Top 5 World Problems

Based off a previous assignment, my task today is to identify the world's top 5 problems! And rank the solutions in terms of implementability. Here goes nothing:

1. (World's Biggest Problem) Varying perceptions on gender and the associated societal standards that harm people by forcing them to conform through social pressures to something that they don't want to be or preventing them from doing the things they want to do but that aren't socially acceptable.
2. The harmful side effects of globalization due to the spread of free trade and reduction in barriers to trade throughout the world. Harmful side effects include loss of small businesses and usage of cheap labor as bargaining tools to open more areas of trade and drive down wages. Not even talking about the humanitarian side effects of these implications.
3. Human beings contribution to climate change through industry and domestic energy consumption that produces excess greenhouse gases, which get trapped in the atmosphere and cause accelerated global warming. 
4. Donald Trump and any and all demagogues like him who prey on people's insecurities to incite hatred for their own accumulation of power and prejudice agendas.
5. (Least most serious, serious world problem) The unaccountably of the world's banking systems.

And here's my list of the solutions:

1. (Most implementable) Provide non-mandatory in school training on the harmful effects of gender roles and create discussions on how everyone can be better then what our parents taught us. Then wait for old people to die.
2. Improve education of the world to students that accurately describes what its like to live in another country and stop playing up democracy and American exceptional.
3. Foster music and the music education in schools and throughout the world. Recognize that there is more than just pop.
4. Solution: Satellites that orbit the Earth monitoring CO2 levels in the atmosphere and somehow filtering the gases to a healthy level, thus reducing the greenhouse affect and slowing global warming.
5. (least implementable) Create a nonprofit international regulatory committee that checks banks and is apolitical.

So for the first list, I picked gender as the world's biggest problem. This is because I have seen the deeply depressing and downright dangerous effects perceptions of gender have on people. From birth girls are taught to be small, to care about how they look, to be thin rather than healthy, and so many other harmful stereotypes that lead to anxiety and break down a girl's ability to develop confidence in themself and their opinions. And on the flipside, boys are groomed to be "men," these strong, emotionless creatures that don't cry and think that women are crazy. And when a women starts to speak out, against abuse, harassment, or so often rape, their seen as aggressive, bitchy, and their opinions and emotions are downplayed for the benefit of the man or men they're speaking out against (ahem, Bill Cosby, James Deen, Jameis Winston, to name a few).  The effects of gender stereotyping are very serious and they need to be challenged by everyone, everywhere. Only then will things actually change for the better.

Secondly, I chose the non-mandatory school training on gender and sexuality as the easiest solution to implement because I honestly think that just beginning the conversation of gender and how stereotypes can be harmful in the classroom, among people who are developing and learning, isn't hard. This doesn't need to be some rigorous course in why we need gender fluidity. Instead, simply having someone who can answer young people's questions on gender and sexuality in a non-judgemental way, will go a long way in changing the status quo. And making it non-mandatory is simply a way of appeasing the people that were never going to be open to this class in the first place. Gender and sexuality are so often ignored by American culture and out of the mainstream conversation, that just talking about them could do wonders in helping change our conservative view of gender and sexuality. And could save countless women and men from being harassed and assaulted. Because, you know, rape and harassment is about people thinking that they can do and say whatever they want. Doesn't that sound strikingly similar to the way we raise boys? (the "boys will be boys" concept)

That's all folks! Tell me what YOU think is the world's biggest issue, and whether or not you disagree with my thoughts.

Identifying Local Opportunties

Hey folks!

These past few weeks have been flying by! It's so cold in Gainesville (as cold as Florida can ever be), good time for cuddling and doing next to nothing. But first, homework. This week, I'll be looking through local newspapers to identify opportunities, or unmet needs. The February 2015 Palm Beach Post, from my local county, will do nicely. Enjoy!

Opportunity 1.

"Florida tops U.S. in fraud, ID theft; Region's complaints far exceed those of second-place Seattle. area"

http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/article/GALE%7CA403438593/bf1f50817d0b1aec3b10c00677ee8a8a?u=gain40375

Synopsis: Florida leads the U.S. in fraud and identity due to scammers targeting those least knowledgeable about giving information over the phone - which is generally our elderly and non-English speaking demographics.

Problem: people are having their identity stolen and used to commit crimes which can be difficult and uncomfortable to solve. Also the banks have to recover most of the money that gets stolen.

Who has the problem? People who get their identity stolen and used to commit crimes. And the Banks.

Opportunity 2.

Hotel room crunch greatest in Wellington

(You don't say?)

http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/article/GALE%7CA403438595/f6666c68d69a90136b02a081102cdfdc?u=gain40375

Synopsis: LET'S BUY SOME PROPERTY IN WESTERN WELLINGTON. Lots of horse people come to Soflo during the winter for pony related activities and there are very few hotels to accommodate them during the peak of season.

Problem/Who: I won't know what to do with all of my money. But actually rich Snow Birds don't have places to stay in the predominantly farm dominated area of Wellington during pony season.

WHO WANTS TO BUY SOME PROPERTY IN WELLINGTON

Opportunity 3.

Condo owners feel trapped: Sober house operator may be community's only hope
http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/article/GALE%7CA403679910/77918f7815101560afe485e5eef58035?u=gain40375

Problem: A developer is charging insane HMO fees to force out inhabitants of an apartment complex so that it can be sold.

Who: the problem for the inhabitants is that they're being forced to pay high fees for homes in terrible disrepair. For the developer, he's trying to get out of a failing investment but is stopped by the residents of this housing complex.

Opportunity 4.

New prisons chief pushes for less public access to investigative info
http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/article/GALE%7CA401149909/6c68dafa1574e6eb222ff350031d4493?u=gain40375

Problem: The new chief of the Florida Department of Corrections office is trying to block employees investigating abuse and misuse in the prison system from speaking about it to people outside of their organization.

Who? Outside forces who would be interested in publicizing abuse in the prison system and the family's of those who could be victims in the system can't get information about their loved ones cases.

Opportunity 5.

Fla.'s Medicaid for children needs money

http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/article/GALE%7CA397048462/d1e1f4d728b6c97ecf8cc0ddf967bf06?u=gain40375

Synopsis: The demon Gov. Rick Scott would rather pay $2.7 million to lawyers to have a federal judge repeal his declaration that children on Medicaid do not receive adequate healthcare. Florida's children's state run healthcare is terrible.

Problem: Medicaid for children needs to change and become more efficient because it is negatively effecting our state's poor children.

Who: children on Medicaid and the parents who go to extreme lengths to help their kids.

Week 3 Reading Reflection

My reflection on our weekly reading!!

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

The biggest surprise for me about this reading was the notion of the "internal locus of control." I usually associate entrepreneurship with risk-taking, confidence, creativity, innovation, etc., but I never really thought of the control that goes into to being an entrepreneur. It makes sense. To be successful one needs to have control over their own impulses and prejudices to unbiasedly look at your venture and grow it in the right direction.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

One part of the reading that was confusing to me was section on Type A personalities. Do type A's make exceptional entrepreneurs? Or do their characteristics make them more susceptible to burning out?

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

What characteristics differentiate an entrepreneur from a business person exactly? Interesting to tell the difference.

Would the author say that an entrepreneur is motivated more by external support or internal support? Like is a successful entrepreneur move motivated internally or externally? I would like to know for internalizing criticism or compliments.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I would disagree with the idea that entrepreneurs motivation is based on sustaining their ventures. I imagine that most plan on making their ventures sustainable but there are also those ventures that are based on speculative business models so as to sell them off whenever they become really profitable.

Very Short Interview No. 1

So today I had the great pleasure of interviewing an entrepreneur - who also happens to be a friend of mine - CEO and founder of Gainesville startup, Keep It Simple Technologies, Benjamin King. Over the last 10 years, Ben has started four different companies. The spark that set him on the path to founding his last company came from hearing how hard it was for his brother, a Car Salesman, to keep track of all the people he had talked to and needed to followup with during the day. Sensing an unmet need, Ben developed a useful and simple-to-learn app (hence the name of the company) that allows sales people to catalog who they speak to as well as provides reminders to followup with them. Ben is a really cool guy with a lot of insight into entrepreneurship, but i'll let you see that for yourself in the following video:

For the record, here are the questions I asked Ben:

Question 1: As an entrepreneur, if someone were to ask you for your input in creating a course plan, what would you want to teach to students in an introductory entrepreneurship class? Or what would be the most important things that you think need to be taught in an intro course?

Question 2: What does it mean to you to be an entrepreneur? And, to continue, have you heard or do you think that other entrepreneurs would describe themselves differently? And why?

Question 3: What do you wish you had learned, or what experience do you wish you had, when you you were in school and hadn't yet set out on the path to become an entrepreneur?

Reflect:

Ben's answers to my questions were really insightful. I could tell that their was a difference between actually living the life of entrepreneur and what we're taught in class. School, as it stands today, can't possibly prepared you for all the realities of running your own company. Having to fire someone and having to accept and grow from failure seem very difficult to teach. Maybe someone could teach failure by designing an impossible assignment that's designed to freak out students. Or that could get a professor fired... Firing someone doesn't sound teachable. Maybe watching the Apprentice would be the best option for that. And even then, I don't that Trump really feels anything when he fires Steve Buscemi or any other celebrities.

So what are the World's Biggest Problems?

Hey folks,

So for this next assignment I have to write down what I think are the world's biggest problems and come up with solutions to them. This is due in 26 minutes so here goes nothing!

1. Human beings contribution to climate change through industry and domestic energy consumption that produces excess greenhouse gases, which get trapped in the atmosphere and cause accelerated global warming. 
• Solution: Satellites that orbit the Earth monitoring CO2 levels in the atmosphere and somehow filtering the gases to a healthy level, thus reducing the greenhouse affect and slowing global warming.
2. Groups of people being discriminated against and hunted down for their views or experience extreme prejudice and thus turn to terrorism to raise awareness of their injustices or bring about some regime change in their own region or internationally.
• FUCK. Um. Address the grievances of the discriminated groups and remove the conditions for which terrorism is fostered. Don't try to change existing political order in the areas sponsoring terrorism but change the minds of the people aiding terrorist but empowering the economically and raising their standard of living.
3. The harmful side effects of globalization due to the spread of free trade and reduction in barriers to trade throughout the world. Harmful side effects include loss of small businesses and usage of cheap labor as bargaining tools to open more areas of trade and drive down wages. Not even talking about the humanitarian side effects of these implications.
• Empower people working in destitute conditions and those who lose their livelihoods to outsourced work by teaching them all entrepreneurial tactics in different industries then the ones they currently/used to work in. Start their own businesses, take away workers who were working for nothing and raise the wages across vast areas.
4. Varying perceptions on gender and the associated societal standards that harm people by forcing them to conform through social pressures to something that they don't want to be or preventing them from doing the things they want to do but that aren't socially acceptable.
• Provide non-mandatory in school training on the harmful effects of gender roles and create discussions on how everyone can be better then what our parents taught us. Then wait for old people to die.
5. Donald Trump and any and all demagogues like him who prey on people's insecurities to incite hatred for their own accumulation of power and prejudice agendas.
• Label him as a fascist and draw continuous parallels between past dictators who have spread similar propaganda.
6. Differing perceptions on standard of living throughout the world.
• Improve education of the world to students that accurately describes what its like to live in another country and stop playing up democracy and American exceptional.
7. The unaccountably of the world's banking systems.
• Create a nonprofit international regulatory committee that checks banks and is apolitical.
8. Finding happiness and fulfillment in life, and understanding how definitions of both concepts differ from person to person and culture to culture.
• More and better unbiased education of other cultures in a non-discriminatory and Western-centric way.
9. Corporations taking over the music scene and producing crap.
• Foster music and the music education in schools and throughout the world. Recognize that there is more than just pop.
10. Racism and prejudice throughout the world.
• Teach people to take an honest look a themselves and own up to racism and prejudice and to grow rather than shrink from the shame of being judgmental.

Week 2 Reading Reflection

Another assignment! Imagine that. Here's what I think of this week's assigned readings:


1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?


I've never differentiated between entrepreneur and small business owner. That was certainly the most surprising thing in the reading. As an entrepreneur, you're constantly trying to innovate but as a small business owner, you're looking for stability and sustained profits. I've always thought of a small business owner as an entrepreneur but that's not necessarily the case, according to the readings.


2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.


The idea of corporate entrepreneurship is confusing to me. I get that anyone or anything can be entrepreneurial, but corporate entrepreneurship was presented in the context of an entrepreneurial community. Corporate and community don't seem to go together...


3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?


Are those the only entrepreneurial schools of thought? I feel like there could be more considering the wide reaching effects of entrepreneurship. Also, this may be addressed later in the course, or this might even be a stupid question, but what's the process of finding a root of an idea? How can you possibly "find" an idea when there are so many factors involved in looking for one?


4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?


I don't disagree with the author, but I think it is interesting that entrepreneurs are symbols of business achievement. The book said that 85% of startups fail, yet entrepreneurs are a symbol of success??? Successful entrepreneurs may be symbols of business achievements but then how do you measure success in business exactly? How many products sold? How long you hold out before closing down? Amazon didn't make a profit for 10 years yet they are considered successful. I think that entrepreneurs are idolized but the reality of a life devoted to entrepreneurship is often overlooked.

Bugs! Some of the things that annoy me in my daily life

Task: write 20 things that bug you in your everyday life. AKA complain. Go. Oh, and why they exist.

1. The house I moved into this past July is not airtight and, with the constant humidity of Florida, some clothes, shoes, and possessions in my room and downstairs have mold on them.
• Why does this exist?
• Because Florida is super humid and my house is very old, isn't sealed correctly, and we don't have central AC so there isn't any force that dries out the house.
2. I am bugged when I come home after working or being school all day to find a pile of dirty dishes in the sink that could have easily been put in the dishwasher.
• Why does this exist?
• Because other people have busy lives too and sometimes dishes are the last thing on their mind. Or maybe they're lazy and put things off.
3. Driving on Archer road during rush hour is the worst! Around 5 pm, if I ever need anything on Archer, I know I have to schedule in at least half an hour for the simplest trip.
• Why does this exist?
• Because everyone gets off work at 5 pm, usually, and Archer has all the supermarkets and stores, so people head to Archer to do all the things they can't do during the day because they're at work.
4. I am very bugged when Professors set up a class, claim to explain everything in the syllabus, and then don't explain something as crucial as whether or not I have to show up for class or whether it's a recorded lecture. Yes, you went over the entire grading scheme and required textbooks, but do I have to physically be there every day or do I mainly watch the lectures from home?
• Why does this exist?
• Maybe because the professor thinks that they're being clear with the structure of the course and I'm not looking in the right places for the answer. Or maybe because the Professor is viewing the course from a different perspective then I am and thus they miss what I think is crucial.
5. I am bugged when I can tell that my roommate is mad at me for something because her demeanor changes when I walk into the room but she never says anything about it to me, and thus I never know what I did wrong or how I can fix it.
• Why does this exist?
• Because some people avoid confrontation and would rather not talk about things that they don't feel are important but that still bothers them. 
6. Coming downstairs in my house and seeing that the kitchen, or any room in the house, has been rearranged without consulting or telling me. Not a big deal but annoying at any rate because I can't find stuff like I could before.
• Why does this exist?
• Because my roommates and I live according to different schedules and what seems like the right time to rearrange things for one person may be the wrong time for others. And maybe because the new arrangement is better suited for the person who arranged it.
7. My house has gas heaters located in the living room and dining room but our house, according to GRU, has no gas hookup.
• Why does this exist?
• Because either my landlord or GRU are lying about the gas hookup. Or lack there of.
8. I am "bugged" by the corruption apparent within the political and economic systems of the US seeming and how detached from the law they seem to be. It feels as if any change enacted within the current system is only a drop in the bucket and doesn't actually change the overall corrupt nature of the system.
• Why does this exist?
• Because those with power depend on maintaining the quid pro quo and thus will do anything to protect their own power, even to the point of complete corruption and harm of the people that they are meant to protect.
9. I hate forgetting things at home when I head back to school. In particular, when I forget my laptop charger, everything becomes harder.
• Why does this exist?
• Because I am forgetful and the only things I bring home are things that I essentially rely on.
10. When my beautiful, beloved hybrid bicycle gets stolen off my front porch during the night, I am very sad.
• Why does this exist?
• Because I purchased a cheap lock and had not realized how valuable my bicycle was until I researched the type and model after it was stolen. And because I live in a high-crime area (because I'm cheap.)
11. I'm bugged when I go the doctor with an injury and I speak to the nurses for awhile but the actual doctor sees me for less then 3 minutes and then ushers me out. I end up with a lot of questions after the fact and no one who can answer them without setting up another appointment that my insurance won't cover.
• Why does this exist?
• Because doctors are busy people??? Or maybe because medicine is a business that makes money off of overloading patients onto doctors, but actually nurses.
12. Getting face acne even though I religiously take care of my skin.
• Why does this exist?
• If I knew the answer to this, I wouldn't have this problem.
13. Something that really bugs me is when the internet in my old, decrepit house works on the half of my room, where me bed is, but doesn't work in the half of my room, where my desk is. Makes doing homework reallllyyyyyy annoying.
• Why does this exist?
• Because my house is old and Cox sucks, well... you know.
14. Formal education teaching children and adults how to memorize and take tests but not how to analyze, think, and ask questions. That really bugs me.
• Why does this exist?
• Because the education system is designed to produce disciplined workers for tasks that don't require thought, as a result of corporations funding schools during the industrial revolution in the US.
15. I am bugged when good, smart people die from addiction.
• Why?
• Because we live in a messed up world.
16. When I get dressed up real fancy-like and I go out and the night sucks and I come home and get Checkers and an entire outfit is wasted on a lame night.
• Why?
• Because there is no guarantee for fun. You must make the fun happen or, if you're not in the mood to do that, get Checkers.
17. When my friends take forever to get ready and I have no idea when their coming over and they seem incapable of answering their phones.
• Why does this exist?
• Because when you're getting ready to go out, there is usually alcohol involved. That's really the explanation in itself.
18. I hate when a cute pair of underwear gets ruined because of your period :(
• Why does this occur?
• Because mother nature is a bitch and being a girl means a life time of gore.
19. When guys catcall you from cars when you're just walking down the street, doing you.
• Why does this occur?
• THE PATRIARCHY. And men feeling so entitled to their own self worth that they're willing to put down another human being and make them feel uncomfortable when they're just walking down the road. Catcalling is terrible and anyone that does it needs to realize that.
20. Last one, I am bugged when I can't remember people's names. Which is often...
• Why does this exist?
• I've been trying to answer that for a long time. Some times I hear someones name and then remember a completely different one. Once I even introduced myself by my friends name. She was very confused. So was I. Names are so powerful and, for the life of me, I can't remember then. 

This exercise wasn't actually as hard as I thought it was going to be. The first few were easy and then I hit 5 and I thought I had exhausted all of my complaints. Suddenly, I started to think on a macro-level. What made me REALLY bugged? The state of the economy? Nah, we'r actually in a very good place considering how far down the rabbit hole we were in 2008. How about corruption in politics? Now that is something I get bugged about. Also men thinking that feminism is something to be fought against. Makeup bugs me. Roommates bug me. My shitty, old house bugs me. Being sick bugs me. Getting my haircut bugs me (they always comb my ears!!!). So, in conclusion, I could complain till the cows came home. But, I could also solve my problems if I wanted to.

My Entrepreneurship Story

Alrighty, so now for the required stuff. My entrepreneurship story. It all began on Craigslist a long, long time ago...

April 28th 2015. There I was, killing time on the internet till my part-time gig at the Tax Collector's Office, aka the DMV, was up for the day. I was browsing the job listings, not because I needed a new job but because I was bored out of my mind and had already paged through all the "free" stuff.

After several weeks of mindless searching, I came upon it: an ad for a part-time job as an internet marketer, paying $12 an hour. Now, I was making $8.75 giving people tickets so they could wait to see someone that actually knew what they were talking about, so this new job sounded pretty great.

Fast-forwarding a bit... Always a few minutes late, I nervously rush up the hardwood stairs of an old brick building I had always admired from afar. I get to the top. The door opens to reveal a room sparsely populated by smart-looking 20 somethings engrossed in their computers. Tables sporting over-sized computer monitors and bookish desk lamps line the brick walls dotted with exclamations of the inhabitants' occupations. The "Gainesville Scene" banner and the chalk-drawn "Starter Space" wall, featuring a winding tree of mantras and encouragement, stand out to me.

I didn't know it at the time, but this neat little work space was to be my home for the next four months as I learned, and attempted to apply, the art of SEO link building. While I eventually quit this job so as to focus on my studies and my own entrepreneurial endeavors, my time as a Brand Manager at Hyperlynx Media gave me my first brush with startups. And, as so often happens, I was hooked.

From there, I joined the Entrepreneurship Club at UF and am currently the Director of the Entrepreneurship Development Program. And now here I am, taking the Principles of Entrepreneurship for my minor in, you guessed it, Entrepreneurship. Also taking the class because I am genuinely interested in what it can teach me. Already my idea that entrepreneurship was one of those things certain people are born good at has changed to a better understanding of entrepreneurship as a discipline, with general processes that can be learned.

As for that picture, this is the old "Starter Space" tree I mentioned, alongside the new Starter Space mural in Innovation Hall:

Starter Space, Gainesville, FL

Starter Space 2.0, Gainesville, FL

Necessary Explanation

To my invisible followers,

Now that you know more about me, I wanted to explain a few things. This blog was not started out of my own volition. I didn't wake up one muggy Florida morning with a burning desire to write about myself and topics related to entrepreneurship. Instead, I signed up for Principles of Entrepreneurship this spring semester and, low and behold, this class required me to have a blog. 

Now, I've never thought blogging was worth my time, personally. No offense meant to any of the serious bloggers out there, it just wasn't for me. The same way spinach, lacrosse, and Ronald Reagan just don't do it for me. I don't hate any of the aforementioned things. I'm ambivalent about them. Same way I am about blogging. Strange thing happened when I started this endeavor, though... I liked it. I like blogging. It's like a public diary that no one gives a shit about where I can rant and rave and be sarcastic. It's quite fun. It's something to look forward to, to keep up with. Like a virtual pet that won't actually die if I forget to feed it with words and videos of cats.

To wrap things up, I'm doing this for a class, but I'm going to try and keep it up. I'm pretty bad with follow through so we shall see if that actually happens. Regardless, I'm enjoying myself. Maybe all you invisible millions devouring every word I profess like what I'm doing too. Small dreams, futile hopes. They keep you going.

Let me Introduce you to me: The Introduction

So hello there. As you can tell by the url in your address box, my name is Cassandra, Cassie for short, and this is my blog. Welcome! I've never taken blogging seriously before. We'll see if that trend continues.

Here's a little bit about me: I'm 5'5 and some unknown amount of weight. I enjoy short walks to punk shows, banal conversation, and not holding hands. (The last one's a lie.) Seriously though, I'm studying political science with minor studies in business administration and entrepreneurship at the University of Florida. I hail from the happenin' town of Jupiter, Florida, which is about an hour and half North of Miami for all you Northerners. And Floridians, Florida is surprisingly massive. And no, getting to Jupiter does not require knowledge of the solar system. That joke wasn't funny when I was 12, it isn't funny now.

Uhhhhh, my family has saltwater in their blood—other than my mom, she's from Jersey. Jupiter is a rich little beach town on the East coast of Florida. It used to be nothing but swamps, mangroves, and brush till developers drained the land and the mansions popped up. I hated my home town—till I left it. Now I go back just to cruise up the winding canals and rivers in my brother's dingy. My bro is the real water baby. He's got a trident tattoo on one arm and a sunrise on the other. He's my hero. As for me, I got some tats (good segway, right?). Here's one of em:

And here's one of my brother's tats:

His is what I loosely called a sunrise. The idea for mine comes from my favorite musician, Pat the bunny... get it? Anyways, my tattoos, all the ones I have and all the ones I will one day get, are apart of me. So now you know more about me, comment if you want me to know more about you!

The Entrepreneur's Mantra

"I am an Entrepreneur"

Testing, testing, 123

Hello world,

I have arrived.