Chaplin Fertig's ENT3003 Blog

After reading through my posts, I look back at all the lessons that each exercise taught me. I thought I understood what it meant to be an entrepreneur, but there are so many different skills and insights that go into it. One of my most formative experiences was the “testing the hypothesis” assignment. I had always wanted to conceptualize a better alternative for mental health resources on campus, but I should never put it down on paper. This assignment made me realize that it is possible to bring this concept to life. I’m definitely proud of the concept as a whole. I’ve felt very emotional writing some of the blog posts because this venture is so deeply personal to me. To be honest, these assignments and this product allow me to do things in my brother’s memory. He thought of this world as a sad place; but I want to prove to him and myself that I can make it a tiny bit better. I definitely see myself as an entrepreneur—a well-rounded entrepreneur. The assignments were structured so th...

Opportunity There is an opportunity on UF’s campus to create a better alternative for mental health resources. While technically the students have the ability to go to the current on campus facilities, I believe that there should be a remote option for students. Given the current state of the world due to the pandemic, telemedicine should be become more prevalent and accessible. This will allow students to continue seeing the same counselor regardless of where they are geographically. The window of opportunity is the biggest it’s ever going to be. Right now, the concept of contactless interactions is becoming widely accepted. As a young person, I can say that in general, if I have the option to text or email versus go in person or even email, I prefer to text. This creates a huge opportunity that I think we should be able to harness.   Innovation I would like to create an app that allows students to talk about whatever they want, whenever they want. In a perfect world, getting ment...

1.)     Your exit strategy is paramount to your entire entrepreneurial endeavor. The U.S. Military works backwards with planning and timing so starting with your exit strategy and working backwards from it can be a great way to help guide your business to its ultimate goal. For me, my exit strategy is to ultimately sell the business for a large profit. I've read Peter Thiel's Zero to One  and in that book, he explains that the time to sell your project is when you are completely out of ideas to innovate. For me, that is my goal as well. 2.)     I believe that getting all of my ideas and innovation into my business is a great way for me to leave the project feeling complete. I can say I put every ounce of what I have into it. If I sell to early, I'll be wanting to put a bigger footprint into it. If I sell too late, I'll be wondering why I didn't sell it earlier. I feel when I am fully out of ideas, that is the time to pass ...

    The story of Phil Knight is one that truly inspires you to reach for your goals and dreams. What surprised me the most was the risk that he took going to Japan to meet with executives without a real backing to help him. This risk was high as they could have dismissed him, but he believed that he could stand up and pitch his idea to the executives of Tiger shoes. I admired the most the drive he possess to seek out his dream regardless of his classmates and parents opinions. It is very easy to take the words of a few people and drop your dream, but Phil Knight didn't do that.     What I least admire about Phil Knight is the fact that he proves me wrong. I keep waiting patiently for the "correct moment" to launch a business and seeing that isn't the way to do it makes me uncomfortable. Truly the lack of admiration in this factor is more of a jealousy, but I will use it moving forward to help me step out of my comfort zone. Facing the ad...

 1.)   This past semester, a friend of mine convinced me to start trading stocks on Robinhood. After seeing his gains from trading options, I decided that I could jump aboard as well and profit on the crazy market conditions. Very quickly, I realized that it wasn't that simple and I saw option after option expire worthlessly. I kept trying to purchase new options but each time coming up empty.      2.)     After fruitless tries, I realized that I wasn't really taking the time to research or put in the time to make educated decisions. I was blindly letting money go in hopes that it would pay off. I wasn't investing, I was gambling. I quickly realized that maybe I don't have what it takes to be an options trader. I realized that I should learn from my mistakes now before I become it becomes too late. Some might believe that I should have tried to learn to be better at it, but seeing my friend lose thousands made me think twice.  3.)  ...

Existing Market 1.      What’s Next? The business would start small. At first, it will be focused on undergraduate students. Eventually, it would expand to graduate students and professional students. It will continue to expand (both internally and externally). We will employ more volunteers and counselors as the demand increases. But as it moves to other campuses, students at those respective campuses will work for the company. 2.      After interviewing three customers in my current market, they all seemed to agree that once the product is excelling on UF’s campus that the next step is to move to another campus. One of them brought up the financial aspects of the business. How will it continue to make money, especially as you move to another campus? The startup plan would be similar to the one implemented on UF’s campus. I would pitch the idea and see if I can get the college to approve of it and then have it be included in the tuition for an ad...

Opportunity There is an opportunity on UF’s campus to create a better option for mental health resources. While technically the students have the ability to go to the current on campus facilities, I believe that there should be a remote option for students. Given the current state of the world due to the pandemic, telemedicine should be become more accessible. This will allow students to continue seeing the same counselor regardless of where they are geographically. The window of opportunity is the biggest it’s ever going to be. Right now, the concept of contactless interactions is becoming widely accepted. As a young person, I can say that in general, if I have the option to text or email versus go in person or even email, I prefer to text. This creates a huge opportunity that I think we should be able to harness.   Innovation I would like to create an app that allows students to talk about whatever they want, whenever they want. In a perfect world, getting mental health help woul...

Resources: 1.      My leadership ability – this resource is inimitable because of my experiences working in restaurants since I was 17 has honed this skill. I’ve seen a variety of management skills and it has helped me understand how to talk to my fellow coworkers. 2.      My reliability – I’m always consistent. This is rare because sometimes people will be late or inconsistent. But I am always punctual and give 110%; you always know what to expect when you work with me. 3.      Social capital with local businesses – I have existing relationships with quite a few small business owners in south Florida. They’ve given me great insight on what it is like to start a small business. 4.      Familiar with mental health – my personal experience with mental health has allowed me to understand it in a very unique way. It gives me more passion to help others with similar problems. 5.      My pe...

The book that I chose from the reading list was How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams. The title appealed to me straight away. I felt that the theme of this book is one that I try to live my life by: learn from your failures and become better. I liked his optimistic point of view on life. His concept of “be brief and say something positive” really speaks to us as entrepreneurs. Our goal is to find people’s needs and give them what they need. We constantly strive to make the world a better place. A great exercise for this class that connects this book would be finding a business or entrepreneur that we believe has faced failure and still remained positive or persevered. Then, reflect on how in our own lives we have failed and remained positive and determined. I think that most entrepreneurs fail a lot before they are successful once. My biggest surprise when reading the book was that he picks what activity to do based on his energy level. He’s more creative ...

Person 1: Domain expert He is an app developer who went to school at UF. I went to high school with him and I was able to facetime him to pick his brain. I wish I had been able to take him for coffee, but COVID-19… I asked him about the process of creating an app and he gave me a lot of insight! There was a lot about it that I didn’t know so learning about the whole process was great. He’s still new at his field, but he was the closest thing that I could find to an expert.   Person 2: Market Expert             I talked with an old employer about how to market to college students. I used to work for a property management company at a leasing office in Gainesville and their main target market was college kids. They brought up an excellent point that marketing has exploded on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and even Snapchat. I offered to help during the upcoming leasing season during move-in/ move-out (the busiest time of the ...

1.       I am Chaplin Fertig, a fifth-year business student at the University of Florida. I work at Crane Ramen as the lead server. I love working in fast paced, teamwork-oriented environments. I’ve been working in restaurants since I was 16 and I’ve loved every job! I meet so many different people in a single day, and I love interacting with people. This business would allow me to serve people in a completely different way. As a server, I get fulfilled when I do my job right and the customer gets the food and leaves happy. As a business owner, it would be very similar. I would love it if my business were able to make even one person happier.  2.       I want to create an app that helps UF students deal with the stresses of college. I don’t think the current resources that UF offers is adequate. For me, it was hard to find a consistent schedule that worked. This app would allow students to talk whenever they felt the need: whether i...

My customer avatar is an average UF student. He or she probably drives a Toyota Corolla or a Volkswagen Jetta. They probably binge watch their favorite tv on repeat: The Office or Friends. But they don’t have their own account—they’re still using their mom’s account. They like plants and buy them frequently, but then they usually let them die on their apartment windowsill. They’re a little lonely, even though they live in a four bedroom apartment and their roommates make a lot of noise. They don’t have children yet, but they eventually will want kids. They own a pet (either a dog or a cat) that they got despite their mother’s protesting. I've included a picture of my own cat!             I have a lot of stuff in common with the customer avatar! I watch the same tv shows over and over. I neglect my plants and they often die. And I definitely don’t have my own Netflix account. I don’t think it’s a coincidence at all because it is...

After doing my interviews, I discovered that for my opportunity that there needs to be a balance between price and quality. It needs to be a high-quality service with a reasonable price. The freshmen and sophomores that I talked to this time seemed to really value quality. Therapy isn’t a one size fits all; there are some methods that work for other people and aren’t quite as effective. The first guy I interviewed was a rising Sophomore who games a lot. He doesn’t go outside much so he prefers to order things online (via Amazon or the company’s website). The second girl found it uncomfortable talking to strangers, so I asked her how she went about problems with her computer. Does she take it into a store or does she call the computer company or does she use the online support chat? She said she would first either email or use the chat and then she’d take it into a store. The last guy that I interviewed was a freshman who works part-time at a restaurant. He said that he prefers to use c...

1.      Taking this class during the pandemic has been challenging. There are a few behaviors that I have used to keep up with this class. I have needed to hone my time management skills and I have needed to stay very organized. It’s been strange to not have a place to go—to be stuck at home almost all day. Self-motivation has allowed me to keep doing assignments on time and to the best of my ability. 2.      I’ve definitely thought about not doing some assignments for this class. I’ve even waited until Friday morning to do assignments, so because I need to do well in this class, I wake up early and complete my assignments. I’ve had a very difficult time in college: I took a year off from UF for some time to myself and had to reapply, I unexpectedly lost my younger brother, and I failed a few courses here. But I know that I want my degree and I want it from UF, so that pushes me to work harder. 3.      Three tips that I would offer ...

I’ve always been in love with Tesla and, by extension, Elon Musk. He’s always been a little kooky, but his determination and unique thinking is what makes him such a great entrepreneur. The thing that surprised me most was his commitment to securing humanity’s future rather than finding a life partner. I definitely admire his focus on renewable energy and space exploration. Elon musk has overcome a lot of adversity; his home life was pretty rough, and he was bullied as a child. But this pushed his intellectual side and he ended up reading 60 books in a month.             Something that confused me about the reading was the concept of uniting all your goals to reach your end goal. I understand it would make your life more focused, but I think it could become too focused. While his goal is to use green energy to better the earth, people should have a little more freedom than a goal pyramid to make sure they pursue their dreams. I woul...

1.     Segment Segment that I have picked is freshmen and sophomore students at UF. These students will have the hardest time adjusting to college life and college classes. Most of them are living away for the first time in their lives and are feeling lonely at school. 2.     Interviews The first person that I interviewed was my friend’s little sister who is going to be a sophomore. I asked her how she was finding Gainesville and how her freshmen year was. She said living 5 hours away from home was hard at first, but she’s been able to talk to her sister who lives up here. She was able to talk to her sister, but she admitted that sometimes she wishes she could talk to someone else about more personal things. She said her first fall semester was the most challenging because she felt so lost: where does everyone go before a football game? Where should she study? What restaurants are good? It was disheartening for her to see people going out on the weekend wit...

  1.     I am Chaplin Fertig, a fifth-year business student at the University of Florida. I also work at a ramen shop in Gainesville as the lead server. I have always loved working in the service industry because I love interacting with people—both coworkers and guests. I thrive in a fast-paced, teamwork orientated environment. I hope one to day own a few different businesses, but specifically my own restaurant. In my personal life, I have seen the direct effects suicide and poor mental health. The business that I have proposed in this class is something that I do believe would benefit any student. The resources on campus aren’t adequate for the quantity of students that need them. I believe that a more anonymous, immediate response when asking for help from a counselor or therapist is an investment worth pursuing.   2.     I want to create an app that connects students to a therapist or even just a “friend” whenever they feel the need to talk to ...

There is an opportunity for a service that allows people to hire short-term workers that are specialized in natural disaster preparations.  I interviewed five people: a Florida business owner, an “older” Florida homeowner (69 years old), 2 UF students, and someone who already shops for hire with Instacart. I chose these five people because the business owner and homeowner would be potential customers, the college students would be potential helpers, and the person that shops for Instacart and provide inside on what it’s like shopping for someone else during a pandemic. They all seemed to like the idea. While the potential employees disliked that the job would be unreliable and only get paid if there is a natural disaster. The business owner and homeowner said it would be a nice option. The business owner said: “let’s be honest, ideally during times of crisis, your friends and neighbors should be there to help”. But my argument to that is what if they’re busy doing their own pr...

The opportunity that I have selected is one that I identified in assignment 6. Climate change is causing more natural disasters and I think there should be a service that enables you to enlist the help of a worker to help you in the events leading up to a disaster.  Living in south Florida, hurricane season is both exciting and terrifying. The preparations necessary to make sure your home is hurricane ready are numerous: do you have batteries? Do you have candles? Do you have water? Are your windows protected? Do you have gasoline? While most of the aforementioned precautions can be found on a shopping run, I think that some people would want to hire someone to wait in gasoline lines and grocery lines. Additionally, I believe that the service could also help in more physically demanding ways too. I know my family has to make sure our boat is on the trailer and safe. Other families, especially with older people, could use help to do the shopping or put up shutters. In no wa...

Opportunity : Creating an app for UF students that connects students with a counselor, or “friend”, at any time.   Who:  UF students looking for mental health resources What: They are unable to utilize traditional methods Why: Personal preferences and logistical hardships make going to campus difficult   Testing the who: UF students struggle with mental health. College is hard, and the pressure to succeed is high. College is a huge adjustment for most students: campus is big, the student body is massive, and lectures are enormous. Students should have a resource that helps them with the transition.   Testing the what: Traditional on-campus resources are overextended. The wait to see someone is weeks. While not every student may feel the need for the opportunity, it’s a nice peace of mind to know that one day students can easily find help.   Testing the why: I’m not blaming the on-campus resources. I have been personally impacted by mental health and I believ...

Opportunity 1: Job opportunities increase   Source: “Florida sees 173,000 new unemployment claims — third most in U.S. But there’s good news” https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article243037191.html   Why the opportunity exists: More and more people are filing for unemployment   Prototypical customer: Unemployed person who previously had a job, but was laid off because of COVID-19   Easy or Difficult: Easy because so many people are going to desperately need money   Why I saw this opportunity: I am currently laid off from my job at a restaurant and looking into avenues of work I normally wouldn’t think of.   Opportunity 2: Climate change is causing more natural disasters   Source: https://www.thebalance.com/top-usa-future-economic-trends-3305666   Why the opportunity exists: Climate change is making the weather unpredictable and hostile   Prototypical customer: Any homeowner that would want insurance to protect his or her home   E...

1.      “Flushed baby wipes will be a ‘big problem for us’ amid coronavirus outbreak” https://www.sun-sentinel.com/coronavirus/fl-ne-coronavirus-toilets-clogged-20200320-z4re2ynwnvep7eq6bzabaghjva-story.html This article discusses the problems that flushing baby wipes has on south Florida sewer pipes. The shortage of toilet paper has caused people to use alternative options in the restroom. In the end, there is also a list of items that should never be flushed. The lack of toilet paper is something that most of us have faced by now. Unfortunately, in south Florida, the sewer pipes are already having problems; so, the increased usage of baby wipes and paper towels is wreaking havoc on the sewer system. The public works officials are working hard to fix the problem, but it’s unlikely that the problem will fix itself overnight. 2.      “A very Florida problem: our cows are too hot” https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-ne-climate-hot-cows-2020...