10A: Out of Africa Home Watch Tech Elevator Pitch

Hook

Home watchers should be spending more time doing what's important- making sure that the resident's home is in order while they're gone

Problem

Home watchers can spend hours preparing checklists and writing and compiling notes into an email to send to customers so that  they can look as thorough, professional and transparent about their services as possible when billing time comes around. This is no way to scale your business if you are serious about doing home watch- you will eventually run out of hours in the day. What if you could save that 2-3 hours you would have spent writing what you did-- and instead see more houses- earn more money? What if all your home watch information could be stored and sent to customers from one place?

Solution

This is where Out of Africa Home Watch Tech comes in. You can either use our ever-expanding database of preformatted checklists or make checklists of your own. Upload pictures of the house you’re at with the push of a button, type out your notes and have them stored by the visit or by the month, and create invoices seamlessly with this all in one software.

Hit email button to transform your checklist, pictures, and notes into a professionally formatted email that stands out, company logo and all, and send it out to customers.

If there are any problems at the house you're watching, press the contractor button to find the local solution.

District your home watch locations so you can save travel time. Open your calendar so you can easily see your customer visits laid out by date. Want to look back on what you did last month? Last year? No Problem, Out of Africa Home Watch Tech stores all your checklists, notes, and pictures in a low-data-usage archive. All this at a low monthly fee of $55

Stay ahead of your competition by being the most professional, detailed-oriented, and transparent home watcher around.

Next Step/implementation

If you're interested, check out our website. We'll get you started with in-depth setup guide and if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call or email.

9A: Home Watch Software

Inside the boundary
Who: Home Watchers with high volume of clients

What: Detail-oriented, professional, efficiency (avoiding double-entry), proof of work

Why: The software helps to maintain the trust in the home watcher-client relationship. Home watchers are in charge of keeping most people's largest investment in order- their home

Outside the boundary
Who: The software available is not replaceable by self-made checklists 

What: People who do home watch for few clients may not need the software 

Why: People do not use the software simply because they can't make their own checklists, it is the other features (geofencing, invoicing, all-in-one reporting) of the software that make it worth buying

Interviews

Middle Aged Woman with around 100 Home Watch Clients

• I used to do paper reporting, but then I purchased the electronic system- homewatchsofware.com- I did some research because I was doing lots of paperwork at end of day- about an hour or more
• Lots of higher end clients are expecting it home watch software competitors use the software- you are able to communicate what you did better by using it and easier invoicing
• Which clients want to see the use of home watch software: All varieties of people- less high-end clients appreciate the transparency and communication, higher-end clients require it

Middle Aged man with a few local home watch clients

• If you move back and forth from Florida to Georgia its lot cheaper for someone to get a home watcher than any security system you could buy- there's no way of knowing how your house is, people have alarm systems but want someone to checking. Checklists are printed based on personal preference and based on the house, I don't use software. People don't need software here.
• Reflection: Likely only necessary to have software in areas with high volume of snowbirds coming in and out who need their houses to be watched. Local home watchers in Georgia do not have much competition and have no need for anything other than a printable checklist 

President of National Home Watch Association

• The National Home Watch Association recommends all software that is easy to use and  that includes billing, reporting, and prevents double entry. I personally recommend Home watch IT. I saw HWSoft- Not all that impressed. QRID is okay for 1-2 customers but after that it's exponentially expensive
• Who else could use home watch software: Cleaning services, any service type industry
• What is the return on investment for home watch software: employee time, increased productivity of employees, less paperwork, save double entry of re-typing all information in accounting systems
• There's lots of home watch software out there already
• Reflection: Don't waste the time of a president unless you have very specific questions that could only be answered by an extremely experienced and aware professional

President of "Your Home Watch Professionals"

• Is there anyone who doesn't need home watch software: Everyone in this industry needs it. The most important part of home watch is documentation. Home watchers need proof of visits otherwise there can be legal repercussions or insurance denial. I used to spend 3-5 hours per week after write it all out in work emails and spreadsheets with an assistant, now go through checklists and when we leave we're done 
• What other aspects of the home watch software are most beneficial- is it looking professional, efficient, and what is it not for:All that, but documentation is key- checklist will save you- saves from making mistake, even I can make mistakes, prevents you from forgetting and making mistakes, people forget, systems don’t forget 
• What is the general demographic of home watch clients: There is a financial and age demographic. Baby boomers with expendable income- age 55+ but there are also plenty of millennials who need the service as well. Anyone with second or third home 
• Software needed in Areas with high volume of people leaving their houses

7A- Food on the University of Florida Campus

There is a lack of variety regarding cheap and healthy food available on the University of Florida Campus because of the logistical challenges of getting the food there as well as the University's red tape around food service.

Testing the Who:
The main consumers of food on campus are students and faculty which was quite obvious, but I also realized older people visiting professors, alumni visiting campus, and visiting parents of students are also potential customers for a food service business on campus as I found out after interviewing five students. The food served on campus would probably not reach the broader public.

Redefining What
It seems that an untapped market is of the audience looking for more healthy and diverse food options. One gentleman I asked said that there seemed to be only greasy or non-healthy foods on campus other than subway and so he eats there most of the time. Another student said that all the food on campus was so Americanized and she would like to see more food from different cultures as they would taste in the country of origin. The students I asked said they were willing to spend $6-7 on a normal sized portion of food on campus but would prefer something priced similarly to Krishna lunch which costs $5 for a meal.One student brought to my attention the idea that there weren’t many breakfast places on campus and she would eat on campus if something was available other than the dining halls.

Redefining Why
Students are not particular about what they eat, and are willing to go to whatever food location is closest to their classes. Some go to Krishna Lunch, others go to Midtown Chipotle, or the many fast food restaurants in midtown.Most students eat on campus for lunch as they go in between classes because they need something to keep themselves going in between classes. Many students also don't want to cook after a long day of classes and just want something quick to eat before they go home. Alternatively, some students brought to my attention the idea that since there aren’t enough healthy options, they just make their own food and bring it to campus.

Reflection

I didn't realize how many students are craving healthy food options until I talked to them today. I selected the students I talked to quite randomly, yet all of them said they would like to see more healthy food when I asked the questions, "What do you think about the food available on campus? Are you satisfied or would you like to see something different?" Also, I found that the students were a lot more open about their experience were kind than I though they would have been. I expected it to be difficult to interview the five people but I feel more confident about doing it in the future now if I have more, other questions to ask. It also seemed that after I completed the interview, many students liked the idea of a food truck/cart.

8A- Jianbing Food Cart

There is only one public food vendor on the University of Florida campus that I know of, and that is Krishna Lunch. Students should not be limited to only one option for cheap cultural food they can buy outdoors. 

Students are otherwise limited to the University's many cafeterias, cafes and restaurants, but not every student wants to go to these establishments to eat because it costs too much time and money. In order to bring food diversity to campus that is still cheap, I will start driving a food cart to campus to selling Jianbings.

Jianbings are a popular street food in China that I had frequently while I was doing my internship in Beijing there this summer. I believe this meal can and should be brought to the UF campus, and I would like to try and distribute the Jianbings in the plaza of the Americas similar to how Krishna Lunch serves food from 11:00am to 1:30pm every day in the same location. I will sell them for $1 each so they will be cheap enough for anyone to buy and be big enough to fill people up after just buying just one. 

I will have to contact the university to get permission for this and I may not get the go ahead, but I would like to try regardless. In doing so, I may ask some of the Krishna staff how they got onto campus to serve their meals every afternoon.

[Photograph: Fiona Reilly]

6A –Economic & Regulatory Trends

1. Economic Trend: Increasing demand for eLearning in China
Source of Information: Sitting in on education company meeting between TCK EdTech and New Oriental
How I spotted it: While I was working my internship in China, I was constantly made aware of the lucrative industry by my boss who employed a Chinese education marketing expert, Maggie. I heard that New Oriental corporation would be interested in TCK's product if there were eLearning opportunities
Customer: Students in less developed areas of China without access to good schools or infrastructure, companies who are looking to purchase eLearning services
Level of Difficulty: Difficult because we would have to develop technology which would allow us to distribute the educational content and to market the school system to schools. It is easy because the curriculum is out there already, just need to fit to our system
Why I thought about this opportunity: My boss's passion about the potential of the business spreading across China and being unique for its simultaneous entertainment and educational opportunity spread to me. I also talked to the marketing expert, Maggie and she seemed to know the potential of the opportunity.

2. Economic Trend: Hurricane Florence approaching South Carolina and there is a food shortage
Source of Information: I found the opportunity of a food shortage when doing research on local opportunities in South Carolina for Assignment 5.
How I spotted it: I remembered Dr. Pryor's example about students driving up to Texas to sell generators when a hurricane hit that area. Since Florence is approaching I suspected that there would be food and water shortages in the area as people prepare for the hurricane. Because of the food shortages, I may be able to water bottles and can food in bulk to people in SC and NC.
Customer: People in the path of hurricane Florence who haven’t yet stocked up on resources, are in flood zones where their food sources will get damaged, outside the metropolitan area
Level of Difficulty: The opportunity is relatively easy, I just need to find people willing to buy food or water at a higher than normal price, I would have to contact shipping and food supply companies to buy and ship goods to the areas affected by Florence. I would have to make an investment of purchasing all the food items
Why I thought about this opportunity: I thought it was very clever of the students in Dr. Pryor's example of selling generators to a hurricane effected area and thought I might try to replicate that practice one day after a natural disaster affects an area

3. Regulatory trend- Energy infrastructure increase from Mexico and USA encouraged
Source of Information: Deloitte referencing North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)
How I spotted it: Regulatory body NERC wants require an increasing number of electrical grid connections between developing Mexican electrical grid and USA. This likely means they will need more electricians to work to connect the electrical grids, and they may be willing to hire third party contractors to do the work.
Customer: Electricity companies who are hiring third party contractors between the USA and Mexico, Mexican electricity companies hiring electricians, electricity companies if they are lacking in employees
Level of Difficulty: Challenging- I know nothing about electrical industry and I would have to hire USA and Mexican electricians, and then contact and hope to receive third party contract from electricity companies between the USA and Mexico and probably have sort of transnational agreement worked out. I would have to hire at least one electrician expert, and then have him train some students out of electrician trade school
Why I thought about this opportunity: I know electricians such as my friends father who runs a business. My father also does some electrical work
Additional Info: https://www.energy.gov/policy/articles/increasing-electricity-cooperation-north-america

4. Regulatory Trend: Tariffs placed on Chinese goods
Source of Information: New York Times and Wall Street Journal articles about the goods effected by US Tariffs placed on Chinese goods
How I spotted it: The prices of telecommunication devices from China is becoming more expensive and companies who need the electrical equipment in the USA will be searching for cheaper electrical equipment providers besides China or are frustrated with the tariffs the USA is placing on China
Customer: Companies looking for cheap telecommunication equipment, individuals who are searching for cheap telecommunication equipment
Level of Difficulty: Difficult- I would have to either find and communicate with telecommunication equipment providers in India or other less developed nations to import their products or find a cost-effective way to produce telecommunication equipment in America
Why I thought about this opportunity: Reading the news every day, I see how many different industries have been affected by the US-China trade war, especially technology/electronics. I thought that a telecom equipment company might be lucrative because one of the ladies I worked at a restaurant with, Brook, mentioned that her father started a telecom company in America and is a millionaire now for his work

Assignment 5 – Identifying Local Opportunities

1. High waters might pose some big problems - Hidden docks, wakes risk to boaters, property
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3AORLB%21Orlando%2BSentinel%252C%2BThe%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0912%21September%2B12&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E63B57E914C4F8

• What is the issue? Orlando is facing historically high rainfall records which is resulting in submerging boating docks. Boaters may run into submerged docks. Increased likelihood of flooding increased potential housing damage.
• Who is effected? Home owners in low elevation, state government financing protection, home insurance companies

2. Tight rental market makes it difficult to find willing landlords
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ACOSB%21State%252C%2BThe%2B%2528Columbia%252C%2BSC%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0910%21September%2B10&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E58E20FB4AFC50

• What is the issue? South Carolina judge institutes subsidized housing through “Housing Choice” Vouchers to homeless, but landlords are not accepting vouchers in favor of self-paying renters because to accept vouchers may harm property value. Vouchers would require housing to be regularly inspected, adds unwanted regulation
• Who is effected? Homeless who cannot afford to pay for housing in NC, landlords who don’t want people to leave because they house homeless people, local courts who have to deal with landlords not accepting the vouchers

3. Shaky dams haven’t been repaired since 2015 flood. Now Florence is coming.
https://www.thestate.com/news/state/south-carolina/article218183890.html

• What is the issue? South Carolina has a weakening dam infrastructure and in the path of some of these dams are major roads, residential complexes and schools. As hurricane Florence approaches, locals worry the dams will collapse. The dams need repairs, but there is an issue finding the $300,000 it would cost to repair. The state has a low number of dam inspectors and minimal dam regulations because of farmer backlash against red tape
• Who is effected? Farmers who don’t want more dam regulations, residents in path of dam water if breaks during hurricane Florence, SC state officials who have to pay for social reparations if houses/roads/schools are destroyed/damaged, insurance companies who may have to pay for damages of people near dams

4. TIME, RED TIDE WAIT FOR NO ONE
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ASPTB%21Tampa%2BBay%2BTimes%2B%2528FL%2529/year%3A2018%212018/mody%3A0912%21September%2B12&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/16E64CDCE375A300

• What is the issue? Record breaking red tide algal bloom Tampa is killing fish beaches, and the county is looking for business solutions to stop tourism-harming dead fish. Some companies are hauling away and shredding dead fish, others propose to bury them. The county is working with EPA who was given a grant to pay for cleanup costs
• Who is effected? Tourists near western Florida beaches, property owners near west Florida beaches looking to sell, county and state governments losing tourist revenue and allocate Federal government's EPA capital to solutions, runners in the upcoming midterm elections in Florida, environmentalists working to overcome the red tide, people working in real estate and tourism industries near west-Florida beaches.

5. Plenty of rain, plenty of mosquitoes, and more related illness
https://www.gainesville.com/sports/20180911/plenty-of-rain-plenty-of-mosquitoes-and-more-related-illness

• What is the issue? Gainesville is facing higher risks of illness due to wet weather conditions. EEEV spreading to livestock and locals from mosquito bites, paper recommends use of insect repellents to prevent disease transmission
• Who is effected? People bit by mosquitoes in Gainesville, farmers who own livestock which are getting sick with EEEV, people who get EEEV from mosquitoes, bug repellent providers in Gainesville, Bug net providers

Assignment 2- Bug List

Problems in the World and Why

1. Being indecisive at the grocery store
1. WHY? I am either comparing prices and looking to see if I am missing anything I didn't think of, or am looking for alternative products from what I normally buy because I like to try variety. One of the new products I try may be better than the one I currently use and I may get more satisfaction out of using it.
2. Spending time rotating all the beer cans to face forward in the coolers in the football stadium's sky-boxes
1. WHY? The company I work for is paid by advertisers to display their product. Advertisers want customers to be able to see the labels of the beers when they are buying drinks
3. Feeling as if I can't do anything valuable before the start of work as it approaches the time that I have to be there
1. WHY? Many of the activities I do that I see value in take chunks of time to do. When I don't have time to allocate to do these activities I 
4. A student damaged my motorcycle when it was parked in the lot behind Murphree Hall and I am not able to hold anyone responsible because I didn't see who did it
1. WHY? People can be careless and may damage other people's property accidentally. Once they have damaged someone's vehicle and they know no one saw them, they may not want to be held responsible for their mistake.
5. Getting wet when I have to ride my motorcycle to work on rainy days
1. WHY? The waterproof motorcycle jacket I have is too hot to want to wear when riding short distances and too cumbersome to transport after having taken it off waterproof pants let water in
6. Having too few drinking cups so that I have to hand wash them
1. WHY? It would be a waste of water to putting them in for the auto-dish washing cycle before the washer is full
7. Having to wait for people to respond before doing any more work for a project
1. WHY? People don't see messages or do not respond to them and I feel it would not help or be awkward to continually message or remind them
8. Knees hurt after sitting for too long
1. WHY? Knee tissues get irritated by being in a 90 degree position for too long because they are put under forward pressure by the bend of the knee
9. Getting distracted and doing something without an objective in mind and end up accomplishing nothing or wasting time
1. WHY? I want to do something productive so I look at material that could lead to an objective if I think about what I want to do with the material. However, I naturally avoid putting in the effort to do the work required, so I don't search for objectives in the first place and end up wasting time
10. No worked out solutions for math homework problems in MAC2234: Survey of Calculus 2 makes it more difficult to learn.
1. WHY? Some students avoid learning the material and copy down the solutions to get the points for homework completion. It requires more effort for a professor to write out the process that leads to the solution to every problem that is given
11. Having difficulty focusing when sitting across from someone when doing work
1. WHY? Humans are biologically wired to notice where other people's eyes are looking to understand their motive or aim. When a person is facing in your direction you tend to pay more attention to them, often unconsciously, because your body is telling you that the other person has their attention on you.
12. Not having access to or not knowing about all the resources that would lead to my success after college
1. WHY? I am not aware of any central location that describes all the different components of my college and university and have not taken the time to look for one. Otherwise, I feel that researching and contacting each of the university's facilities would take too much time.
13. Feeling as if I haven't done enough work at the beginning of the school year when there is not much work to be done
1. WHY? It takes time and effort to get used to a new system and I like to familiarize myself with the system by actively working with it. However, college starts slow to ease people into the content.
14. Florida has closed primary voting system and I cannot vote for both democrats and republicans.
1. WHY? State Legislatures are in charge of selecting the voting type (open, closed, blanket) for the primaries. Political parties don't want to pay for ballots where people can vote for the other party because there is no perceivable benefit to them. The federal government can't act on it because political parties are not mentioned in the constitution
15. It is extremely challenging for a third party candidates to win elections in Florida
1. WHY? In a closed primary system, the most recognizable parties are frequently the only ones present in elections. Smaller political parties do not have as large of presence in regards to name recognition/policies and do not have access to the same high level of resources that the larger ones do to advertise themselves
16. Finishing a Financial Accounting assignment halfway and not having the reward of full accomplishment
1. WHY? The brain does not function as well after around 45-60 minutes and I have to take a break to stay efficient. Sometimes this break stretches for longer than it should because I end up doing something else more interesting/engaging
17. It is inconvenient to run with a water bottle in my hand because the water sloshes around in the bottle and this upsets my balance
1. WHY? It is necessary to stay hydrated when doing high-intensity exercise but once you drink out of a water bottle, air often replaces the space where the water was. This air allows the water to move freely around the bottle. As the water bottle moves up and down with the arm that is holding it while running, the water sloshes against the sides of the bottle and there is a force in the direction it hits.
18. Inefficient executive board meetings for student organization
1. WHY? Time is wasted because people are unclear on objectives on the meeting and there is no set clear cut process for how to go about the meetings most effectively.
19. Having to work a mind-numbing job warehouse stocking as a college student
1. WHY? There is a lack of mechanical automation in many manual labor jobs and thus people are required to do the jobs. Many corporate and more sophisticated jobs require more effort to find, a specialized knowledge of a task, experience doing something, or require a college degree. Since many college students are lacking in these competencies or will not spend the time searching for the few thinking jobs available, they end up working simple, unskilled/low skilled labor jobs.
20. No water fountains nearby me when I am driving around the Ben Hill Griffin stadium, restocking concession stands as a member of the warehouse staff
1. WHY? Water fountains are often not nearby concession stands because that would detract from the sale of water bottles at the concession stands. 

Reflection
I didn't find the list too difficult to write because there are lots of problems I see in the world. I understand why these problems exist, but I don't always know what to do about these problems I see or if anything should be done about them. My biggest issue was that I kept thinking to myself- how could this problem be solved before I wrote that it was a problem. I have a tendency to ignore the problems that I feel are too large for me to conquer

Assignment 4A- Home Watch Opportunity Belief

Describe the Problem
One of my father's friends has a wife, Dianne, who does home watch. She would take hours writing out all her notes and observations of the state of the house she was checking and then would type it out when got home so she could send email reports to her customers. She has been running this business for quite a while and it surprises me that she has not found a more efficient way of doing home watch. My dad ended up creating a software for her to use to create check list templates for each of her customers so that she doesn't have to spend so much time writing out all the notes of what she checked. It seems obvious that people should have check lists for each house that they can just print out instead of writing the same detailed notes every time, but many people may not be aware of their inefficiency such as Dianne. I know there are other home watchers who use a software called QRIDit to create templates so they don't have to spend so much time writing out reports to their customers, but I am about 60% sure that there is still room in the market because QRIDit is quite expensive.

Ask 3 different people (who are facing the problem) questions:
1. Middle aged man from Sebring, Florida
Do you often feel you spend too long writing down all the components of the house you are checking?

• Not really, I have a checklist that I go through, fitted to each customer. If something goes wrong that’s not on the checklist I make notes. 
• Each list customized- some want me to turn washer on, others to recharge their golf cart battery 

How long did you have this problem before you did something about it? Do you still have this problem? How are you addressing this need now?- AKA- Template/checklist.

• The first year I tumbled through, but after that I joined the National Home Watch Association- they taught me, once I was certified, all sorts of things. I used the questions they asked for the certification in creating my checklists 

Are you satisfied with this method?- Are you looking for a new one?

• Yes, I tweak it as I go along, if the list is missing anything or if a customer asks me to do something new, I add to the checklists 

Reflect- Most people who are certified with the National Home Watch Association may already have checklists in place

2. Woman in her 60s from Palm City, Florida- Certified with National Home Watch Association
Do you often feel you spend too long writing down all the components of the house you are checking?

• It usually takes about an hour but that varies depending on the size of the house- but writing down what I see is no problem. 

How long did you have this problem before you did something about it? Do you still have this problem? How are you addressing this need now?- AKA- Template/checklist.

• I didn't have I got QRIDit immediately upon starting my home watch business. I use that checklist and it has a GPS service as well 

Are you satisfied with this method?- Are you looking for a new one?

• I am very satisfied with QRIDit 

3. Woman in her 60s from Hypoluxo, Florida- Certified with National Home Watch Association
Do you often feel you spend too long writing down all the components of the house you are checking?

• I work with a program, most of the time I spend at a house is actually just me looking around it 

How long did you have this problem before you did something about it? Do you still have this problem? How are you addressing this need now?- AKA- Template/checklist.

• When I started my home watch business, my first customer asked what program I used- to show everything I looked at you know- I didn't even know there were programs! So I looked online and found a program called Iauditor and created some check lists. When I got to my next customer I was so proud, I had my list all printed out 
• With IAuditor I can just create a templates and I send pictures and add things 

Are you satisfied with this method?- Are you looking for a new one?

• I'm comfortable with I'm using but I am interested in seeing what is out there. I looked at QRIDit but it is pretty pricey. If you're creating anything, I'd be interested to see it. 

Reflection:
It seems that home watchers only have the problem of of taking too long to record their notes as they are starting their businesses- a relatively short window of opportunity. Home watchers soon look online for a solution or hear about programs from customers and others in the National Home Watch Association. Each of the people I talked to had a different solution to the same problem- one creates his own checklists and two use software which format these lists for them. Software solutions include QRIDit and IAuditor. I was surprised to hear how kind and open one of the home watch ladies was to me, suggesting that she was open to new ways of organizing the information she has for each home she checks when doing home watch if I had a solution. After the first two interviews I was sure that there was no opportunity at all.

Summary:

I realize that the market I am shooting for is much smaller that I had originally thought. Only people who are just starting a home watch business will run into the problem of not having a checklist or software in to hasten the reporting stage of their work- this narrows the focus of my opportunity. I now would have a better idea of my target market if I were to be providing a good or service to remedy the problem.

I believe that often a product can stay true to its core purpose, and still be adjusted to a different market or to serve different purposes than was originally intended. If it is a trend that people want a certain product with features that are similar to or can branch off of  the core idea of the thing, I see nothing wrong with adapting the product to the markets desires a little to make them more likely to buy it, it is necessary in fact if you want to sell at all.