Last Thursday, March 08, for our second formal meeting, the class had another pitching session and during that time, there were three presenters who pitched their ideas.
The first idea that was pitched that day was an application inspired by Grab and Uber’s tracking system with a delivery system similar to Grab Express. What made it amazing is that it can be used by ordinary drivers such as those habal-habal tricycle drivers who are mostly idle. Since these drivers had a lot of vacant time, my classmate had the idea of somewhat giving them a side-job while they were doing nothing to spend their time. She said, (non-verbatim), “Since there are a lot of tricycle drivers who are mostly idle, why not give them a job and help those who do not want to leave their house just to deliver something?”
Because of the said issue, my classmate had seen an opportunity of generating money as a third-party from the ones who want to deliver some item and give jobs to those who want to be productive and stop themselves from being idle.
I really commend her for thinking of such idea. Though as some of my classmates said that the idea is already existing, what made it unique is that a lot of people can use it even habal-habal tricycle drivers. Aside from that, I do think that the proposed application will be successful if it will be materialized because there are a lot of people who do not want to deliver something themselves because it would sometimes be just a waste of time.
She also mentioned that the application is going to generate income from advertisements.
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It was then the time when we have to ask her some questions. One of the said questions was about a possible delivery of drugs. The question went like this: “What if the sender scams the courier who would deliver tricking him into thinking he would deliver a vegetable when actually it is a marijuana?” The facilitator also added there was a similar situation that happened. In the situation, the delivered object was an explosive device. Because of the stated situations, the presenter was astounded and she was thinking of a possible way to prevent such cases.
Our facilitator ended the first pitch and she gave a “hanging” result to the first presenter and her idea. It was a splendid idea, overall. She just needs to fix that part of the issue and I think her idea will be approved after that.
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It was time for the second presenter. It was Kyle’s turn, my classmate. Kyle’s proposed mobile application was for bus users and bus barkers. His proposed idea was inspired from the problems which bus commuters have been experiencing. He mentioned that there are times when calls for a bus along the road but the driver does not notice him. There would also be times when he rides the bus but he is unable to have a sit and just stand for the whole duration of the travel because all seats are occupied.
Kyle’s idea was also nice. His statement of the problem was clear and that I can even relate to what he said. It is really a pain to just stand during the whole travel. The proposed application, supposedly, will have a detection system on buses which will determine whether all seats are occupied or there are vacant seats. Scanning buses’ plate numbers will inform commuters of the number of seats through the application itself, communicating from the bus barker inside the bus. Aside from that, possible users such as parents may also track where their child is and how long it will take for their child to reach the destination. Kyle said it would be an advantage for parents to know whether their child/ children are safe during their travel from and to their homes. However, a classmate of mine pointed out that possibly, commuters might have a hard time in using Kyle’s application due to the motion of the bus on the road.
My classmate who asked was right. Bus speeds along the road are unpredictable; some are slow and some are too fast that scanners for plate numbers would just be useless. Our facilitator also agreed about the situation. The application would be great if there would be a barker to a commuter relationship in the application so that before the bus would reach the possible passenger’s location, the passenger would already be notified that a bus is incoming to his/her destination. In this manner, the chances of being left by the bus would be low.
Unfortunately, as far as I can remember, our facilitator gave Kyle’s idea a “no.” It was still not yet the end for Kyle though. I know he will still be able to generate better ideas.
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For the last presenter, it was Rona. Rona presented sort a costume-lending application. Her idea was inspired by the need to buy costumes for events. She used the Coachella-themed party we had before during our freshmen year. As I can remember, we were required to wear a Coachella-themed attire. If one would search samples on the internet, a typical attire for a Coachella party is a casual colorful attire. Aside from that, there would sometimes be parties that would require Barong Tagalog, Filipiñana, Baro’t Saya, ball gowns, tuxedos, and etc. These attires are without a doubt expensive and usually, these are just used once or twice in a year. Because of this problem, Rona was inspired to think about a costume-lending application.
Rona’s application provides an easy way for people to find and rent costumes. Her application would serve as the middleman between the user and the lender. For me, it was simply amazing. I sometimes have to attend weddings. Wedding requires either a barong or a formal attire like a tuxedo. I don’t have these clothes in my wardrobe and I can’t even afford to buy and use them once or even never. It would just be a waste.
If Rona’s application will be materialized, a lot of people who attend weddings, debuts, birthday parties, themed parties, and other costume-requiring events will be helped. Aside from that, people who are not really using the costumes which they have bought may let their costumes be used for a certain amount of money which will end as a win-win situation for both the renter and the lender – that is if the application will be materialized.
However, a lot of my classmates, even the facilitator were somewhat unsatisfied and they needed to clarify. One of my classmates asked, “What if the costume was not actually washed and it has a foul smell?”
The question might seem non-sense for others but for me, it was not. When we rent something, other than making sure that our money is worth it, we also want to make sure that the quality of the item we are going to rent is not low to a point we rented for nothing.
Rona responded and she pointed out that it should be the prerogative of the renter to check the quality of the item. Conduct basic check-up on the item and search for literal holes. Who would want to wear pants with a hole on that would show one’s undergarments, right?
It was then the time for decision making and Rona asked the class and our facilitator’s final decision about her idea. As far as I can remember, it did not go well. Nevertheless, she can still make it up and improve her idea or generate some splendid innovations to present in class.
For the past few weeks that had passed, a lot of proposals were denied and left hanging. Only a small percentage of those who pitched their ideas were approved and a lot of my classmates have not proposed their ideas. What I am trying to say is that we only have roughly two months left and not even fifty percent of the class’ idea is approved by our facilitator. It is a really bothering thought that we are really going to fall under circumstances we are have been expecting. I do not even know if more than half of the class can still catch up to produce the necessary deliverables for the subject.
In relation to the previous meeting, Guy Kawasaki said that the core of Entrepreneurship is about making meaning. He said that a lot of companies that have been involved in most of our lives today have been making meaning. However, some of these companies set out to start by making money.
It is really nice to hear these things from a successful entrepreneur. Before, I really thought that it is all about generating money and hiring people. As a kid, I really never wanted to be a businessman because I have thought of it as a generic, cliché job. I have seen a lot of businessmen in movies and I did not aspire to do the same. I did not have a mind of a businessman nor an attitude of a boss. Most of the time, working for someone was on my mind. Dreaming to work as an employee for a company would not really hurt my ego as long as I know that I am enjoying the job.
I want to be a doctor. – That was what I used to say when I was a kid when I would be asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
I was really fascinated by the scientific and biological world. It was fascinating to see the profoundness of life and one of the reasons why I wanted to be a doctor before is because I wanted to preserve and maintain the high quality of life which every living individual has. It was from a simple “help” that I wanted to give that inspired me to become a doctor.
If you are going to ask me, “What do you want to be in the future?”, I would answer, I want to give meaning. Since I was enrolled in the subject Technopreneurship, I have always thought of having my own start-up company. In the field of information technology, not only will I be able to touch the field of medicine as my aspiration to be a doctor before, but I can also give meaning to various fields in this world. IT is interdisciplinary. It can adapt and it has been of use in various studies today.
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If I will be asked on how I will make meaning in the future, I will probably answer the person by offering him a job to work for me and my company. This simply means that it is one of my goals to be the boss of a company and provide opportunities to deserving people. It is really funny to think that it just came to my realizations that not only doctors can help people but also businessmen. These employers have been providing a lot of opportunities to people and they are some of the people who make the nation progressive. We can say that they have been generating money for their company and themselves but let us not deny the fact that they have also been of great use to the company.
Because of these entrepreneurs, the meaning is made not only in the community but also in the hearts and thoughts of the people around them. For some entrepreneurs, making money is just a slice of pie. Probably, they would not even sweat to gain millions in a single day. However, making meaning is different. I do believe it can be achieved by not generating money but by improving the quality of an individual’s life.
Guy Kawasaki, in the video, said, “We were not motivated. We were motivated by changing the world.” It was nice to hear from people who work in Apple that is not about the money but increasing the quality of life. Today, if I am going to ask a person of his opinions to Apple, he would probably say words like money, premium, and rich. It is somewhat implanted in the minds of the people that one of the core goals of Apple is to generate money but when it really is not. When people, like Guy Kawasaki, produced Macintosh, it was one of their core goals to improve the quality of life. How it would help people. How Macintosh should work for people and make their lives better. They would even wake up early in the morning and think how they would change people’s lives with Macintosh. Because of these motivations, Apple did not only help the community but they also gained money. As we all know, their core goal was not about the money but to improve lives, right? Well, it only means that if people, like Guy Kawasaki, would prioritize in people’s lives and not their money, a lot of good things could happen. It is like, “Think first on their lives and the money will follow.”
Second, after improving the quality of life is to right a wrong. It is about fixing something wrong in this world. As what I have learned lately in our discussions in Technopreneurship, one of the qualities of a technopreneur should have is that he should master his environment. Being an environment-mastered person means that you are always on the top of the situation and not under it. You should most likely see a lot of opportunities around your environment. Imagine, if you were a person who would find a lot of problems and generate opportunities for it, would you not be able to help the community and generate a lot of money as well?
Regardless if you are an entrepreneur or a technopreneur, of your core goals in making business is to right a wrong. It would a useless thought to “right” something that is already correct, right? That is pure nonsense. However, if you corrected something wrong, you will be able to make meaning and at the same time, improve people’s quality of life.
The last one is to prevent the end of something good. Obviously, the good should not be ended but maintained and improved for the betterment of the world. How? Innovations. It is a nice thing that I am taking up IT and that one of its goals is to produce and come up with world-changing innovations. Things that make our lives better should not be stopped but be improved. It can be achieved through technological advancements and innovations that should make our lives more convenient.
The stated things are just some of the things that entrepreneurs or technopreneurs should be motivated of in their businesses. I have learned a lot in the previous meeting and I am excited about the future discussions.
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I once dreamed of becoming a doctor and today, it is one of my goals to be a boss and an employer of my own company someday. These are just some things I plan to achieve in the future. These things may seem too unrealistic to achieve, still, I am not closing my mind for possible opportunities that I would encounter in my life journey. If I will not achieve these things, I’ll gladly accept it. What I really want to do is to provide help and make meaning not only for myself but also in other peoples’ lives.
Null and Void 