Elevator Pitch No. 2

1) The pitch: see above

2) A reflection on feedback from the last pitch: Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, I was not able to get my first pitch post before the deadline, but I will list some of my own self-reflections on the video. The biggest reflection for me was that I needed to get the video done long before the deadline to account for any technical difficulties. I also felt that I should have done more to get better lighting for my video, as well as look more professional than I did in the first video. The most important thing to the overall quality of the video was to write up a better script than I did for the first one.

3) What I changed based on my feedback: The biggest thing I changed in this second elevator pitch was to get it done long before the deadline. I also took my time and wrote out a detailed script that I was able to refer to while speaking to remember my major talking points and the general flow of the pitch. To solve the issues with the presentation, I had a friend of mine film for me and we chose a location that has lots of natural lighting. I also made sure to dress to impress, like I would were I to deliver an actual elevator pitch.

Create a Customer Avatar

1) Describing my customer avatar: The prototypical customer for my product and service is a woman, roughly middle-aged, somewhere between her mid-thirties and mid-fifties. She is married, but it may be her or her partner's second marriage, and said partner may be a bit older than her. She has multiple children, most if not all of whom are young adults and no longer live at home. She is young in spirit, as is her partner, and they frequently go out to see live music together or do other, similar activities. She has numerous pets, ranging from the ordinary such as cats and dogs to more unusual animals such as rats, a bird, or reptiles. She is a liberal and a Democrat, despite her age she keeps up with and supports current social movements. She works in the education or healthcare fields. She doesn't read as much as she wants to, having a lot of different tasks to do around the house. She enjoys classic rock and pop music.

2) What do I have in common with the avatar?: Although I differ from the avatar in most discernible ways, especially when it comes to demographics such as age, there are a couple of key similarities. One is the enjoyment of live music, with another being that they are a Democrat. The most significant to my product, however, is that the avatar and I are both pet owners and like animals. I do not think that this is a coincidence. We tend to gravitate towards and are influenced by the people around us, and since I interviewed family members and friends throughout the past few assignments, it makes sense that my views and theirs would be similar. Some of them may have influenced my own, while others may be around me in the first place because I appreciate our shared values and enjoy associating and interacting with them.

What's Your Secret Sauce?

1) I think five ways in which I have human capital that is truly unique are:

• Empathy: I think I am a very empathetic person, and this empathy makes it easy to connect with other people and understand their needs and where those needs come from, something that is very useful in a field such as entrepreneurship.
• Ability to interact with strangers: I have extensive experience interacting with complete strangers from numerous political campaigns I have worked on, and I think this is a quality that is not only useful but also rare. As social media has grown more prevalent, it has also made our circles of relationships more insular and less direct: the ability to hold a conversation with a complete stranger and try to sell them on something face-to-face is a skill that has suffered from this.
• Trustworthiness: I feel that I am a very trustworthy person, and others see this as well. Because of this trustworthiness, I am often the person that my friends come to for advice on all manner of issues, such as relationships or academics. This trustworthiness also translates quite well into entrepreneurship, when you think about it trying to sell something to somebody is really just giving them incredibly biased advice.
• Work ethic: I think I have a strong work ethic, especially when it comes to my job and academics. One of the most frequent complements I have received at work is how much of a hard worker I am, and I think this translates into many other areas of my life as well. Although I may put off the work I need to do until the last possible day, once I get on it I work hard and turn out an excellent product.
• Functioning under pressure and stress: I think above all I am excellent at functioning in high-pressure and high-stress situations. This most frequently comes out when I am working on a deadline for a class assignment, in which case I become laser-focused and remain calm and composed despite the impending deadline. This quality also makes me quite good at thinking on my feet as well, I am very adaptable when it comes to work in those kinda of situations.

2) The following interviews with my three best friends, my girlfriend, and my mom tell what they think are the qualities and skills that set me apart, the human capital that makes me different:

• Interview with my friend Jack: https://soundcloud.com/elery-ostertag/jackentinterview?in=elery-ostertag/sets/ent-interviews

Jack primarily focused on my well-thought out approach to things, and the methodical manner in which I research topics that interest me. He also pointed out that I keep very well updated on issues and events that are important to me and the world.

• Interview with my friend Alex: https://soundcloud.com/elery-ostertag/alexentinterview?in=elery-ostertag/sets/ent-interviews

Alex emphasized my emotional intelligence. He said I have a way of making people feel special and welcome through a combination of my sense of humor and my attention to the individual.

• Interview with my friend Kyleigh: https://soundcloud.com/elery-ostertag/kyleighentinterview?in=elery-ostertag/sets/ent-interviews

Kyleigh pointed out my research abilities and the knowledge and well-researched approach I bring to things. She also noted my emotional intelligence and comfort around people as well.

• Interview with my mom: https://soundcloud.com/elery-ostertag/momentinterview?in=elery-ostertag/sets/ent-interviews

My mom pointed out my empathy and emotional intelligence as well. She also pointed out my logical approach to many things and my analytical abilities, especially regarding politics and the like.

• Interview with my grandmother: https://soundcloud.com/elery-ostertag/oohmamaentinterview?in=elery-ostertag/sets/ent-interviews

My grandmother emphasized my compassion and the like, something that others have also pointed out. She noted that this makes me quite adept at interacting with others in a meaningful way. She also pointed out that I am unwavering in my morals.

3) I generally tend to see myself as an industrious person who, despite some issues with procrastination, can be relied upon to put quality effort into any project and turn out a good end product. I think these attributes of mine are also bolstered by my abilities in interacting with other people, particularly with strangers. From the above five interviews, I found that, while the interviewees pointed to these qualities as well on occasion, their focus was on other qualities. My five interviewees were all quite consistent in bringing up my curiosity and thirst for knowledge, as well as the breadth of my acquired knowledge and how I bring it into conversation and work. The other main aspect of myself that the interviewees focused on was my emotional intelligence, the friends and family whom I interviewed were consistent in their opinion that I am not only good at talking to people, but good at making them feel at ease, important, and comfortable, with my sense of humor playing a large part in this. The primary difference in how I view myself versus how my friends and family view me comes primarily in the different aspects of my qualities that they pick up on. When looking at my list and their interviews, both suggest I am charismatic and easy to talk to, as well as having an innate drive to accomplish things. What these qualities are used for is the difference however, with my drive often fueling my research into topics that interest me and my ease of talking to people being expressed as emotional intelligence. I think these differences come primarily from the fact that I am viewing my own qualities from the viewpoint of the "giver", so to speak, whereas my family and friends are on the receiving end of these qualities. I know I am good at talking to people, but the aspects of what make me good at that come out more to the people who I talk to, with the same going for my work ethic and curiosity about the world and my interests. I definitely think that my interviewees are correct in their assessments of me, perhaps even more than I was in my assessments of myself. I think the aspects of my personality and traits that they picked out are more specific and accurate than some of those I put for myself, which is what leads me to think they were more right than I am. I think I also have a tendency to understate my own qualities when describing myself, but in their interviews they did not feel the need to hold back in their praise. If I were going to change my list I would definitely be more specific in reference to my various qualities. Instead of just talking about my work ethic and my skill at talking to people, particularly strangers, I would point out the areas in which I put my work ethic to use, such as research, which is definitely a boon in any sort of entrepreneurship situation, and in talking about my people-skills I would specifically focus on my emotional intelligence and the advice and deep conversations I have with people, which could also serve me well in entrepreneurship situations.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

1) Segment: The segment I chose to interview for this blog post is that of pet-owners with animals that are either very old or very sick, animals that need medicine to make them more comfortable in their final years as opposed to medicine that will cure them of their ailments.

2) Interview Summary 1: The first person I spoke with for this set of interviews was my step-dad. When it comes to picking medication for his animals there are a couple main considerations he takes into account when he's deciding between multiple options. The first and most important one is price. My step-dad and mom have a lot of animals, so minimizing price in areas like this is important to them. The second main consideration of theirs is how the medications affect the animals. By this I do not solely mean the effectiveness of the medication in treating the illness or symptoms of the illness, but also how well does it do those things while also having the most minimal effect on the animal possible. One of their animals has been on anti-seizure medications recently. He said these medications are the same ones as those prescribed to humans, but the doses have been reduced for canine consumption. These seizure medications, although effective in their treatment of the dog, also put a real damper on her personality and energy. This aspect of his decision-making has taken a larger role since then. My step-dad's purchases of said medications usually comes through either the veterinarian directly or through a local pharmacist, as some of them do carry animal medications. This second option is increasingly common for him as it tends to be much cheaper, especially for medications that were originally intended for humans. When it comes to evaluating his purchase after the fact, the above point of effect on the animal is typically the one that my step-dad looks at the most. If the medication successfully treated the symptoms as well as having a minimal negative effect on the animal, then it is considered a success. If it did have a negative effect on the animal, then he might consult the family's veterinarian for some alternative options.

3) Interview Summary 2: The second person I spoke to is the woman who succeeded my girlfriend in running the feral cat rescue operation in Tallahassee. For this woman, there are a few more factors that she considers than my step-dad does. Once again, price is a big sticking point for her. The organization is not particularly well-funded, and because of this they try to cut back in as many ways as possible so that they can put most of the donations they receive towards getting animals spayed and neutered. The effect on the animals is also a point of reference, though many of the animals she deals with are not suffering from the same sorts of serious illnesses that my step-dad is dealing with in his dog, so generally this is not as important. The third point of reference she uses in evaluating her choices is the ingredients of the medications. The organization, and this woman in particular, pride themselves on using all-natural and organic treatments for their animals, at least as much as they can for little things like mites and fleas and the like. When possible, she will go for medications that are all-natural and safe for the animals if they are accidentally given too much or if they ingest it vs something that might poison them as well as the fleas. This woman and her organization also tend to purchase their items directly from their veterinarians, thought at times they will order items online or purchase them at local stores that specialize in organic and all-natural products. The primary thing that she looks at in evaluating the purchase after the fact is the effectiveness. Given the high number of animals that her organization deals with and keeps in close proximity, the medications they use for things like fleas, mites, and colds need to be extremely effective to prevent those issues from spreading to all of the animals because quarantine can only do so much.

4) Interview Summary 3: The third person I interviewed for this post is my aunt. My aunt travels more than anyone else I know for her job, and she has three cats, so there are a few different points she looks at when comparing products. The primary point of reference she looks at is effectiveness in treating the symptoms her animals are experiencing. This effectiveness is so important because typically she is trying to treat them as quickly and safely as possible so they are feeling better by the time she next goes out of town. If this is not possible, she also looks at ease of treatment as well. When she is out of town, friends of hers will come over and feed the cats on a daily basis, but because the cats tend to be a bit skittish, it is not realistic for these friends to administer medication to them as well. In this case, she will also look for products that have a delayed release or can be applied to the skin and will work over the course of a week or more. One thing that does set her apart from the others is that price is not typically a sticking point for her when she is assessing her options. Like the others, however, she gets these medications primarily through her veterinarian. If anything she utilizes the vet more exclusively than the others do because she lives in a rural area, and it would take about three hours round trip for her to visit a larger city to shop for such items that aren't readily available online. In evaluating her purchases after the fact, the above points of ease and effectiveness are generally the things she looks to. If the medications are quick and easy, then they will probably be purchased if the issue crops up again.

5) Conclusions: Based on what I know about this segment and what I have learned from the above interviews, there are a few general points I can make about this segment's purchasing and evaluation habits. Typically, what they look for most often and with the most priority is a medication that is effective and safe. Beyond that price is generally important as well, as medications and trips to the vet can be very expensive. These purchases are typically made directly from the veterinarian, typically due to convenience, though sometimes the pricing at the veterinarian's office can lead them to shop elsewhere. Finally, the thing they look at to evaluate their purchases after the fact is most commonly the effectiveness of the product, especially its effectiveness in regards to the degree to which the medication negatively effects the animal.

Reading Reflection No. 1

Reading: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

1) In my reading about Steve Jobs, there were a number of different things that surprised me about him. Many of these had to do with his earlier life and career, for instance the fact that he once was sent to a juvenile detention facility for making a fake bomb, as well as his struggles with LSD addiction later in life. Unfortunately, I do not think there are very many qualities in Steve Jobs that are particularly admirable, but if I had to pick one it would be his stringent need for perfection in everything he did. This commitment was incredible and something that is rarely seen, but the admiration I have for this quality is certainly dampened by the way he treated others because of it. The thing I least admired about Jobs relates back to this. Jobs had a tendency to treat the people closest to him very poorly, be it his adopted parents, whom he refused to allow to visit him while he attended Reed, or his friends and loved ones later on in life. Jobs certainly did encounter adversity throughout his long and distinguished career, but I think much of what he encountered was ultimately caused by his own tendencies towards mistreatment of his supporters and the like. He did power through these adversities, but this often came at the expense of his personal relationships.

2) The primary competency that Jobs exhibited, though there were very many, was an understanding of, passion for, and skill with the technical, a skill that he took to artistic levels. This, as well as his understanding of what consumers wanted and needed out of his products, brought a new level of depth to the technology industry. In many ways, Jobs shaped much of what we see in the technology market today. The sleek designs and user-friendly interfaces are ideals that Apple strove for before any other, and it left its mark.

3) I did not find the reading to be confusing at all for the most part, although early on in the book when Isaacson provides some history of Jobs' adopted and biological parents, the order in which he introduced them confused me. I assumed a chronological approach that would have placed Jobs' biological parents in the earliest pages of the book, despite the importance of his adopted parents in shaping him as a person. After some outside research, however, I understood that section of the book much better.

4) The two questions I would ask of Steve Jobs would be relatively personal ones, but ones that I think would illuminate much about his character. The first would be to ask him what he thinks his greatest contribution to human culture was, and where it ranks among the thousands of other things that have been invented and occurred to make humanity what it is today. The second thing I would ask him would be was it all worth it? Was all of the conflict and contention between him and those who cared about him, and the hurt that he inevitably caused some of them, worth it given the achievements that he made? I think these questions would really give me an understanding of Jobs beyond any others, and even more importantly give me an understanding of how he viewed himself and his achievements.

5) I think Jobs' opinion of hard work was that it was vital to achieving perfection, and that hard work should be placed above all else in pursuit of ones ideals and goals, even if the personal costs may be steep.

Halfway Reflection

1) The primary behaviors that I have used and developed over the past two months of this course are those of self-understanding. Given the way in which this course is scheduled and presented for us, as well as my general inclinations towards procrastination, I have had to develop a better understanding of my own capabilities when it comes to academics and work. This course has led me to a better understanding of the time limits and the like that I am okay placing myself under. When I have misunderstood those limits in the past, it has led me to failing to turn in an assignment because I did not take into account the limits of technology when placed in conjunction with my own self-imposed time limits. When I have correctly appraised my capabilities, however, I have been able to comfortably finish work on my own terms and according to my own schedule.

2) I do not typically harbor an attitude regarding academics that allows me to give up, but there has been a couple of instances over the past two months in which I have come close. The one that occurred most recently happened when I was sick with an upper respiratory infection, and didn't particularly feel like doing anything, least of all homework. The thing that allowed me to pull through, however, were the high standards I try to hold myself to academically. I think I have definitely developed an attitude of tenacity over the past two months, and before then too. The things that have led me to this development occurred long before college, typically in high school when I was stuck in classes that just bored me and I had no interest in doing, yet I persevered knowing the impact they could have on my future. The fact that I am at UF today is certainly a testament to that perseverance.

3) Three tips I would offer to future students regarding fostering the skills to support tenacity and developing a tenacious mindset are as follows:

• Practice excellent time-management. By managing your time well, you will not be forced into situations which will make you question your tenacity.
• Look towards the future. No matter where you seek to go in life, always look towards the future, doing so will make anything that seems not worth doing feel worth it for your ultimate goals.
• Develop a strong support network. These supporters do not have to do much, but even just having somebody to vent to about a class that is difficult or some other irritant can make the difference between internalizing that frustration and letting it get the best of your tenacity and fighting through it to reach your goals.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

1) The Segment: The segment I chose to interview for this blog post is that of pet-owners with animals that are either very old or very sick, animals that need medicine to make them more comfortable in their final years as opposed to medicine that will cure them of their ailments.

2) Interview Summary 1: The first person that I interviewed from this segment was my mom, who has a couple animals that could be considered to fall into this category. One of these animals is one of my dogs, who is getting quite old and has begun to suffer from seizures. The other is one of our cats, also quite old, that appears to have some form of cancer. There are two separate needs for the same thing in this situation, with both of them coming at different times. My dogs need for this medicine came a few months ago, when she first began having seizures. These seizures were growing increasingly common, and my mom was forced to put the dog on a seizure medicine, basically a sedative, that has major side-effects typically consisting of lethargy and major personality changes for the dog. The need for my cat came more recently, since the diagnosis of cancer a week ago or so. My mom's information search process for both of these cases has been quite similar. Her first step is typically talking to the veterinarian about possible treatment options, and these options are usually the ones that my mom initially chooses. Once the animals stabilize a bit on the prescribed medication, my mom typically asks around further among family and friends who have similar pet issues, as well as with my step-dad's doctor, as my step-dad has tried CBD-based medicine before. Her explorations online are typically a bit rarer, only coming along after she has exhausted her in-person sources.

3) Interview Summary 2: The second person from this segment that I interviewed was my grandmother. Like my mom, she also has a fairly recent need for this sort of medicine, with one of her dogs having been diagnosed with cancer within the past week. This dog however, unlike my mom's dog and cat, is still quite young, which makes this treatment all the more important to preserving his quality of life, which up until the diagnosis has been high, like you'd expect of a young dog. The diagnosis and immediately following is when my grandmother became most aware of the need, and those moments where the symptoms are particularly bad for the dog reinforce that need in her mind. Her information search methods are similar to my mom's, but at the same time quite different. Both of them make use of existing contacts among family and friends, vets, and the internet, but the manner in which these are used and what they each get out of them is often quite different. My grandmother is fairly old and lives in a rural area, so much of the information that she gets from friends of hers is quite different from what my mom has been getting, especially where cannabis-based medicines are concerned. The rural area in which she lives is also problematic, as there are no pharmacies selling CBD medicines for humans anywhere close by, eliminating the possibility of acquiring information from that avenue. My grandmother's age also makes internet searches a bit difficult for her, resulting in searches online that may not be as precise as those of my mom, who works with computers for a living.

4) Interview Summary 3: The third person from this segment that I interviewed was my girlfriend. My girlfriend's case is a bit different from the others, as the dog is not particularly old or in any danger of passing from its illnesses, but they are debilitating enough that I think they fit within the same segment of need. My girlfriend's family's dog has had a rough life, with a traumatic brain injury from an encounter with a car when she was a puppy, to diabetes which continues to be an issue, and now with blindness setting in as a result of the diabetes. The need from my girlfriend is sporadic, certainly not as commonplace as with the two other interviewees, and when it does happen it is not as severe, but they have still considered CBD-based medicines for general use with their dog on a few different occasions as a result of her conditions. The information search methods that my girlfriend employs are similar to the above too as well, but due to various demographic differences also exhibit some differences as well. My girlfriends network of friends and family that she goes to for research regarding animal healthcare consists primarily of women who she works with in running their feral cat rescue organization. Some of these ladies are very knowledgeable, and they all have a vested interest in utilizing all-natural medicines on their animals and those that they rescue. My girlfriend is also the most tech-savvy of the three interviewees, and her searches into these topics are the most refines as far as search terms and websites go. Much of this is also due to her previous experience with animal care from feral cat rescue, she already has an idea of where to search for information whereas the others most likely do not.

5) Conclusions: The needs awareness and information searching of this segment are both closely tied, but also drastically different when examining the segment as a whole. Needs awareness in this segment is uniformly high, with all members of the segment having some animal that requires extensive medical care, so this need is on their minds quite frequently. Information searching, however, is the complete opposite of uniform. Because of the wide variety of demographics included in this segment, the relationships and tech-savvy that they have to use in their searches for information vary widely depending on the person. My grandmother, in her early 70s and living in a rural area, does not have the same access to information as my girlfriend, who is 19, in school and involved heavily in animal care organizations in town.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1) Me: I am a junior at UF double-majoring in political science and history, with a minor in innovation. I think my talents lie mainly in talking to people and understanding the way people think and what they want and need. In short, I think my best and most useful quality is my empathy. Most of my skills and experiences lie outside of the realm of business, though I think they can easily be translated to the field. My main skills and experiences are writing, and interacting with strangers, both of which I've picked up from semesters of writing history papers as well as extensive experiences on local political campaigns in Tallahassee. My core aspirations lie outside of the realm of business as well, my ultimate goal is to become a diplomat or work in the field of foreign policy in some capacity. Despite that, I do see this potential business playing an important role in my life. If I were to start it I would most likely sell it to somebody more interested in carrying on the day-to-day operations, but I think it would be a useful opportunity to flex my lobbying muscles, so to speak, especially on an issue such as medical cannabis, which continues to occupy a gray area in American policy-making.

2) What am I offering to customers?: The products and services being offered through my business proposal are twofold. The first is that of all-natural, CBD-based medications for use on pets and other animals. The second part of my proposal is the service that I plan to offer. In order to best facilitate these medicines reaching the people and animals that need them, specialized pharmacies, drug stores, distribution methods, and online ordering systems would be set up as well, so as to get these medicines out to as many people and their pets as possible.

3) Who am I offering it to?: The customers I am offering these products and services to do not share any one defining demographic, per say, but rather they would all be pet-owners. Where these pet-owners differ, however, would vary. These medications would be most useful to those with aging and ill pets, with illnesses and pains that could be assuaged by CBD-based medicines. Veterinarians and other animal healthcare professionals might also find use in these products and services, though their ability to access them is constrained by the requirements of their professional organizations.

4) Why do they care?: These customers will pay money for these products and services because the vast majority view their animals as family members, not simply animals. Just like practically every person in the world would want the best, safest, and most effective medicine for their human family members, so too do most pet-owners want the same things for their pets, and recent studies of the veterinary industry have shown that pet-owners are willing to shell out billions for this.

5) What are my core competencies?: I think my core competencies lie in how I interact with people, throughout my work campaigning and canvassing I found that talking to complete strangers, imploring them to believe in the vision that my candidate had and I had as well, came naturally to me and is something I am very good at. More importantly, it is something I enjoy too! I think the thing that I bring to the table for this business more so than other people is my sense of empathy. I wouldn't be pursuing this for monetary gain or to make a name for myself, but because I want to do some good.

Evaluation: While I think all of these aspects of my proposal are strong on their own, there are definitely a couple that do not fit as well, leading to a weaker proposal overall. Unfortunately, I think most of the disconnect comes from my relative lack of experience in the fields of business and medicine, something that I think would hurt the possibility of a business like this being brought to fruition when I, the main mind behind it, am having to outsource numerous important positions to people because I lack the requisite knowledge. There are certainly ways to counter this, and even make it work to my advantage: many of the skills necessary for campaigning translate very well into business and entrepreneurship, but it would require practice and experimentation, something that might hurt an already experimental proposal like mine.