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Over 50% of the US population has listened to a podcast as of 2019. That is over 144 million people in the US alone that can potentially generate revenue for a podcast host. In 2017, podcast advertising secured revenues of $314 million. It is expected to grow to $659 million

Over 50% of the US population has listened to a podcast as of 2019. That is over 144 million people in the US alone that can potentially generate revenue for a podcast host. In 2017, podcast advertising secured revenues of $314 million. It is expected to grow to $659 million by 2020 (Goldberg). There is a growing market of active podcast listeners for advertisers to tap into. There is so much potential in podcasting that Spotify has recently decided that they are willing to spend $400-500 million on this category alone in 2019. In that large figure they have acquired “Gimlet”, a podcasting company, for 230 million and “Anchor”, a creation/distribution platform (Heater).
These massive amounts of investment in podcasting is assuring for the podcast industry that began as recently as the early 2000’s. There is money to be made for the content creators of podcasts as well. This paper focuses on how podcast hosts can generate the most amount of money. The two forms of producing income is by paid advertisements or donations/crowdfunding. I conducted an experiment using my own podcast to test whether paid advertisements or donations were more effective at making money. My hypothesis for this experiment is if I offer a free podcast for the public to listen to and ask for donations then I think less than 10% of listeners will donate. I believe that paid advertisements will generate more revenue than donations because I believe podcast listeners are not generous enough to donate. My research on how to make the most money podcasting is illustrated in the following pages.
ContributorsMaldonado, Marcus (Author) / Radway, Debra (Thesis director) / Bonfigilo, Thomas (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
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

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.
ContributorsMyers, Claire Elizabeth (Author) / Trujillo, Rhett (Thesis director) / Laughlin, Drew (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Description
This thesis examines the applications of the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence within small-to-medium sized retail businesses. These technologies have become a common aspect of a modern business environment, yet there remains a level of unfamiliarity with these concepts for business owners to fully utilize these tools. The complexity

This thesis examines the applications of the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence within small-to-medium sized retail businesses. These technologies have become a common aspect of a modern business environment, yet there remains a level of unfamiliarity with these concepts for business owners to fully utilize these tools. The complexity behind IoT and AI has been simplified to provide benefits for a brick and mortar business store in regards to security, logistics, profit optimization, operations, and analytics. While these technologies can contribute to a business’s success, they potentially come with a high and unattainable financial cost. In order to investigate which aspects of businesses can benefit the most from these technologies, interviews with small-to-medium business owners were conducted and paired with an analysis of published research. These interviews provided specific pain points and issues that could potentially be solved by these technologies. The analysis conducted in this thesis gives a detailed summary of this research and provides a business model for two small businesses to optimize their Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence to solve these pain points, while staying in their financial budget.
ContributorsAldrich, Lauren (Co-author) / Bricker, Danielle (Co-author) / Sebold, Brent (Thesis director) / Vermeer, Brandon (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Description
Customers in the modern world are accustomed to having immediate and simple access to an immense amount of information, and demand this immediacy in all businesses, especially in the restaurant industry. Now more than ever, restaurants are relying on third party delivery services such as UberEATS, Postmates, and GrubHub to

Customers in the modern world are accustomed to having immediate and simple access to an immense amount of information, and demand this immediacy in all businesses, especially in the restaurant industry. Now more than ever, restaurants are relying on third party delivery services such as UberEATS, Postmates, and GrubHub to satiate the appetite of their delivery market, and while this may seem like the natural progression, not all restaurant owners are comfortable moving in this direction. Pain points range from not wanting a third party to represent their business or the lack of supervision over the food in transit, and the time it takes to navigate the delivery landscape, to the fact that some food just doesn’t “travel” well. In addition to this, food delivery services can cause increased stress on a kitchen, and dig into the bottom line of an already slim restaurant margin. Simply put, customer reliance on these applications puts apprehensive restaurant owners at a competitive disadvantage.Our solution is simple—we want business owners to be able to take advantage of the huge market provided by third party delivery services, without the fear of compromising their brand. At DLVR Consulting, we listen to specific pain points of a customer and alleviate them through solutions developed by our in-house food, restaurant, and branding experts. Whether creating an entirely new “delivery” brand, menu curation, or payment processing service, we give the customer exactly what they need to feel comfortable using third-party delivery applications. In this plan, we will first take a deep dive into the problem and opportunity identified by both third-party research and first-hand interviews with successful restaurant owners and operators. After exploring the problem, we will propose our solution, who we will target with said solution, and what makes this solution unique and sellable. From here we will begin to explore the execution of our ideas, including our sales and marketing plans which will work in conjunction with our go-to-market strategy. We will explore key milestones and metrics we hope to meet in the coming year, as well as the team which will be taking DLVR from a plan to an implemented business. We will take a look at our three year financial forecast, and break this down further to monthly revenue, direct costs, and expenses. We will finish by taking a look at our required funding, and how we will attempt to gain said funding.
ContributorsClancy, Kevin (Co-author, Co-author) / Sebold, Brent (Thesis director) / Clancy, Keith (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Description
The way that people consume media is changing. While every platform seems to shift to video, there is a not-so-quiet revolution going on in the podcast industry. Each week, 10,000 new podcasts are created and uploaded and this number continues to grow (Moore, 2018). As the prevalence of smartphones, faster

The way that people consume media is changing. While every platform seems to shift to video, there is a not-so-quiet revolution going on in the podcast industry. Each week, 10,000 new podcasts are created and uploaded and this number continues to grow (Moore, 2018). As the prevalence of smartphones, faster download speeds, and streaming platforms have proliferated across the globe, more and more people are turning to podcasts to get their content fix. Young professionals are especially drawn to the format because it fits perfectly into their busy lifestyles. This thesis explored how to create, produce, and market a podcast to college students and entry level workers that are interested in pursuing a career in advertising. We collected data through conducting depth interviews and an online survey to podcast listeners as well marketing and design students. The insights drawn from this research were combined with a thorough trend analysis of the podcast market to find the factors that matter most to the target consumer. From there we produced eight episodes of the podcast and released them over a timespan of two and a half months. Finally, paid social media advertisements were used to target students at major advertising colleges around the country. The results of this thesis found that there are a number of important takeaways from the process that can help anyone build a podcast brand, audience and media strategy. Our research found that prospective podcasters should: maintain a consistent upload schedule, invest in audio quality, experiment with content strategy, know their target audience, own your show’s brand, and not rely on just one audio streaming platform.
ContributorsLarkin, Brianna Nicole (Co-author) / Larkin, Brianna (Co-author) / Teixeira, Trent (Thesis director) / Eaton, Kathryn Karnos (Committee member) / Giles, Charles (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Description
Innovation Space is Arizona State University’s capstone style project in which upper division students gain real experience in the startup and product development world by solving real-world problems. These problems were presented to my team by sponsor; LG Electronics. Innovation Space uniquely offered an interdisciplinary glance into “real life” in

Innovation Space is Arizona State University’s capstone style project in which upper division students gain real experience in the startup and product development world by solving real-world problems. These problems were presented to my team by sponsor; LG Electronics. Innovation Space uniquely offered an interdisciplinary glance into “real life” in the months before college graduation. Students are placed on teams with designers, engineers, sustainability majors, and business majors to better reflect the real world. As a business student of this program, I was able to gain and share knowledge from my teammates’ distinct backgrounds; as well as gain the interdisciplinary experience that is key to a college education, specifically to a business student. LG Electronics, our sponsor, brought our team the task of expanding their product line in their “wind comfort” business unit. LG Electronics has created a lighter, more efficient motor for a fan; likely as an answer to their dominating fan competitor, Dyson. LG Electronics wanted to see what our team could do to alter the way people cool their homes, and we responded with three original ideas: a modular, non-centralized A/C unit; a hands-free hair dryer; and a portable 360 degree fan. Our team developed the latter product, and named it Torus. The product was developed over the course of August 2018 to May 2019, ending in a working prototype formally presented to the sponsor and industry professionals. On top of this project, I was directed to also analyze the Innovation Space program for its benefits and drawbacks to a business degree from the W.P. Carey School of Business.
ContributorsSkogebo, Hannah Michelle (Author) / Trujillo, Rhett (Thesis director) / Hedges, Craig (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
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Description
After freelancing on my own for the past year and a half, I have realized that one of the biggest obstacles to college entrepreneurs is a fear or apprehension to sales. As a computer science major trying to sell my services, I discovered very quickly that I had not been

After freelancing on my own for the past year and a half, I have realized that one of the biggest obstacles to college entrepreneurs is a fear or apprehension to sales. As a computer science major trying to sell my services, I discovered very quickly that I had not been prepared for the difficulty of learning sales. Sales get a bad rap and very often is the last thing that young entrepreneurs want to try, but the reality is that sales is oxygen to a company and a required skill for an entrepreneur. Due to this, I compiled all of my knowledge into an e-book for young entrepreneurs starting out to learn how to open up a conversation with a prospect all the way to closing them on the phone. Instead of starting from scratch like I did, college entrepreneurs can learn the bare basics of selling their own services, even if they are terrified of sales and what it entails. In this e-book, there are tips that I have learned to deal with my anxiety about sales such as taking the pressure off of yourself and prioritizing listening more than pitching. Instead of trying to teach sales expecting people to be natural sales people, this e-book takes the approach of helping entrepreneurs that are terrified of sales and show them how they can cope with this fear and still close a client. In the future, I hope young entrepreneurs will have access to more resources that handle this fear and make it much easier for them to learn it by themselves. This e-book is the first step.
ContributorsMead, Kevin Tyler (Author) / Sebold, Brent (Thesis director) / Kruse, Gabriel (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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How prepared are individuals to work in an environment with sensitive information? Do business students believe a data security course would be a valuable addition to their curriculum? This study investigates W.P. Carey's role in preparing its students for jobs in which they most likely will have to handle large

How prepared are individuals to work in an environment with sensitive information? Do business students believe a data security course would be a valuable addition to their curriculum? This study investigates W.P. Carey's role in preparing its students for jobs in which they most likely will have to handle large amounts of important data. Roughly 500 students across varying majors and years of education in the W.P. Carey School of Business answered an assortment of questions on their computer habits, and responded to various scenarios to test their knowledge. The survey targeted three specific areas (Software Updates, Password Protection, and Phishing) which was believed to be most pertinent to the students' future roles as professionals. While a large number of those surveyed (roughly 65%) responded well to most questions, nearly a third of all the responses received indicated cause for concern or an indication of a lack of knowledge. It was suggested (and many respondents agreed) that further education be provided to students for their own well-being in addition to the wellbeing of their future employers.
ContributorsVaughan, Nathaniel D (Author) / Lin, Elva (Thesis director) / Doupé, Adam (Committee member) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The main compelling question to this thesis was to determine if there is a relationship between the amount of sensitivity received in ones college experience to how easily one transitions to a full time role upon graduation. Furthermore to determine if there is measurable difference, what can educators do to

The main compelling question to this thesis was to determine if there is a relationship between the amount of sensitivity received in ones college experience to how easily one transitions to a full time role upon graduation. Furthermore to determine if there is measurable difference, what can educators do to close the gap to better serve students. The conduction of this thesis was done through a survey via Google Forms targeting three groups. The three groups were Alpha Kappa Psi at Arizona State University, Delta Sigma Pi at Penn State University and the Supply Chain Development Program at Dell in Austin, Texas. These groups allowed for a wide range of demographics in participants from all over the US and with many different business majors. There were two main sections in the survey, personal experiences with professors and personal experiences with peers. Both asked multiple different hard data questions (multiple choice, numerical rating, drop down) and short answer questions (open ended.) The goal was to gauge participant's experiences with their professors and their peers in terms of sensitivity and see if it helped or hindered their experience transitioning to a full time role. The results for the hard data indicated that there was a significant correlation between better professors being more sensitive and worse professors exercising very little sensitivity. The open ended responses indicated that students preferred professors that gave less sensitive and academic approach and more real life experiences to help them transition to their job. There were many issues to if the open-ended responses specifically addressed sensitivity versus other topics. Three other topics that were clearly alternately identified were class behavior, job relevancy, and professor influence/resistance. Overall from the research completed in this study it can be concluded that sensitivity does not significantly affect the performance in the transition from college to working in a profession environment.
ContributorsGhinos, Christina Eva (Author) / Kellso, James (Thesis director) / Thorn, Taylor (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
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Description
This paper is rooted in the field of business, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship in the fashion industry. The questions we tried to answer were the following: What are factors of success for current fashion brands? What is important to our target market when shopping? How can we deliver these

This paper is rooted in the field of business, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship in the fashion industry. The questions we tried to answer were the following: What are factors of success for current fashion brands? What is important to our target market when shopping? How can we deliver these attributes to our target market? How can we use our findings to create a fashion brand? First, we conducted in-depth external analysis about existing retailers including, Forever 21, Zara and Brandy Melville. After doing so, we created brand molecules and learned about other people's perceptions in relation to these existing brands. Next, using our own qualitative and quantitative research, we sought to understand the many gaps in the overall shopping experience for college students and young working professionals. Our research revealed many common themes and trends that we will integrate into our proposed business plan in efforts to fill the gaps. Through our data analysis, common trends included how our demographic learns about new fashion trends, statement pieces versus mix-and-match basics, online shopping versus in-store shopping, price sensitivity of our target market, and lastly, the quality of customer service and the store's return policy. After our extensive research and data analysis, we began to construct our brand. We propose a new business model that targets our fashion-forward consumer with a memorable shopping experience that delivers high-quality and trendiness to their wardrobe. Using the elements and trends we identified, combined with our own vision, we combined them into one brand, The Capsule Collection. ur brand will feature high-quality, reasonably priced basics ranging from everyday casual to business casual. We will have store locations in cities where there are many young working professionals, and target them through social media advertising. Our store will feature an open layout with clean and minimalistic displays, keeping everything in neutral tones and accented with plants. The goal of The Capsule Collection is to make shopping as easy and exciting as possible, and focus entirely on the customer's experience.
ContributorsMeyyappan, Rathna (Co-author) / Aggarwal, Payal (Co-author) / Gray, Nancy (Thesis director) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12