Elevator Pitch No. 1

My pitch was pretty sloppy but feel free to criticize :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FLxDbZWpFo&feature=youtu.be

Reading Reflection No. 1

1.     The book I chose for the first reading reflection was “Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s” by Ray Kroc with Robert Anderson. What surprised me most from the book was that I always thought people exaggerated when they said entrepreneurs reach the lowest point in their life right before they peak, and that generalization pretty much applies to Ray Kroc. What I most admire about Ray Kroc is the fact he never really gives up and his work ethic. Many entrepreneurs work beyond the typical 40 hours a week and I really admire that resilience to work hard despite how tough things become. One thing I don’t admire about Kroc was that he wasn’t really committed to his marriage I guess, like he was married prior to meeting Joan but then once he fell in love with her, he wanted to divorce his first wife. Ray Kroc did face many adversities and failures, some of which were health problems and financial troubles. Kroc pretty much just pushed his way through and had to work even harder in order to compensate for his lost wages.

2.     Two competencies that Kroc demonstrated were persistence and the ability to see an opportunity.

3.     A part that confused me was the fact Kroc bought the San Diego Padres like I know he liked baseball but to the point, he buys an entire team?

4.     Two questions I would ask Ray Kroc would be: “Do you regret anything that you did as you grew McDonald’s to become one of the world’s largest fast-food corporations?” and “If you had to do it all over again would you do it?” The reason why I asked these questions is because I’m always interested in whether people liked their life choices or not.  

5.     I believe Kroc’s idea of hard work was never giving up despite all the challenges that you are facing. For example, despite all odds and all the conflicts in his life, Kroc saw an opportunity in the McDonald brothers’ restaurant and seized the opportunity he saw. And what resulted was a multi-billion dollar corporation.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

1.    Segment- People who go to car meets in Hernando County, Florida. I know of quite a few people from my high school that go to car meets and they love their cars.

2.    Interview #1- The first person I interviewed was named Jacob. He really loves cars, as far as I can remember he always talks about it and when he isn’t, he’s either cleaning it or taking pictures of it. When I asked Jacob about the product, he said that it would be something he’s interested in, but money would be a huge factor in whether or not he buys it. If it were less than $15, he would definitely give it a shot. Jacob hates this time of the year because it is lovebug season and whenever he takes his car out it’s covered with bug splatters, so he said it would really be useful this time of the year.

3.    Interview #2- The second person I interviewed was named Gabe, like Jacob he also loves being part of the car community. Gabe is also interested in the product, when I asked him about whether he would purchase this product, he told me it would depend on if he was busy or not. Gabe elaborated and told me most of the time he has time to clean his car, but it would be nice to have something on the go. Gabe talked about how the product would be really useful when he’s running errands around town because birds always poop on his car no matter where he parks. 

4.    Interview #3- The final person I interviewed was named Alyssa. Alyssa, like Jacob and Gabe, is really passionate about cars. When I asked Alyssa about whether she was interested in the product or not, she was reluctant but would need a sample of the product to see if it actually does what is advertised or not. Besides that, Alyssa complained about the fact she always finds small messes on her car when she parks under the tree by where she works. So, she said it’d be nice to have the product there when she needs it most.

Summary- What I learned from the interviews is that most of the people I asked go to car meets and they really like their cars to be clean and stainless. One of the things I discovered after the interviews is that everyone I interviewed seem to always have the problem (bird poop and or bug splatters on their car) when they’re not home. So I were to market my product at a car meet per se, I should get the best results. Jacob, Alyssa and Gabe all use Google in order to solve their problems. But when they are having a problem they have difficulty solving they either ask people at the car meets or go on car forums for answers. 

Idea Napkin No. 1

1.    My name is David Wu and I am a first-year business management major. I don’t have any talents or abilities that stand out nor do I have a drive to start a business anytime soon. However, if I were to start a business, I would like to create a product that would makes the lives of other people more convenient. 

2.    What I’m offering to my potential customers is a more convenient life. My product is essential a wipe that helps clean up small messes on a car like bird poop and bug splatters. My target audience is specifically anyone who owns a car that is always busy and never has time to wash their car.

3.    I’m offering my product to anyone who owns a motor vehicle whether they own a car, motorcycle, or truck. They don’t own a car wash pass and they’re always busy, so they don’t have time to clean small messes off their vehicle. 

4.    The reason why people would want my product is because they care about their vehicle, they want it to look clean, and they don’t want bird poop/bug splatters to damage the paint.

5.    What sets me apart from everyone else I believe is the fact that I can see an opportunity where other people don’t. For example, to my knowledge I don’t believe there is a product like mine that exists now. So, I’m taking advantage of that and developing a product that hasn’t been created yet.

I personally believe all these elements would fit together. The reason why I believe this is because there’s an unmet need that needs to be met. My only problem is marketing my product and capturing the attention of my potential clients.

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who?

After I interviewed 5 new people about whether they liked the idea of an exterior car wipe, 3 of the 5 people I asked were interested in the product. Interesting enough though, the two people who didn’t like the idea of the product both said something along the lines of it would be a waste of money and it would just be much better getting a car wash.

What?

Having a ready to use wipe will allow you to clean up small messes when you’re in a rush and you won’t have to go out of your way to go to a car wash. 

Why?

The 2 people who disagreed with me essentially thought my idea was redundant. I understand their reason for thinking it’s redundant because when I asked them to elaborate, they both said they had unlimited car wash passes. So, for them it is redundant because they can get a car wash whenever they want but for people without car wash passes it wouldn’t work for them.

Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who is in: People who are busy, don’t own a car wash pass, and own any type of motor vehicle (motorcycle, car, or truck).	Who is not: If you don’t have a motor vehicle, have time to clean your car, or own a car wash pass then this product isn’t meant for you.
What the need is: The need is to make people’s lives slightly more convenient so they’re able to clean the small mess even when they are busy.	What the need is not: This product is meant to target people who are usually busy and don’t have a car wash pass, so if they don’t fit their description, this product isn’t meant for them.
Why the need exists: The need exists because some people are too busy or just don’t have the time to clean a small spot on their car. So, this product is just meant to make their life more convenient and save their car’s paint.	Alternative explanations: Another explanation could just be that they don’t really care about the condition of their car or they’ll just try to find time for it in the future.

Solving The Problem

The issue I had for the previous assignment was an opportunity where people are too busy to clean small messes off their car, like bird poop and bug splatter. 

My solution to this issue is an alcohol swab sized package that contains car wash detergent that will easily wipe away bird poop and or bug splatter. The technology already exists to clean cars, but it just needs a medium to store the chemical solution and something to package it in. Doing so will allow people who are busy to easily wipe away small stains on their car’s paint.

My biggest problem with this, however, is finding the right market because people can easily go to a car wash, but I believe once I find the right market everything else will be relatively easy. The market I believe that my target will be people who are usually busy and don’t have a car wash pass.

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Opportunity- Birds poop and bug splatters always appear on your vehicle when you least expect it and when you do see them, you’re always busy.

·     Who- People who are busy and drives a motor vehicle.

·     What- Bird poop and bug splatters being on their vehicles.

·     Why- They’re on the car because busy people don’t have time at that moment to clean it up.

Hypothesis

·     Testing the who- There are more than 200 million motor vehicles registered in the USA alone, so there is bound to be a market for these wipes that clean off bird poop/bug splatter on the go.

·     Test the what- The technology is already there for cleaning cars, so I’d just need to figure out how to package it to the size of an alcohol swab. But if done, busy people will be able to clean up dirty areas on their cars on the fly.

·     Testing the why- Not everyone will want this even though they have a motor vehicle. People who want it will care about the condition of their vehicles and live a convenient life.

Interview 1- Aidan Q.

Aidan was interested in this product, he basically wanted to know what chemicals are used and always hates it when there is bird poop on his car, and he cannot clean it off.

Interview 2- Merrick R.

Merrick was slightly skeptical of this product but was still interested in it. He didn’t know if he would actually spend money on it unless he got like a sample and see if it works or not.

Interview 3- Bianca S.

Liked the idea of the product but was reluctant of the thought of actually buying the product. Said is useful in the moment thing but once you’re not busy you can just get a wet paper towel and clean it up. But she does like the idea if she’s especially busy and doesn’t have time to wash her car. 

Interview 4- Karissa H.

Karissa doesn’t particularly like the idea of this product. From what she said, why go out of your way to buy something like this when you can just pay like $5 to get a car wash and clean your whole car.

Interview 5- Kailey W.

Kailey was also skeptical of the idea but when I asked why, she said, “I already have an unlimited car wash pass, so me going out of my way to buy wipes is redundant when I can just get a car wash that cleans everything. 

Summary

I asked many different people for their opinions and I got mixed reviews, some were positive and liked my idea while others were pretty skeptical of it and brushed my idea aside. From what I gathered, I believe this idea isn’t as feasible and I would probably lose money if I were to pursue it.