The market for searching for food online is exploding. According to one expert at Google, “there are over 1 billion restaurant searches on Google every month” (Kelso, 2020). To capture this market and ride the general digital trend of internet personalization (as evidenced by Google search results, ads, YouTube and social media algorithms, etc), we created Munch to be an algorithm meant to help people find food they’ll love. <br/><br/>Munch offers the ability to search for food by restaurant or even as specific as a menu item (ex: search for the best Pad Thai). The best part? It is customized to your preferences based on a quiz you take when you open the app and from that point continuously learns from your behavior.<br/><br/>This thesis documents the journey of the team who founded Munch, what progress we made and the reasoning behind our decisions, where this idea fits in a competitive marketplace, how much it could be worth, branding, and our recommendations for a successful app in the future.

Waste pickers are the victims of harsh economic and social factors that have hurt many<br/>developing countries and billions of people around the world. Due to the rise of industrialization<br/>since the 19th century, waste and disposable resources have been discarded around the world to<br/>provide more resources, products, and services to wealthy countries. This has put developing<br/>countries in a precarious position where people have had very few economic opportunities<br/>besides taking on the role of waste pickers, who not only face physical health consequences due<br/>to the work they do but also face exclusion from society due to the negative views of waste<br/>pickers. Many people view waste pickers as scavengers and people who survive off of doing<br/>dirty work, which creates tensions between waste pickers and others in society. This even leads<br/>to many countries outlawing waste picking and has led to the brutal treatment of waste pickers<br/>throughout the world and has even led to thousands of waste pickers being killed by anti-waste<br/>picker groups and law enforcement organizations in many countries.<br/>Waste pickers are often at the bottom of supply chains as they take resources that have<br/>been used and discarded, and provide them to recyclers, waste management organizations, and<br/>others who are able to turn these resources into usable materials again. Waste pickers do not have<br/>many opportunities to rise above the situation they are in as waste picking has become the only<br/>option for many people who need to provide for themselves and their families. They are not<br/>compensated very well for the work they do, which also contributes to the situation where waste<br/>pickers are forced into a position of severe health risks, backlash from society and governments,<br/>not being able to seek better opportunities due to a lack of earning potential, and not being<br/>connected with end-users. Now is the time to create new business models that solve these large<br/>problems in our global society and create a sustainable way to ensure that waste pickers are<br/>treated properly around the world.

This thesis project has been conducted in accordance with The Founder’s Lab initiative which is sponsored by the W. P. Carey School of Business. This program groups three students together and tasks them with creating a business idea, conducting the necessary research to bring the concept to life, and exploring different aspects of business, with the end goal of gaining traction. The product we were given to work through this process with was Hot Head, an engineering capstone project concept. The Hot Head product is a sustainable and innovative solution to the water waste issue we find is very prominent in the United States. In order to bring the Hot Head idea to life, we were tasked with doing research on topics ranging from the Hot Head life cycle to finding plausible personas who may have an interest in the Hot Head product. This paper outlines the journey to gaining traction via a marketing campaign and exposure of our brand on several platforms, with a specific interest in website traffic. Our research scope comes from mainly primary sources like gathering opinions of potential buyers by sending out surveys and hosting focus groups. The paper concludes with some possible future steps that could be taken if this project were to be continued.

The Winner's Circle aims to provide a digital platform for sports fans and betting addicts, in hopes to help centralize various forms of social communication between family, close friends, and strangers alike. As the legalization of sports related gambling activities become more widespread throughout the United States as well as the rest of the world, our platform has to potential to connect millions of like-minded, adrenaline-seeking fans across the globe.

This thesis project focuses on the creation and assessment of the "Simple Stocks" app, a straightforward investment tool specifically developed for people who are new to investing and find it challenging to comprehend the complexities of the stock market. We identified a significant gap in the availability of easy-to-understand resources and information for beginner investors, which led us to design an app that provides clear and simple data, professional advice from financial analysts, and an advanced machine learning feature to predict stock trends. The "Simple Stocks" app also incorporates a voting feature, allowing users to see what other investors think about specific stocks. This functionality not only helps users make informed decisions but also encourages a sense of community, as users can learn from each other's experiences and opinions. By creating a supportive environment, the app promotes a more approachable and enjoyable experience for those who are new to investing. Following the successful release of the "Simple Stocks'' app on the App Store, our current objectives include expanding the user base and looking into various ways to generate income. One possible approach is to collaborate with other companies and establish an advertising-based revenue model, which would benefit both parties by attracting more users and increasing profits.

For the honors thesis project, a group of five individuals collaborated to design and implement a sustainable business in the ASU community. Kandi Society is a rising jewelry brand whose top priorities include giving recycled plastic a new purpose, philanthropy, and making a welcoming, creative environment for our customers. We designed the Eco-Bead with 3D CAD modeling and produced it through a process called plastic injection molding which is explained in detail in the final paper. Kandi Society instilled a positive impact on ASU students by igniting a sustainability spark and increasing interest in repurposing materials in the future.

As members of the Greek community at Arizona State University, we understand that there is a need for a cohesive software that can collectively simplify the amount of applications that fraternities and sororities use, as well as provide a high quality user experience. Our idea is called One Greek. One Greek can be summed up to address three issues: simplifying communication among members of the same organization, enhancing the event planning process, and creating a new recruitment experience to increase retention and better promote the Greek community.

As entrepreneurs, we understand the challenges and obstacles that come with growing a business, which is why we developed a revolutionary software platform to connect entrepreneurs with qualified life coaches. The purpose of Coach Connect is to empower entrepreneurs to achieve their maximum potential by providing access to premium coaches and cutting-edge resources in human excellence, including the latest advancements in neuroscience and psychology. This objective is accomplished by the development of an application to connect entrepreneurs with coaches, providing value through facilitation. Our platform is unique in leveraging a user database and weighting system to match constituents based on suitable preferences like individual learning and communication styles. Based on categorical filters, our platform perpetrates matches for a more personalized and productive coaching experience. The application addresses key challenges for both coaches and entrepreneurs: a lack of effective marketing resources for coaches and laborious tribulation in finding the right coach. By bridging this gap as the “connective tissue”, we will create a cost-effective, efficient way for coaches to scale their businesses while enhancing the personal and professional development of entrepreneurs. At our core, we are driven by a powerful mission–to unleash the immense potential of entrepreneurs. We are committed to providing every entrepreneur with the tools and resources he or she needs to succeed. As a vehicle of social change, we will make a meaningful impact in the entrepreneurial community where those with the greatest capability require the most decisive wisdom. Our two-ended target market consists of ambitious entrepreneurs aged 25-45 seeking personalized support to overcome obstacles alongside experienced life coaches seeking exposure to those clients for expanding their practices. Coaches will be charged a monthly subscription while entrepreneurs will pay a small fee for platform utilization. Coach Connect boasts a talented and diverse team of five individuals with backgrounds in coaching, NeuroLinguistic Programming, accounting, finance, entrepreneurship, customer service, software engineering, and personal development. Cross-functionality allows us to iterate per validations while algorithms are in development, reducing our time to market. Leveraging an extensive network in the startup industry, as well as resources and connections through Arizona State University, we are uniquely positioned to scale Coach Connect.

Students for Success is a consulting firm designed to connect undergraduate ASU students with those applying to ASU. Our counselors are well versed in scholarships, housing, programs, clubs, and deadline information. This firm provides flexible work for undergraduate students, while giving applicants a custom experience from a student who truly understands the most recent application process.

We founded an operational startup company and developed a consumable product to sell to ASU students. Our primary objective is the provision of affordable nutritious energy bars to overworked and overwhelmed college students. We aim to support hungry students in efforts to fuel their bodies efficiently and nutritiously; in order to do so, we donate 20% of our profits to charity to support students in debt. Our business won the Business Catalyst Choice Award for having "the most promising business concept".