My Entrepreneurship Resume

Karina Tamayo

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                                                                                                2851 W. University Avenue

                                                                                                Gainesville, FL 32607

                                                                                                Cell phone: 239-272-0968

                                                                                    Email: karinamarietamayo@hotmail.com

Summary

Dedicated musician with 8 years in orchestras and chamber groups. Ann enthusiastic team player who accepts coaching graciously and quickly incorporates feed back into performances.

Highlights

·      Strong improvising ability

·      Expressive

·      Poised

·      Specialty in Jazz

·      Music theory knowledge

·      Organized

·      Strong attention to detail

·      UF Symphonic Band

·      The Naples Youth Jazz Orchestra

Accomplishments

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Performed alongside well known musicians such as Bob Stone, Mark Pettey, and Dan Miller. Completed a master class with Dan Miller in 2014.

Experience

Performer and Merchandise Representative

September 2012- January 2015

The Naples Jazz Orchestra – Naples, FL

Expressed musical themes through tempo, phrasing, volume, and dynamics. Closely followed musical notation and conductor’s instructions. Played a variety of music with a broad stylistic range and improvisational flexibility. Performed in front of live audiences in concerts. Played trombone for a variety of religious services.  

Education

High School Diploma

University of Florida: Undergraduate Music Performance and English  

Recipient of The Friends of Music Scholarship, Coursework in music theory, emphasis in music performance.

Founder, My Venture, 2016-Present

Acquired the skill of making a blog. Ability to speak to strangers and interview them with self-generated questions. Create YouTube videos about thought out venture concepts. 

Final Reflection

After look back at all my posts from this class, it surprises me on how much work I have actually put into this! It was neat to see how my posts changed and showed how I became more and more comfortable writing on my blog.

So the few posts that really stood out to me and have become my best work in my opinion are my bug list, identifying local opportunities, idea napkin no. 1, elevator pitch no.2, and growing my social capital. The bug list was one of my favorites because I found out a lot about myself and what bothers me and what I can do to fix them. Afterwards, the idea napkin and elevator pitch work was something that I had to put a lot of time and energy and thought because it made me think like a true entrepreneur, and that was something I had never done before.

In regards to whether or not I feel like and entrepreneur, or think of myself as one, I will have to say that no, I don’t think I am an entrepreneur. I took this class as an experiment for myself to see if business could be the place for me, or if maybe entrepreneurship could harbor my creative spirit. In the end I did learn a great deal, and I was pushed to think in a different mind-set than what I was used to, and because of that I learned a great deal. However in the end, I know that as of now business is not the place for me, and perhaps being an entrepreneur is not what I am looking for at the moment. It could be a possibility though in my future, and I don’t want to discard the ideals I learned from this class.

Some simple words of wisdom to future students of this class: do ALL the assignments, and have no FEAR towards assignments that ask for you to talk to strangers. I always just avoided those assignments because I didn’t want to go and talk to strangers, but now I wished I did because I would have gotten more points for my overall grade, but also I believe I would have gained a lot more if I were to have gotten out of my comfort zone and spoken to people for the assignments. So advice for the new comers, don’t be shy and don’t have fear towards being out of your comfort zone, because in the end doing it will only help you grow.   

Week 15 Reading Reflection

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 have to start out by saying how interesting this article was! I was not aware of the loaning company SKS only loaned to women. To me that was something I was not expecting to find out within this article. Something else that surprised me was the risky process in my opinion of lending money to people who make only a dollar a day. It is impressive to see that the company is able to get the money back that it loans in such a fair amount of time and that the customers come back and take out even more money. It was very enlightening to see the humanity and care that can exist within a tight business of lending money.

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

The section that was talking about the different kinds of microfinance models was rather confusing since I have no idea about them or the difference between them. The author was using some as examples to show how they did not agree with certain models to follow for the SKS company.

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

Question one: What lead you to want to lend money out to such poverty stricken people in third world countries such India?

Reason: I want to ask this because the owner of SKS could loan to wealthier people, and possible have less of a risk doing that than loaning to the poor. However, I admire that SKS functions the way it does, and that it helps the poor.

Question two: How has having this business changed your outlook on the balance between being a successful business and being a humanitarian?

Reason: Why I would ask this question is because many time people separate business from helping others. I would like to know if the author has had some type of notion that business does not always have to be pure business, and that you can still help others through the act of being fair and considerate for their needs.

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

I cannot say they were wrong about anything. I overall agreed with their process and admire the company for reaching out to the poor and giving them a chance to be successful business people.

Elevator Pitch No. 4

 

Well here is  my final elevator pitch! 

I took a look at my old ones, and read through the comments. From them I gathered that people wanted simple and concise videos that were not too distracting with instruments and wordiness. So, I cut down on all of that and came up with this simpler version for my venture concept. 

I kept the same ideals for my app Mind and Melody, and managed to highlight some cool new renditions of it, such as being able to download found songs and how it worked differently from another popular music finding app called Shazam. 

Overall I stuck to my concept fairly closely because I had received positive comments about my previous videos. Thank you to all who helped me make this a better product!

Venture Concept No. 2

Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity:

·       The need for having an app be able to detect music by just human voice first came to be from my own personal need. I have always had the problem with not being able to remember lyrics of songs, or having a song be stuck in my head but not knowing the name or artist.

·       So my concept came up on what if there was an app similar to Shazam that could detect music by listening to a human voice humming the melody. From there I spoke to other people, made elevator pitches and business concepts and then found out how many other people also have this need to find the names of songs that are stuck in their head. 

·       From there this potential market has a wide demographic that could expand from young to old, any religion, any ethnicity. This is a huge opportunity for the music business, for the app business, and for people. The window of opportunity is wide open, there really isn’t a time constrain at this moment.

Innovation:

·       So the app I have created is called Mind and Melody. How it functions is that the user opens the app and sings/hums/plays the rhythm of whatever song that they do not know all the words to.

·       The app listens and then goes through a huge data base of music and is able to detect the melody that was sung to it from the user.

·       The app then displays the song to the user, and also provides places to listen to the song such as Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, and Sound Cloud, plus lyrics. That is essentially what the app does, it finds the music stuck in people’s heads.

·       From there, the primary way that I would be making money is by selling my app to some technology company or to any game system company and partner up with them.

·       From there they would be paying me to use my app. Also perhaps for a time being the app would have to have a price, perhaps $2.99 so in order to use it customers would have to buy the app. Or there could be a trial version and then a premium version, where the user would have to pay a certain amount a month or a yearly prescription in order to use the app with all its bells and whistles.

Venture Concept:

·       My innovation would solve the opportunity I mentioned above by fulfilling the needs of people who want to know the songs that they have been hearing on the radio but can’t remember the words of the artist name.

·       My product will serve anyone who wants to find out about music, or whoever is just curious about how the app works.

·       I believe customers would buy my product because it is something unique and actually really cool. The potential of the app is great and would be fun to have as a buyer.   

·       Now it would be easy for customers to switch to this product because there is nothing like it! There would be no actual “switching”, perhaps some competition from something similar like Shazam, but Shazam does not have the capability to detect the human voice like Mind and Melody does.

·       Luckily there is no packing for my product so super easy for anyone to get and for me to deliver.

·       The support I need for my business however is exponential. I need graphic designers, app developers, sound engineers, advertisement people, financial partners, and music artist’s assistance in order to make this business happen.

Three minor elements:

·       My most important resource is that of the human capital I have. It is my skill of being well spoken and an amiable person and my ability to make connections easily with people.

·       Then my next big tackle I would have aimed at customers would be for another app be able to understand peoples doodles of TV shows and movies. Perhaps at times you cannot exactly explain to someone a show you watched or the name of the show or the names of characters, but you can draw it. My next product could be able to understand those drawings and find through the power of the internet what show the user is trying describe.

·       Where would I be five, ten years from now after my first business venture? Great question. I would hope that my product is a success, bringing me a decent income and a popular product on the market. I hope that my product helps people, and surges the music technology world forward. I hope that I have a nice place to live, that I have graduated from school, that I am in good health and that my family is well. 

Feedback Summary:

Overall I received positive feedback about my venture concept. Some specific things that were brought up to me in the comments I got were about how this app could be sold differently in order for my business to make more money. About three people mentioned how my app should be sold as free first so that it gets really popular with users, so popular that then I could get corporate sponsors or partnerships with companies who would then pay me for my product. It was suggested that I allow for advertisements to happen and to have a link with downloading sites for music. Some negative feedback I received was about how some people or just plain tone deaf and are really incapable of humming a melody, so the app would be useless to them.

What I changed:

So after reading the feedback, I decided to change a few things about my venture concept. What I would like to do now with it is have be available as a free app for anyone to download and use. From there I would allow for some advertising and be hooked up with music downloading sites like iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon Music. From there I would eventually allow for like a premium version of the app that then the user would pay a fee every month and they could get no more advertisements and keep all the songs they find through the app saved onto their device.   

Week 14 Reading Reflection

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? 

In chapter three, the surprising topic was about Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (CEAI). So apparently it was developed by researchers who ended up being the authors of this text book. CEAI was a measurement using five factors which helped managers pursue innovative activity. I did not know that management followed such rules, like support, work discretion, reinforcement, availability, and organizational boundaries. In chapter four what stood out to me was the definition of what social entrepreneurship is. Apparently it has many forms, but the most popular definition is about social entrepreneurship being about venture creation development through offering services and products for the needs of people.

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

In chapter three what was confusing was how internal innovators create a sustaining corporate entrepreneurship strategy. It is different for every level of experience that exits within the system. For instance, at the so called senior level, managers act in a way to form an identity through which new businesses can be made or at least reestablished. Chapter four had a confusing segment in defining social enterprise and sustainability. Apparently it has to do with causing issues for entrepreneurial thinkers and how to the extent of corporations should be involved is an open debate.   

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

For chapter three I would ask:

Question one: What type of steps would the author offer or recommend for encouraging an innovative working environment?

Question two: Why was James Brian Quinn chosen as an example about corporate obstacles instead of someone else?

For chapter four I would ask:

Question one: Why were boundaries made in social enterprise? Are they really that necessary?

Question two: What is more impactful, a shared vision or an individual’s vision for business growth.

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

I cannot really disagree with the author; I am learning things from what they are saying so I am open to their opinions. My one thing is when the author mentions in chapter three that in order for corporate entrepreneurship to have creating innovation, they must reach a specific four characteristics. My thing is, why not have these corporations find steps that fit them instead of having to follow a specific structure every time? I understand that there need to be rules in place sometimes, and instructions help, but not every corporation is going to experience the same thing or have the same ideas, meaning they should each have unique characteristics to follow.  

Google Gold

1)   A discussion of your general approach and strategy to search engine optimiation (SEO). What were some of the activities you did for each blog post to pursue SEO? 

I would leave a nice little comment on my post when I went to publish it. A small text box would appear before I published every post, allowing me to add any comments before sharing the post. What I would also do is find good pictures or be witty with my posts has to have people become interested in them.

2)   What were your keywords. How did you select those keywords? Did you change or refine your keywords through the semester?

Some of my key words were like “business”, “taking care”, “Karina”, and “blog”. I selected these key words because I believed them to be easy to relate to my blog post. The words easily reflected what my post was about, and made it easy for people to remember what to search for when looking for my blog. I did not really refine my words throughout the semester, I basically kept them the same because my blog was essentially the same as how I started out with.

3)   How did you use social media to enhance your SEO efforts? What your your surprises or general impression of using social media to improve your blog's profile? Was social media generally receptive of your blog, or did it get ignored?

Well I used YouTube a lot for my blog. A large majority of the posts were YouTube videos open to the public, so that right there had my blog going out to people everywhere. After that I used Facebook a few times to help promote a friend of mine who started her own online business and I wanted to mention her in my blog about entrepreneurship, and so I used Facebook to share that information. Other than that I only had my Google plus account hooked up with the blog, and from there not much social media was used. From what I used however, generally people were not that receptive to my social media. I mean I would get a few views on YouTube and that was pretty much it.

4)   What was your most "viral" post? In other words, which post obtained the most traffic? Why do you think?

Surprisingly the post that got the most “viral” was my Idea Napkin No.1, with a total of five really lengthy and positive comments one of which was from Dr. Pryor. I think that this post got the most traffic compared to my other ones because the topic was interesting. My idea about having an app that you could sing or hum to to find song’s seemed really peak people’s interests. Also I was really into this section of the blog so people got excited about what I was writing about.

5)   Finally, did you make it to the first page of Google results for your keywords? If not, what page of results did you make it to?

Holy cow I actually did make it to the first page of Google results!!! I typed in the words, “Karina”, “blog”, “business” and the first post I ever did on my blog showed up third to last on the search page.

Very Short Interview, Part 2

Short Interview with an Entrepreneur

Well after reviewing the first interview I had with Mr. Martinez, I found some differences between questions I asked the first time and questions I asked the second time. Our first interview was more structured and had more forward questions about how being a business owner and being an entrepreneur are different and how they are the same.

Interview Part 2

1.       What parts of your job do you find most challenging?

“I would have to say dealing with people. It’s easy to do the work, well I mean it’s not easy work but it’s easier to do the work than deal with certain people. I love what I do, but yes dealing with people is the most difficult. Like explaining things to people, and having to deal with some difficult characters. I know I have to try and be patient, and that’s my biggest challenge. Really that’s why I work for my own and not corporate America. After that though my job is a great gig.”  

2.       Which is more important to you and your business- mission, core values or vision?

“Core values. I feel as though they represent what is expected of me. My values are the highest of all, I firmly believe that if you are going to do something you have to do them right. I like to follow the rules and follow the law, and in my line of work you know I have to be aware and truthful with people’s taxes so I don’t want to refer clients to sketchy people. See in my profession, honesty and integrity is extremely important. After core values though, I also think my mission is important. I want to help out people and do my best to serve them.”

3.        If you could start all over again, would you change your career path in any way? Why?

“I went school with the thought that I wanted to learn about taxes. I then had a terrible teacher that I just could not get along with and in the end did very poorly in his class. It was because of him that I changed my major from accounting to business management and I got my MBA instead. Now when I think back on it, I shouldn’t have allowed this teacher to have me change my path. In the end I found my way back to accounting, and even though it took me the long way I got here. I love what I do, but I had to learn things from scratch. When I look back it, I should have never let the teacher change me, so if I could have started all over again I would have put up with the teacher and stay true to my goal. However, seeing where I am now I wouldn’t want anything to be different, because in the end I know what is in my heart.”

So after doing this second interview with the entrepreneur, it was much easier to ask questions compared to the first time. This interview was much more open and left to me to decide where I wanted it to go. In a sense the entrepreneur did sense a change in me with this interview. Previously we had spoken about my major and how I was pre-health with music. Now I am deciding if I want to be business or English with music. He mentioned the fact that it was a good thing I was trying out this entrepreneurship course, and that in the end I should choose something that I feel is right and not let anything deter me from doing so.   

Week 13 Reading Reflection

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 to me in the reading was the section about discounted earnings method. I really didn’t have large expectations for this except for how discounts may at times differentiate the estimated amount of cash flow. In the reading however, there is a large section about a price formula that companies use in order to find out the proper amount to adjust a product to for discounts. Furthermore, I had never realized how much thought went in to making discounts. Questions have to be asked in regards to a firm’s value and reasonable life expectancy of the business.  

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

A section of the reading that was confusing to me was the area talking about how to complete due diligence. The definition is stated but the wording is still rather confusing. The examples used in the book did not really clear things up for me. The table used to explain only poses more questions and vague phrases that do not clarify things.

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

Question one: Which of the two methods for venture valuation is more accurate?
Question two: How do the replacement value methods work?

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

I cannot say the author was wrong, but I can slightly disagree with what they said about emotional bias. They spoke about reasons for acquisition. One main point they made was about goals of the buyer and seller. These goals are up to the individual, and therefore cannot be fully described as accurate within the book.

Celebrating Failure

1)      My Failure: During my fall semester of my freshman year, I came in with the idea that I was going to be some big shot surgeon someday. I had my head set that I would be a pre-health major. Little did I know how hard I would fail my chemistry and calculus class.

I barely passed any of the exams for both classes, and when the final came around I was done. Those two classes completely ruined my GPA and now I am playing a hard game of catch up.

2)      So what did I learn from this failure? Well I figured out how time consuming being both a music major and a pre-health major can be. I also figured out how much time marching band takes out of your life. However what I really realized was that I actually did not care for the medical field as I once thought. Yes those classes I took were hard, and yes I stretched myself too thin last semester so I won’t do that again, but I also allowed myself to think about things that I want. I saw that I still love music and want to stay in that major for fun, but I also saw that all along I have had an interest in English.

I always had a knack for writing and reading, as well speaking. Overall reading is my favorite pass time. I love poetry and classic literature, I can recite quotes from books and talk about Shakespeare and Thoreau for hours. I never brought forward the thought of maybe using my skills for a career, but instead followed what my parents expected from me. Medicine runs in my family, and I have interest in it, it’s just too bad that I am absolutely terrible at science and math. So I figured, why not do English and go to law school after? I like to argue, but I also strive for justice and equality. Perhaps this could help me lead that idea.

3)      Failure is embarrassing. It hurts and it sucks to be frank. We as Americans have grown up in this society that success is needed in everything at all times. We have this pressure from our parents, from school, but even more so from ourselves. We in the end are our worst critics. So when we fail, it completely ruins our self-confidence.

For me personally, I get emotionally anxious when I fail. I start to breathe fast and over think things. I start to visualize my future and how nothing I wanted can happen now, and I blame myself for being too lazy, too dumb, not talented enough, and just not good enough. I absolutely hate it.

However from my experience so far, I have realized I cannot do that to myself. Through this failure, I have been able to figure out what I really want. Sure I changed my major, but there is more to it than that. My music theory teacher said something that caught my attention this morning. He said, “You learn more from your failure’s than your successes”. True that professor. I have taken risks, I like to take a leap after some logically thinking, so this class has not really changed that about me. Instead it has given me the head to think about my idea of success. It may not be some crazy big job with lots of money, but it could happen. It may not be that I become the next big trombone player, but I could end up playing in Broadway. Instead, it is all about what makes my life my life, my happiness, my likes, my capabilities.