3A - Your Entrepreneurship Story

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As I was finishing my application to the University of Florida, I was in the process of applying to many other colleges. One of those colleges was the University of Pennsylvania, and that college’s application process included an interview with a local alumnus. I was contacted with an individual from my hometown (Tampa) who graduated from UPenn’s business school.

I met with this UPenn graduate in his office near downtown Tampa and we discussed UPenn as well as business in general. This individual was the founder and CEO of a local private equity real estate firm. Specifically, the firm gathers a pool of investors, uses their money to purchase commercial property in Tampa, partners with an interested buyer, develops the property for the partner, and then sells the property to this partner or another interested buyer. The firm is small in terms of employee number (in the single digits, I believe), but manages millions of dollars in assets. Pictured below is the Aloft hotel in Tampa, which was previously an office building before it was developed by the firm I have discussed here.



This alumnus shared with me the flexibility of his schedule and explained that this flexibility allowed him to spend lots of time with his family. This aspect of entrepreneurship (flexibility) is what most interests me, as I heavily value work-life balance and family. It was encouraging to see a financially successful entrepreneur in my hometown who valued similar things.

I joined ENT3003 in order to develop a better understanding of the life of entrepreneurs as well as trends in entrepreneurship. More than anything, I was interested in joining a rare class in college: one that focuses more on facilitating experiences than testing your mastery of standardized tests.

Comments

  1. Ava DalyAugust 30, 2019 at 2:22 PM

    Hi Johnathan,
    I loved reading your story! It is amazing how one experience can change your views about things. The flexibility aspect of being an entrepreneur interests me also. My father is an entrepreneur and I loved how he was always there when I was growing up. Overall I thought your post was great and I hope you learn everything you hope to from this class!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sandra AvilaSeptember 1, 2019 at 5:31 PM

    Hello Johnathan,
    What a great story you have there! I would first like to say, you made the correct choice of choosing the University of Florida! #GoGators
    I am a very family orientated person, so having a family-work life balance in my future career is important to me as well. I hope you get to learn what you desire from this rare class that focuses on experience rather than exams.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Brooke DesantisSeptember 10, 2019 at 9:11 AM

    Hi Jonathan,
    I loved hearing about your college application process, because while everyone has to do it each persons experience is very different from the next. It so interesting that you were able to meet with an alumni to discuss future plans and your individual goals. During my application process, I was having a very hard time trying to figure out what it was that I wanted to do with the rest of my life. If I could go back and change one thing it would be to talk with someone to help give me advice.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nicholas A. LaheraSeptember 15, 2019 at 12:08 AM

    Good evening Johnathan,

    I am so glad that you ended up at the University of Florida instead of UPenn! Go Gators! Your story is one that I think is not considered too often with entrepreneurs and that is great to see. Many times you hear about the grind from 4am to 11pm, but to consider that this individual has developed a flexibility in the role is highly encouraging. Life cannot be all about work, it needs balance, and the entrepreneur that you spoke the provided great insight on that. I completely agree with your reasoning for taking ENT3003. College is not supposed to be about just memorizing facts and figures, we are here to think critically. Unfortunately, that mindset has drifted away from academia as it becomes more about the pressures of rank.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Remi TaylorSeptember 15, 2019 at 1:04 PM

    Hey Johnathan! I really loved reading your entrepreneurship story. I would first like to say, good thing you ended up at the University of Florida instead of at the University of Pennsylvania. It really is funny how one experience can change your whole life course. I agree that facilitating experiences is more important than testing your mastery of standardized tests.

    ReplyDelete

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