Everything Entrepreneurship

Elevator Pitch #1

Interview #1: The person I interviewed runs about once or twice a week, specifically outdoors because he really dislikes treadmills. He never focuses on his pace or is concerned about his pace because he just likes to run at whatever pace feels right for him at that point in time. The need to fix his pace has never occurred to him because he only goes for a run to get his cardio in. This individual uses the Apple Watch to track his distance and occasionally looks at his mile times when he finishes. He thinks this opportunity is interesting, but since he only “runs to run,” he wouldn’t spend money on it. Interview #2: The person I interview enjoys to run a few times a week, switching off between indoors and outdoors. She doesn’t pay attention to her pace, and instead runs to clear her mind as a stress reliever. She says she doesn’t use any applications to help her because again, she runs for different purposes and distance/pace doesn’t matter to her. She thinks my opportunity is a co...

Opportunity: Maintaining pace can be a difficult task for runners, especially outside. Many runners care about their pace but have no way to accurately track it due to the fact that current devices provide split times and not your real time speed. Running indoors on treadmills is substantially different because there are so many variables that influence a run outdoors. Solution: Develop an app with an accessory ankle bracelet that would show your pace in real time. The user would enter their target pace into the app and the anklet would track the speed of your steps, which would then be calculated and displayed on the app if you were over or under your target pace. This calculation would be made based off the average of the last 5 seconds, in order to keep it in real time. If the user deterred from their pace, the anklet would give a slight vibration, notifying the user to either increase or decrease their speed. The anklet would continue to give a slight vibration every 5 seconds unt...

Opportunity: Based off of my blog post #4 and the feedback I received on it, I still think there is an opportunity to assist runners in maintaining a consistent pace when they complete runs outdoors. Current devices and applications provide split times, but not your real time pace, so this is a way to measure that. The Who:  People who have this need can range from beginners to athletes, and everyone in between. This could apply to anyone who has set timing or endurance goals, are training for specific races or events, or are just curious about the pace they run at. The What: Pacing can be an issue when running outdoors, and there are no applications to help runners stay on target. The Why: Running outdoors is very different than running inside on a treadmill. On a treadmill, everyone is capable of sustaining a specific pace by pushing a simple button. However, outdoors, runners encounter hills, turns, over-striding and other scenarios that may deter them from their intended...

Economic Trend Opportunities  #1. Millennials have an average of $28,000 in debt – and the biggest sources isn’t student loans Source: CNBC.  Article 1 This information suggests an opportunity might exist because millennials need help managing their debt. But also shows that yes, although millennials have debt, at least they are stimulating the economy through spending.  The prototypical customer would be companies who assist with loan and debt repayments. But also the companies who millennials are purchasing items from.  I think this could be exploited easily because there are many millennials who need assistance and also should be taught the proper effects of debt. On the other hand, with spending it is very easy to target millennials, especially through digital advertising.  I saw this as an opportunity because as a college student, sometimes it can be challenging to sacrifice your lifestyle and hold back from swiping your credit card on items. It ma...

Title: “Anne Arundel faces school bus driver shortage, transportation issues” by The Capital Gazette (Annapolis, MD) a. Link: News Article #1 b. Description of story: Schools in Maryland, specifically Wiley H. Bates Middle School, are going through a bus driver shortage. There was a lack of communication between transportation officials and parents when some bus stops were removed from the routes before the end of the day. This left students without a ride home and parents upset that they had to find out through the grapevine to go pick their children up. Many bus drivers say they are committed to driving for the school, and then leave when other driving opportunities arise. Transportation officials are having trouble maintaining these drivers. In order to solve this shortage right now, the school systems may make buses complete double routes to pick up more students, add more students to the current bus routes, or reassign routes completely. c. Description of problem: ...

I believe there is an opportunity to aid runners in sustaining a consistent pace when they participate in outdoor runs. There are so many variables when it comes to running, especially during a race, and pacing is a difficult one to control. It’s easy to maintain a consistent and comfortable pace when running on a treadmill, but when it comes to outdoor runs, pacing becomes a lot more difficult. For example, pacing problems that occur very commonly outside consist of over-striding, gassing out too early, or losing control on hills. Current devices on apple watches and smart phones provide split times, but not your real time pace. The opportunity would be to create an app with an accessory ankle bracelet. You would enter your target pace into the app, and the ankle bracelet would track the speed of your steps, which would calculate on the app if you were under or above your target pace based on an average of the last 5 seconds. The anklet would give a slight vibration when a runner devi...

I was exposed to entrepreneurship early in life, but one instance was in high school, mainly due to a class I took called “Entrepreneurship.” The main idea of the class was to learn entrepreneurship tactics and strategies and apply them to a realistic venture. The venture that my class came up with was hosting a Fall Festival at the high school for children in grades K-5 in order to raise money for Toys for Tots. I was selected by my class to be Project Lead, and had to create the business plan from scratch. It was challenging and demanding, but so rewarding on the actual day of the festival. We ended up raising more money than we expected and the Fall Festival is still in continuance annually at the high school. Overall, this experience taught me how challenging it can be if you don’t have a team to support you. I relied on my classmates to help me put the Festival together, because there was no way I could have done it alone. Even though we came up with the Fall Festival idea as a c...