Mark Candela's Blog

Mark Candela 20A Growing Your Social Capital Its who you know, not what you know 1. My first connection was with someone in the car and scooter industry. Jimmy is a local car and scooter manufacturer and repairman who works for a company in Gainesville near UF campus. He is an important supplier to the industry and has played a pivotal role in thousands of students purchasing their vehicles and making sure they run smoothly. I actually found Jimmy through his work by taking in my scooter to be serviced in years past and we forged a friendship of sorts. He has helped me countless times and I appreciate his service. We have also briefly spoke about my product as I went to take my scooter in at some point this semester to be serviced and I explained to him what I was doing with my product to which he said he believes it'll be a big success with all the student drivers and minimal parking available. Having Jimmy as a connection in his line of work is an excellent tool for my market...

Mark Candela 19A Idea Napkin #2 Second Shot at Idea Napkin #2 1. You: I am a hardworking and passionate individual who once I get my mind on something I can't stop until I see its full potential achieved. I believe this helps me as an entrepreneur in that I always put my product in the best situation to succeed. I believe I am so passionate about this because I saw it unfold right in front of my eyes as a child as my father built up his business from the ground up. 2. What are you offering to Customers?: Initially my product may come off as an unessential item or something that could confuse segment groups (specifically the older and un-techsavy generation, but I believe this is the opposite. The application has been designed to be very simple and easy to navigate. Along with this it minimizes the stress someone has to undergo in a given day which could have major health implications. 3. Who are you offering it to?: My product is offered to EVERYONE!! And by everyone I m...

Mark Candela 17A Elevator Pitch #2 https://youtu.be/E2wTzErniLE

Mark Candela 18A Create a Custom Avatar "Retired Ladies who do Yoga in the Morning" I envision my customer avatar as a typical college student and young adult. Someone with a drivers license who drives often throughout the week. They could drive either a scooter or a car. I envision usually college students because the majority of my interviewees have been both undergraduate and graduate students here at the University of Florida. I see them as people who could utilize my product for opportunities such as going to classes or going to the gym. The custom avatar also represents someone who drives a grey cost efficient vehicle. They could be an immigrant. I feel like I have a decent amount in common with my custom avatar as I based much of his creation off of myself. Someone who owns a car and attends college. Who would drive the vehicle often and seize the opportunity provided by my product. I do not think it is a coincidence they mimic my life. Mark Candela

Mark Candela 16A What's you Secret Sauce? Know Thyself I believe that my unique human capital sets me apart for a number of reasons. My ability of thinking like an entrepreneur and coming up with consistent ideas to make peoples lives easier with products is my first trait that sets me apart from others. As well as this is the fact that for my entire life I have been surrounded and raised in a home of entrepreneurs. I have been shaped from my core into what it takes to be successful as an entrepreneur because I have seen it and lived it firsthand. Another reason why my specific human capital is unique and I will be successful is my confidence and bravado. I am 1000% sure that my product will be successful, not only based on my previous interviews, those of whom wholeheartedly agree, but because of my own intuition and self belief. In my opinion this is a core concept and attribute of those entrepreneurs who are very successful. I am also capable of creating and devising specifi...

Mark Candela Figuring Out Buyer Behavior #2 Evaluating How Your Customers Evaluate Stuff The three people I interviewed for this post who fit my segment for my Application opportunity were each students at the University of Florida or Santa Fe College. As I presented alternatives for my interviewees about potential other products they have used in the past in relation to my Park-helping app. The first interviewee, Danny, is a student at Santa Fe College and drives her car to class and work everyday. She said she would be very interested in a product like mine that would make her life way more simple. As we discussed alternative opportunities I noticed she really cared about how simple and easy the product was to navigate. Her primary concern was that of how easy it is to use the product in hopes of assisting her everyday schedule. It did not really matter to her whether she was purchasing online or not because she was born into the generation of shopping on the app store so she was...