Halfway Reflection

To start off with, I have been in college now for two years and this class has tested my time management skills the most out of any course so far. This class has multiple due dates and multiple assignments each week that requires you to work on them throughout the week rather than starting on them the night before. Also due to the fact this class is an online course it also tests the amount of discipline you have, it requires you to be responsible and actually “go to class” online rather than skipping it to go to the beach.

One time I had the urge to “give up” on a particular assignment called “bug list”. This assignment was due I believe the second week of the semester and I was still getting use to the schedule of this course. I opened this assignment up the night it was due, I read the instructions and thought it would be such an easy assignment to complete….You know just think of 20 things that “bug” me. I began the list and numbers 1-5 were a piece of cake, once I got into double digits this process came to an immediate halt. This assignment kept me up all night and it was one of the most frustrating times I have had in this class so far. I didn’t give up however because it was still early in the semester and did not want to start off with a terrible grade. Every time I struggle with an assignment now I think back to this one and say to myself “It can’t be as bad as the “bug list” assignment.

My 3 tips:

1.       Log onto canvas every day and be sure to look at all the assignments due this week, then write them down in your phone or a planner, whichever tool you use more.

2.       Keep an open mind, There isn’t only one specific format needed to complete an assignment.

3.       Make this experience your own. These assignments are very unique to yourself, what you put into it will be what you get out of it.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1) I am a hardworking, broke, happy go lucky, shredding college student. I love to skate and surf but I wouldn’t particularly say that either of those hobbies are my talent. My talent is motivating and communicating with people. I pride myself in the way I can connect with almost anyone and can spark a flame of motivation up under anyone. My aspirations are pretty simple, live a happy life that I as well as my family can be proud of. Although being wealthy is a huge part of my aspirations I want to be surrounded by friends and family with the capability to take care of them all if need be. My desire to continuously help people is why I believe I came up with this business plan, I saw a problem that most college students are dealing with, including myself and I want to be the one to make a positive change to this epidemic.

2) A very common problem of trying to be social in a college atmosphere is getting carried away at the bars financially after students get under the influence of alcohol. Many students struggle sticking to their drinking budget when going out and wake up seeing their bank accounts plummeted overnight. My plan is to create an app that will be your financial guardian angel. This app will allow you to set a budget on your card before you start drinking and once you hit that cap your card is frozen from that specific bar for 24 hours.

3) I know this sounds cliché but the potential customers for this app is nearly limitless. I believe anyone who mixes alcohol with social events has a risk of spending too much money accidently. This range goes from college students all the way up to parents who want a guy’s/ladies night out. Alcohol effects everyone moderately the same and when it comes down to it alters our decision making capabilities.

4) My product is extremely cheap to download, actually only $1.99 and after that there is no additional charges unless the customer would like to opt in for the advertising free app. If you have ever overspent on a night out by even $10... You already saved 5x the amount you have spent on the app in a single experience with this app.

5)  I believe my app is a one of a kind due to the fact it is not simply a budget app such as mint. This actually takes action and freezes your card where you do not have any choice but to stick to your budget. I also think because I have a high level of communication skills I can make people not only love the app but the creator which will help advertise my company through word of mouth.  

I believe the reason my app will become so successful has to do with all five of these elements listed above. First off my talent of communicating and motivating will help me find potential customers as well as business partners to further develop my business. The fact that there is nothing out on the market like this today will give me a huge advantage of potential competitors. Lastly the fact that my target audience is potentially limitless and the low costs of the app will be the final element to make my app so successful.

Tweaking the Innovation

Tweaking the Innovation

Revenue drivers

1.     1.    Instillation $1.99

2.      2. Ad space every time app is signed into/opened 30 second add before starting budget

3.      3. $5 a month to never deal with video ads or banners

4.     4.  Clubs/vacation businesses can advertise deals with a banner on the bottom of the app to appeal towards potential customers wanting to go out that night or plan a vacation.

Map each item

1.       

These revenue drivers are not tangible items, it is through a mobile app so I believe everything is based off of benefit and the communicated level. The benefit of this app is saving the consumer money by being alerted constantly on the amount they are spending and putting a maximum on the amount allowed being spent. For the companies wanting to advertise they are directly advertising to people who are interested in going out or going on vacations while getting the best deals. Now bars and vacation agencies can advertise their competitive offers. The $5 paying for no advertising will allow customers the choice to not have to get annoyed by the constant advertising that will take place.

Describe the Innovations

1.       1. Installation, although a large amount of apps like mine are free, but also do not offer half the services my app will provide. This budget app will not allow you to over spend, as well as alert you every time your card was swiped, and alert you when 25%, 50%, and 75% of your budget has been reached.

2.      2. Ad space, typically logging onto applications there is a 10-15 second load period, we can place small quick ads in that time slot so while the customer is waiting to use our app companies can pay us to advertise themselves during that time.

3.    3.   I figured if Pandora and Spotify, and other music companies can afford to quit advertising for a small fee a month I would offer my consumers the same deal. This is an easy way to add another revenue driver as well as taking away the risk of customers getting tired of all the advertising that will be taking place.

4.     4.  Along with the 30 second ad video in the beginning I can allow other local bars advertise their special promos every night which directly correlates with the consumer’s interest. These guys have the app because they want to budget and now they can see where to go to get the best bang for their card swipe. 

Elevator Pitch No. 1

Making my pitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU-qWDIhF18&feature=youtu.be

Step 1:  State the product and category: CardBlock This is a mobile app that allows people to budget their money at particular restaurants, clubs, and vacations as well as alerting them constantly about their spending.

Step 2: Describe the Problem: Cash is the only way to limit ones spending but is so easy to be misplaced or be stolen. Going on vacations it is much safer to bring cards but gives you an unlimited budget and sometimes hard to see how much you have really spent. An average budget on vacations are anywhere from 100-400, if you misplace your wallet there are few good people who would return it with that much money inside. However a wallet with just cards is much more likely to be turned in and this app will help you track exactly how much you have spent and how much you have left.

Step 3: My solution: This app will allow you to set a budget on your card “a cap” on the amount available to spend in one night, you can choose the places you are going and set up a maximum amount able to spend there, throughout your time there you will be alerted when 25%, 50%, and 75% of the budget has been used up, once the cap is met the card will be frozen from that particular area for 24 hours. This way you can have the limited ability of bringing cash on a night out while still have the convenience and safety of just carrying around a card.

Step 4 why this is such a good solution: Other apps that focus on budgeting still require you to enter in everything you spent your money on and that is not the point of this app. Once you go out to the bar or vacation you hardly ever think to write down everything you spent money on. This app allows you to go in before you start spending and decide the max amount you are willing to spend at a particular place. While you are spending you are constantly being alerted via text message when you are coming close to reaching you budget. This app will also not allow you to surpass the budget, the card will suddenly be frozen for 24 hours from that particular area. 

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Interviews: In Hypthesis part 1 as well trevor powell meahgan lauren  jacob

Reflection:

When I started this project to learn who would need this app I thought mostly males would share the problem of spending too much out at mid-town. I focused on interviewing them because I believed they typically consume more drinks and as well as buying females drinks at the club. These are the same interviews as last week but I believe gave me the answer to this weeks assignemnt already. I saw this point coming and tried to get views of males and females, as well as party animals, and not so much party people. Although this problem is true that does not mean that females are any less probable to spend money foolishly on a night out.  I interviewed two females to get their opinion of how much money they spend on a night out, although they did say guys typically do pay for some or most of their drinks, they still struggle with spending money for dinner, a pre-game, and cover to get into clubs. This view had me see that this app to alert you by text, or freeze your account when you have spent more than you planned does not only have to be for a night out, it can be used for vacations and special events as well. A huge reason why this app is so important because it allows us to keep a limit on our spending without having to take the risk of carrying cash everywhere we go.

Inside The Boundaries	Outside the Boundaries
People going out to bars for the night, people on vacation or trips where bringing cash is a big risk, the mall?	People who don’t have bank accounts, people not interested in budgeting, people who don’t take many trips or prefer using cash.
The need is to have an app that keeps the consumer aware of how much money they have spent and freezing the account for 24 hours before the consumer drains their entire bank account.	People who write down every transaction they make in a checkbook, or people who only use cash, no bank accounts.
The need exists because some people find using a card more convenient and while this is true, sometimes we can get carried away with spending because there is no real limit on a card until you are completely out of money.	Cash could be used as an alternative to bringing a card everywhere but if you lose the cash it is gone forever, if the card is lost you can simply call your bank, freeze your account, and get a new card so you never really lost any money.