19A - Idea Napkin No. 2

1) I'm Danielle. I'm currently a Support Manager at Walmart. (Recently got promoted from a front end manager to a support!) I've been in management for about a year and a half now, which pairs well with my major which is Business Administration. With my experience in that and my experience in what the music world lacks, I think my app would be an excellent fit in my life. 

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

A combination of all of your favorite social media's and music streaming platforms. Like Spotify and Twitter had a baby. A cool baby. 

3) Who are you offering it to? 

Teenagers. Young adults. Adults. Your younger sister. Your distant cousin. Your grandparent who wants to reflect on their golden days through the sounds of Elvis and Buddy Holly. That kid who Naruto runs to class with Linkin Park blaring through his earbuds. Ideally, on my app The Queue, every one would have a place to call home. Through the power of music.

4) Why do they care? 

Because if you're anything like me, music is your world. Music heals. Music gives you a chance to connect with someone else. Music holds weight. It holds memories, it holds feelings. 

5) What are your core competencies? 

I have personal insight in what it's like to be the, "fangirl" and have seen, first hand what's lacking in the world of social media and music. 

As stated in my first idea napkin, I think this app has great potential. The heart is there, the plan is there - the execution would be the hardest part. Figuring out how to partner/sync with streaming platforms to connect music into the app might be the tricky part. I still think this app would be a great outlet for many people.

Feedback memo: The feedback I got was that people believed in my idea and could see it being a real app which is much appreciated. I tried to take what I said in the first napkin and kind of grow from that and be a bit more "colorful" in how I explain my ideas. 

17A Elevator pitch no.2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YcADo0580g&feature=youtu.be

I didn't get much feedback on how I performed vs the actual content I was presenting but I noticed in my first pitch I was more focused on saying the right thing as opposed to presenting it in a more confident manner so this time around I wanted to be a bit more animated and lively than just blankly reading what I had written for the pitch itself. Based on my own feedback, I changed how I would reference my information and put more effort in memorizing what I wanted to say, and tried to be more animated with my words and body language. 

18A - create a customer avatar

When thinking about my ideal customer, I immediately envision a young adult, 16-30, give or take, maybe in college - maybe not. Music enthusiast. "Stan" type of person who loves talking about music and bands and artists on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, etc. They save their money up to go to concerts and drag their friends to shows. They wish their friends would dance with them. They wish there was something that could connect them to people close to them who would actually dance with them. The shows they watch are influenced by social media. Shows like AHS, Euphoria, Skins, etc. They're kind of possessive over their music, and it's like you have to pass a test to actually have a real conversation with them about their favorite band. 

I think I have a lot in common with my avatar because my app, the "Queue" is something that I've personally wanted to exist for some time and something that I think that even I would utilize. When I think about my perfect audience, I envision the girls (and boys) that I met at shows all around America at music festivals and shows and how an app like Queue could help them connect with more people like them and I and connect them to more opportunities in their area. What I have in common is the same hunger for live music, traveling, and that want for more events in my city that'll bring people with similar interests together. 

16A

https://vocaroo.com/i/s1gl9oIpEQDg

https://vocaroo.com/i/s1nVC8t98kts

https://vocaroo.com/i/s19NFCz9pd9o

https://vocaroo.com/i/s1MEsYwuNT6r

https://vocaroo.com/i/s1nvcrpg5nDp

Overall, I’d say four things that describe me or make me unique would be that I’m hard working, determined, consistent, hungry for success, and goal oriented. I think the people around me know how hard I try between working full time and going to school full time: I think the interviews are correct.

15A

Overall, I think people really focus on quality and price. They’re wanting to find something that doesn’t cost a lot, lasts a long time, and is in good quality. From the three people I interviewed, it’s apparent that financing isn’t really a thought when making a purchase and that financing doesn’t seem necessary to them. Reviews are something that has a heavy impact on what they buy and how they view things, including whether or not they should buy something and even said that it effects their satisfaction after the purchase. If the reviews include that they liked it, they feel like they’ll like it to. Otherwise, they tend to be satisfied either way because it’s something they spent money on so they tend to enjoy the process of buying something as opposed to the actual object. Personal experience is also something that was highlighted amongst the interviews which shows that the experience surrounding making a purchase makes it better or worse, despite this opinion being on the actual object. 

14A - Halfway Reflection

1. Throughout this course one of the behaviors I've used to keep up with this course is time management, in order to meet those 12 at noon deadlines that can catch you off guard. Another behavior is consistency, being able to build off of a base idea and branch into something more. Also, laddering questions in interviews to get a deeper look into why someone thinks something.
2. It gets a bit daunting when you're constantly faced with the question if what you're wanting to pursue is worth it. It takes a lot of confidence and self belief that you can actually invent something that people will use and enjoy. There's been multiple moments where I'd second guess my idea and want to scrap it altogether out of fear of looking, "stupid." I feel like I've developed more of a tenacious attitude because I fought this fear and expressed my idea to multiple people and was actually given a lot of good feed back and people expressed interest in it, surprisingly. Doing that first interview where you had to ask people if they'd use your idea or not - that was something that really altered my mind and had me thinking that my idea could actually be possible.
3. Three tips
  1) Work ahead and take time to put meaning into your posts and your idea. The more you give, the more you get.
  2) Stay on top of your schedule and don't let those 12pm cut offs get you.
  3) Believe in what you're trying to sell. Imagine your idea in the beginning as a freshly planted flower and water it the entire semester.

13A - Reading Reflection No. 1

Shoe Dog

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

• What surprised you the most?
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

        I found many elements of the life of Phil Knight to be surprising - I guess the main thing I was surprised about was how long it took to get Nike off the ground. Nearly 8 years into trying to launch his shoe company, and he was still struggling to keep it afloat. I absolutely admire his willingness to succeed and how he never viewed giving up as an option. Even as he sat in a room full of people who were telling him to give up, he'd take that as fuel and try harder. What I didn't exactly admire is how he put his family on the back burner but he had a lot on his plate with trying to grow Nike, though I don't agree with him leaving his wife in the hospital to go to a track race. I also didn't like how he wouldn't respond to people, especially Johnson. Phil Knight absolutely encountered failure.. time, and time again he was told no. He was told that what he was doing wasn't going to work. From his very first quest of traveling the world, he was faced with challenge that never caused him to back down. Every time an obstacle was thrown his way, he never crumbled - he would automatically take the task head on and come out okay on the other side. He always fought and believed in himself and what he was saying, from the very beginning, from when he was selling shoes out of the trunk of his car to when he was fighting for the financial security of his business when the US government wanted to bill them $25 million dollars.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

       He exhibited the ability of consistency, intelligence, and the determination to succeed. He found a solution to every problem, and stated that when you have a calling and you're working towards something you believe in - the failures hurt a little less. The bad days are a little less daunting, because what you're doing holds meaning. He had multiple degrees and was a skilled accountant, he balanced this career with starting his company until he could branch out on his own.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

         I wouldn't say anything necessarily confused me other than why he wouldn't respond or congratulate his employees who were just trying to help him. Johnson is a BIG contributor to Nike in the early days in pushing sales and Knight never really ever gave him any recognition. 

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

        1.) Do you think things would be different if you didn't come from a family with money? Since your dad was able to give you a couple thousand to start off with - a lot of people don't have that source of money in the beginning. I would ask this because I think it causes a big difference. Especially back then in the early days, a thousand+ dollars was serious money. 

        2.) What ever happened to your friend when you left Hawaii? Did he continue to sell encyclopedias? Did he marry the Hawaiian girl? I ask this because I'm curious. It was kind of a side plot that was never explained. He wrote a letter to him but he never got back to Knight in the book.

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

           I think Knight's opinion of hard work is pouring every blood, sweat, tear, and time into what your calling is. Long hours, long nights, long flights - travel. Finding yourself and finding a belief to manifest into a lifestyle of entrepreneurship. You must work hard for what you believe is right and never back down. Lots of knowledge through books and traveling, always learning more. Creating a solid team of trusted people around you to carry that work load, being able to delegate tasks between who you believe is right for whatever ask. Never letting an obstacle scare you externally even if it's killing you internally. Hard work is resilience, consistency, and just doing it. 

12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

Segment: My segment is young adults who consider themselves music enthusiasts.
Summary of interviews: I interviewed three people who I've actually met through traveling to and from concerts and all three expressed genuine interest in an app that could connect them to more people like them and I, opening up more opportunities to attend more shows and find more music. One of my interviewees expressed concern in the layout of the app which would also be my main concern. I wouldn't want a poorly executed app - It'd have to be clean and easy to use like a modern social media app with the added benefits of what I'd want "queue" to offer people. There's no app like "Queue" that specifically markets to people who love music and want a direct source of information and opportunity. Another person wondered if it could compete among the likes of, "Twitter" since this is the network where "fandoms" subside for now. I think, yes - it could.. Because, it's a social media platform made /for/ fandoms. Twitter doesn't offer groups, chat rooms, matching abilities based on musical tastes, direct outlets for local music events, concert ticket reselling platforms, etc. Everything you need, music related, at your fingertips. Overall, all three really seemed to like the idea of it. They all said they would definitely use it and if executed correctly, would invest a lot of time into using it and finding more connections/discovering new music and bands - which is the ultimate goal. When I asked what they do now to satisfy their needs, other social media platforms was the answer. The use of Spotify, Apple music, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. When they're wanting to find out about events, they simply Google, "Concerts near me." and they find new music by going through playlists on Spotify/Apple music, specifically in the discovery section or by seeing what people put on Twitter/Tumblr. They do talk to friends, which is a heavy influence on their musical preferences.
Conclusion: I think this segment is very self aware and is open to the idea of a new platform that could ultimately benefit their interests and hobby to a higher degree than what they're being offered through their usual apps and social media/music streaming platforms. Through "Queue" they could have easier ways of finding information out when it comes to events and new music instead of actively looking for it on websites like Google.

11A - Idea Napkin No.1

1.) You.
I'm Danielle. I'm currently a front end manager at Walmart. I love music, concerts, traveling - and management - I'd love to combine both. My aspiration for "Queue" is for it to bloom and allow people all around to immerse themselves in a community that is there for them in the musical world.
2.) What are you offering to customers?
I'm offering them the best of both worlds when it comes to social media and music streaming. Everything they would need to know about anything music, right at their fingertips. A personally customized dashboard showing you people with mutual musical interests, local concerts, chatrooms, groups, events, you name it!
3.) Who are you offering it to? 
Teenagers. Young adults. Music fanatics. Fandoms. College students. That guy at your job who secretly listens to KPOP. That stay at home mom who low-key loves Cardi B. Young teens.
4.) Why do they care?
They care because they already care about music streaming platforms and social media platforms, so why not have the best of both worlds?
5.) What are your core competencies? 
What sets me apart from everyone else is the passion I personally have for music and concerts. I know the feeling I got from wanting to talk about my favorite band but knowing no one cared on the same level I did. Or the feeling I got from seeing my favorite band for the first time. I want to give people a safe environment to have fun and discover new music and new events.

I think my elements fit together quite well, the execution of the app would probably be the weaker part of the whole process just because I'd want it to be perfect and modern. It'd be hard to push a new social media platform and also to be able to sync music platforms into this new app to be able to set your music interests into it, but it is possible. Other than that, I think the idea is solid and if executed properly, could be a great outlet for many people.