This project was performed to uncover new trends and insights in the fields of entrepreneurship and emerging technology for 2019 and then compare these trends to the landscape at Arizona State University. The 2019 South by Southwest Interactive Conference and Trade Shows were attended by the researchers and the experience was captured on video. In addition, the information and trends uncovered at this conference were used to direct secondary research that ultimately culminated into a final presentation that highlights new and positive courses of action for Arizona State’s entrepreneurship and innovation programs that will continue their growth on a national and international basis. This paper serves as scholarly support and evidence of the researcher’s suggestions in the final presentation.

Imagine you and your significant other are relaxing at home watching your favorite Netflix show. You are embraced equally between the arm of your couch and the arm of your significant other right in front of your television. While the living room is small, you both work long days to be in this very position, some would call this your natural environment. In your brief moment of bliss as you sink further into your couch, you have a shiver creep down your spine as you are pressed between your two loves. As you are disgruntled from either the approaching winter or your requirement to simply move, you reach up to turn your ceiling fan off. When you attempt to recover what comfort you peeled yourself out of, you discover a greater inconvenience as the fan blades begin to slide to a stop. Dust, grime and the results of dirty air are caked on the fan blades. You think of climbing onto your coffee table and wiping the blades as all the dust falls on you and your living room. With a sigh, you surmise to deal with the eye sore another day and hope you find the motivation to deal with it another day.

This business report examines the go-to-market strategy and value proposition of a new wind comfort solution for LG. Beyond the analysis of the product, the program itself is reflected upon at the end to provide feedback for future years. The product, Flow ends the days of bad gifts being the only thing collecting dust in your house. The new ceiling fan gives you the ability to clean your home while circulating air, taking air quality off your shoulders and fixing it above your head. Flow takes the features from our normal ceiling fans we know and love but improves upon them to make them seamless to clean the blades and clean the air you breathe. Flow puts air purification in motion, so you can breathe easy in your own home.

A market analysis on the boutique fitness industry, as well as financial plans and logistical planning of creating a unique indoor cycling studio in the greater Scottsdale area. Through competitive, financial, and technological analyses one is able to better understand the breadth and scope of the growing fitness industry as well as see the potential risks and benefits in opening a small business in this arena.
Health and wellness can be found all throughout the market nowadays. Whether it be from the food people eat or the money people spend on self-care, this trend has created a significant niche in today’s market. Create Cycle is the next big player to be stepping into the mayhem that is the health and wellness industry. Create Cycle is a new indoor cycling experience located in Scottsdale, Arizona. Its mission: to provide people with an unforgettably positive fitness experience where each and every person feels empowered to create love for themselves through state-of-the-art technology. With the fitness industry is quickly growing, and it is imperative for Create Cycle to differentiate itself within the Scottsdale market. Create Cycle will be, in theory, based around an entire experience. The classes will consist of some of the best talent and training one can find in the valley. This will be done through a specific hiring process and strategic organizational structure. The goal is to let experiences in class lead to a strong community following, where Create Cycle becomes the place to be. Its vision: to one day break down the notions of exercising solely for physical appearance but rather for one’s own happiness and for those around them in a larger frame of mind.

For my creative project, I challenged myself to host my first ever photo gallery. After three years of documenting artists at music festivals and building an impressive portfolio, I felt inspired to display my work in a proper gallery setting. I partnered with another local music photographer and together, we hosted a collaborative pop-up photo gallery at Shady Park in Tempe. Research and analysis of the modernization and widespread success of the recent pop-up phenomenon suggests that hosting a photo gallery in this format is an effective way of appealing to a predominantly millennial audience. This notion was proven valid by the large volume of interest we received during marketing pushes, the high attendance at the gallery itself, and significant social media engagement and reactions received during and after the event. Although no prints were sold, the gallery was considered a success because it served its intended purpose of providing two young artists with a space to showcase work, open themselves to critique, and make new fans.

Dysfunctional organizations and toxic leader behavior has been increasingly examined over the past few years. Scholars, consultants and the media have analyzed and considered a variety of causes underlying destructive company practices and the bad behavior of bosses. Much is at stake as both individual and company is at risk along with shareholders. In this study I identify some dysfunctions in organizations, dimensions of destructive leaders and the impact in the workplace and the community. Moreover, I provide ideas for preventative measures and how dysfunctional practices can be identified and dealt with. I begin with a brief background introduction to the subject matter and proceed with an examination of some signs and behaviors displayed in the dysfunctional workplace. How does departmental, divisional and companywide dysfunction impact employee levels of trust, emotional intelligence and performance? What is the cost of company dysfunction on leaders? Following an exhaustive examination of relevant research, I have decided to focus on two specific sources due to their impact on corporate, consulting and academic communities. I utilize Babiak and Hare's, Snakes in Suits and Stanford Professor Robert Sutton's book, The No Asshole Rule. Building upon these works and the composite of research reviewed by these key scholars I move forward to a real- world case of a dysfunctional organizational and toxic CEO via an examination of Uber Technologies Inc. I will be revealing dimensions of both Uber's wide-reaching dysfunction and the workings of a CEO who has been identified as a psychopath. I provide ideas for identifying the dysfunctional organization (with Uber as a prototype) and look at possible means of generating solutions and actions for combatting excessively negative and destructive organizational and leader behavior. Finally, I am concerned with takeaways and pragmatic implications offered by my research.

What if unplanned free time could be spent with friends instead of trying to contact them? This app will do that by connecting you with friends who are ready to hang out. Kickback is a mobile app designed to connect individuals with their friends and businesses that offer opportunities to socialize in a group setting. The idea had been floating around in my head for a few years and this creative project gave me the opportunity to try my hand at making the idea into a reality. This thesis is a combination of technical efforts and business know-how that I had to learn in order to keep up along the way.

During the Innovation Space program, my team and I (which included graphic design, industrial design, engineering, and business majors) created a product that solves a problem posed by our sponsor Johnson & Johnson. This year long project involved researching biological aggressors, specifically mosquitoes, brainstorming over sixty ideas, developing a business plan for the final 3 ideas ("ago", "WANDELAR", & "FIL"), and eventually pursing and finalizing the final idea chosen. We chose to further develop "ago", a stroller seat insert that creates an air barrier between the child in the seat and any insects flying nearby. This portable seat fits in most strollers and also cools the child's back so they don't overheat while outside. The team created a design book, design model, and prototype of "ago" including the seat, fan, and hose. As the business member of the group, I developed three business plans, a final business plan, and conducted primary research by surveying our target market, parents. This business plan included customer research and validation efforts, cost structure, entry market, competition, and other crucial information required to sell "ago". Along with the final presentation of our product to our sponsors, I also completed a reflection paper about my experience working on an interdisciplinary team and the similarities and differences I found the Innovation Space program has to a real world product development team. I also included how my experience in Barrett and W.P. Carey contributed to my success in the program as well as any personal takeaways I had from the program.

For my honors thesis, I have been working on a project for Johnson & Johnson as a part of ASU's Innovation Space program. Throughout this process, I have worked with an interdisciplinary team of students from engineering, design, and business backgrounds. The goal of this project was to come up with new and innovative ways to protect skin from insect aggressors. We began the project by conducting market research, and going through several phases of product development, before eventually creating a working prototype of our solution. The process has been broken up into 7 phases over the course of two consecutive semesters and culminates with a product presentation to Johnson and Johnson shareholders. Stage four of this process, which was the final stage of semester one, involved narrowing down the ideas we came up with in our brainstorming sessions. Our team agreed upon our tree strongest ideas to move forward with. At the end of this phase, we produced a professional proposal for each of our three ideas. These proposals were presented during a showcase in December, and we used feedback from this showcase to determine how best to proceed in stage five. In stage 5 we selected a single idea from our three proposals to work on exclusively for the rest of the process. That idea was the Adamor device. We also began to look deeper into the technical and functional issues that needed to be incorporated into our solution. Furthermore, our team choose the aesthetic direction we want to pursue for our product branding. Stage 6 of this process involved finalizing all aspects of our concept including business feasibility, design, and final features that will be included in our working prototype. In stage 7, we produced a final product, and presented our prototype to representatives from Johnson & Johnson for review.

Neurotact x Exotact is the product developed by Team Kensho in response to Adidas's primary research question, "How can Adidas embrace a true circular economy with far more reuse and recycling incorporated, while ensuring that all products travel from factory to foot in a more sustainable way while providing an engaging consumer experience?" Neurotact x Exotact is a modular football helmet chinstrap with an added compression neckband that has built-in motion monitoring capabilities. Neurotact x Exotact reduces development of CTE through updating football coaches on player condition through a mobile app in real time. Using motion centers installed in the chin cup, Neurotact x Exotact measures potential brain trauma received while the compression neckband reduces brain trauma through decreasing angular rotation of the head during high-risk scenarios. This thesis documents Team Kensho's attempt at proving the business model of Neurotact x Exotact. The final business report on Neurotact x Exotact is the culmination of all the research and business development conducted in order to validate Neurotact x Exotact as a valid product that meets stakeholder expectations, makes global impact, generates savings, creates sustainability, and improves the world through sport. Neurotact x Exotact is proven through the lean startup business model, where various assumptions on customer segments, value proposition, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partnerships, and cost structure are examined and confirmed through market research and analysis. In addition to the final business report, additional documents include the Fall 2017 business report to give background on the development process behind Neurotact x Exotact as well as a reflection paper on the W.P Carey academic experience and the role this experience had in the creation of Neurotact x Exotact.

Nextrek is designed to motivate people to play a part in Adidas' sustainability efforts and in the improvement of their city. The program is rooted in the idea that most cities are producing and holding more waste than is sustainable and the health of its citizens is suffering. According to a 2010 study done by the Department of the Interior, Americans throw away 300 million pairs of shoes every year (waste306.com). We will help Adidas implement a closed-loop system where items that are donated by consumers are broken down into raw materials and used to manufacture new shoes. These shoes will be sold exclusively in the city where the materials are collected and will have an aesthetic design that captures the spirit of that city. Consumers will be required to donate materials in order to purchase the shoes and can receive discounts for excess donations. Thus, the shoes provide an incentive for people to contribute to the closed-loop system and create a sense of pride and camaraderie among those who have participated in the program. We hope to inspire people to be a part of a cycle that reduces the amount of waste sent to the landfill in their city. By saving their city, they get to wear their city.