Dot com Dot bomb

Before this lecture I knew absolutely nothing about the Dot com bust and what it was even about. It kinda sounded like a recession for computers only, which is weird since computers are being used in every aspects of our lives today. There are 5 stages in the Dot com to Dot bomb era, the first being the thrill of people using the internet for the first time. People couldn't believe the power they had at the tip of their fingers. The fact that you could talk to someone in the middle east while you sit in your pjs in Seattle. After this stage, came the boom, the internet had now become "mainstream" and people had their own businesses online, and more and more startups popped up due to this opportunity. The third stage is when all hell broke loose; companies were being sold for insane amounts of money, there was a huge market for  the internet, but too many people had the same ideas. Companies that didn't deserve to have IPO started getting it, and many companies were making a lot of money for not good reasons. Many of these companies had bad business models, and instead of failing, they were making very good revenue. Next came bust, this is where all those businesses who had bad business models started to fail. Many businesses were able to survive, but many did not.

Shadrach White

I really enjoyed Shadrachs talk, I think I enjoyed his more than anyone elses so far. His entrepreneurial journey is very interesting to me, and I believe he is someone who knows what he's doing when it comes to business. I would love to be able to work with him if I had a business. His advice was really good because there are people out there that you just shouldnt trust. Even if you've known those people forever, you should still be careful, and listen to your gut feeling. 

I also really liked that Shadrach knew how to build up a business. Since he's built up several businesses I think it is good to take advice from someone like him. I think it is everyones dream to be able to build up your business and sell it. Maybe not necessarily move on and build another business, but to instead retire. I think it is interesting that Shadrach not only builds up his businesses and sells them, he also creates another business after that.

Mission Statement

To guide students in finding the career of their dreams.

John Dimmer

I found John Dimmers journey to becoming an entrepreneur very interesting. His story of building up his own business then selling it off, is many entrepreneurs dream. I dont believe this is an easy path to take, and many are not successful. What I found most amusing is that he got bored once he was finally retired. I just find it funny how life works in those ways, and how you think you want something and then once you have it you find that it's not so great. Other than his journey, John said a lot of helpful things about starting a business, and what you should not do. For instance, you should always have the most ownership in the company, and if you don't, you should be worried. This is due to the fact that if you don't have most ownership in the company, whoever else that does have more ownership than you can kick you out. So you would have this business that you built up, only to have it taken from you because you gave too much of your company away. Also, most of the time people start their own business so that they can be their own boss, if you give away a lot of ownership, then you are no longer your own boss, everyone else who has more ownership now becomes your boss. I feel as though this kind of defeats the purpose of building a business.

Protecting my property

Since my idea for my business is something that has been done before, the key to protecting my property is patenting it. My idea is something I personally have not found in real life yet, so I would have to search for any business that is similar to mine. Once I have done that, I could decide to either patent it, or having the people I work for sign a nondisclosure document. This would make anyone who works for me unable to talk about my idea. I have not come up with the name of my company yet, but when I do have it, I would go ahead and trademark the name. I think overall, I have to look more into the process of protecting your intellectual property, because what do you do when your idea has already been thought of?

What should I charge?

That is a very good question, isn't it? My business idea is to be able to create a website which helps students like me find a job. I realize that there are plenty of websites doing the same thing, but my idea is a little different. My idea targets individuals who are about to graduate from college, after all it isn't easy for us to find a job these days. Recruiters will be assigned to students from different universities, and will work with them to help them find a job. This could be from helping out with their resume, to applying to jobs for them, or even help with interview prep. There are several ways I've thought about monetizing this. My first idea is to work with different universities and having my program be part of all students tuition, so anyone is free to use it who is a student. Another idea is that, any student has an option to use it, but whoever wants to use it will have to pay for that semester, but it is not necessary for every student to pay for it. My third idea was that anyone who wants to use the service would have to pay to use it, meaning not only students can use it but anyone else as well. I've also thought I might be able to make the web application free to use, which allows you to look for jobs, create a resume, and interview prep, but if you wanted a recruiter, then you would have to pay for that service. I am unsure about exactly how much I would charge, but I would need to make enough where all of my recruiters make a decent amount of money. I have also thought about maybe making it so that the recruiters work off of commission, so anytime the student gets a job they applied them for, they will get a percentage of the students first paycheck.

So obviously there are many ways I could monetize this, but I will have to think some more before I make a decision about which one I would like to take.

Brian Forth and his business

Brian Forths talk really revolved mostly around his business and how his business came to be. The part I enjoyed most in Brians talk would have to be the fact that he created this business mostly out of spite. He did not enjoy working for other people, and said why not be my own boss. I like the fact that he went from teaching, to different jobs, to creating his own successful business. It is very interesting to me how every entrepreneurs path is different when it comes to what they build. Some entrepreneurs may have many businesses in their lifetime, but some may have only one. Many have family businesses that are passed down for generations, with each owner adding their own flare to it. This is what I found most interesting about Brians story, everyone has their own path to becoming an entrepreneur, and really I think it is a beautiful and interesting process.

Erik Hanberg and his path to being an Entrepreneur

The talk given by Erik Hanberg, really struck a cord in me in some ways. When I was younger, I really dreamed about becoming a writer, but felt as though I was never good enough, or skilled enough to do it. Erik has written many books, and is still profiting from them every month, this is something I really looked up to. He inspires me to write that childrens book, even if I might fail.

Another thing I thought was very interesting about Erik, is his business, Side x Side. Erik described his struggles, and successes with his business to the class, what motivated him and what got him through the tough times. I think what we all have to remember is that there will always be tough times on any path you take. Whether that be getting a job at a large corporation, or building your own business. When you're trying to go up a ladder in any business there is always going to be obstacles. I very much liked the fact that Erik did multiple other jobs, while still working on his business, and building it. I believe this is the smartest way to become an entrepreneur, especially when you have a family to take care of. Overall, I really enjoyed Eriks talk, it was very inspiring.

Three Business ideas

Idea 1 Hide files in your phone

Whenever you hand your phone to someone, that person sometimes will go through your phone, or your photos. This is not good etiquette, but many people still do this, and it is annoying to most. It would be amazing to have an app that would stop this from happening. It would work by having the option to lock your phone when showing a picture, or to have certain apps be password protected, or even your gallery protected. This way even if you hand your phone to someone, you can be sure that they wont go through your phone, and see things that shouldn't be seen. 

Idea 2 Movies in VR

I recently attended the ATT Summit in Las Vegas. I saw a lot of cool things there regarding VR at the conference, but one stood out to me. The VR that really stood out to me was a short animated film in VR, and you could interact with things in the VR. This gave me an idea, what if movies were all in VR? For instance, what if you went to see star wars, and it was in VR. You would actually be immersed in the movie this way, and it would revolutionize going to the movies. Movie theaters are dying away slowly, as ticket prices go up and more movies are shown online for free, less and less people are going to the movies. Movie theaters need to change what they are doing, and this is one way of doing it. Being immersed in the movie, and feeling like you are actually there would be an amazing new feeling that no one has experienced. 

Idea 3 Career Helper

As a senior in College, I have been applying to many different jobs since august. I've found it rather difficult to keep up with since there are so many different sites you can go to. Not all the sites are updated with new positions, and most are sponsored ads that are not relevant to what you're looking for. My idea is to combine all these websites into one. What it would do is connect you to a recruiter that will find a job within your skillset, or you can connect to recruiters from specific companies. You will be able to do many things through this website, including, communicating with recruiters, connecting with recruiters, applying for jobs, posting your resume, seeking resume help, scheduling job interviews, and receiving feedback from failed job interviews. The best aspect of the website will be the practice interview questions you will be given for that specific interview. For instance, if you get an interview for google, your recruiter will give relevant questions for practice for the interview. This is my favorite idea out of the three since it puts everything in one place, and you only have to go to one website for applying to jobs. 

What I want out of TCSS 475

I am very excited about this class, because I know a lot about computer science so far, but I don't know much about the business aspect of it. For instance, if I was to create my own app, I would have no idea where to start as far as creating my own company. I would love to know more about where to start when creating a business, and how to be your own boss. I am also interested in knowing how to manage employees, and how to make my business grow.