15A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior Pt. 2

Interview #1- In my quest to understand the demographics of my idea more I lined up 3 more interviews with people who could not cook but were looking for ways to learn. The first person I talked to was Lilyana P. a junior computer science major who does not know how to cook but wants to learn. After the interview started, I explained the concept of my idea and everything that is included with the cooking class. Then I asked my first question which was “So say you’re learning how to cook, and you have a selection of options that will teach you. What are the factors that will influence your choice of product and what are some alternatives you have looked at?”. After some deliberation, she responded with “The only thing I am looking for really is a way to learn to cook so if the option I chose can show me how to cook in a clear and concise way that’s all that really matters to me.” As for the alternatives she has looked at so far, she said she was going to use YouTube cooking recipes until she realized that they made the work look easier than it actually was going to be. She elaborated that originally, she wanted to learn how to cook through YouTube because it was free and she could do it from home, but she felt she didn’t actually learn how to cook, she was just watching another person cook. The second question I asked was “Would you rather have the way you learn how to cook be online or hands on, and how would you pay for it?” She said, “I wouldn’t mind either as long as it keeps me interested, and I would probably use my debit card to pay.”. The final question I asked was “What lets you know that your purchase was a good decision on your part?”, and she told me that as long as the product she purchased fulfilled the need she bought it for then she would say it was a good purchase.

Interview #2- The second person I interviewed was Sristina B. who is a junior psychology major that is also looking for a way to learn how to cook. I started out the interview explaining what my cooking class was and what it offered. After I asked the first question (So say you’re learning how to cook, and you have a selection of options that will teach you. What are the factors that will influence your choice of product and what are some alternatives you have looked at?) Sristina said, “The number one factor that matters to me is the recipes that I learn, if the recipes are delicious and easy then I stick with that alternative.” When I asked what alternatives to learn how to cook she had explored she said that she went to a cooking class in a culinary store called Sur La Table in South Florida but she felt that she was not learning just going through the motions also the amount of time she spent cooking the meal herself was minimal. Next, I asked the second question (Would you rather have the way you learn how to cook be online or hands on, and how would you pay for it?) and she immediately said that she was a more hands-on person. “If I don’t actually do the cooking myself how am I going to learn how to cook in general? I don’t think I am actually even retaining the info.” She also said that if the product cost less than 10 dollars, she would pay cash but above 10 dollars she would use her debit card. I then asked Sristina the last question (What lets you know that your purchase was a good decision on your part?) to which she answered “I feel like a purchase was a good purchase to me if it was something that lets me invest in myself. If its something that adds a bit more enjoyment in my life, then to me, it’s a good purchase.”

Interview #3- After two interviews I felt as if I was getting closer to understanding what my customers would be looking for. I also understood the concepts I was talking about and the questions I was asking were helping me formulate my conclusion. The last person I spoke to was Valentina L. A junior and sociology major here a UF who also wants to learn how to cook. First, I explained what my cooking class was, what we offered and the information I was trying to collect. I then asked my first question and Valentina said that “The factors that I would be looking for are entertainment value, and the amount of content matches the price I am paying.” We then talked about the alternatives she has used in order to learn how to cook and she said that she had actually visited the culinary club here at UF. She said that she was underwhelmed because they handed them papers with what they were eating and the ingredients, but she never touched a cooking material at all. Next, I asked the second question she then said “Online or in person doesn’t really matter to me as long as the product shows me the proper way to cook and actually explains how to do the actions they show then I would not mind paying for a cooking class.” In order to pay Valentina said that she would use her credit card in order to build her credit. I asked Valentina the last question and she responded with “I know a purchase was a right decision if I can share it with the people I care about, the ability to cook would be something I could share with all of my friends and family to me that would be a good purchase.”

Conclusion- Overall this assignment gave me priceless knowledge that will help cultivate my idea even more. This set of interviews showed me that a personal push will always get people cooking but, in order to get more people to join my idea, I have to relate that personal idea to other people. Because when people have that connection it makes your idea more relatable to them. Also, I learned that the quality of the teaching will be a large factor in how people react to the product.

14A-Halfway Reflection

Tenacity is a competency- In order to keep up with the class, the one thing I would say helps keep you on track is having an efficient work ethic. However, some techniques or behaviors I have developed in order to keep up are to one, keep an open mind. What I mean by that is a lot of the assignments we have in this class deal with taking data from our environment. Keeping an open mind helps you be more receptive to new information. The second behavior is working in advance, as a college student, we have the freedom of separate dates for assignments. However, we procrastinate sometimes and leave assignments for the last minute. That will not work for this class. In order to succeed you need to work in advance.

Tenaciousness is also about attitude- There was a moment when I was starting out in the course where I did want to give up. It was at the beginning of the course when I was doing the bug list, I was worried I would not be able to pass the class because the assignment dealt with just looking at the negative things around me which I was not used to doing. What pulled me through is taking my time, opening my mind and working in advance. These tips pulled me through, helping me develop a more tenacious attitude. I do feel my time in class so far has made me more tenacious, but I have always been a tenacious person I feel. My upbringing provided me with a lot of failures to get to the point where I am today, my parents would always motivate me to push through and get back up. The experience that really put this into perspective to me is my time in competitive martial arts. Many of the fights I went into should have been one-sided but through perseverance, you can change a lot of the results you are supposed to get.

Three tips- The three tips that I have for new students coming in are 1) Keep an open mind, because that will make the assignments easier to relate to. 2) Work on assignments in advance, this will reduce your workload and breaks work into manageable sections. 3) Take the time to research your topic, the more familiar you are with your topic the faster you can become familiar with it and work towards improving and cultivating that idea.

13A- Reading Reflection No.1

Reading Reflection

Elon Musk: Tesla, Space x, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance

What surprised you the most? – The thing that surprised me the most was how Elon Musk acquired his wealth. Elon Mush was the co-founder of the popular service PayPal. Then in the year of 2002 Elon Musk sold PayPal to eBay for 1.5 billion dollars.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? – The thing that I admire about Elon Musk the most is his tenacity. Elon Musk is no stranger to failure even though his success. For example, when during the 2008 market crash Tesla lost millions of dollars in profit and Elon Musk almost had to close Tesla and go into bankruptcy but through that, he was tenacious and fought to keep his business going and to grow into the success he is today.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? – The thing that I least admire about Elon Musk is his treatment of PayPal when he sold it. Instead of it being a hard decision where he had to think of his workers and the other members of his company, he sold it off immediately without any compassion even though he said the company was “his baby”.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? – As I said before Elon Musk is no stranger to failure or adversity, for example, Tesla almost going bankrupt as I said before. Or when Elon Musk went bankrupt himself in order to save Space X. Elon Musk has also faced adversity when he contracted cerebral malaria which could have been lethal. Luckily Elon Musk survived this encounter.

 What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? – Elon Musk is an extremely gifted person having a degree in both physics and business. What this means is that Elon Musk is an extremely well-rounded person which shows in his business skills and all of his success.

Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. – The part of the reading that was confusing to me was learning about his early life and how he started zip2 which was like online yellow books, but then he sold it but I didn’t know that he sold it because it was gone into with any depth. Which confused me because this was his first company but the details of what happened to it were fuzzy in the book.

If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? – The first question I would ask is “What kept you going in 2008 when everything seemed like it was crashing down for you?” The reason why I would ask this is any other entrepreneur would have crumbled or not have been able to recover after the crash the market took. I want to know what drives Elon Musk to achieve what he puts his mind to. The next question I would ask is “What was your original vision for Tesla? Also, what is your vision for Tesla now?” The reason why I would ask this is Tesla has changed many times during the time it has been open and honestly, I would like a little insight into where Tesla is evolving because I enjoy watching Tesla constantly pushing the boundaries forward.

For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? – Elon Musk actually has a famous quote when it comes to hard work, he says “I never give up, even if it seems there is no other option I will not give up.” This ties into his tenacity which I talked about above it is this same tenacity that saved both of his companies in 2008. I also share the opinion, because if you work hard at anything the result you receive will be made more satisfying knowing you gave 100 percent to it.

12A- Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No.1

Segment: Young adults who do not know how to cook.

Interview #1: The first person I spoke to was Yovani C., he is an incoming freshman who does not know how to cook. We started the conversation by talking about why he did not cook, that’s when I learned a bombshell. Yovani’s dad was chef, Yovani said that he grew up always watching his dad cook and his mom was also a fantastic cook, so he never learned how to cook. I then explained the concept of my idea. I asked Yovani when the inability to cook has really provided a problem for him? He said, “When I get home from soccer practice and I just worked myself to the core for three hours and I just want a quick meal I can’t make myself one and I have to go buy food and it’s burning my pockets.” This immediately made sense to me because when you work out extensively you need to eat to replenish your nutrients. If Yovani knew how to cook he could have baked some chicken breast and vegetables along with some brown rice so when he got home, he could eat right away.

Information Search: Yovani said that whenever he was hungry, he would use google to find delivery food places so he would not have to leave his home after the gym. Or he would use popular deliver apps like uber eats or bite squad in order to get his daily meals. This delivery apps overcharge you for different restaurant and fast food meals along with adding a tip and delivery fees. Yovani was spending 120 dollars a week on food alone.

Interview #2: The next person I spoke too was Caroline P. a Junior majoring in Psychology, she also does not know how to cook. Starting out I asked Caroline for the reason she never learned how to cook. Caroline said “I grew up in a Cuban household meaning every weekend was a feast or party and my family always cooked the food for it. I would always see my mom cooking so much food so fast but would burn herself all the time because of how much food she had to make with the small amount of time she had. That just turned me off of cooking.” We talked about her experience with cooking some more then I asked, “When does your inability to cook affect you the most?” Caroline said, “Family get-togethers at my apartment, I always have to order catering or buy a bunch of pre-made foods from groceries stores around me.” This, as you can imagine, is way more expensive than buying the ingredients and just making the meals by hand. For example, if Caroline knew how to cook for only 45 dollars, she could make a Thanksgiving dinner for her entire family.

Information Search: Caroline explained to me that whenever she needs food she drives to a restaurant or fast food place and when she has a family or friend get-togethers, she will get catering from chic-fil-a or other restaurants near her.

Interview #3: The last person that I spoke to was Joseph C. he is a sophomore mechanical engineering student who does not know how to cook. When our conversation started, I asked Joe “So why did you never learn how to cook?” Joe said “Because my mom did not cook either. She either ordered food or buy already cooked food and assembled it for me. It wasn’t bad though the food was good.” Joseph was the first person that I interviewed whose parents did not know how to cook either. I then asked Joe “When does your inability to cook affect you the most?” Joe said, “Whenever I actually get to spend time with my girlfriend.” Joe explained that he was in a long-distance relationship and his girlfriend would come to visit and stay with him and whenever they were hungry, they would go out to eat and Joe would always pick up the bill. I will spare how much he spent because it was ludicrous.

Information Search: Joe told me that whenever he was hungry, he would either go to a fast food place or a restaurant. He also has a meal plan so he can eat free on campus.

Conclusion

After all my interviews I have learned a couple things. One is that the thing that connects all young adults who never learned how to cook is convenience. Food was just conveniently there so they never learned how to cook. The second thing I learned is that parents are also sometimes at fault for never showing their children how to cook. The final thing I learned is that the inability to cook affects the person the most when they want to take care or feed someone they care about (themselves, family, friends, sig. other). This information was extremely vital in cultivating my idea and I will put my best foot forward to use this information wisely.

11A- Idea Napkin No.1

Idea Napkin

Who am I?-Hello, my name is Aaron as I have said before I am a sophomore here a UF majoring in Biotechnology. As I have said before in my previous posts cooking is a large hobby. I was home a lot as a kid and due to that, I had to spend a large period of my life cooking meals for myself. Whenever I had the free time, I would watch Gordon Ramsey or other chef’s on tv and jot down their recipes. As I grew older, I started experimenting more, creating my own recipes and cooking at a larger scale for my friends and family. So, when it comes to home cooking, I have the experience to back what I speak of. As far as teaching I am a tutor and founder of a club at my high school meaning I already have experience in teaching and leadership. What I want to do is teach young adults that cooking is an amazing experience that can also be way more cost effective than the alternatives. If my business was to take off it would be a pretty integral part of my life, as important as my other obligations. Because in order to provide the best experience as possible I need to put the work in.

What am I offering to customers?- What I am offering is a cooking club/ class that will teach young adults how to cook fresh, easy and, cost-effective three-course meals. Also, by paying their dues, students will have access to our patreon page where you will find updates about the class along with dozens of video and non-video recipes that I will not teach in the class.

Who is my product for?- My product is for young adults (college students) who due to laziness, fear of harm, or life circumstances (cultural differences, overwhelming workload) never learned how to cook.

Why should you buy my product?- The reason why my product should be purchased is the value. To be able to pay 7 dollars a month and have access to a class that is open and judgement free , where they will cook three-course meals (materials and cooking tools provided) be able to take the food the food home, a patreon page with both written and video recipes, and be able to take the meals you cook and feed the homeless. In my opinion that is a bargain that no other culinary club on campus will provide. Other clubs will have you focus on how great the food “they” cook is. I want to show all young adults that the meals they cook themselves can taste great.

Core competencies-The thing that distinguishes my club/ class from others like it their priorities. Other culinary clubs just draw you in with the promise of free or cheap food that they get to watch be made. The priority of my club/class is to make sure that the food is made by the students hand themselves and they still get to enjoy a cheap delicious meal. Also, the added value of the patreon page with all the recipes and the fact that we will also make meals to feed the homeless adds a priceless value, because anytime we have the opportunity to give back to the community, we should take it.

Conclusion

Overall, I thoroughly believe that all the elements of my idea work well together because of the research and interviews I have done. If my idea were never cultivated, I would never have made the additions I made to my idea. Also, I believe that my idea works so well due to the fact that all the components of the idea are modeled to give back. I am giving back the time I spent learning how to cook to my students, in return the students will take the knowledge they learn and use that to give back to the community by feeding the homeless. The central idea is giving back and the idea just flows together.

10A- Elevator Pitch

Hello everyone below is my first elevator pitch!

9A- Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Hypothesis Test Part 2

Who: Surprisingly enough they’re a lot of people who should fall within my boundaries but do not for reasons that were new to me when I did part 1 of this. Take one of the people I interviewed this week Sarah R. who is a freshman here at UF. She is young and does not know how to cook so you would think that she would be interested in the prospect of my cooking class however when I explained the concept to her even the giving back part, she still said that she would not do it. When I asked why she said, “ Because I am in Greek life I pay a pretty penny in dues that cover food service so why would I buy groceries and have to cook and do all that stuff when I could just go to the sorority house and eat all I want.” This perplexed me because I have never factored in that Greek life could also be a reason why some choose not to cook. I then asked, “How is the quality of the food you are eating?” and she responded, “The quality is ok, but I don’t really care because it is free.” This was a reminder to me that the convenience of low-quality food is still a large issue that continues to plague people who don’t know how to cook. Take the next person I interviewed Christian R. a sophomore at UF that does not know how to cook. When I explained the concept of my class to him his response was “I don’t know bro that seems like a lot of work when I could just run to Publix and get a chicken tender sub.” I asked if the fact that he would be able to make the same sandwich but with better quality make any difference on his decision against being a home cook in which he replied “But Publix is a minute away from my apartment why spend all that time to get the bread and assemble all of that when I could get it right there.” This was a cold reminder that laziness will always be the number one reason as to why young adults do not cook.

What: This was a hard part of the assignment to do because I could not think of a point where my need until I had my interviews. First, I talked to an old friend Erin T. a junior who does not know how to cook and I thought the best way to get to the root of the info I needed would be to explain the club then ask “What makes my cooking different than other clubs you have been to or experienced?” and Erin replied with “I think what makes it different is the fact that you place an emphasis on a concept that not many people expect.” and at first I did not know what she meant until I realized the message of the club. I place an emphasis on teaching instead of just showing off my skills. My mission with the club is to teach people that they are more than what they think they are, and they are much more capable then they may think they are. Everyone looks at cooking as an extravagant hard ability that takes hours on hours just to make one meal. While in specific cases that is true 85 percent of the time it is not, and people just need to be shown that. The next interview with Maria N. a freshman solidified my view for this section. I started with explaining the concept of my club then asked the same question I asked Erin which was “What do you think makes my club stand out from the others you have seen?” Maria immediately said, “It seems you are focused mostly on how fun cooking could be and that is what going to matter most to the people that actually join the club.” Maria went on to tell me that one of her pet peeves is having her time wasted and if the club focused on mixing fun into cooking it would help the teaching environment greatly. That’s when I came to my conclusion on this section. I want to focus on the joy that cooking can bring. Cooking is not just making a meal then eating it, it’s an experience culminating with enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Who: After 4 interviews and reflection I was able to deepen my understanding of people who do not cook. I was able to experience 4 different viewpoints and I felt as if I was able to write a conclusion to this section until I met my last interview. The “who” section is about if the people outside of your boundaries reasoning coincide with the people inside of your boundaries. The last interview I had was with Andrew V. a sophomore here at UF that does not know how to cook. In order to see why the reasons, differ I simply asked, “Why were you never motivated to learn how to cook?” and he bluntly said, “I have just had no desire to so.” and that brings this all together. The only difference between the outsiders and insiders of my boundaries is that the outsiders simply just have no desire to cook.

Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary
Who is in: Young adults, and college students	Who is not: People with no desire to cook
What the need is: A class to teach young adults how to cook.	What the need is not: A club that just shoves food at you and does not show how that piece of food came to be.
Why the need exists: cultural divides, lack of motivation, and not having the time.	Alternate Explanations: Being lazy, afraid of the time it takes, the danger of possibly being hurt.

8A- Solving the Problem

Solving the Problem

In last week’s post I talked about the increasing issue with more and more young adults not knowing how to cook and instead, taking the more convenient option and eating out or getting a meal plan. I have been a fan of cooking all my life when I was young and home alone, I would watch cooking shows on tv or videos on YouTube. From there I started with scrambled eggs moving on to spaghetti so on and so forth. I eventually started cooking my own meals and that really became important as soon as I entered college. Now in college having experienced the meal plan and the other ways of getting food on campus I know for sure home cooking is the best option for food. It is just an objective fact that the quality of food on college campuses are shoddy at points and eating out every day creates a hole in your wallet. So, what can people do? Join a cooking club! Except that most cooking clubs here at campus cook the food for you and focus on showing you that food taste and looks good. I will show people how THEY can make food look and taste great. The product or opportunity that I have created is a cooking class/ club that will not only teach young adults how to cook but also give back to the community. The club will run once a week (usually a Saturday) and the class/ club fees will be 10 dollars a month. That gives you access to the class in which a three course meal will be taught each week (which you can eat and take home) , all supplies and cooking utensils will be provided, and also access to our patreon page where you will have access to multiple recipes and video recipes that I do not teach in class. Also, I brought up giving back to the community what that means is once a month the meals that the students cook will be given to the homeless and less fortunate so they will have a hot plate of food to eat for that day. I believe that my opportunity is the perfect way for students and young adults to learn how to mature and be self – sustainment, along with giving back to the community.