Angie LaPlaca

I chose my market segment based on demographics. I feel that my concept of a local business incubator can be considered all-inclusive. However, college students or other young people would be my target segment. The first person I spoke with is named Tony. He is a 22-year-old student at our local college, Daytona State College. He has a concept for a computer game that he wants to bring to life. He said that he has worked on it in the past with friends, but it never got much further than the first few steps. He needs help from a graphic designer and a video game developer to move forward with his concept. Tony has been aware that he has had this need since the formation of the concept. He met a game developer who was very experienced and hoped to develop a relationship with him, but it never came to fruition. Tony said he has never even considered the concept of a business incubator that would help him work on his idea. He has never really sought any assistance other than trying to d...

***Please excuse the cat. This is my millionth & a half take, and I had all the animals in another room. I don't know how he got in the video; he's Houdini.

1) You. I am a self-starter and organized, but I feel that I would much more successful with my various endeavors if I had a foundation and support system to work with. I have started two small businesses and I am currently struggling a bit with the workload in addition to other life-stuff, like school. One of my strongest points is research. I also have a solid knowledge foundation when it comes to the financial side of running a business and basic money management (I worked in banking for seven years). I run my businesses from home, which personally is not effective for me. If I had an inexpensive office to go to in the morning, staffed with people to help me with my website, finances, or just to run ideas by, I think I would get a lot more done. If I were to start this business, I would personally be present at the incubator. I would ensure that clients were being provided the service they needed and make sure I am available for advice or directions. I am by no means an expert on an...

This opportunity stemmed from my frustration with thinking of the need that I wanted to base the rest of the semester on. I reviewed all my previous assignments, and while there were needs, nothing seemed like a tangible idea. I would also have a really hard time finding people who have the needs I identified, let alone people who don't. This constant thought of  ideas and needs led me to this: an affordable business incubator for the young business-minded entrepreneurs in my community to gather, work and collaborate. The concept would be a low-rent industrial space transformed into areas that entrepreneurs can rent to create their products or develop their ideas. Another component would be a curated team of professionals that offer services that startups often need. These services would be available on a contract basis, and the professionals would essentially work for themselves. A website developer, graphic designer, and coder are examples of professions that are typically done ...

1) The first regulatory-change opportunity I found was a proposal for " Modernization of Swine Slaughter Inspection. The Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) are proposing more lenient inspections by allowing the slaughterhouses to remove any violations before the inspector looks. This means sick, diseased, etc. animals, both live and dead carcasses. " FSIS projects that the new system is unlikely to result in a higher prevalence of  Salmonella  on market hog carcasses" (Regulations.gov). I believe that there may be an opportunity for a third-party company to inspect the slaughterhouses and offer consumers a different label to assure them of the safety of their pork product. I have to credit a student whose name I did not catch in the ENT3003 lecture; their knowledge of third-party companies providing organic certification prompted me to have this idea when I came across the regulation.   a) I found the opportunity on Regulations.gov. b) I believe this op...