Since I will be in my home town of the entire summer, I decided to focus on a huge problem that you see everyday here. Santa Cruz, Bolivia thats where I am right now, and here in Santa Cruz we see dogs everywhere in the streets. It probably varies from neighborhood to neighborhood but you see lost/abandoned dogs everywhere, and the common thing between all this animals is that none of them have ID tags. Santa Cruz is a big city but Bolivia is still a developing country so we don't have a place where we can buy a simple pet tag for our animals. So my solution is to buy a printing machine, like the ones used to print stuff on rings or other silverware. The machine is not the expensive and each individual tag is very cheap. So, the solution would be to start to offer this product via social media, local TV news, and probably by going to the main square in downtown which is where everyone goes on weekends and promote the product there. I interviewed 5 people regarding this issue and asked if they would be costumers of the product I am trying to introduce, and they all were thrilled with it. The ultimate goal would be to have the machines you see at Walmart or at Petsmart that basically have mechanized this industry, you just insert a couple bucks into the machine and after a couple of minutes you get your pet tag. I would place this machines strategically at supermarkets around the city, I would do this after raising enough capital with the regular inexpensive printing machine that I would buy at first. After all my expenses have been covered I would like to forward all profits to the very small quantity of animal shelters that do help animals, unlike the dog pound in the city which only collects pets every now and then, to only sacrifice them after a week of having them in their facilities.
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1
The Opportunity:
In my home town of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia there are a ton of dogs and cats wondering around the streets. Most of them lost others may have escaped, one thing is for certain: none of them have any type of identification. The dog pound does nothing about the situation, and if they do pick up some dogs they sacrifice them after a week, they don't care about finding them a new home. So the situation is really bad, there is no regulation what so ever.
Who: Pet owners in Santa Cruz, Bolivia
What: There is no place to buy ID tags for the pets
Why: Nothing is being done for this animals
Testing the Who: The ones affected by my opportunity are the pet owners. On the other hand, every one else is kind of affected by this problem. This animals wonder around the streets some might be sick with rabies or causing accidents in streets because drivers might want to avoid killing them.
Testing the Why: Some of the questions I asked are the following:
1. How often do you see pets in the streets?
2. How does their physical condition look?
3. Does it look like they have been in the street for long time?
4. Why do you think these pets are in these conditions? Are owners irresponsible?
5. Having that said, what do you think the dog pound does about this? Do you think their work is effective?
Why?
There are little or no places that offer the dog tags, furthermore, if this places exist people clearly don't know (none of the people I interviewed knew that there is a place that provides this tags.)
https://soundcloud.com/nicolas-cronenbold/testing-the-opportunity-hypothesis-pt-1
https://soundcloud.com/nicolas-cronenbold/ent-3003-2
https://soundcloud.com/nicolas-cronenbold/ent-3003-3
https://soundcloud.com/nicolas-cronenbold/ent-3003-4
https://soundcloud.com/nicolas-cronenbold/testing-the-opportunity-hypothesis-pt-1-5
In my home town of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia there are a ton of dogs and cats wondering around the streets. Most of them lost others may have escaped, one thing is for certain: none of them have any type of identification. The dog pound does nothing about the situation, and if they do pick up some dogs they sacrifice them after a week, they don't care about finding them a new home. So the situation is really bad, there is no regulation what so ever.
Who: Pet owners in Santa Cruz, Bolivia
What: There is no place to buy ID tags for the pets
Why: Nothing is being done for this animals
Testing the Who: The ones affected by my opportunity are the pet owners. On the other hand, every one else is kind of affected by this problem. This animals wonder around the streets some might be sick with rabies or causing accidents in streets because drivers might want to avoid killing them.
Testing the Why: Some of the questions I asked are the following:
1. How often do you see pets in the streets?
2. How does their physical condition look?
3. Does it look like they have been in the street for long time?
4. Why do you think these pets are in these conditions? Are owners irresponsible?
5. Having that said, what do you think the dog pound does about this? Do you think their work is effective?
Why?
There are little or no places that offer the dog tags, furthermore, if this places exist people clearly don't know (none of the people I interviewed knew that there is a place that provides this tags.)
https://soundcloud.com/nicolas-cronenbold/testing-the-opportunity-hypothesis-pt-1
https://soundcloud.com/nicolas-cronenbold/ent-3003-2
https://soundcloud.com/nicolas-cronenbold/ent-3003-3
https://soundcloud.com/nicolas-cronenbold/ent-3003-4
https://soundcloud.com/nicolas-cronenbold/testing-the-opportunity-hypothesis-pt-1-5
Looking for Opportunity
1. Economic Trend 1: Rouseff's Impeachment
A. http://www.businessinsider.com/the-hottest-trend-in-finance-2016-4
B. Dilma Rouseff who is the president of the seventh-largest economy, Brazil is facing impeachment and is temporarily out of the presidents office. This scandal that ended in her impeachment started at the beginning of the year and the market has loved it from the beginning. This has been good for the entire market as stocks have rallied through the year in Brazil. Everyone is trading with the hopes that a more centrist party comes along to put the country back on track.
C. All the customers and traders in the Brazilian stock market.
D. I don't believe the opportunity will be difficult to exploit due to the fact that, there is no way possible someone from Rouseff's party will end in office (don't forget that Lula Da Silva was president before her and left the country in similar conditions). On the other hand, not everyone in the country is able to trade stocks so the number of people that will benefit look small when compared to the 200m people that populate Brazil.
- I think I noticed this as an opportunity because I regularly read articles related to economies in South America. The impeachment in Brazil has been a huge deal and I've been following all along, due to the fact that my country, Bolivia, has a similar president.
2. Economic Trend 2: Consumer Spending Fuels Economic Growth
A. http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucemccain/2016/01/03/five-key-economic-trends-to-watch-in-2016/#21ba655f1773
B. The industrial sector is facing an "industrial recession" due to the investment in energy and the slow international trade of 2015. There has been a slide in production. On the other hand, energy's drag on production will ease, because its development will no longer offset grows. Income growth has improved and should continue to grow, which means that labor markets will strengthen. Furthermore, increased spending could drive much better economic growth which is what every economy seeks.
C. Everyday customers, due to the fact that there has been an increase in income.
D. I think that the opportunity is easy to exploit because costumers now have a higher income which means most people will have more money to spend. The economy as a whole is better off.
- I believe I noticed this opportunity because I am always looking at what factors shift employee salaries and what is trending in our economy.
3. Regulatory Changes: Oklahoma tries to chip away at Roe v Wade
A.http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2016/05/abortion-restrictions
B. A couple weeks ago lawmakers in Oklahoma passed a bill that undermines the basis of Roe v Wade. The bill 1552 which would have made it a felony for doctors to perform an abortion unless the procedure was needed to safe the women's life. The bill was vetoed by the governor who is in fact pro life, the governor vetoed the bill because she thought it was vague and clearly unconstitutional.
C. The costumer with the opportunity will be every women that is pregnant and wants to terminate. They must be happy because it will not be a felony to terminate, so they can go on and do as they are pleased.
D. The opportunity will be easy to exploit because the women that want to terminate can still do it, there will be no change what so ever, at least for the mean time.
- I identified this opportunity because I think there are better ways to deal with an unwanted pregnancy than abortion. Having that said, I am always paying attention to what different states are trying to do in order to prevent abortions.
4. Regulatory Changes:
A. http://uk.businessinsider.com/fintech-briefing-regulation-threatens-banks-marketplace-lenders-form-trade-association-citi-explores-virtual-reality-2016-4
B. According to this article there is an opportunity for Fintechs. Regulation is the biggest threat to banks in Europe: The Payments Services Directive 2 may be the biggest threat to European legacy banks, according to the BBC. The regulation will come into force in January 2018 and applies to all countries in the EU. Fintechs can provide a better user experience only if they have access to this accounts, which they currently don't. On the other hand, banks do have some time.
C. The costumer with the opportunity will be those that use fintechs, this is a better way to get things done.
D. The opportunity will not be easy to exploit at least not for the time being because the regulation gives the banks time until 2018.
-I saw this opportunity because I am very interested in the way Fintechs are changing the banking world and I try to keep up.
Saturday, May 14, 2016
My Entrepreneurship Story
About 13 years back my brother was 25 years old, he got married 3 years before and had just started working with my father. My brother had a passion, and he knew no one would approve of it. Everyone knows him as Ferddy, so Ferddy's passion was rally racing, which he knew my mom and his wife wouldn't approve because lets face it, its dangerous. So knowing no one would approve he went along and bought his first rally car without telling any of us. So he started racing on the weekends with the excuse that he was riding dirt bikes with his friends as a hobby which is really big in Bolivia, my home country. So in his first race he ended 3rd which is a podium and for a debut thats great. After a couple races he ended 1st and than 2nd at that point he decided he was good enough to let my father know and subsequently his wife and my mom. Af first they were shocked and furious at him, on the other hand, he had proof that he was good enough to be among the first places in Bolivian rally.
So after his first couple races he started to get recognition from sponsors and after two years in the sport he was the best rally driver in the country. It took a lot, not only training but also financially. The prizes are not very good so anything you get is only from sponsors. So he faced many uphill obstacles in becoming the best driver in the country but he never gave up, he started on his own and when he finally let everyone in my family know, we were always there to support him. After a couple years he started racing in South America, traveling to other countries like Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and others. He even went on to race in the World Rally Championship in Cordoba, Argentina. Which is like racing in formula one but in rally cars. I always found it incredible how from racing locally in Santa Cruz, Bolivia he went on to the biggest stage the sport has to offer. He was able to achieve his dreams just by taking the leap and believing in himself.
I enrolled in this class because it was listed as an elective and honestly it was the one that interested me the most, also one of the only classes offered online for my major which is great because I will be out of the country for the entire summer. I would like to learn everything there is to know about entrepreneurship, furthermore, I would like to focus on learning from others by interacting with each others so I think this class will be perfect. I hope this will be a great semester and I look forward to studying the careers of other great entrepreneurs by reading their books and analyzing their achievements over the summer.
So after his first couple races he started to get recognition from sponsors and after two years in the sport he was the best rally driver in the country. It took a lot, not only training but also financially. The prizes are not very good so anything you get is only from sponsors. So he faced many uphill obstacles in becoming the best driver in the country but he never gave up, he started on his own and when he finally let everyone in my family know, we were always there to support him. After a couple years he started racing in South America, traveling to other countries like Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and others. He even went on to race in the World Rally Championship in Cordoba, Argentina. Which is like racing in formula one but in rally cars. I always found it incredible how from racing locally in Santa Cruz, Bolivia he went on to the biggest stage the sport has to offer. He was able to achieve his dreams just by taking the leap and believing in himself.
My brother driving, me (in blue) and my dad furthest to the right.
I enrolled in this class because it was listed as an elective and honestly it was the one that interested me the most, also one of the only classes offered online for my major which is great because I will be out of the country for the entire summer. I would like to learn everything there is to know about entrepreneurship, furthermore, I would like to focus on learning from others by interacting with each others so I think this class will be perfect. I hope this will be a great semester and I look forward to studying the careers of other great entrepreneurs by reading their books and analyzing their achievements over the summer.
Bug List
1. The way people drive in Santa Cruz, Bolivia (my hometown). Roads are not that big and we don't have big high ways, people driving slowly drive on the left lane of the road rather than on the right side, this is very irritating because some people go slow on the right lane and many other drive slow on the left lane. So, when you are in a hurry you have to zig zag your way through the road, and this is not allowed.
-This happens because most people in my home country don't even take the driving test for the license. They just pay to get over with the exam and just show up for the picture and printing of their drivers license. Corruption is huge in Bolivia, we are a third world country that is still in development.
2. Public transportation in my home country is privately owned!! This is crazy and makes for driving in Bolivia a nightmare, there are a plethora of buses at the same time in every street this drives me crazy! Bus drivers are employees of private owners of the bus which by the "line" which is the right to drive a bus with a certain number that goes through a certain route from different unions who already own the lines. Bus owners charge whatever price they want and work the hours that they want, there is no regulation.
- This is the way transportation has always worked in my country probably at some point public transportation was regulated by the government but it seems like a not very intelligent politician decided to sell the rights of public transportation, now there is no type of price regulation or dividing he times at which each bus passes through each stop. But no, that is not the case, bus drivers are out at the hours that they want and you encounter many of them at once which makes for horrible traffic at all times.
3. It bugs me when I open a door for someone and they don't say thank you.
- This is probably because some people weren't taught manners.
4. It bugs me how the internet in Bolivia is so slow!!
- My home country is landlocked in South America and we are also a third world country so this says a lot about the type of technology we get down here.
5. I am in Gainesville for the spring and fall terms, so when I'm there I hate having to go to far to throw out the garbage.
- The dumpster is seriously way too far from my apartment.
6. When my roommate goes out at 6 am every morning and makes a ton of noise, he always wakes me up.
- He is not much of a friend to me, he always keeps to himself and is locked away in his room. So its feels kind of awkward complaining to him, so I don't say anything.
7. When my roommate leaves all his utensils in the washing machine, I always have to make space for my utensils.
-He hand washes them and then leaves them in the washing machine to dry because we don't have a drying rack for the dishes. On the other hand, he could do what I do which is hand wash them let them in the washing machine to dry and them stow the utensils away in the cabinets, theres never space for my stuff to dry!
8. When one of my closest friends tells me the same stories over and over again, it drives me crazy hearing the same stuff more the twice!
- I guess his memory sucks, even if I tell him he already told me that he stops talking about that only to talk about the same thing the next day.
9. My girlfriend goes to school in a different country so I don't get to see her as often as I would like.
-She got accepted somewhere else so I guess we both have to deal with it.
10. Using cabs while I am down in Bolivia because drivers charge whatever amount they want! No regulation!!
-Cabs in my home country don't have taximeters so they charge whatever fare they want, there is absolutely no regulation. Furthermore, anyone who wants can strap a taxi sign to their car and work as a taxi driver!!
11. The fact that it takes too much time and too much dedication to get a 6 pack and big and defined arms, chests, and back.
- Going to the gym and having a great body requires way too much dedication, I hate not being able to eat pizzas and hamburgers while I'm on the process of being fit.
12. Having a maid in the US is way to expensive, down in my home country everyone has a maid. I guess I'm not used to cooking every meal every day and having to wash dishes and clothes regularly.
-This happens because minimum wage in America is much higher than in Bolivia. Bolivia is still a developing economy and people work for much lower amounts of money.
13. When my mom shares random stuff on Facebook that absolutely make no sense
-She is clearly not a social media expert
14. When my mom asks me to "teach her" how to use her iPhone
-Its the most user friendly phone ever! if you can read the language your're good!
15. The battery on my phone dying in the middle of the day
- I don't own one of those juice packs that charge your phone on the go
16. The fact that I am an international student and at times I don't see my family for a year, miss the little ones in the family like crazy!
- In order to get a better education I decided to study abroad, I hope the sacrifice will be worth it!
17. Using crocs without socks, dirt gets in between my feet and I hate that feeling
- Sometimes I don't have a clean pair of socks
18. Finally making up my mind on what I want to eat, get to the restaurant and get food that is not as good as always
- This happens to me all the time, I guess most places don't use the same ingredients all the time or their standards change
19. My mom having a smartphone and writing to me every minute of every day
-Guess she misses me much more than I miss her when I'm away at school
20. Hate the fact that there is no more free parking close to the Saint Augustine Catholic church on W University Ave and 17th st. I have to park really far away every Sunday.
- I guess someone bought the lot that was used as parking and decided to build something new there.
Reflection:
At first it was kind of hard deciding on 20 things that really bug me, but since I currently am in my home country and have been here for the past week and a half now I remembered how much I hate how people behave in my here and it all came naturally.
-This happens because most people in my home country don't even take the driving test for the license. They just pay to get over with the exam and just show up for the picture and printing of their drivers license. Corruption is huge in Bolivia, we are a third world country that is still in development.
2. Public transportation in my home country is privately owned!! This is crazy and makes for driving in Bolivia a nightmare, there are a plethora of buses at the same time in every street this drives me crazy! Bus drivers are employees of private owners of the bus which by the "line" which is the right to drive a bus with a certain number that goes through a certain route from different unions who already own the lines. Bus owners charge whatever price they want and work the hours that they want, there is no regulation.
- This is the way transportation has always worked in my country probably at some point public transportation was regulated by the government but it seems like a not very intelligent politician decided to sell the rights of public transportation, now there is no type of price regulation or dividing he times at which each bus passes through each stop. But no, that is not the case, bus drivers are out at the hours that they want and you encounter many of them at once which makes for horrible traffic at all times.
3. It bugs me when I open a door for someone and they don't say thank you.
- This is probably because some people weren't taught manners.
4. It bugs me how the internet in Bolivia is so slow!!
- My home country is landlocked in South America and we are also a third world country so this says a lot about the type of technology we get down here.
5. I am in Gainesville for the spring and fall terms, so when I'm there I hate having to go to far to throw out the garbage.
- The dumpster is seriously way too far from my apartment.
6. When my roommate goes out at 6 am every morning and makes a ton of noise, he always wakes me up.
- He is not much of a friend to me, he always keeps to himself and is locked away in his room. So its feels kind of awkward complaining to him, so I don't say anything.
7. When my roommate leaves all his utensils in the washing machine, I always have to make space for my utensils.
-He hand washes them and then leaves them in the washing machine to dry because we don't have a drying rack for the dishes. On the other hand, he could do what I do which is hand wash them let them in the washing machine to dry and them stow the utensils away in the cabinets, theres never space for my stuff to dry!
8. When one of my closest friends tells me the same stories over and over again, it drives me crazy hearing the same stuff more the twice!
- I guess his memory sucks, even if I tell him he already told me that he stops talking about that only to talk about the same thing the next day.
9. My girlfriend goes to school in a different country so I don't get to see her as often as I would like.
-She got accepted somewhere else so I guess we both have to deal with it.
10. Using cabs while I am down in Bolivia because drivers charge whatever amount they want! No regulation!!
-Cabs in my home country don't have taximeters so they charge whatever fare they want, there is absolutely no regulation. Furthermore, anyone who wants can strap a taxi sign to their car and work as a taxi driver!!
11. The fact that it takes too much time and too much dedication to get a 6 pack and big and defined arms, chests, and back.
- Going to the gym and having a great body requires way too much dedication, I hate not being able to eat pizzas and hamburgers while I'm on the process of being fit.
12. Having a maid in the US is way to expensive, down in my home country everyone has a maid. I guess I'm not used to cooking every meal every day and having to wash dishes and clothes regularly.
-This happens because minimum wage in America is much higher than in Bolivia. Bolivia is still a developing economy and people work for much lower amounts of money.
13. When my mom shares random stuff on Facebook that absolutely make no sense
-She is clearly not a social media expert
14. When my mom asks me to "teach her" how to use her iPhone
-Its the most user friendly phone ever! if you can read the language your're good!
15. The battery on my phone dying in the middle of the day
- I don't own one of those juice packs that charge your phone on the go
16. The fact that I am an international student and at times I don't see my family for a year, miss the little ones in the family like crazy!
- In order to get a better education I decided to study abroad, I hope the sacrifice will be worth it!
17. Using crocs without socks, dirt gets in between my feet and I hate that feeling
- Sometimes I don't have a clean pair of socks
18. Finally making up my mind on what I want to eat, get to the restaurant and get food that is not as good as always
- This happens to me all the time, I guess most places don't use the same ingredients all the time or their standards change
19. My mom having a smartphone and writing to me every minute of every day
-Guess she misses me much more than I miss her when I'm away at school
20. Hate the fact that there is no more free parking close to the Saint Augustine Catholic church on W University Ave and 17th st. I have to park really far away every Sunday.
- I guess someone bought the lot that was used as parking and decided to build something new there.
Reflection:
At first it was kind of hard deciding on 20 things that really bug me, but since I currently am in my home country and have been here for the past week and a half now I remembered how much I hate how people behave in my here and it all came naturally.
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