NU #9: Power Up by T. N. Gaudi

NU #9

16 March 2013

MBAH 10-B / Entrepreneurship

Power Up

(New Product)

By T. N. Gaudi

Current Situation

The current electronic device chargers are coupled with long electric cords which almost always get tangled somehow. Usually, we bring these chargers with us always just to ensure that when we run out of battery, we can still recharge and continuously use our devices wherever we may be. But this is assuming that we will always have access to a power outlet.

Problem

The problem with these products is that they are so difficult to rearrange after having used them. Of course you have the Velcro straps to organize all those long cords that come with the charging unit but it still takes up a decent amount of time doing it. Another problem is that sometimes and often times than not we find ourselves not having the luxury of a power outlet.

Solution/Innovation/New Idea

The solution, I believe, to this predicament is a universal retractable electronic device charger that can also serve as reserve power unit.

Benefits

This will make a big difference in terms of convenience. Imagine that instead of carrying three to four chargers with you, you'll only be needing one for all of your devices. Another benefit is that, you won't have to worry about rearranging the long electric cord so that it won't use up additional space in your bag. More importantly, it will enhance the portability of your electronic devices so that you can still power and use it for a longer period of time by using the portable power feature of your charger. 4

NU #11: convenient baby formula maker by T. N. Gaudi

NU #11

16 March 2013

MBAH 10-B / Entrepreneurship

Zzzzzz

(New Product Idea)

By T. N. Gaudi

Current Situation

One of the things parents complain about when taking care of an infant is the hassles that come with preparing the milk especially in the wee hours of the night, when one is dazed and still cannot discern if he or she is awake or just dreaming.

Problem

The problem with this is that it is so inconvenient to prepare a bottle of milk and it really takes time to do it.

Solution/Innovation/New Idea

A solution to this is a portable baby milk maker and dispenser with timer and warmer features.

Benefits

This will allow you to prepare a bottle of milk in no time with just one press of a button. With this, you'll also be able to automate when the device should prepare the milk for you. And with the warmer feature of the device, it will be able to keep the milk at the appropriate temperature at all times. This wonder device will let you earn more zzz's even when taking care of the demanding needs of little precious. 4

NU #12: Less for the Lessee is More by T. N. Gaudi

NU #12

16 March 2013

MBAH 10-B / Entrepreneurship

Less for the Lessee is More

(New Service Idea)

By T. N. Gaudi

Current Situation

The current and traditional practice, if you want to furnish your apartment or flat or house, is that you simply choose and buy appliances and furniture at your nearest appliance and furniture center.

Problem

This, however, offers little to be desired especially if one is only doing a short-term (1 month to one year) rent on an apartment, flat, or house. It creates unnecessary expenses such as that that comes with buying new furniture and appliances, the carrying and storage costs, and the costs to liquidate and or move out those things when the time comes. 

Solution

The solution to this problem is a service that will allow the short-term lessees to rent furniture and appliances that they need only for that short duration of stay.

Benefits

One of the main benefits that this service will offer is that it will give lessees the advantage of spending less for the furniture and appliances that they'd only be needing for a month to a year or so. It will also eliminate a huge amount of costs on their part in terms of the following: carrying, storing and handling costs, delivery costs, costs to liquidate furniture and appliances, depreciation costs, and hauling and transportation costs. With all these benefits, I believe that this service will have a place in the market. 3.5

NU #10: Sticky by T. N. Gaudi

NU #10

16 March 2013

MBAH 10-B / Entrepreneurship

Sticky

(Product Innovation)

By T. N. Gaudi

Current Situation

Living in a tropical country has its rewards. Here in the Philippines, as sunny as it always is, we too often than not experience a high degree of humidity. We all know that humidity lets us feel sticky and icky even when the fan or air-conditioning unit is at its maximum speed.

Problem

The problem with this is that our fans or air conditioners relatively do nothing to address the discomfort that is caused by humidity in the environment. 

Solution/Innovation/New Idea

The solution is, and an enhancement to one of the older inventions of our time is to couple it with a dehumidifier. In effect you'll have an electric fan or air conditioner and a dehumidifier in one.

Benefits

This will create first and foremost a more comfortable environment. Second, is that it will lessen the chances of fungi and other viruses and bacteria thriving in damp and moist areas to form and pose certain risks to our health. Thirdly, it will protect our most valued things from the depredation imposed by moisture. 4

NU #8: Electric Idea by T. N. Gaudi

NU #8

16 March 2013

MBAH 10-B / Entrepreneurship

Electric Idea

(New Idea)

By T. N. Gaudi

Current Situation

As of the moment, we usually don't have the means to monitor in real time how much of the public utilities (such as electricity and water utilities) we are consuming and in what areas of the household or even of a business enterprise are using up much of these resources during a period of time.

Problem

The problem with this is that we are not able to control our usage of these resources and so sometimes we end up paying beyond our allocated budgets. 

Solution/Innovation/New Idea

A solution to this is a utilities consumption monitor that measures in real time how much is the total consumption and even reports in detail the consumption per power outlet, per equipment, or per area given a specific period of time.

Benefits

With this device, we will have better control of our budgets by being able to determine the running consumption and even the patterns of our usage. This will allow us to make adjustments and will give us more control over our budgets. Another benefit that can be offered by this device is that it will allow us to see problem areas within the household or business establishment and will prevent us from paying unnecessary fees later on. 3

NU #6: Disrupting the Decaf by T. N. Gaudi

NU #6

9 February  2013

MBAH 10-B / Entrepreneurship

Disrupting the Decaf

(New and Improved Product)

By T. N. Gaudi

There have been many mental models established already in the psyche of people especially when it comes to drinking coffee. Some of these mental models are more or less associated with the negative impacts of taking in caffeine. This may explain why consumer companies especially those that are in the business of retailing packaged coffee have tapped into the significant market of decaffeinated coffee drinkers. There may be a good reason why these people prefer decaffeinated coffee over the regular brew. According to the mayo clinic, heavy daily caffeine use may cause unpleasant effects such as insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, irritability, stomach upset, fast heartbeat, and muscle tremors among others. (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2011) Just to emphasize the potential effects of caffeine, even the researchers from Carnegie Melon University found out that large doses of caffeine may deprive the brain of oxygen which is needed for "calm and rational thinking" since it raises blood pressure, stimulates the heart, and produces shallow rapid breathing. (Bradberry, 2012)

What's more is that a study made by Kubo, Klatsky, and Armstrong of the School of Public Health of University of California found out that "decaffeinated coffee drinkers were less likely to be heavy coffee drinkers, smokers, alcohol drinkers, users of caffeinated soft drinks and medication and to be free of illness." (Kubo, Klatsky, & Armstrong, 2003) This may tell us that caffeine-conscious consumers are the same people who are health-conscious.

That being said, I was able to observe a gap in the existing products offered by manufacturers, distributors, or even retailers of coffee. I noticed, being a health-conscious consumer myself, that no company or brand offered a decaffeinated 3-in-1 coffee pack that is sugar-free - a very important consideration for health-conscious individuals.

I conclude therefore, that manufacturers should be able to look in to this glaring gap and determine opportunities to satisfy the needs and wants of non-caffeine consumers and offer a decaffeinated sugar free pack to profit from this potential gold mine. 3.5 <aspartane and surcrolase are not healthy too, as well as processed, ie decaf coffee>

  

Sources:

Bradberry, T. (2012, August 21). Forbes: Leadership: Caffeine: The Silent Killer of Emotional Intelligence. Retrieved February 5, 2013, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2012/08/21/caffeine-the-silent-killer-of-emotional-intelligence/

Kubo, S. A., Klatsky, A., & Armstrong, M. (2003, April 13). PubMed.gov US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. Retrieved February 6, 2013, from National Center for Biotechnology Information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12684194

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2011, March 9). Mayo Clinic: Nutrition and healthy eating. Retrieved February 6, 2013, from Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/NU00600

NU #3: Financial Health by Budgeting by T. N. Gaudi

NU #3

26 January  2013

MBAH 10-B / Entrepreneurship

Financial Health

(Spending Habits)

By T. N. Gaudi

The scope of this NU12 is limited to allocating or budgeting finances to be able to maximize its value. This paper does not cover on improving income streams. It is recognized however that income generation is still key if one wishes to be financially fit.

The central problem presented here is that people usually spend all of their income just a few days or weeks upon receiving it. One of the primary reasons why this happens is that people spend beyond their means without actually being aware of it. The result is that they have no more left for savings and investments and worse is that they sometimes even incur bad debts. My objective here is to create and illustrate a system which relatively anyone can easily adopt and make as habit. This system should be able to help achieve financial leverage.

The system is similar to the envelope system which allows allocating resources or any windfall into different funds upon getting hold of it. The key to this system however is in the automation of the parts of the process so that we could create a type of forced savings or forced allocations. Automation promotes consistency and eliminates the volatile reactions of human behavior in the context of spending or financial management.

Basically the allocations should be categorized into four major funds namely:  the basic fund, the contingency fund, the savings fund, and the investment fund. The basic fund should be allocated for monthly living expenses including spending allowances. The contingency fund should include preferably 3 to 6 months of your monthly living expenditures and should only be utilized when an unforeseen need or a catastrophic event arises. The savings fund is allocated for short to medium term projects that also include term insurance and the annual allocation for health care insurance among others. The investment fund is actually a retirement fund wherein you allocate a portion of your savings (10% to 20%) and where you hedge and grow it by putting it in higher yielding facilities such as in bonds, mutual funds, and especially in the stock market. Creating an investment fund will allow you to harness the power of compounding while hedging your resources from inflationary forces.

By using the services offered by the bank for free (almost), one can make arrangements so that funds are automatically allocated from the main account to the 4 major funds. For the contingency fund it is best that it is in higher yielding deposit accounts such as the time deposit or SDA (this account should be preferably applied without an ATM access). For the basic fund, this should be put in a regular savings account and can be applied with an ATM access card for convenience since also this account will be drawed from upon regularly. For the savings fund, it is preferred that it is placed in a current account that yields higher interest than a regular savings account. For the investment fund, any regular savings account that can preferably be registered online will do. This is so that it will be easier to manage investments especially if it is diversified into different instruments. 3.5

I believe that this particular arrangement will help change behavior towards managing one's finances and will create a habit that will allow for the improvement and growth of one's financial health.

NU #1: An Apt App by T. N. Gaudi

NU #1

15 December  2012

MBAH 10-B / Entrepreneurship

An Apt App: The ≡appRapt

By T. N. Gaudi

Urban living has its awesome rewards as well as some annoying quirks. The most tired remarks I hear a lot from fellow urban dwellers all point out to the fact that travelling or commuting in this city is painfully hard - everyone living in metro manila should know. Not only is it so inconvenient but it also costs us a lot of our most precious resources - money, time, effort, and every cost related to the risks we take when commuting in heavily polluted and often chaotic and unsafe environments.

However, relatively recent developments have made a lot of difference in our commuting. One such development that is much cherished and welcomed by urban dwellers is the augmentation of our metro rail system. Commuting folks here in metro manila appreciate how much faster intra/intercity commutes have been because of our city rail lines. Be that as it may, our metro rail transit system is far from being perfectly convenient - talk about very long queues and overcrowded platforms especially during peak or rush hours.

The government, I believe, is very aware of and is familiar with these day-to-day inconveniences. It does not take a genius however to see that upgrading our train systems, so as to have more cars to accommodate more commuters especially during peak hours, is not that easy - it costs and it costs a huge lot.

Since most of the commuters who patronize our rail system, in my opinion, have access to web services, I suggest that an app be created specifically to make inter/intracity train commutes more bearable. This app will be called ≡appRapt - a play on the word 'abrupt' which is how we wish our commutes will be, and which is actually derived from the combination of the words 'application', 'rail' and 'rapt', showing a bit of pinoy humor.

The ≡appRapt app is somewhat the counterpart to MMDA-TV5's Metro Manila Traffic Navigator. However, this app will be focused on monitoring the status of passenger volume and traffic, and the quality of service in the MRT and LRT lines. Not only will it function as a monitoring tool but more importantly as a tool for continous improvement through crowdsourcing and feedback sourcing among others.

The concept is fairly simple but the implications of this app are extensive. The ≡appRapt will bring about the following benefits:

1. Better informed commuters;

2. More efficient train system;

3. Less congested train stations;

4. More satisfied and productive patrons;

5. Faster and safer commutes;

6. Happier citizens;

and much much more.

So to make our train commutes more 'appRapt ', let's exactly do just that – ≡appRapt it! 4