1. The segment that I have chosen are people who live either on campus or near campus as they are within the targeted demographic as well as are the most likely candidates to purchase such as product.
2. The first interview that I conducted proved to be unique in that this person who lives in a fraternity house, while having his own laundry system, decided to export his clothes to a dry cleaning service. Because of his parent's well-to-do financial state, he decided that he forgoes cleaning his clothes himself and instead deliberately chooses to dry clean his clothes. Because of this insight, I have found that there is unforeseen competition with services that pick up and deliver laundry. Perhaps this will extend the venture rather than hinder it. This service would not necessarily benefit him directly, but if added to the dry cleaning service, it may become an additional feature.
3. In the next interview I chose a student who lived in an off-campus house. At this location, these students did not pay for their laundry so incentivized use would not work, however this did pose an interesting alternate route when it comes to laundry facilities in the area as they use a payment system for their services. Despite this, the off-campus house retained interesting features such as an outdoor laundry room and led me to speculate that perhaps there may be glitches in the system when in contact with environmental forces. Although those at this house may use the product, they worry about how these external factors would effect it.
4. The third interview comes from another student who lives off campus who simply does not do laundry for long periods of time. This person simply does not see the value in the product as he does not consistently perform laundry duties. Although this may be an issue for my product, I find that this is much more of a personal issue of hygiene so I feel that perhaps with a stronger marketing push, disenfranchised users such as this one would conform to my service's efforts.
Although some of these interviews opened my eyes to new markets and users, I have also found that there is a lot more potential for my product's future success. If not for conducting these interviews, people at the margins may not be able to be reached as easily as I would have hoped. Thus, my product may extend its reach in a number of various ways in the future.
Thursday, February 20, 2020
11A – Idea Napkin No. 1
1) My name is Brandon Gin and I am a fourth year telecommunication: production major. My skills include leadership, efficiency, and creativity. I also come with a number of experiences that include four various part-time positions such as a server, bus boy, student assistant, and customer service representative. With these facets in place, I have aspirations of becoming a writer for a television show, more specifically something in animation. I see this business as a possible venture that I may decide to pursue if I have enough capital to commit to this entrepreneurial endeavor.
2) The service that I am offering is a more efficient way to save customers time when doing laundry duties around campus. With my product, people will be able to have a productive way to perform their laundry duties through incentivization tactics of offering a point based system for use that users accrue and eventually use for free laundry. This also include status updates to laundry cycles as well as any errors.
3) I am offering this to university students, however there is potential for expansion to other users worldwide. All of these customers share the common trait of owning clothes.
4) This product is valuable as your time is valuable. By purchasing my service, users will be able to more efficiently control this seemingly chaotic and inconsistent aspect of their lives so that they may better put forth their efforts into more productive aspects of life.
5) What sets me apart from all others is a novel product under a creative format that gives back to its users.
I believe that my business concept is solid. I firmly stand with my product as it is mutually beneficial to users as it is for business. Not only this, but I believe that it will soon be a paramount feature for all laundry-users. Because of this large demographic, I can see this product gaining power and eventually becoming commonplace. With this, I find that my product is strong and does not hold any weak aspects.
2) The service that I am offering is a more efficient way to save customers time when doing laundry duties around campus. With my product, people will be able to have a productive way to perform their laundry duties through incentivization tactics of offering a point based system for use that users accrue and eventually use for free laundry. This also include status updates to laundry cycles as well as any errors.
3) I am offering this to university students, however there is potential for expansion to other users worldwide. All of these customers share the common trait of owning clothes.
4) This product is valuable as your time is valuable. By purchasing my service, users will be able to more efficiently control this seemingly chaotic and inconsistent aspect of their lives so that they may better put forth their efforts into more productive aspects of life.
5) What sets me apart from all others is a novel product under a creative format that gives back to its users.
I believe that my business concept is solid. I firmly stand with my product as it is mutually beneficial to users as it is for business. Not only this, but I believe that it will soon be a paramount feature for all laundry-users. Because of this large demographic, I can see this product gaining power and eventually becoming commonplace. With this, I find that my product is strong and does not hold any weak aspects.
Thursday, February 13, 2020
9A-Testing the Hypothesis Part 2
Who: After conducting another five interviews and searching for prototypical customers that fall outside the boundaries of my product, I have discovered that this would not apply to people that use the time doing laundry to their advantage and stay in the area and those that do not have modern or typical mobile devices at their disposal. This does not, however, create a huge rift as the vast majority of people do not fall within this outside boundary category. For these sets of people I cannot at this time foresee a potential remedy to this as these people are already at a disadvantage with other aspects of the modern social-technological age. Despite this, the first group may be willing to assimilate as time proves the product to be more useful.
What: In these instances, there is less of a need, but rather a lack of a desire to have a need on the subject matter. For these people, the extra time not focused on laundry allows for them to direct their attention elsewhere. The other group has an extenuating need that may fall outside of my control unless a tag-a-long product is established to use in place of the mobile device.
Why: I believe that differences in priorities cater to the group who use the time to their advantage by remaining in the area. As far as the other group, I believe that this may be more of a socioeconomic issue, or perhaps a lifestyle choice
Inside the Boundary Outside the Boundary
Who: People who value their time and desire Who: People who do not have the
efficiency when timing their laundry. tech. or desire.
What: An application to send notification and status What: Lack desire or tech. but make do.
updates.
Why: Students are forced to guess of inefficiently time Why: Socioeconomic factors or lifestyle
their laundry. choices dictate.
What: In these instances, there is less of a need, but rather a lack of a desire to have a need on the subject matter. For these people, the extra time not focused on laundry allows for them to direct their attention elsewhere. The other group has an extenuating need that may fall outside of my control unless a tag-a-long product is established to use in place of the mobile device.
Why: I believe that differences in priorities cater to the group who use the time to their advantage by remaining in the area. As far as the other group, I believe that this may be more of a socioeconomic issue, or perhaps a lifestyle choice
Inside the Boundary Outside the Boundary
Who: People who value their time and desire Who: People who do not have the
efficiency when timing their laundry. tech. or desire.
What: An application to send notification and status What: Lack desire or tech. but make do.
updates.
Why: Students are forced to guess of inefficiently time Why: Socioeconomic factors or lifestyle
their laundry. choices dictate.
Friday, February 7, 2020
8A: Solving the Problem
The opportunity that I have selected is a mobile application that ascertains a washing machine or drying machine's finishing time and creates a system to inform the user of the status and thus send notifications as to the completion of the laundry. For this endeavor I have chosen to create a subscription service that is incentivized by use that works to pay for the laundry machines after a certain amount of uses of the application. With the subscription service, not only is the commitment to the product less anxiety-ridden, but also allows for an easy payment system so that students at universities may cut time costs on doing the mundane task of laundry. The application itself will host a number of features including a status update of the laundry, the finalized time for the which the laundry is complete, and a notification system that sends out alerts to the user in order to ensure that said user knows when their laundry is done. Perhaps further technological advancement will allow for newer features such as indications of laundry errors, and detailed descriptions of how to properly take care of the specific laundry entered into the machine. With this, I believe that this will become a solid product that will be equally as successful as it is desirable in the market. Not only this, but in time the application should grow with technology instead of staying behind it and build on the progressive nature of things, serving us in the process.
Thursday, February 6, 2020
7A: Testing the Hypothesis
1) The opportunity I would like to pursue deals with viewing the time it takes for a student's laundry to be completely done so that the student does not waste time by attempting to guess at the laundry's status.
2) Who: Students at universities.
What: Find difficulty in determining how long it takes to complete laundry and correctly return
to not waste time.
Why: A majority of schools have archaic technology in place.
3) Testing the who: Other people who share the who may extend beyond universities towards many
other citizens who do not have an advanced technological system to ensure that they know
exactly when their laundry is completed.
Testing the what: Can all machines be compatible with a new software? Will the technology
suffice without advanced technology in the machines?
Testing the why: Modern technology has not completely upgraded all aspects of society,
especially simple machinery like laundry.
4) After interviewing 5 students at the University of Florida, the prototypical customers, I confirmed that my suspicions about the potential growth in the area of modern technological advancements in the school's present laundry system were in fact correct and justified. It appears that there is clearly a necessity for such an issue to be tackled through a more modern perspective on the matter rather than through circumventing back around to find no concrete resolution as satisfying. All participants in the interviews agreed that the need certainly exists, however their prime concern regarded integration into the system, yet if possible would prove to be immensely beneficial to their daily practices. I also found that the "who" would potentially extend to the faculty as well as some of those members too use the facilities on campus. Despite this, all members suspected that an application would in fact prove to not only useful, but profitable and worth the investment as it would surely be used often. In examining the "what" portion, I have found more questions than answers as technological experts were not within my grasp. A student from the Murphree Area commented that she felt that the payment system may not be as well grounded if not incentivized. Besides this, another resident from Graham Hall questioned the effectiveness of the application when compared to simple timers on his phone. Regardless of this possibility, I have found that I need to not only produce a viable product but convince my target audience that this is a valuable commodity. In testing the "why", many people did in fact agree that technology may not have caught up in other facets of machinery, however there was also information ascertained from the interviews that led to me question about whether or not the schools would have to be involved in the process or if this may be a third party venture. Clearly, there is a need here that is being unmet and so perhaps this application may alleviate those stressors.
5) From conducting the interviews with students around campus, I have now understood that new questions have arisen from the topic, leading me to wonder how to find the answers to these issues. I find that maybe through further research and understanding of school policies I may be able to find solutions to successfully integrate my product into the system . With this, I feel positively that this will be a successful addition to modern university culture.
2) Who: Students at universities.
What: Find difficulty in determining how long it takes to complete laundry and correctly return
to not waste time.
Why: A majority of schools have archaic technology in place.
3) Testing the who: Other people who share the who may extend beyond universities towards many
other citizens who do not have an advanced technological system to ensure that they know
exactly when their laundry is completed.
Testing the what: Can all machines be compatible with a new software? Will the technology
suffice without advanced technology in the machines?
Testing the why: Modern technology has not completely upgraded all aspects of society,
especially simple machinery like laundry.
4) After interviewing 5 students at the University of Florida, the prototypical customers, I confirmed that my suspicions about the potential growth in the area of modern technological advancements in the school's present laundry system were in fact correct and justified. It appears that there is clearly a necessity for such an issue to be tackled through a more modern perspective on the matter rather than through circumventing back around to find no concrete resolution as satisfying. All participants in the interviews agreed that the need certainly exists, however their prime concern regarded integration into the system, yet if possible would prove to be immensely beneficial to their daily practices. I also found that the "who" would potentially extend to the faculty as well as some of those members too use the facilities on campus. Despite this, all members suspected that an application would in fact prove to not only useful, but profitable and worth the investment as it would surely be used often. In examining the "what" portion, I have found more questions than answers as technological experts were not within my grasp. A student from the Murphree Area commented that she felt that the payment system may not be as well grounded if not incentivized. Besides this, another resident from Graham Hall questioned the effectiveness of the application when compared to simple timers on his phone. Regardless of this possibility, I have found that I need to not only produce a viable product but convince my target audience that this is a valuable commodity. In testing the "why", many people did in fact agree that technology may not have caught up in other facets of machinery, however there was also information ascertained from the interviews that led to me question about whether or not the schools would have to be involved in the process or if this may be a third party venture. Clearly, there is a need here that is being unmet and so perhaps this application may alleviate those stressors.
5) From conducting the interviews with students around campus, I have now understood that new questions have arisen from the topic, leading me to wonder how to find the answers to these issues. I find that maybe through further research and understanding of school policies I may be able to find solutions to successfully integrate my product into the system . With this, I feel positively that this will be a successful addition to modern university culture.
6A: Identifying Opportunites in Economic & Regulatory Trends
Opportunity 1:
a) https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/legalizing-marijuana-future-of-work
b) I believe that a significant opportunity may exist in the growing marijuana market as legalization as well as more research in its application drive the product towards economic success. This would have a tremendous effect on the individual, business, and governmental levels. With its legalization there is room for economic growth through taxation as well as overall exchange of goods.
c) Fortunately in this scenario, the average customer for marijuana are many citizens that simply desire it. This may span across a multitude of generations that use the product for a number of varying reasons.
d) After the legalization and further implementation for recreational use, the opportunity will surely be easy to implement, despite current legislation causing it to be difficult, especially through ensuring proper licensing and regulatory practices.
From my large indoctrination in culture, specifically that of modern America, I have come to this belief in this opportunity as talks of its potential have exponentially grown over the years, especially now. With this, it wasn't hard to formulate a belief in its success. With individual states and countries like Canada legalizing the product, it is a wonder to see how someone could not find the opportunity in the venture.
Opportunity 2:
a) https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51393808
b) I believe that an opportunity may exist in this venture as self driving cars and overall automation appear to be the way of the future in order to cut costs. In the specific cases of companies such as Uber and Lyft, there appears to be a growing need to convert over to driverless cars as profit margins do not appear to currently be working in their favor under their overall business model. By removing the driver, the company is thus saving money, which in turn may save their business.
c) The most likely customer are driver companies as they require these types of vehicles in order to yield a profit. Thus, on-the-go individuals that do not or cannot drive will be able to purchase rides from said companies, creating positive economic growth.
d) This opportunity is currently difficult to exploit as further testing and technological advances need to be made in order to ensure that no accidents or negative repercussions spurn out of the entire conversion of driven cars to driverless cars.
This opportunity came to me as I am a frequent user of ride sharing applications and by seeing growing trends in technology from the news I thought that an opportunity such as this one would prove largely beneficial to all parties associated.
Opportunity 3:
a) https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/01/31/trump-water-rules/
b) I believe that an opportunity exists in the deregulation of clean water as it produces a distinct opportunity for companies such as real-estate developers who before had to navigate through more strict regulatory channels in order to develop properties. Now, this same group will experience a reduction in the financial burden it may have had to undertake during the execution of said regulations.
c) The prototypical customer for this regulatory practice would be the companies that seek to develop housing on lands that channel various waterways. By removing this block, companies may not profit more and thus help spurn economic growth through a trickle-down system of finances.
d) I believe that this is easy to exploit as it has already been implemented and the subsequent benefactors of the decision are already using this to their advantage.
As a native Florida resident, waterways and real-estate development are naturally observable practices from my home town of Boca Raton. Through this, I found this concept rather easy to understand, especially in the marshy areas of South Florida.
Opportunity 4:
a) https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/food-stamp-change-will-hurt-kids-educators-advocates-testify-n1131646
b) I believe that an opportunity exists in the changing of a rule to the federal food stamp program through a more stringent maintenance of a system that may have previously been flawed in its design.
c) The most likely customer of this are school children and families riddled with poverty. If a stricter system is placed to extend accountability issues, perhaps the budget for the program itself will increase with the decrease in users that abuse the system.
d) This will be easy to exploit as it is simply cutting off non desirable candidates for the program in favor of those that truly need the financial support and safety net that this program entails.
As a previous benefactor of such a program, I found this concept easy to ascertain and understand. Although I'm uncertain of the exact impact this will have on all aspects of the scenario, I believe that there may be some real positive impact that it can create.
a) https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/legalizing-marijuana-future-of-work
b) I believe that a significant opportunity may exist in the growing marijuana market as legalization as well as more research in its application drive the product towards economic success. This would have a tremendous effect on the individual, business, and governmental levels. With its legalization there is room for economic growth through taxation as well as overall exchange of goods.
c) Fortunately in this scenario, the average customer for marijuana are many citizens that simply desire it. This may span across a multitude of generations that use the product for a number of varying reasons.
d) After the legalization and further implementation for recreational use, the opportunity will surely be easy to implement, despite current legislation causing it to be difficult, especially through ensuring proper licensing and regulatory practices.
From my large indoctrination in culture, specifically that of modern America, I have come to this belief in this opportunity as talks of its potential have exponentially grown over the years, especially now. With this, it wasn't hard to formulate a belief in its success. With individual states and countries like Canada legalizing the product, it is a wonder to see how someone could not find the opportunity in the venture.
Opportunity 2:
a) https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51393808
b) I believe that an opportunity may exist in this venture as self driving cars and overall automation appear to be the way of the future in order to cut costs. In the specific cases of companies such as Uber and Lyft, there appears to be a growing need to convert over to driverless cars as profit margins do not appear to currently be working in their favor under their overall business model. By removing the driver, the company is thus saving money, which in turn may save their business.
c) The most likely customer are driver companies as they require these types of vehicles in order to yield a profit. Thus, on-the-go individuals that do not or cannot drive will be able to purchase rides from said companies, creating positive economic growth.
d) This opportunity is currently difficult to exploit as further testing and technological advances need to be made in order to ensure that no accidents or negative repercussions spurn out of the entire conversion of driven cars to driverless cars.
This opportunity came to me as I am a frequent user of ride sharing applications and by seeing growing trends in technology from the news I thought that an opportunity such as this one would prove largely beneficial to all parties associated.
Opportunity 3:
a) https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/01/31/trump-water-rules/
b) I believe that an opportunity exists in the deregulation of clean water as it produces a distinct opportunity for companies such as real-estate developers who before had to navigate through more strict regulatory channels in order to develop properties. Now, this same group will experience a reduction in the financial burden it may have had to undertake during the execution of said regulations.
c) The prototypical customer for this regulatory practice would be the companies that seek to develop housing on lands that channel various waterways. By removing this block, companies may not profit more and thus help spurn economic growth through a trickle-down system of finances.
d) I believe that this is easy to exploit as it has already been implemented and the subsequent benefactors of the decision are already using this to their advantage.
As a native Florida resident, waterways and real-estate development are naturally observable practices from my home town of Boca Raton. Through this, I found this concept rather easy to understand, especially in the marshy areas of South Florida.
Opportunity 4:
a) https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/food-stamp-change-will-hurt-kids-educators-advocates-testify-n1131646
b) I believe that an opportunity exists in the changing of a rule to the federal food stamp program through a more stringent maintenance of a system that may have previously been flawed in its design.
c) The most likely customer of this are school children and families riddled with poverty. If a stricter system is placed to extend accountability issues, perhaps the budget for the program itself will increase with the decrease in users that abuse the system.
d) This will be easy to exploit as it is simply cutting off non desirable candidates for the program in favor of those that truly need the financial support and safety net that this program entails.
As a previous benefactor of such a program, I found this concept easy to ascertain and understand. Although I'm uncertain of the exact impact this will have on all aspects of the scenario, I believe that there may be some real positive impact that it can create.
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