24A-Venture Concept No. 1

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

My business opportunity is made for those who are able to drive, though I would say my target audience is between the ages 16 and up. The nature of my need is that everyone loses their keys. Finding your keys can take forever, and there is no true solution besides retracing your steps, which can take forever and cause a real hassle in someone’s day. I have experienced this myself, so I can relate to my customers in this way. For this reason, my opportunity will be around for a while. While my product can be extremely useful, I understand that some people will be resistant to buying something that they feel that they would never use. In my opinion, finding keys when they’re lost is always a need, and people with smart phones will be able to retrieve their keys quickly and efficiently through the use of my product. Currently, the only practical solution to this is a competitor’s product, Tile, which has a GPS tracking system connected to your keys/ wallet. I believe my product can not only compete, but outlast Tile for a few reasons, which I will address later. My market is defined by those who are young enough and willing to use smart phones, as well as those who drive and may have trouble finding keys or always seem to lose them. While my opportunity may not be life-changing, I believe this is a bug that can ruin people’s days, and always seems to be a hassle. Through my product, this bug can be relieved before it even happens. 

Innovation

My product, “Freeze”, allows users to find their keys by using a GPS tracking device which is connected to both the users’ smartphone as well as their keys. This means that whenever keys may be lost or misplaced, the user can simply use the app to track their keys and resume their day efficiently. For my product, I will be selling a small chip-like GPS device that can connect to someone’s keychain as well as the app which allows users to access a variety of features. I will be charging $25 for the tracking device and app together, and when users use an access code, they will receive free shipping as a bonus. They will also receive a manual/ instruction on how to connect their keys and GPS device to the app. 

Venture Concept

In applying my product to the opportunity I’ve identified, my product will solve the problem of losing keys by using a GPS tracking device connected to the keys and an app in order to find the keys. One thing that stands out about my opportunity is that the users will be notified when they are a certain distance away from their keys. Users will be able to select this distance through the app, and if they are “forgetting” something they will be notified before the problem even happens. This gives me an edge on competitors, and ultimately eliminated the bug before it even occurs. I think people would use this product and possibly switch from Tile to Freeze because I have heard from Tile users that it is sometimes ineffective and does not solve the problem immediately. While I am excited about the opportunity I have identified, I am unprepared when it comes to start-ups, and will need some help from others that I have reached out to in a targeted networking exercise. This may take a while, but if I put the pieces together right, I think my product could be a success. 

Three Minor Elements

After conducting VRIN analysis on my top resources in last week’s exercise, I think my top resource in my business venture would be the targeted networking experience. In researching my market and finding people who experts in their fields, I have a better chance of actually making my venture’s ‘staying power’ grow. My idea is far from finished, but this resource is one way I can actually make things move forward. Also, I think my inclusion of notifying the user when they are a certain distance from their keys beforehand will give me an advantage on my competitors. In looking to the future for my product, I am going to start thinking of ways to further innovate my idea, or spread to different aspects of “missing items”. I was thinking that I could possibly expand my market not only to users who drive cars, but maybe other aspects of life. Lastly, I believe that this idea could be a true starting point for me as an entrepreneur. Although I want to explore my options in the business world, taking action on this idea could provide me with a broad network of people who can help me, as well as experience with market analysis. In five years, I want to be working for either myself or a company that I believe I can grow in as a professional. Ultimately, this venture concept can help me tremendously in my journey.