9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2 -

Who: Since my app aims to inform people about relevant political issues they may not have heard about, such as paid parental leave, I assumed that only people in the workforce would have been able to gain any benefit from this. However, my own research and interviews indicate that many people my own age and in high school also feel strongly about this. High school males, who I previously thought might not have cared as much about this issue, when informed about how broadly an issue like paid parental leave could possibly affect them, also found themselves to be supporting of such an initiative. While this app can't make people swing to a certain side regarding an issue, broad discussions of what proposed legislation can do to improve people's lives, while also having a moderated discussion of its downsides might be key to this issue. Certain people who have not joined the workforce as of yet also could not find a reason to empathize with those experiencing this issue.

What: Over the course of my new interviews, I talked with new people about what current parental leave legislation offers, in this case, also allowing parents to leave to take care of a sick child. This need is entirely different, but also goes to show how much education about an issue can change the minds of those hearing about an issue. Some of the people I talked to also found themselves to be more sympathetic for a parent having to unexpectedly leave work to take care of a child rather than for a newborn child.

Why: Again, over the course of my study, I've found that the reasons for taking parental leave can vary from anywhere as taking care of a newborn child, or taking care of a relative with a severe illness, both of which are entirely different scenarios in my opinion. Again, marketing this issue and the merits of providing adequate legislation to provide a solution for it might be the key to solving it, showing why this app necessary in order to provide a reasons for more people to empathize with this and other issues.

Inside the boundary	Outside the boundary
Who: Those who think parental leave should be established in order to provide support for parents.	Who: Those that don't intend to have children or aren't in the workforce currently.
What: A need for significant legislative reform in order to allow for parents to take leave from work to take care of children.	What: This is not meant for them, but could affect them if they decide to have children/enter the workforce.
Why: Need exists as more families have both parents working in order to support the household, leading to issues when one might have to take leave to care of the house.	Alternative Explanations: They can still hear regularly about people who could benefit from this legislative change and contribute to making a positive change towards it by supporting this app.

8A – Solving The Problem -

For my opportunity, I'd love to create an app that allows people to send a personalized letter to their congressman's email about a certain issue they feel passionate about. This letter can be customizable or generic, with the latter being for those who cannot find the time to write an entire letter, but still want their congressman to know they're passionate about a certain legislative issue, and the former for those who might feel they have more to say on the topic. I don't believe that anything like this exists on the market currently, but it should be easy to implement a system that can reach out to existing emails of congressmen and truly allow our American rights to freedom of speech and expression to be exercised if an app like this is created.

Having explored many legislative issues during my time within this class, I feel that it might be difficult to market a solution to one issue that involves reaching out to politicians, and this solution might be one that can apply to all users. Paid parental leave is one example of an issue that could be handled by this app, along with multiple others, such as if one feels passionate about a potential ban on e-cigarettes, which was an issue I discussed in another assignment. I feel that in this day and age, it's especially hard for people to find their voices about certain topics, despite more avenues of communication existing, and this app might provide a solution to a problem that I feel impacts much more people rather than simply targeting one legislative issue at a time, which is something I gleaned from my research and interviews when it came to paid parental leave, as some issues don't affect some immediately, while others might, and a solution like this might allow people from all backgrounds to work on the issues they might feel passionate about, rather than be confronted with ones they feel are less important.

7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

• My Opportunity - 
• The who: Parents across the United States.
• The what: They cannot afford to leave work to take care of newborn children or sick relatives, despite (unpaid) parental leave being offered currently.
• The why: Establishing legislation that allows for paid parental leave might allow for many more employees to not hesitate before joining the workplace, may allow for more gender equality within the workplace, and also reduce the rate of infant mortality within the United States as parents can devote more time towards caring for children.
• My Opportunity Hypothesis: I believe that creating legislation allowing for paid parental leave can accomplish the following:
• Lower infant mortality rates.
• Improve rates of gender equality within the workplace.
• Facilitate economic growth across our nation.

• First Interviewee - 
• My first interview was with a 18-year old female college student in the college of business here at UF. After being asked several questions about the current state of parental leave within the United States, she felt that more people should be made aware of this issue and could definitely see this as an opportunity to create that awareness.
• Second Interviewee - 
• My second interview was with a 19-year old male sophomore. He felt that this opportunity was needed to be expanded upon to allow protections for both parents to receive paid leave in case both needed to leave work. He did not have a strong need at the moment, but felt that if he graduated and ended up in a situation where he might have to take parental leave, would rather have this protection compared to not having it all under the current law.
• Third Interviewee - 
• My third interview was with a 24-year old graduate student who is engaged. As both he and his partner expect to join the workforce once they graduate from UF, he saw a need for this opportunity to be exploited as assuming his wife needs to leave work to take care of a child, it would make it much easier on the both of them if she were getting paid during the duration of her leave. He didn't have an immediate need for it, but felt like it should definitely be something worked on.
• Fourth Interviewee - 
• This interview was conducted with a 16-year old high-school student that I know is politically active when it comes to women's rights issues. They seemed to know a lot about paid parental leave regulations a lot and definitely felt that this was an opportunity that could be focused on. They believed that this regulation would make it easier for women to work nationwide as they also had a single-mother who worked. They additionally felt as if there was no immediate need of this for them at the moment, but felt that it should be an opportunity that is exploited.
• Fifth Interviewee - 
• This interview was with a mother in her late-40s who lives in my neighborhood. As someone who has had children, she felt as if this was an issue relevant enough to talk about, as while she was grateful to have a husband who was able to work while she was pregnant, she also did think that something like this would be good for employees who work enough that they should qualify under the current law. Despite this law not applying to her at the moment, she felt that it would be a good change to make to support working mothers.
• Reflection - 
• Having researched this opportunity in other assignments, yet interviewed new people, I felt that this is definitely an issue that affects people of all ages and genders. Many people are unaware about how current laws within the United States affect both parents, and once being told about how the current leave law allows parents to leave work to carer for children, many interviewees jumped on board with this opportunity belief. I feel as if legislation that simply expands on existing protections is created, it would go a lot further than simply pressuring politicians to create new laws regarding this. I feel that adapting said legislations to help serve both mothers and fathers rather than mothers is definitely a refinement that I could use for this that could allow this opportunity to be successfully exploited and allow it to gain support.

6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends -

• Opportunity #1 - Baby Boomers aren't retiring - 
• With many citizens across the United States saddled with debt and high costs of living, many of those between the ages of 45 to 75 have indicated that they continue to work, despite their age and encouragement to retire. 
• I learned about this issue from a plumber and looked it up to gain more insight, and found many statistics supporting the notion that this might be an important issue.
• I feel that incentivizing retirement or increasing benefits might make it much easier for baby boomers to retire, with them being the biggest customers when it comes to such an opportunity.
• I feel that it might be relatively difficult to exploit, as to do so would involve revising laws across the United States in such a way that it would be easier for baby boomers to retire comfortably. 
• I believe I saw this opportunity due to the fact that I'm continually interested in the job market once I graduate, and I'm one of the few who realize that people refusing to retire will make it much harder for me to get a job once I graduate. 
• Opportunity #2 - Climate Change is a growing issue nationwide -
• Having heard about this on the news, the fact of the matter is that rising sea levels worldwide pose huge costs to coastal towns as they struggle to cope. I feel that the opportunity in this lies in creating much more awareness about climate change.
• Our entire country could be the "customer" when it comes to this issue, as people of all ages will be affected as temperatures rise alongside water levels, which would them much more receptive towards wanting to learn more about how to stop climate change.
• I feel like this opportunity is relatively easy to exploit, as with existing coverage, all we need to do is create a marketing campaign that can easily convey just how dangerous climate change is to our global safety and what each person can do to play their part and curbing it.
• I think I saw this opportunity due to me believing that many people don't necessarily know how dangerous or rapid climate change is, and conveying that awareness might inspire more people to do something, which in turn can do more change by creating a positive loop I believe can do more.
• Opportunity #3 - Data Protection Regulations - 
• As hacking becomes a greater issue and people become more aware of protecting their online presence, more European countries are taking steps towards tightening regulations to protect internet users. I feel that the opportunity exists to reform our own internet regulations to also protect consumers on the internet from having their data exploited. I thought of this while listening to recent coverage on election hacking, and after thinking about it, realized that many more people who aren't tech savvy might be open to having their data stolen or monitored while they use the internet. I feel that all internet users will be "customers" for this idea, as they all will benefit from increased protections. This opportunity would be easy to exploit, as all we would have to do is rewrite laws to make hacking penalties that much stricter and also making it so that user data cannot be collected without permission, which isn't difficult considering existing laws.
• While many people do know that laws against hacking exist, being rather tech-savvy, I felt that I know and have read about issues like this before, which allowed me to see this opportunity to improve upon specifically as room for improvement exists. 
• Opportunity #4 - Vaping Awareness -
• After multiple deaths, the American federal government has recently begun to consider an outright ban on electronic cigarettes, something which I heard about on the news. I feel that this should be the opportunity for us to fully consider launching a research study into the long term health effects of such products. I've read about how e-cigarette users tend to use such products in order to end their addictions, and this time might prove to be useful to examine their health effects to verify whether they are a safe product to use. I think that most smokers trying to quit smoking, as well as most e-cigarette users would be the "customers" when it comes to this opportunity. This opportunity won't be easy, as it will take a lot of research funding nationwide in order to guarantee that the research obtained is thorough and allows us to reach a final conclusion as to their safety.
• While many people have been made aware of this, I've always been rather curious about the issue of whether e-cigarettes are safe, and having read about the potential ban, feel that taking this time to evaluate their safety might go a long way to guarantee that people across the nation are safe.

5A – Identifying Local Opportunities

GPD ‘hot cop’ in hot water over selfie - The Gainesville Sun

Link: https://www.gainesville.com/news/20190911/gpd-hot-cop-in-hot-water-over-selfie 

 Description: According to official Gainesville Police Department policy, employees cannot post anything regarding uniforms, badges, logos, or anything of the sort without obtaining permission. However, a member of the Gainesville Police Department, Officer Dan Rengering, who additionally modeled and appeared on a television show posted a selfie with himself in uniform that also had a caption containing sexual innuendo in late 2017 during Hurricane Irma. Despite being told to take the photo down, the officer left it up, although it was "hidden", something which the Gainesville PD department took very seriously.

 Problem Presented within Story: I feel that the greatest issue within the story has to be the officer's callous disregard for GPD's social media policies, and his use of sexual innuendo in a post that might make the department as a whole look bad, along with his disregard of the department's policies regarding sexual innuendo. 

 Who has the problem? I feel that having read the article, Officer Rengering has the problem, as in this case, his disregard for his employer's social media policies might be leading him into getting into greater trouble going forward. 

Opportunity: Alachua County police should revise their social media conduct and make it much stricter, as with the current political climate in the U.S., good relations between officers and communities is a necessity in order to create safer communities.

Biker caught stealing plants from Satchel’s Pizza - The Alligator -

Link: https://www.alligator.org/news/biker-caught-stealing-plants-from-satchel-s-pizza/article_f8110938-d5c1-11e9-b240-63c79cc54825.html 

 Description: Satchel's Pizza, a local Gainesville eatery, reported that before 5:30A.M on Wednesday, September 12th, someone on a bicycle stole a few potted plants from the front of the establishment. The thefts have been reoccurring for several months, however, this is the first instance of any such theft being caught on camera. Despite having cause to call the police, the owners of the establishment opted to instead post the surveillance photo online, figuring that local police should not be distracted by what they deemed to be a minor issue. 

 Problem Presented: The problem within this article has to be that a thief feels comfortable enough to return repeatedly to Satchel's Pizza and steal plants, which causes concern for the owners as they keep having to buy new plants.

 Who has the problem?: The owners of the establishment have the problem, as they have to deal with the reoccurring theft of plants that aren't easy to replace on a repeated basis as the thief tends to return and continue do so. 

 Opportunity: Satchel's Pizza should look into seeing whether community support, rather than relying on local police might be able to help these repeated thefts stop.

Alachua County Jail hacker outsmarted system “just to prove” he could - The Alligator - 

Link: https://www.alligator.org/news/alachua-county-jail-hacker-outsmarted-system-just-to-prove-he/article_bfd17294-d5dd-11e9-83af-5379a6d2d3d5.html 

 Description: A repeat offender already serving a sentence in Tennessee expected to last until 2028, Justin Lee Williams used his skills to trick officials in Alachua County to release another inmate. When apprehended and asked why he chose to undertake such an action, Williams responded with, "To prove I can.". Williams, following this infraction, was placed into solitary confinement due to having attempted to escape, despite in his mind never having made a successful attempt.

Problem Presented: A serial offender continues to offend, using a myriad of skills to assist other inmates in staging escapes from jail while also committing fraud, something that almost manages to succeed, causing concern for jail officials. 

 Who has the problem?: Alachua County officials, having nearly been tricked, now realize that there might be ways for inmates to escape that were previously unknown, leaving a breach in security that should be closed in some form. 

 Opportunity: Alachua County officials should look into revising security in such a fashion that future escapes cannot occur in a similar manner.

City Commission repeals plastic ban, raises GRU rates - The Alligator -  

Link: https://www.alligator.org/news/city-commission-repeals-plastic-ban-raises-gru-rates/article_cbb76770-d5e3-11e9-9a5e-2fe54a48b3cd.html 

 Description: Having previously moved to ban single-use plastics within the City of Gainesville, the city commission, after receiving much pressure repealed both bans. 

 Problem Presented: The city of Gainesville, despite attempting to work hard to ban styrofoam containers and single-use plastics had its efforts entirely overturned and stalled. 

 Who has the problem? The city of Gainesville will continue to suffer from plastic litter, which is bad for the environment and causes pollution, with their efforts to ban single-use plastics now having been stalled altogether. 

 Opportunity: The city of Gainesville should use this as a reason to look for other ways to encourage sustainability and the use of recyclable products. Despite this resolution having had much support throughout the city, businesses were the primary cause of this resolution being overturned, showcasing how decisions that are more conscious of economic concerns might be worth looking into.

UF student reported she was raped in Jennings Hall, UPD says - The Alligator -  

Link: https://www.alligator.org/news/uf-student-reported-she-was-raped-in-jennings-hall-upd/article_03622c12-d41f-11e9-9b96-9fab926c54c5.html 

Description: Despite already having been in the news for another UF residence hall based sexual assault allegation, the University of Florida finds itself in the spotlight again as a Jennings Hall resident reports herself as also having been sexually assaulted, raising serious concern for the well-being of students on campus when it comes to issues such as sexual assault. 

 Problem Presented: The University of Florida now grapples with the issue of how to prevent sexual assault within residence halls on campus, as despite being a Top 7 university, students might be afraid to attend the University if issues like these are prevalent. 

 Who has the problem: The University should look into how to punish students who commit sexual assaults, as well as reevaluate how they can prevent future assaults from happening on campus in order to help students feel safe and facilitate attendance at the university. 

 Opportunity: UF should take this opportunity to reevaluate their policies regarding sexual assault on campus. Students who commit sexual assault shouldn't be allowed to continue being on campus as they clearly pose a danger to students around them, and should altogether be banned from it. Stricter penalties might be one way to curb these instances from occurring again in the future. 

4A – Forming An Opportunity Belief

When it comes to my belief, I believe that the United States, as a whole, can do a lot more for working parents who have to take maternal leave across the nation. Many European countries, as early as the 1990s, developed legislation that allowed parents who had been working for a certain amount of time to take several weeks of paid leave in order to care for newborn children, while the U.S.'s parental leave act, the FMLA, only allows parents to take 12 weeks off, all unpaid, if they've worked at a company for at least a year, something that leaves us falling behind when our policies are compared to those of other countries.

This lack of paid leave affects parents nationwide, who, needing money, can ill-afford to leave work for 12 weeks without getting paid, resulting in a low percentage of parents within the workforce taking advantage of FMLA protections, something which is shocking for a country as developed as ours. I feel that the opportunity to raise awareness about this issue could go far in terms of leading to reform for the FMLA, which could go far in reducing workplace inequality nationwide and also allow for parents to cultivate stronger families through allowing them to spend more time at home, while also encouraging more women to go into the workforce. Expanded protections can also allow more men to spend time at home with newborn children, allowing for healthier homes.

#1. ) Early-Twenties Female - 

• "Do you feel as if this issue is relevant to you?"
• "Yes, as someone who is planning to develop a career and also have children, the fact that I won't be able to take time off to spend with them makes me have to choose between those two things."
• "Do you think we should change the FMLA?"
• "Yes, at least so that we can be on par with other developed countries, like you mentioned."
• "How best do you think we should address this issue?"
• "Maybe by raising awareness about it? It doesn't sound like people know much about it."
• "Do you think that allowing for paid parental leave could help the economy?"
• "Yes! More people wouldn't be afraid of going into the workforce or just having children in general if paid leave was a thing."

#2.) Early-20s Male - 

• "Do you feel as if this issue is relevant to you?"
• "Yes, if I want to spend time with my kids when they're born or take care of someone who's sick in my family I should be able to."
• "Do you think we should change the FMLA?"
• "Maybe by making it so that both moms and dads get paid for parental leave?"
• "How best do you think we should address this issue?"
• "Having Congress change the FMLA and make it so that parents can get paid for parental leave?" 
• "Do you think that allowing for paid parental leave could benefit the economy?"
• "Not really since it might make companies think twice about hiring parents, but I still think it's a good idea."

 #3.) Late-30s Female - 

• "Do you feel as if this issue is relevant to you?"
• "Yes, having paid leave would have made it much easier for me to work when I had my first child. I think that it definitely is important for women in general."
• "Do you think we should change the FMLA?"
• "Making paid leave a thing at the minimum should be one of the things we should do."
• "How best do you think we should address this issue?"
• "Maybe creating awareness? Changing it in general might be a good place to start."
• "Do you think that allowing for paid parental leave could benefit the economy?"
• "Definitely, more women would choose to work since they won't have to struggle with balancing childcare and working at the same time, especially after having a child."

Reflection:

• Having taken the time to speak to people about this opportunity, I found that both men and women felt that this is something we should work on. Men especially surprised me since I was asked questions about current Family Medical Leave Act provisions, and after giving answers, found that many agreed with me on my points, and felt that fathers should also be given the option of parental leave, indicating that this is definitely an opportunity I could focus on.

Summarize:

• After thoroughly reflecting on the interview responses, I feel that my opportunity is still there. I feel that FMLA reform is definitely something that people should be made more aware about, and something that both men and women should be told about. I feel that my opportunity is more accurate, since I have learned more about demographics who should be targeted when it comes to raising awareness about such issues. I feel that entrepreneurs should allow for trade-offs, as customer feedback is indicative of a market, which can allow you to sell a product much easier than otherwise to a larger audience, such as how marketing this opportunity to both men along with women would make this a wider known opportunity.

3A – My Entrepreneurship Story

Hey!

So thinking back on my life, I've had the opportunity to meet dozens of neat entrepreneurs, each with their own skillsets and a business model that allowed them to succeed. However, one of my favorite entrepreneurs, has to be my sister. An avid photographer, my sister loves to take photos, be they of our cat, graduation photos, and just simply artistic photography, honing her talent to the point that she received her first offer to get paid to take graduation photos while she was still in high school.

As it happens, photographers tend to be in high demand during certain seasons, and my sister definitely took advantage of it, taking up dozens of different gigs, whether it came to weddings, school events, or even more graduation photoshoots. However, one thing that truly inspires me, is that rather than splurge her money on other items, my sister only turned around and would reinvest her profits, opting to buy better cameras, better lenses, and other better photography equipment, nurturing her own hobby and truly allowing her skill to be in even greater demand by developing a better final product which would earn her more gigs, something which inspires me to market my own talents in a similar vein.

Having enrolled in ENT3003 as a requirement for my minor, and having read through the syllabus of this class and its goals, I'm hoping that I can truly walk away from this class having truly learned more about entrepreneurship and develop essential entrepreneurial skills I can utilize later outside of this course.

This is Saya, our cat! In this
photo that my sister took,
she was only about two months old.