4A- Forming an Opportunity Belief

Forming an Opportunity Belief

1. I have a belief that an opportunity exists for a bug that nearly everyone has. I failed to think of this bug for my bug list, but remembered when the event occurred... Losing your keys/ wallet!

2. The unmet need of losing your keys is, well, finding your keys/ wallet! In finding people who have this need, I would say that nearly everyone has had an experience where they’ve lost their keys/ wallet, and it sure is flustering. I would go to say that this problem has always existed, or at least I haven’t seen a significant change to lower the number of people who have this problem. As of my knowledge, nothing is being done to meet this need, aside from being more cautious about where you place your wallet and keys. I think this is a problem that is yet to be fixed, so I would say I am 75% sure that the opportunity still exists.

3. Customer Reflections:

In talking to all three customers, they seemed intrigued by the idea of being able to find their keys or wallet at any time. In answering the essential questions about the opportunity, I found that there was a lot of useful responses. The three customers I interviewed were from unique backgrounds in order to ensure that the feedback I was receiving would pertain to a variety of consumers. The three customers I consulted with were: a fraternity brother, a 50-year-old house-wife, and a 24-year-old intern.

As I went through and interviewed my three potential customers, I observed that they all had experienced a time where they had misplaced or lost a pair of keys or their wallets. When I asked them how they solved their problem, two of the participants just shrugged and claimed, “I guess I just retraced my steps...”. Their solution to the problem makes sense, but it leaves room for an opportunity. I continued to ask them questions about the exact nature of their need, and all of the responses seemed as if the need wasn’t urgent. Not everyone loses their keys or wallet, it’s not something that everyone goes through on a daily basis. But when I asked them about their reactions when it DOES happen, they displayed a sense of irritation and urgency. Losing your keys and wallet can ruin your whole day, how nice would it be if you could find the location of either at the click of a button?

At the end of all the interviews, I sat down and pieced together the essential components of my opportunity, and reflected on how this problem affects people on a daily basis. If someone loses their wallet, they have to go through the hassle of calling stores to see if they left it there, freezing their credit cards, and ordering new identification. With the ability to track your wallet, these needs would be vanished. I haven’t done any follow up research to see if this technology exists, but if it does, why isn’t it more accessible?

As a result of these interviews, I successfully identified that my opportunity is still prevalent, even more than I thought. None of my customers said that the need is nonexistent, but it may not be something they’d invest in. In relation to entrepreneurship, I think customer feedback plays a large role in continuing with an idea and adapting to customer concern, or deciding to move on. In my case, I would continue with this idea, because I feel that it could make a major impact on people’s lives.