Nature Park months ago, that still has affects today. The spill went as far as to affect Lake Alice, since the water ways are connected. The problem is that the parks have been closed for months on end and are still creating issues for park visitors as well as park staff. Both the visitors and staff are at risk with the toxic waste spillage. The visitors have the bigger problem as they have not been able to visit for months and still must remain cautious while visiting.

5. SG committee wants more funds for UF Disabilities Resource Center
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00028290/02479
The article is about the back and forth dilemma of funding for the disability resource center (DRC). The article explained the current situation in senate about voting for increased funds for the DRC, as well as the future proposals to increased social media to improve accessibility for information. The problem is whether the DRC is actually in need of more funds at the moment or whether the issue will become perpetual and never ending as the University expands. The problem affects both the powers at be of student government as well as the students who are members of the DRC.

Forming An Opportunity Belief

1) Your beginning point. I believe UF and the surrounding campus areas are in dire need of a parking revamping. 

2) Describe your belief. The unmet need is sufficient parking due to how many apartment complexes are within such a small vicinity. Almost every student living East of UF campus has this need. This need came from sudden influx of new apartment buildings without the parking to match. It's hard to tell how far back this issue goes but it is definitely progressively getting worse with all the new apartment buildings. People with this need are resorting to either taking the parking tickets, or endlessly driving around looking for street parking. I am 100% sure that there is an opportunity for improvement for this issue. 

3a) Identify the prototypical customer. The prototypical customer is a college student living East of the University of Florida in an apartment complex called Savion Park. Savion Park is approximately 4 blocks from campus. 

4a) Iteration No. 1: My first prototypical customer said the exact nature of her need is to be able to park safely and close to her apartment building. She becomes aware of the need multiple times every day as she drives to and from class and running errands. She has had this need since she began at the university approximately a year and a half ago. This issue became even more urgent when she recently tore her ACL and was required to walk extremely long distances to get home. Along the way she has received various parking tickets, which created a sense of urgency to fix this issue. She is currently addressing this issue by applying for a handicap decal in which she can park right outside of her apartment building. She is extremely satisfied; however, this is only a temporary fix for this issue. She is not satisfied with the handicap decal situation because its longevity is at question. She feels that there needs to be serious changes made to the parking situation on this part of campus. 

5a) Reflect. I was very surprised that her response to this issue was to resort to a handicap decal. I am also surprised that for such a large apartment complex they only have about 25 parking spots for over 200 residents. In addition to the extremely limited parking, the fee to park is over 300$ a month. This interview confirmed the fact that not only is there a dire need for more parking, but that every student is being ripped off by paying these absurd amounts of money on top of tuition and dues. 

3b) Identify the prototypical customer. The prototypical customer lives on the corner of 5th Street and 5th Avenue in a house which is approximately 6 blocks away from campus. This customer does not have a scooter, only a car to get to and from campus. 

4b) Iteration No. 1: Since this customer lives in a house the need does not include parking by her home, but rather being able to park closer to campus to get to her classes. She became aware of this need when she moved to this new house and had to sell her scooter for financial reasons. She experiences the need to park closer to campus almost everyday, as she has class 4 times a week. She's only had this need since the beginning of Fall 2018 semester, but has been aware of the need for parking since she signed her lease over a year ago. Once she realized that she was selling her scooter she realized she would have to drive to and from campus or leave substantially earlier to walk to campus, which is not ideal on the very many rainy days in Gainesville. She is currently addressing the issue by either leaving substantially earlier or having her roommate drive her to class, which is an inconvenience on both their parts. She is not satisfied with this solution as she has to rely on her roommate in order to get to all her classes. 

5b) Reflect. I learned that students, are substantially inconvenienced in order to by pass the impossible parking dilemma. I was surprised to learn that neither of these customers brought up the use of the bus. When I realized this I further questioned why the bus is not an option. She explained that the bus is not ideal because due to how far her home is the bus can take anywhere from 20-40 minutes in order for her to reach her destination. 

3c) Identify the prototypical customer. This prototypical customer lives on the Northeastern side of campus in an apartment complex called St. Charles, 3 blocks from campus. This customer has a car and is forced to walk to campus every day due to parking. 

4c) Iteration No. 1: The exact nature of the need is to have a safe place to park his car. He relies on his car for weekly errands rather than daily use, but finds that parking is always an issue even if he only confronts it once a week. He has been aware of this need since he moved in 3 years ago, he is now a senior and has had a car all 4 years. He only experiences his need a few times a week, but finds it annoying enough to see the need. Although his roommate has a scooter, in which there is sufficient parking for near them, the car parking issue has become even more annoying as more and more apartments have been built around him. He has been addressing his need by running errands at absurd times of day such as very early or very late in which parking seems to be more abundant. He has not been satisfied with his solution because it has been progressively becoming less efficient as more apartments have been built. 

5c) Reflect. I learned that the parking issue goes even further than just the East of campus and even extends to the Northern area. I also was surprised at how different all three solutions from the customers have been, but how similar the overall solution would be. I was surprised to hear that he also relies on his roommate and his scooter to help him with his parking situation. 

7) Summarize. I believe the full opportunity is still there for a change in the parking schematics in Gainesville. I also believe that this opportunity is even more accurate because I realized how many people this issue affects. The parking issue goes even further than directly affecting car owners, but in most cases also includes the roommates and close friends of those with cars. I think entrepreneurs would thrive and be solving a huge issue by finding a way to fix this need. Due to the fact that parking is so expensive and limited, I truly believe an entrepreneur building a parking garage instead of an apartment complex would profit more. Parking garages have far less utilities and wear-and-tear than an apartment complex, and would most definitely fill up. 

Bug List

1. During rush hour times the traffic in Gainesville, specifically on Museum, is so slow that a 2 minute drive turns into an hour long event. This issue exists because there really are only 3 main roads across campus that everyone is using at one time.

2. 2-day shipping taking longer than 2 days, because it takes longer for the order to be confirmed. This can happen for two reasons, either I order it after 5pm which starts the order the next day, or the company for whatever reasons takes longer than 2 days to process the order and ship it out.

3. When I get gel nail polish that should last two weeks but starts chipping within days, especially on my thumbs and pointer fingers. I have yet to find the route cause for this but I think it's a mix between shoddy workmanship, as well as small tasks I do.

4. When I order for delivery from a restaurant that is a 3 minute drive, but takes over an hour to get delivered to me. I think this has to do with the fact that the delivery drivers wait for a certain amount of orders before delivering.

5. Even though I come from South Florida, the rain schedule in Gainesville is a different story. I'm not entirely sure what wind patters mix in the Gainesville area, but the random rain schedule especially with my scooter is not ideal.

6. The lines at the airport, specifically in the check in desk is always so long even though they have 6 people working the desks. This issue is definitely the sum of many issues, between under employment and each customers many issues it amounts to the long lines.

7. No matter how softly or carefully I crack eggs, I can't without breaking the yolk. This issue might be coming from the fact that I crack eggs with a fork.

8. Thinking I am charging my phone before bed but realizing in the morning it wasn't plugged into the outlet. The fact my charger is very long may be the issue because I don't notice the other end of the charger.

9. Purposely buying black out curtains to sleep in, but having the light still come in because the curtains are white so they're not as effective. This is definitely due to the fact that I chose white black out curtains, however the package should be more descriptive as to how effective they are.

10. Going to sleep with the plan to wake up at a decent time but pressing the snooze button and over sleeping by two hours. I'm not sure why this happens but I do have a way to fix it, by putting my phone further away so I have to get up to turn it off.

11. Setting a timer for cookies according to the package, but when I go to check they still need another minute. However, this results in hockey puck cookies. This definitely has to do with the colder breeze that hits the cookies it has a setting power that makes the cookies bake faster from that point on.

12. During peak times on campus, trying to find scooter parking by Library West is virtually impossible. This has to do with the limited parking for the amount of students who are on campus, especially on such a central location on campus.

13. Falling in love with an item on the menu but not being able to ask for an ingredient to not be put in your meal because its "already pre made". This bug comes from the fact that restaurants have so many customers that they can't be making everything from scratch.

14. When waiters forget you exist after they serve you food, and the struggle to get their attention for the receipt. I think this has to do with how busy the waiters can get and how when they don't have a direct task they lose focus and go to their other tables.

15. Being in a rush to go somewhere after printing, and coming across a stapler that won't staple more than 3 pages. This bug has somewhat to do with my lack of luck, but also due to the quality of staples put inside the stapler.

16. Coming home from a long day at school, and being the second roommate to shower to find that my roommate used all the hot water. After discussing with my roommate, this is because we shower to close in proximity.

17. There seems to only be parking in Gainesville, especially around sorority row, when I am not looking for parking. Again, due to my luck, but this also has to do with how little street parking there is in comparison to how many students live around the university.

18. Taking fresh clothes out of the dryer to realize you have a stain that should have been taken care of before washing. This has to do with my laziness, and how much laundry I have to do over the course of a week.

19. As I was trying to write this, I realized the clicking sound fans make when they're on is actually very frustrating and can drive you insane. I think this happens because the strings that hang from the fixture that let you turn the light and fan on.

20. The harsh winters in Gainesville, make me wear 900 layers to class on my scoot, but then subsequently I have to take it all off when I go inside a heated classroom. This happens because the temperature of the classrooms during winter and substantially higher than the outside temperature.

21. I honestly did not have much of an issue writing these 20 bugs, the harder part was trying to figure out the route cause behind each issue. I had a slightly bigger issue when I got to number 18 trying to choose the last two bugs from the 5 left that were in my head.

My Entrepreneurship Story

I have been exposed to entrepreneurship first hand. My junior year of high school I opened my own small tutoring business called "Miss Kat's Neighborhood Tutoring". I had about 8-10 students every week and I was responsible for creating the appointments and actually tutoring. I fell in love with this job because I was able to make my own hours and work with little kids. However, at times it was very hard to find a balance between tutoring, handling the marketing, communicating with parents, and my own personal activities. Overall I loved the experience and I think my past business helped me to mature and solidified my knowledge of 5th grade math. Along the way I have had small encounters with entrepreneurship leading me to this course. Although I am mainly enrolled in this class to satisfy my major requirements, I am extremely excited and interested in learning about entrepreneurship. I am most looking forward to mastering the process of entrepreneurship. I hope that after this class I will be able to apply all the skills I learned to my daily life, and hopefully on a larger scale when I become a plastic surgeon with my own practice.