Rent-A-Hive
My group-mates for this project were Matt Stall and Jacob Carson; in the end we chose to work on something that would later be affectionately summarized as "Uber for bees". There were several phases of this project, the first being an ideation stage that essentially consisted of brainstorming ideas. Pictures of this process and some of our original ideas can be found at the bottom of this page. It was really fun to think of things that could be done without taking into consideration any limitations like money or time. Our next task was to narrow down our thoughts into one central idea that we could expand upon, and then set general work rules for our group. In reflection I realize that I was not exactly pulling my weight at the beginning of this project, often showing up having done absolutely no research or preparation. I had been focusing on other school commitments and assignments, and I am sure that it was frustrating to my team. However, as we approached the due date and made a final decision about how to present our project (a website displaying our mock business), I redeemed myself and put a lot of effort into making sure our presentation was well structured and thought out.
In terms of distribution of effort, we all did an equal amount of work. I created the logo (found at the top left of every page on our website), the Transportation, and Bee Sanctuary pages, helped create the Home page and the Additional Resources page, and obtained the bee box for our physical prototype. Jakob created the google-doc that defined the structure of the project,presentation and website, the Problem page, obtained the rails, base, and sensor, and added to the Home page. Matt created most of the Home page (including the hive calculator), added to the Additional Resources page, and the entire Ideal Hive page. All of the infographics that we used were made by us on a website called Canva. As far as the presentation went, we each presented on two of the website pages and then answered questions at the end. Some of the questions we received were: "Would you consider providing your data to other interested parties for research purposes?", "What are some other ways you think you can capitalize on profit, based on your model?", and "How would you go about starting this company so it could build on itself instead of buying everything you need at once?". These questions are paraphrased as I did not record our presentation, but I attempted to get as close as possible to what was asked by the judges. We answered these questions by stating we would partner with a research facility and maybe even let them use our sanctuary locations to conduct said research, that we could provide tours of our sanctuary to the public or sell our honey for additional profit, and that we would begin accumulating locations in California to start up our business due to that location's great need for pollination services. We would slowly start to expand from there. Although these questions and answers are not displayed there, our website and business model can be found by clicking the button below.
In terms of distribution of effort, we all did an equal amount of work. I created the logo (found at the top left of every page on our website), the Transportation, and Bee Sanctuary pages, helped create the Home page and the Additional Resources page, and obtained the bee box for our physical prototype. Jakob created the google-doc that defined the structure of the project,presentation and website, the Problem page, obtained the rails, base, and sensor, and added to the Home page. Matt created most of the Home page (including the hive calculator), added to the Additional Resources page, and the entire Ideal Hive page. All of the infographics that we used were made by us on a website called Canva. As far as the presentation went, we each presented on two of the website pages and then answered questions at the end. Some of the questions we received were: "Would you consider providing your data to other interested parties for research purposes?", "What are some other ways you think you can capitalize on profit, based on your model?", and "How would you go about starting this company so it could build on itself instead of buying everything you need at once?". These questions are paraphrased as I did not record our presentation, but I attempted to get as close as possible to what was asked by the judges. We answered these questions by stating we would partner with a research facility and maybe even let them use our sanctuary locations to conduct said research, that we could provide tours of our sanctuary to the public or sell our honey for additional profit, and that we would begin accumulating locations in California to start up our business due to that location's great need for pollination services. We would slowly start to expand from there. Although these questions and answers are not displayed there, our website and business model can be found by clicking the button below.
This project was extremely eye-opening to me in several aspects. The first was from a business standpoint; I am a biology major and have no experience whatsoever in running or creating a business. I can now say I have a bare-bones perspective of what goes into creating something like this. I also delved into what a profit margin is, costs of starting up with all our supplies, and primary/secondary target markets. Our business had a primary target market of orchard businesses, and a secondary target market of home/apartment owners who wish to pollinate their gardens. Advertising for both of these group would be easiest in areas that contain both sets of populations. For example, billboards in a town near the almond orchards in California. Although we did not end up including this information into our presentation, I gained a lot of valuable information that I will use in the future. I would also like to thank my roommate Michaela, a business major, for helping explain some of the more confusing concepts.
Another aspect that stuck with me is just how many bee-related companies we found during our research. There are many products that have been created already with the same goal in mind: spread awareness and save the bees. I would love to see some of these things advertised for more in the future. An example of one that my group found was HiveNet, which is an accumulation of data for many different hives all over the world. I had no idea there were so many bee-central products out there and I definitely plan on investigating more into that realm to see just how much is available.
I was also able to observe the many different ways the other groups in my class decided to go with their ideas. The other projects consisted of an indoor hive, a monthly subscription bee box, a DIY bee house, an interactive museum exhibit, and an educational website paired with an app. Every presentation was unique and focused on different pieces of the wicked problem puzzle. The subscription box focused more on passive involvement and helping beginning beekeepers, while the DIY bee house focused on family involvement by having children build the house with their parents. The group presenting the museum exhibit actually had goggles you could put on, and "bee fur" to feel. Using multiple senses to engage their viewers was a unique idea that kept me interested. There were many different media used as well, the museum group utilizing arts-based research while the bee house included some 3D printing and woodworking. It was also really neat to see how people's projects changed throughout the two and a half weeks we had to finish this assignment and observe their final works in a professional critique setting. One group started by constructing a travelling class that would inform children about bees in a school setting, and changed into something of similar design, but integrated with social media instead.
The judges that were present for each session were different people, but all provided invaluable feedback to every group. As I stated earlier, I am a biology major and so this was my first experience with a panel of judges who discussed not only my work, but the aesthetics of the presentation as well. I am really proud of what my group presented and the work we put in to accomplish it. I am also excited to continue this project in the Spring with an Independent Research class, where me and both of my group mates (along with a few others) will continue to ideate about possible solutions to the wicked problem: how to save the bees.
Another aspect that stuck with me is just how many bee-related companies we found during our research. There are many products that have been created already with the same goal in mind: spread awareness and save the bees. I would love to see some of these things advertised for more in the future. An example of one that my group found was HiveNet, which is an accumulation of data for many different hives all over the world. I had no idea there were so many bee-central products out there and I definitely plan on investigating more into that realm to see just how much is available.
I was also able to observe the many different ways the other groups in my class decided to go with their ideas. The other projects consisted of an indoor hive, a monthly subscription bee box, a DIY bee house, an interactive museum exhibit, and an educational website paired with an app. Every presentation was unique and focused on different pieces of the wicked problem puzzle. The subscription box focused more on passive involvement and helping beginning beekeepers, while the DIY bee house focused on family involvement by having children build the house with their parents. The group presenting the museum exhibit actually had goggles you could put on, and "bee fur" to feel. Using multiple senses to engage their viewers was a unique idea that kept me interested. There were many different media used as well, the museum group utilizing arts-based research while the bee house included some 3D printing and woodworking. It was also really neat to see how people's projects changed throughout the two and a half weeks we had to finish this assignment and observe their final works in a professional critique setting. One group started by constructing a travelling class that would inform children about bees in a school setting, and changed into something of similar design, but integrated with social media instead.
The judges that were present for each session were different people, but all provided invaluable feedback to every group. As I stated earlier, I am a biology major and so this was my first experience with a panel of judges who discussed not only my work, but the aesthetics of the presentation as well. I am really proud of what my group presented and the work we put in to accomplish it. I am also excited to continue this project in the Spring with an Independent Research class, where me and both of my group mates (along with a few others) will continue to ideate about possible solutions to the wicked problem: how to save the bees.