rivacunado26-blog

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am gonna wait till the flowers bloom again :3

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BLOG`SIXTEEN

Before AcaDen was build, our team faces a lot of trials. We proposed 3 ventures first but all of them got rejected. We brainstormed, talked about the possibilities and do some interviews before finally we proposed AcaDen as our venture before we finally got an approval to start from our instructor.

For next week is the start for our Finals before this semester ends, this week we had our final pitching. I can say, it went somewhat okay? Well I'm proud of my team, even if we only have a short time to make our venture we was able to make it on time. Thank God. During our pitch, one of the judges asked as about the plan for database. Since our system will have a chat dorum and uploading/downloading files she asked as what database are we supposed to use?

Our team talked about using a large database but we still haven't thought how big would it be and what is that database. We kinda get a not so good reaction from that part,but fortunately we was able to answer most of the question. Thanks to Vanessa who did the final pitching, job well done.

From the beginning our team have always believe that we will make it out alive. Thanks to our hacker who really did her best to do our website. Technoreneurship will take a lot of effort, time and determination. It may be tiring but it will became bearable as long as you're with the team. Hard work will be a demand from us but that will not stop us from success. God bless us.

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BLOG`FIFTEEN

A week before our final pitching. On tuesday our instructor asked us for our venture's update. Thankfully last week we were able to talked with the principal of Fisher Valley Academy. We asked about his opinion on our website and we asked him if there are things we need to change or improved. He did say some suggestions and opinions.

Last week we already uploaded the landing page for our product. In the landing page that we uploaded a user can asked for a demo and to know more about how our product or website use. And for our website our hacker is currently finalizing all the datas and make some changes as the school proncipal of fisher valley asked.

On thursday we had our draft for the final pitching. There are some datas that change from our pitching last midterm exam. The datas we had changes after more validations we had and lots of interviews. Vanessa and me will do the final pitching, we are kinda nervous but hopefully we could do it properly.

Regardless of the plans, it all comes down to execution. What’s the use of planning if there were no actions done. Final pitching is fast approaching, thankfully we was able to do the things that we arranged on our milestones on time. Milestones is a big help for our group, it reminds us or it became a finishing line for us each week that we need to reach in order to proceed to the next level. And because of it we were able to make our venture on time.

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👏 👏 👏

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BLOG`14

This week we finalized our product orwebsite since we will be launching it. We gathered data, the possible outcomes or something that we need to change before launching it. Thanks to our programming that our team was able to make our website happen.

About the design of our website, we conduct a survey to our possible users which is the senior high school for us to know or for us to be able to make a draft so that we could start our website. After a lot of brainstorming and sharing of ideas we was able to decide on what to do. We aim to make a user friendly or easy to use website where students can help each other to excel in there studies.  

Our Instructor once told us about how description may vary from one another. You may say or think something like this but the one you're talking may think or imagine another design or output. So things would be better if you can show your venture or output or design physically to the user. So even if we are short on time, we aim to fully or completely make our website before  or during the launching week.

We aim that this product could be a big help towards the life of every students. Technological Entrepreneurship, shows me that making a startup is never easy. It may sound like it does, but as you start to make one or to  make your own startup, during the process you will learn a lot of things. Hard times will get harder, it's a really really really bumpy road before you can see the finish line.

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BLOG`THIRTEEN

Last tuesday we presented our updates about our venture. The feedbacks we got from our costumer and what is the current state of our venture. And on thursday our instructor tells us about the Bullseye Framework: Applying Traction Method. It teach us how to make a traction in a effective and at the same time in a cheap way.

We brainstorm and we write down the ideas of how we should do our channel or how we could use it. The probability of our idea, the expected cost, the customer we expect to acquire at the cost and the time frame needed to run the test. And because we are kinda short of time right now, we need to think of something or the best way to do.

This week our group is close to finishing the website that we will be using for our venture. Thanks to our group's hacker. We hope to finish this even though it is a tough week for us every week with other projects going on. The main part of our is already functioning, we just need to do some things to make it better. Hopefully next week, we will be able to launch it. Since the customer prefer to see things or to see the actual product than leave them imagining on the description.

Even if we are doing a lot of projects now, we ought to finish everything on time. There may be a lot of struggle to face on and it will be exhausting, we got no choice but to do our best. We can be the best version of our self if we push ourselves harder, farther up to its limit.

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BLOG`TWELVE

Will the senior high school students like our venture or not? Will they thought it will be helpful or a useless product? Will they use it or they will just ignore it? These are the questions that came up to our minds during our technopreneurshp class when our instructor asked us about what would our user or customer feel when they will use or are they willing to use our product.

This week we conducted an interview to some of the senior high school students. We asked them about the questions we gathered or the questions we came up with during our meeting. So far, so good we have acquired or received a good feedbacks from them. There are some negative but not a total bad feedbcks.

Will they like it? most of them said yes, since they can benefit form it. Is it helpful? they said yes, and highlighted that specially at times when they will be really having a hard time understanding there lessons, it will be great if they could asked someone or there fellow students about it. Will they use it? most of them said yes, but some of them said no. They said no not because they don't like our venture but it's because they don't have a regular access to the internet.

Our team talked about the data we have gathered during or interviews. We talked and examined the feedbacks we got from our customer. We somewhat feel good for the outcome of our interview. Making your own startup is not a simple task. There are things you need to ask to verify in order to make it successful.

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Blog`Eleven

So we already asked some small private schools in CDO if they are willing to adapt or what is their opinion about our venture. They said it's good, it would be a big help for the students. So as we talked we also asked if ever they would implement it how should they do or in what way they would get the money to pay us. Then there they said that it will be added to the tuition fee. We notice that if it is added to the tuition fee, it will be put in a way that the parent's are the one who will be paying us if the school will use our venture.

So even if the school will agree to use our venture, and the parents is not willing to pay then possibly our venture will not be implemented. Are those parents are willing to pay for our venture? So to get an answer for this question, our group decided to asked some parents. We asked them, what if a school will agree and implement our venture in there school and the expenses for the payment of our venture will be added to the tuition fee, more or less it will cost 75 pesos per student, is it okay to them? or are they willing to pay?

We also also discuss our venture to them, at first they hesitated but when they understand our venture they say they will agree. Since there children will also benefit in our venture. Especially at times when there children is really having a hard time with there studies and they needed some help.

Connect and Excel. AcaDen, the startup we decided to build. Hopefully we will be able to finish this on time. We hope to finish this even though it is a tough week for us every week with other projects going on. Now, that we are getting closer to the end we are more eager than ever to finish it. It maybe a bumpy road, but it will not stop us from success!

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BLOG`TEN

One word that would describe our week --- 'exhausting'. Project here, project there, project everywhere! But where still striving to survive till the end, even though sometimes we think about giving up. For our technopreneurship there's nothing particular we did, we just continue on making progress for our website and some adjustments.

On Thursday our instructor discussed how Arram Sabeti became successful from selling scoops of ice cream to CEO of ZeroCater. Arram Sabeti is obsessed with 'Startup', to the point that he sell his own car to the Bay area. He thought that working at a job all his entire life is much worst possible outcome than to start his own startup. He has no talent and skills but still, he is determined to start his own company. He was hired in Justin.tv to test new releases of the site, managed job applicants and ordered lunch for the team. He is the one who arranged the meal, he makes trial and error until he meet the exact taste for each employee. Until the day he go to Dropbox and he notice that arranging meal is also a problem in that company. He goes around the city to asked if other companies consider this as a problem too and it does.

So Arrem resigned in Justin.tv and started ZeroCater. ZeroCater offers food catering, just using his MVP he earned half a million dollars already. As his customer got bigger his MVP cannot catch up with the billings. So he hired an IT and make him his co-founder. But at the time they already found an investor his co-founder quit. He thought that the investor might be gone also. The investor continue to invest because of traction, since Arrem's ZeroCater is already earning and has a lot of customer.

Arrem's story is inspiring. Even if you don't have the talent and skills, but as long as you are determined to do something you can probably do it.Achieving a goal without a struggle is nearly impossible. Every maze has a big-tall-wide wall that will block your sight to find the right way out. You may end up on a dead-end, but you can always go back, you'll learn about the choices you make, until you find the right way.

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Blog`Nine

AcaDen; Connect and Excel! This is the tagline of our venture. We would connect students through an academic website and to excel together by helping one another. Our presumption about if well established private school here in Cagayan De Oro are willing to use or buy our venture is not yet validated. Since this week is our midterm examination week we wasn't able to do our validation and interview.

For this week also we had our pitching for our venture. During our pitching we are a little nervous, we discuss about our target market, the validation we get from our interviews and we show the lo-fi of our products. Our venture just got approved last January 10, and thanks to our hacker she was able to make a lo-fi for just a short time, given for just a week and a day she was able to make 50% of our venture.

During our pitching we got a feedback from the judge about our way to get paid. She said why not make it 75 pesos for every student instead for letting the school pay a big amount directly? That we need to find a way to make them pay not too heavy for their budget. So after our pitching we decide to go to our instructor to get the letter we had him signed for us to use during our interview in the other schools. We also talked about our decision about the opinion or feedback we got during our pitching. We calculate, share our thoughts we compare the possibilities, and we see that we will still earn the same if we asked 75php per student. It's not that big amount for their part but still we will be earning the same.

Making a startup is joke or a game to play. We really need to swim in the ocean of people to get what is needed. People have different opinions and views about things, so you still need to find a common people who do the same routines everyday to find a common opinion or concerns, and then there maybe you can find a problem. Technopreneurship teach me that hard times gonna get harder, but you need not to give up when it's get harder just continue walking, since every maze there's always a way out. It takes time and effort to build a startup because success does not happen overnight.

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Blog`Eight

AcaDen is a website that shall help students, not only to boost their academics performance but also to help their social relationship with their fellow students by asking, helping and teaching each other. During our last meeting with our instructor, we had a presumption that, small schools or those schools that are not fully established or known yet, are willing to buy our system since it will help their students to excel more, and if their students will excel more, most probably their school will also bloom or acknowledged. But what about those well known school? are they also willing to take our system to their schools if they are already one of those school who are already well recognized?

So our team decided to validate our assumptions by interviewing a principal, Students affair director or the ICT director of the school. Last Thursday, we have gone to Capitol University, but unfortunately we was not able to get an interview because they asked for a letter that is address to their ICT director. We already have a letter but it is not directly address to their ICT Director. So we decided to rewrite our letter but, our instructor is not available that day. When we will go to COC, the outcome will still be the same since we didn't address the letter directly to that specific person. And as we go to Pilgrim Christian College, the principal is not around since she is having a meeting at the moment. So we decided to leave the letter at her secretly and the secretary told us to just be back by 1 in the afternoon.

We decided to move our plan to interview CU and COC next week since we still need our instructor's signature and he is currently not available. For Pilgrim Christian College, we still haven't know if the principal will approved our letter but we're still hoping for something good to happen that day so we decided to go back in the afternoon. Luckily we was able to conduct our interview, we give them a brief functions of our systems or what are the things it could do. We talked about their concerns and opinions for our system. They said that the idea is good and we should continue doing it. And we asked them if how should they process for the payment, they answered that it will be added to the school miscellaneous fees. Are the parents will be willing to pay? The principal answered us, that also as a parent I will not hesitate to pay for something that would benefit my children.

The answer of the principal about the parents willing to pay, is still an opinion. Our team decided that asking some parents will be our next milestone to clarify if they are really willing to pay or not. This week we learned that in a school parents are the who are paying for their systems or any equipment that are used by the student. Also we learn how important patience is, cause if you don't know how to wait you will never get an answer. 

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Blog`Seven

After how many days, weeks, months finally! our venture is approved. Every single thing is not easy. We almost lost our hope last December when our proposed venture is not approved, but we need not to give up. This is also for us, for our future. We go back from the start, to our first proposal an "Enrollment System". Since we already have WELA as our competitor we need to think or do something that they don't have. So we gather data and search for the possible problem that we might find. During the time we are searching for problems,  we notice students posting on the school official websites asking for help or questions regarding to their subjects or projects. And unfortunately some of the post are  completely covered by the recent post.

So our group have a meeting and we discuss about it. We talked about what are the possible things we should do and who are the people we should target. So we came up with the decisions that we should asked questions on some of the senior high school students if it is really a problem. Most of the senior high school students we interviewed said, there are times when they do not understand their lesson they would search up to the internet. But the thing is they do not know if the words written or the process written on that site is true especially if they will get a lot of different answers or results. So they said it would be much better if their is someone who would be able to teach them or someone who would enlighten them if they have a hard time understanding some of their subjects topic.  And we also asked some students if they it will okay for them to tutor their schoolmates, some answered maybe or no but, there are also students who are more than willing to help.

After we heard about their answers and opinions, our group conceptualize about a possible answer or solution. We came up with a student portal or we call it now "AcaDen". Aca means Academic and Den is for Den which means a small room in a house where people can pursue activities in private. AcaDen is a website where 'officially' enrolled senior high school students can reach out their peers for help. In this site you can see a lot of different subject listed on the right corner in which if you would click a certain subject a student can ask, answer or help it's fellow student about that certain subject/topic. A student can also post in the 'Announcements' section a schedule (when,where,what) if a student is available for a tutoring lesson. Given handouts by the teacher can also be posted in the 'Files' section on the website, students can search and download it.

After we finished our proposed venture, our instructor told us to do some validation if our proposed venture is acceptable in school. Since we don't have class that day we decided to go directly to the OSA after we talked with our instructor. We explained the functions or what is our veture about, she told us that it is nice and very useful since it could help the students. But she said it's also risky, it could arise leakage with their fellow students during exams or in the materials uploaded. Also when we talked with Ma'am Bas one of the senior high school admin in Capitol University they have the same opinion and concerns. We find answers about there concerns, first about the leakage Ma'am Fe suggested that during exams AcaDen will be stopped for the meantime, and for the files uploaded admin can verify it if it is accepted or not. After our validation we told our instructor about it, but before AcaDen can be use we need to tap with the enrollment system to ensure that only those who are officially enrolled can use the website. Unfortunately our proposed enrollment system along with the AcaDen is cannot be used since some of the private schools here in CDO already have their own enrollment system. 'Will CU allowed you to change there existing enrollment system? or if not, will they allow you to tap with there students data?" these questions leave us thinking. We need to find answers, so for the next day we go back to CU but they need a letter to let us talked with there MIS admin. We go to some schools but we cannot enter since the school needed a letter that would hold about concerns, luckily fisher valley academy let us in. We was able to talked with their principal,first he was not able to comprehend our venture but after a while he understand, he's excited about our idea and he said we should go back to him if we would be able to finished it. But the given question has remained unanswered. On Tuesday afternoon, we go to see the MIS admin in our school, but unfortunately he is not around. When we asked for Ma'am Telen, they said she is in the school's cafeteria and they don't know what time will she be back. We decided to wait for her, hoping she is not busy and we could talk to her.

As we wait, we are talking about the possibilities if this will not go well. We talked if we should change our venture again or to make this possible. So we hold on to it, if we will have a negative answer from Ma'am Telen we should try to asked for the possible thing that we should do. Minutes past and finally Ma'am Telen is back, we tell her about our venture and if it is possible if we will tap with the schools student data in the PRISM, and she said no since it is against with the privacy law. We asked her if there is another way we could do since we only needed an identification that would prove that a student is officially enrolled. And finally she said 'yes, you can use the student's ID Number of the students that are officially enrolled'. We told our instructor about it and finally he approved our venture.

We are now in the process of making our venture. We have make some outlines and deadlines for us to finished a certain part t a certain time, so that we will be able to finished our venture before the finals. In making a startup we realize that it is not easy. There will be a lot of people involved. You need to ask question about this about that, if it is possible or not. If it will be against the law or not. In building a startup you are also building an ecosystem, if this ecosystem is incomplete it would be much harder for you start one and be successful with your venture.

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BLOG`SIX

Last Tuesday, December 18, 2018 is our last day to propose our idea for our own startup  before our Christmas break. We told our instructor about the updates that we gathered from the venture that we proposed last meeting. Unfortunately, in the end our venture is still rejected.

Our instructor get the idea what our team what would like to do. The thing is that when we do it, we will not be able to get the the targeted people, we upgrade and of-course the amount of the product will also increase in the market.

"Not because it's a problem for them, we also need to make it our problem." Problem, people has a lot of problems but it's hard to find a common problem that we can make a solution that would have a value for most of the people. So our team had a meeting last Wednesday and we make a list for the possible people, job and place that we would conduct our interview.

December 21, 2018, Vanessa and Mae had gone to Cogon market to observe people in that place, hoping we could find a problem in it. I was not able to go with them because I was already in our City that time. So as Mae and Vanessa had gone to cogon market I also go to small farms here in our place to asked and to observe.

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Blog`Five

Another week has passed by, and next week tuesday (December 18, 2018) wil be our last school day before we will be having our christmas break, YET we still haven't got an approval for our startup proposal. It's tiring, but I always remind myself not to give up! this is just another craggy mountain that we need to climb and we will reach the top eventually. I should take this as a challenge and it's kinda fun along the way since I'm not doing it alone, I'm climbing it with my group, my friends.

We only meet once this week, since our instructor has something to do last Tuesday. So on Thursday we had our proposal again. We proposed about an improvised portable blender. Where the user can select it's speed, range from 0-2 and a much better quality for the propeller used. So again, in front of our classmates and instructor we discuss about the problem, solution, and to whom our proposed product would be affecting to.

After we discuss about our proposal we listened to our instructor as we give his comment to our proposed product. First he is confused if what is really the problem of our product, if it' about the speed, the battery or what. Second, he is not sure if to whom who are we really affecting to. So we take note of it to improved our proposal for the next meeting.

Hopefully by next week we be able to get our venture approved. It's really hard for us to think or to make our own startup. Everything is so sudden for us. We don't even have plans of making our own startup, well not until this techno came like a bomb to our life. So cheer up self! We will be able to get an approval soon!

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Blog`Four

Week Four. It's been 4 weeks but we still haven't got the approval for our startup proposal. On Tuesday, December 04, 2015, our instructor talked about why he asked us to do the "Rejection Therapy" as our first activity on his subject. But before he start discussing about it, he let us watch two different kind of videos about rejection therapy. This video was chosen from those video we send him after we have done our Rejection Therapy Activity. In the first video my classmate is asking the vendor if he could let her borrow some money. The second video my classmate is asking a stranger in the mall if he could sing a Christmas song. And luckily the vendor that my classmate 1 borrowed some money, and the stranger sing a line of a Christmas song for my classmate 2.

After letting us watch the video, our instructor told us why did we do that. He said that the things that we did during our activity are the things the we need to do when we will be doing our interview for our startup. First we need to know if the person is in hurry or not, cause we can't talk to them if they are walking or having an errand since who would entertain a stranger if they have something to do right?. Second, you need to wait, when you ask them something you need to wait for them to asked you 'why' and that will be the time that you will tell your reasons. Third, just tell it, if after asking or telling that person about your concern and you don't get any response, you should tell your problems directly, you need to do something to get his/her attention. Don't just give up if someone says no to you, try again until you will get their yes. Until they will agree with you.

And after discussing about rejection therapy we had our second activity, the customer development process. We made our own group chart about the insights or our theory about the development of our product. In this chard we can see the channels, relationships, value propositions, customer segments and etc.. The input of this chart will change every time we will discover a new phase for our startup.

And about our second idea for startup, we plan to propose a portable blender. We asked some people around 40 plus and above  on what are the things that they need to do to maintain or take care of their body. And there we discover about making a portable blender. To innovate our portable blender form the portable blender that we see in the market, we decided to put a 0-2 buttons for the speed since the portable blender that we see in the market has only on/off button. To put an indicator that the blender has a low battery, charging and is it power on/off.  And hopefully, this  proposal will be accepted this time.

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Blog`Three

Last week was about the milestone for the whole semester. We are asked to make our own milestone for our start up. We have a total of 18 weeks before our final step, and now we are on our 3rd week and we propose our plan for our startup to our instructor.

After a lot of talks and sharing of thoughts we came up with 4 ideas. 1st: Enrollment System for Elementary Public Schools, 2nd: Portable Blender, 3rd: Portable Ref, 4th: Electric Rice Thresher. We presented our first idea to the class, we talk about:

1. What is the problem?

2. To whom?

3. What is the solution?

Unfortunately, our proposed idea is not accepted. Our instructor says that the idea of enrollment system is okay but since we are dealing with a public school, which is part of the goverment, he says it will be hard cause we will be dealing with the procurement law. He gave us a chance, if we really wanted to do it we should try to deal with private schools instead. Then, he told us about wela. It is a group that is making a school systems for private schools, if we want to continue our idea of enrolment system we should innovate something  to make our system unique or be different if compared to there system.

So after class our group decided to have a meeting. We talked if we should continue our first plan, but then again if we will continue it we will be having wela as our competition or bases. Then there we decided to change it with the electric rice thresher. And hopefully we can do it this time.

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Blog`Two

November 20, 2018, Tuesday, our instructor only asked for our attendance when we had our first meeting this week, cause for some reason he can't conduct a class and it has something to do with the availability of the classroom that we were supposed to be using. Before he let us go, he told us about the event that our class will be attending on thursday and that we should wear something like business casual or smart casual. Seriously I kinda freakout when I heard about the dress code cause I'm not really fond of wearing those type of clothes, and I don't even know if I have something like that! Fortunately, I have a mom and thanks to her I was able to wear one.

Innovation Forum & Round Table Discussion. It's the name of the event that we attended last thursday. It was awesome for me because I heard, I see and I learn new things in that event. I'm attending that forum with my friends and classmates and since it was also our first time in Luxe Hotel (and we really enjoyed the foods that are served to us) it was kinda fun and memorable. There are speakers that talked about World Competitveness Report, 4th Industrial Revolution: Impact on Industries, Global Trends and Implications, etc.,and there is this one speaker that talked about how to make your own startup.

Building a startup you need to explore, you need to know the problem 'with in' and then you find a solution. Don't just focus on what's infront of you, you need also need to 'get out'. Get out means you need to explore more cause maybe the solution that you made can be applied to something else. You also need to 'ask questions', asking questions is not a bad thing, instead it will help you more to understand about the problem.'Listen', of course you need listen to their feedbacks and opinions to know more or to help you plan for a more better solution. Most importanly "Take Risks, Allow Mistakes, Fail Fast". Take risks cause we will never know what will happen if we never try. Allow mistakes cause it will teach us lessons and it will help us to became much better. Fail fast cause instead of feeling down for a long time, get up and try to make or discover something else, don't give up until you reach your goal!

That forum give us an idea on how to make our own startup. Since last time we were brainstorming what would be the possible problem that we will be solving for our startup. After our discussions with the group, we came up on making a software program that involves an easy access between the Vet Clinics and pet owners and vice versa. We haven't propose our idea yet to our instructor since we wasn't able to meet last thursday because of the event. We are already starting working on it though, and hopefully our proposal will be approved.