Idea Napkin No. 2

1)  About Myself- My name is Robert Rogers and I am a student at the University of Florida set to graduate at the end of April, 2016.  In addition to my Bachelor's in Business Administration and the many business classes that entails, I also studied many science courses to get into the University of Florida's Chemical Engineering program.  I decided to switch to business after speaking to many chemical engineers during my junior year at UF. After doing this, I discovered that I may be happier in a field that is more people-oriented.

I plan to open my own business after I have more experience working in managerial roles.  Regarding this business concept, I don't see it playing a major role in my life.  It is a potentially marketable product but there isn't much that can be done to enhance the final product.  I really enjoyed the entrepreneurial process of thinking of a product and speaking to potential consumers about the product. 

2) What are you offering to customers? I am offering an easier way to transport trash in apartment complexes and condos.

3) Who are you offering it to? The type of customer that would buy my product would live in a location where they have to drive a short distance in their vehicle to transport trash to a central location.  These would most likely be apartment renters and condo owners.  These people dislike putting trash in their car as they don't like to make the car smell.  They also don't like putting trash on top of their car for fears of it falling off.

4) Why do they care? These customers care about their car and don't like the smell of trash in their car.  They also don't like driving over speed bumps while the trash bag is on their car with fear that it might fall off.

5) What are your core competencies? A product like this doesn't exist as far as I know.  This means their is potential for patenting and selling the concept itself or making the product and selling it.  There currently isn't any competition but unfortunately the product could easily be imitated and reproduced after the patent expires. 

I believe that this concept holds well for an "As-Seen-On-TV" product.  There aren't many enhancements that could be made to the product.  During a customer interview, one customer mentioned the possibility of different sizes, which is a potential option.  The company could continue to grow if it produced different products but after competition arises, it will be hard to differentiate the product.

Feedback Memo:  I only received feedback from one person who mentioned that I should determine the size of the population that would buy the product to find out if it would be profitable or not.  It would be a very good idea to find out before marketing this product so that it isn't put to market only to lose money.  I read several other Idea Napkins and incorporated a different approach in my introduction.  I liked that other people were more formal and set up the introduction like an interview.  I incorporated this theme into my introduction and plan to use part of the introduction in upcoming interviews.