Reading Reflection No. 3

Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman

1. The general theme or argument for most of the book was the concept that there are two different ways of forming thoughts. System 1, as described in the book, represents a form of thinking that can generally be described as fast, stereotypical, emotional, and subconscious. System 2 is a form of thinking that is described as more logical, calculating, and conscious. These two different systems change the way people view things, and can affect their cognitive biases towards different things. The book also speaks about how people struggle to think in a statistical, analytical way because it is hard to view the world that way when we are so used to thinking with our emotions. 

2. This book connected with what I have learned in this class because I think I am more of a system 2 type thinker, where I focus on being very logical and conscious in my decisions. I think this will reflect on how I would run my business and the entrepreneurial relationships that I would form. If I think of my venture concept in a very logical way, I think it improve the chance of my product being successful. 

3. I think a good exercise for this book would be to have the reader consider what type of thinker they are and why they think that is their type. It would be interesting to see what people think of themselves, and you could maybe also have other students try to guess what kind of thinker someone is based on their assignments. 

4. I biggest "aha" moment while reading this book was when I started to learn and understand the concepts involving cognitive bias and how our system of thinking can affect the way we interact with ideas and other people in the world. That did not necessarily differ from my expectations, but it was still very interesting to learn.

Final Reflection

1. Well this semester has definitely been an interesting journey. I would have to say there were a lot more lows than highs regarding this course. There were probably honestly zero highs; the semester mostly consisted of trying to juggle my full time internship while also having to juggle the seemingly unnecessary workload. The most fun exercise was probably the bug list assignment because it was interesting to think outside the box about some ideas you normally wouldn't consider.

2. The thing I will honestly remember most about this class is looking at some of the assignments in one of the earlier weeks of classes and "snapchatting" pictures of them to my friends because they seemed so lengthy, and I had never seen anything like them before. I do not really relish any of the other experiences. I think if anything I learned that I need to prepare myself for the class I am taking. I planned on taking a somewhat easy summer class to take while also taking two other classes and working full time, and I simply was blindsided by the work load, and you can definitely say that is one hundred percent my own fault.

3. I do not see myself as an entrepreneur at all because at this time in my life I don't think it is realistic for my to start to try to actually develop my product. I do not think I will be an entrepreneur until I actually start that journey and begin preparing to release my product or idea into the real world. I definitely moved closer to developing that mindset, but I don't think I am there yet.

4. I honestly think the best advice is just to make sure you complete all the easy assignments, such as the comments. I made the mistake of missing a few of those assignments and it really hurt my grade in the end, so I think it is important to stay focused and dedicated and not skip a week because you are feeling lazy.

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity:

                My venture idea is an app that will allow people within a certain distance to be able to connect and meet up to play sports or exercise together. The main idea is that a lot of people in their 20’s and 30’s do not really have time to play a full time competitive sport while working and doing other things. My app would give people a way to not only meet up with other locals and play sports, but it really has the potential to be a great social app for many different people. Some customers will want a more competitive game or sport to meet up and play, and other people will want to play more for just recreation and to have a good time. Often times when I try to play sports with my friends, we do not have enough people to play a full game. This app would help you get enough people together to get a solid game going for practically any sport. The changes in the environment that create this opportunity are the changes to the social and cultural norms. For instance, Pokemon Go is huge right now, and one of the biggest appeals is the idea of going out and walking around and being active, while also meeting strangers playing the same game. My app would also have this idea of being active and meeting strangers so I think that is a good sign. This market is mainly for people in their 20’s and 30’s who want to stay active and also enjoy playing a sport. Customers are currently filling this void by joining rec leagues and going to gyms, but a rec league is a much bigger commitment than this.  I think this is a fairly big opportunity because the U.S. has really entered a period of promoting healthiness and staying active. I think this window of opportunity will open for as long as people feel comfortable meeting up with strangers to play sports.

Innovation:

                I think my product is innovative in a way that involves just moving with the flow of the cultural progression of our society. People, more than ever, want to get out and be active while also staying social. I think my app would really innovate in a similar way to how Pokemon Go did, and I also think Pokemon Go would be beneficial for my app because it already is helping improve the stigma of meeting up with strangers. In a time where meeting up with strangers during the day doesn’t sound that strange, I think my app could really take off. The idea that people can stay in shape, and meet people that enjoy similar sports is innovative in itself. I think another way that it is innovative is that a lot of times it’s hard to find people who enjoy some of the more niche sports such as lacrosse or Frisbee, but my app would also allow for those niche groups to connect and find each other. I think because of how the app business is, my product would have to be free at first to grow a solid customer base. Most of the funding and capital would have to be provided by investors or bank loans, because charging for a social app just would not be a successful route to go down. I think once the app grows in popularity, it could generate revenue through ads, and also through a potential buyout from a major software company such as Apple. It is common for major companies to purchase fairly successful startups, so that could be a potential outcome.

Venture Concept:

                I think customers will switch to my product, because right now there is no common way of finding locals to meet up with and play sports. I think the main competitors are other social apps, and recreational leagues. I think the main obstacle the app will have to get over is the negative stigma of meeting up with strangers. Due to the nature of software development, my business concept isn’t necessarily affected by a lot of logistical constraints. Software development can be fairly freeform and worked on in different ways. I think the best way to organize my business at first would be a small number of software developers, with some of them working part time. The business would realistically only have so much capital, and taking on a bunch of full time employees wouldn’t be smart. I think the business would really come down to the effectiveness of the few developers and finding the right people. I think my most important resource is my connection with my brother, who worked for an app startup that got purchased by Apple. I think my venture would really focus on trying to grow and gain in popularity and then sell for a profit. It isn’t something I would want to maintain forever. I hope this first venture is successful for me, or a learning experience if anything. Next, I will just continue to live my life and try to have a great time and be a good person and see where that takes me. It would also be important to market and promote the app through some outside services, possibly involving Apple's promotional services.

 

2. Most of the feedback I received was fairly positive, with people mentioning that the idea is very innovative and has a lot of potential. The main criticism or critical feedback I received was in regards to how I would market the app and actually make money off it. I think those are fair points of criticism and marketing would definitely be an area that I need to work on when it comes to my product idea. 

 

3. The way I would change my venture concept is possibly coming up with a good way to advertise my product so people can hear about it. I know one great way apps can be advertised is through Apple's promotion in the app store. So that could be a solid route to correct some of the criticism I received.  

 

 

My Exit Strategy

1. Like most app start up companies, my main exit strategy would be to hopefully be purchased by a big software developer such as Apple. The main plan would be for the app to grow and grow in popularity, and once it gains a big enough following, the major players in the software development game will want to have some part in it. I have some experience understanding this kind of strategy because my oldest brother worked for a start up app business and they were successful and eventually bought by Apple. With his company's buyout, the employees were also bought out and employed by Apple, so that could also be a possible exit strategy.

 

2. I selected this particular exit strategy because I think it is most reasonable, and I have seen it happen before firsthand. I think this is a fairly common exit strategy in the software development business.

3. I don't think this particular exit strategy really changes how I have thought about the business too much. The only major effect it could have is I might be more willing to not make as much money off the product in the earlier stages because I can rely on a big supply of capital when the company gets bought out at the end. That could be a pretty risky strategy though so I am not sure if it is necessarily to best idea. The main goal with this type of exit strategy is just to grow as much as possible and reach the maximum number of people so bigger companies are more likely to buy your business out and pay more.

Making it Real

Hey guys, here is my resume: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8aWZqUS_cXiYnAzSTNHS2Z4UGM

Celebrating Failure

1. One failure that I experience fairly often is when I am too lazy and skip my workouts in the morning before work. I always set my alarm and tell myself that I will wake up early and get a good workout in, but I always just hit snooze and am too lazy to get up and actually do it. I have been able to do it quite a few times, but it seems like I just keep failing myself and my body and not doing it.


2. What I have learned from it is that if I am going to tell myself to do something that will be good for me, I need to actually be serious about it and not be so lazy. If I never take this seriously, I will never make any progress in terms of my strength, and I think that could have a similar effect in other aspects of my life. If I am too lazy and don't do assignments, my grade suffers and I end up dealing with the negative consequences. I think it has really just helped me learn that if I am going to set certain goals I need to actually take them seriously and put effort in or I'll never make any progress.

3. My view on failure is a pretty positive one. I think failure is almost always a positive thing, except for in extreme circumstances, and is one of the most important parts of growing as a person. Every time you fail at anything, you are automatically given the chance to learn from that failure and analyze what you did wrong to bring about the failure. It was actually hard for me to even think of a failure for this exercise because I don't think of events as failures usually. Everything is just a learning experience to grow as a person and not make the same mistake next time. I think there is nothing worse than being afraid of failure, and that failure really is a good thing overall.

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity:

                My venture idea is an app that will allow people within a certain distance to be able to connect and meet up to play sports or exercise together. The main idea is that a lot of people in their 20’s and 30’s do not really have time to play a full time competitive sport while working and doing other things. My app would give people a way to not only meet up with other locals and play sports, but it really has the potential to be a great social app for many different people. Some customers will want a more competitive game or sport to meet up and play, and other people will want to play more for just recreation and to have a good time. Often times when I try to play sports with my friends, we do not have enough people to play a full game. This app would help you get enough people together to get a solid game going for practically any sport. The changes in the environment that create this opportunity are the changes to the social and cultural norms. For instance, Pokemon Go is huge right now, and one of the biggest appeals is the idea of going out and walking around and being active, while also meeting strangers playing the same game. My app would also have this idea of being active and meeting strangers so I think that is a good sign. This market is mainly for people in their 20’s and 30’s who want to stay active and also enjoy playing a sport. Customers are currently filling this void by joining rec leagues and going to gyms, but a rec league is a much bigger commitment than this.  I think this is a fairly big opportunity because the U.S. has really entered a period of promoting healthiness and staying active. I think this window of opportunity will open for as long as people feel comfortable meeting up with strangers to play sports.

Innovation:

                I think my product is innovative in a way that involves just moving with the flow of the cultural progression of our society. People, more than ever, want to get out and be active while also staying social. I think my app would really innovate in a similar way to how Pokemon Go did, and I also think Pokemon Go would be beneficial for my app because it already is helping improve the stigma of meeting up with strangers. In a time where meeting up with strangers during the day doesn’t sound that strange, I think my app could really take off. The idea that people can stay in shape, and meet people that enjoy similar sports is innovative in itself. I think another way that it is innovative is that a lot of times it’s hard to find people who enjoy some of the more niche sports such as lacrosse or Frisbee, but my app would also allow for those niche groups to connect and find each other. I think because of how the app business is, my product would have to be free at first to grow a solid customer base. Most of the funding and capital would have to be provided by investors or bank loans, because charging for a social app just would not be a successful route to go down. I think once the app grows in popularity, it could generate revenue through ads, and also through a potential buyout from a major software company such as Apple. It is common for major companies to purchase fairly successful startups, so that could be a potential outcome.

Venture Concept:

                I think customers will switch to my product, because right now there is no common way of finding locals to meet up with and play sports. I think the main competitors are other social apps, and recreational leagues. I think the main obstacle the app will have to get over is the negative stigma of meeting up with strangers. Due to the nature of software development, my business concept isn’t necessarily affected by a lot of logistical constraints. Software development can be fairly freeform and worked on in different ways. I think the best way to organize my business at first would be a small number of software developers, with some of them working part time. The business would realistically only have so much capital, and taking on a bunch of full time employees wouldn’t be smart. I think the business would really come down to the effectiveness of the few developers and finding the right people. I think my most important resource is my connection with my brother, who worked for an app startup that got purchased by Apple. I think my venture would really focus on trying to grow and gain in popularity and then sell for a profit. It isn’t something I would want to maintain forever. I hope this first venture is successful for me, or a learning experience if anything. Next, I will just continue to live my life and try to have a great time and be a good person and see where that takes me.