Thursday, September 26, 2019
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Assignment 9A: Testing the Hypothesis Part 2
o Who: After conducting my first set of interviews in Assignment 7, I was able to better understand my target market. I realized that the male demographic did not have much need for my product, unless they were purchasing it for a girlfriend, wife, or daughter. I interviewed a male UF junior student who goes out to bars/clubs very frequently and he stated that the odds of a male, his age, getting sexually assaulted/kidnapped would be very slim. This really provided me with insight as to how the age of the demographic plays a role in whether they would buy the product, as men tend to seem as if they can take care of themselves. I also interviewed a UF male sophomore student, who is a member of a fraternity here on campus, to gain the insight of an individual currently involved and experiencing first-hand the protests surrounding the lack of blue-lights on Fraternity Row that makes students feel unsafe. He stated that he can understand the nature of the need and the importance of my product, but again doesn’t think the problem is as applicable to men as it is to women. When asked if he would be likely to purchase the product for his girlfriend, he said “no” because he is with her most of the time and he would be sure to protect her if anything were to happen.
o After interviewing two male UF students, I wanted to interview another demographic that did not entirely fit my target market: the elderly. While products like the Life Alert already exist, there is certainly a growing problem surrounding elderly abuse and people taking advantage of them as they know they are vulnerable. I interviewed both an elderly male (age 73) and an elderly female (age 71) that live in my neighborhood as to whether or not they feel the need is applicable to them. They understand the growing incidents surrounding elderly abuse, but again at their age they are not really worried about getting kidnapped or sexually assaulted. The female did state that if she were much younger, she definitely would be interested in the product as she is aware of the safety concerns that young women face in today’s world. The elderly male agreed as well, stating that he would have been likely to purchase the product for his daughter or granddaughter and sees it being useful for young women looking for a product that makes them worry less about their safety.
o The final question I had surrounding my product was whether it would be needed by middle-age women so I decided to interview both a single female (age 44) with no significant other or children and also a married female (age 52) with no children. The first interviewee (age 44) stated that she actually would be interested in the product because since she is single and does not have children, she often worries as to who would come to her rescue if something were to happen to her. This didn’t really surprise me because I have started to notice how this need arises somewhat from loneliness and the uncertainty as to what would happen to them if they were to face the problem. The second interviewee who is married also said that she would be interested in the product, which surprised me as I had not thought married women to be in the demographic. She stated that women today have to be especially careful at all ages as they have to worry about getting abducted, robbed, raped, or even murdered. My product would provide peace-of-mind and could be the difference between life/death when put into a dangerous situation.
o What: After conducting all of these interviews, I think the point where the need/reassurance for safety begins to change is the nature of the crime. At the end of the day, the product that I have introduced seems to only really be effective in cases of kidnapping/abduction, perhaps even sexual assault. Once we start going further than that and looking at robbery, battery, or physical assault, the need begins to change as those are faster pace crimes and my product wouldn’t address that need as well. There is also no guarantee that my product will diminish kidnapping/abduction/sexual assault rates, as criminals will continue to act and there could be a point in time where they just adjust their strategy/actions to reflect the introduction of my product.
o Why: I think that there is an underlying cause of the outsiders’ need being different than the people inside the boundary being that they feel they can take care of themselves or feel protected in a relationship/marriage. The need arises from lacking assurance of being safe/feeling unsafe and the key difference between the people inside the boundary and outside the boundary is their individual sense of loneliness and helplessness if something were to happen. You could even go on to say that another cause is the individual’s own perceptions as to how likely they would be to face the problem. Some people are skeptical of believing that they could experience a crime as serious as abduction/sexual assault and thus do not feel the product will be as valuable for them.
Inside Boundary
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Outside Boundary
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Who:
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Female college students
Single, young women that feel lonely/unsafe living by themselves
Fathers/Mothers of young children/college students
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Female college students in a relationship
Young women in a relationship that live with their partner/significant other
Men/Women without young children/college students
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What:
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To reduce abduction/sexual assault rates
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To completely eliminate sexual assaults or reduce rates of other types of crime
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Why:
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People feel unsafe living by themselves
Growing rates of crime geared towards women/children
Lack of anti-abduction/sexual assault prevention products
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People not taking proper precautions living by themselves
People not being aware of their surroundings in public
Demand/Profitability may not be high in this industry
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Thursday, September 19, 2019
8A - Solving The Problem
· The opportunity that I have chosen to address is the growing safety concerns in today’s society surrounding women and children. Sexual assault, kidnapping, and even murder tend to be the most prevalent crimes surrounding women and children which is why I wanted to create a product that would make them feel safer and keep them out of these dangerous situations.
· To solve this issue, I wanted to create personal safety clothing technology that people can wear and that would have buttons to activate a distress signal and send your live location to law enforcement and to emergency contacts you have registered on file. My idea stemmed from the Life Alert, which is a similar product marketed towards the elderly that is supposed to make them feel safer and in cases of emergency would allow them to get help quickly. On the market, there are currently some necklaces that are marketed towards this same concept, however none of them share live location with law enforcement or emergency contacts. The original vision I had for my product was to focus on bracelets and necklaces, however with the smart tech clothing market continuing to grow at a rapid pace, this provides an opportunity to expand into clothing. Of the versions of the concept that I had in my mind, the three that would be the most effective in my opinion would be:
o 1) Smart-Tech Necklace: The necklace could be designed as an everyday fashion piece for women, making it attractive enough to wear consistently. Within the pendant of the necklace, there would be a small button that, when pressed, would send your live location to law enforcement and to registered emergency contacts. This would be effective in my opinion because it is discrete, can be worn consistently, and in cases of emergency would allow law enforcement to track your movements and find you quicker, decreasing the chances of something bad happening to you.
o 2) Smart-Tech Bracelet: Similar to the necklace, the bracelet would have a pendant that would contain a small button that could be pressed in times of distress to alert law enforcement and send your live location. The bracelet would have to be designed to be fashionable to make it more attractive to wear consistently, but also durable for functionality.
o 3) Smart-Tech Ring: The ring would be similar in functionality to the necklace and bracelet, but provides a unisex alternative of the product. The ring would have a small digital touch screen that can access a distress signal to alert authorities in times of emergency. The design would also have to be somewhat fashionable, yet durable for functionality.
· In coming up with these concepts, I wanted to come up with versions of the product to sell to the different consumers that make up my target market. I had to think of pieces of clothing/jewelry that women and children wear, but also that men would consider wearing if I were to decide to target them as well. The smart clothing industry is growing rapidly so this could end up being a product that men end up buying because of the functionality of the technology.
· Overall, I think women and children will be the primary users of this product, but that both men and women will be consumers of the product. Women will want to buy this product for the extra feeling of security and protection that it gives them and men will want to buy this product to (1) use for themselves and give them a feeling of protection or (2) purchase for their significant other or children. Either way, this is a product that can be marketed in many different ways as there is a large number of people that could benefit greatly from this technology.
7A - Testing the Hypothesis
Personal Safety Protection
· Opportunity:
o As the number of sexual assaults and kidnappings increase in the United States, women and children continue to be at risk and feel unsafe.
§ The who: Women and children in the United States
§ The what: Women and children are left at risk and feeling unsafe with the growing concern of getting assaulted, kidnapped, or murdered.
§ The why: In the United States, there has been a rise in the crimes against women and children, such as sexual assault and kidnappings.
· Testing the who: There are definitely others that have this need around the world. Sexual assaults, kidnappings, and murder are prevalent all over the world and do not discriminate between gender, race, ethnicity, or religion. While the opportunity can definitely be applied to men, I feel as if the target market would be more likely to be women and children as they are seen as more vulnerable to attackers and criminals.
· Testing the what: The boundaries of the need are pretty large as there are many crimes that target women and children. Sexual assaults, kidnapping, murder, etc. are just the main ones that we see on a daily basis here in the US which is why I focused on those specifically. Finding a solution to this problem would be sure to address all of these issues though I am sure.
· Testing the why: The why’s seemed to stem from feeling unsafe as a result of the current climate in the US surrounding sexual assault, kidnappings, and murder. Women and children tend to be targeted the most as they are seen as more vulnerable, and this creates an environment that makes them feel unsafe, especially when alone or at night. I am sure that this why could certainly apply as well to restraining order situations or domestic violence issues where someone feels unsafe.
· Interview #1:
o For this interview, I decided to interview a female junior business student here at UF. She goes out clubbing and to parties a lot so I wanted to capture her insight as to how prevalent this issue is, specifically at night. She says that she is aware of the issue and of the prevalence of crimes committed against women and children. To combat this feeling of being unsafe at night, she makes sure to always go out with friends and to never leave any of them by themselves. They all make sure to go/leave the bars and parties together so that no one in their group is put at risk. She mentioned the two incidences of rape that recently occurred here on campus as proof of what could happen potentially if they were to be left by themselves at night.
· Interview #2:
o For this interview, I decided to interview a female senior business student at FIU who also likes to go out to bars/parties at night. She mentioned that in Miami she tends to be even more cautious than when she visits Gainesville because of how many girls she has known that have been attacked. She also makes sure to always go/leave with friends and to never leave anyone unaccounted for. I also made sure to ask how she felt on a daily basis when she was by herself and she stated that she sometimes felt in a vulnerable position because if something were to happen, she would not know what to do.
· Interview #3:
o For this interview, I decided to interview my next-door neighbor who is a mother of 2 and whose children are currently in middle school. I asked her how she feels about the safety of her children on a daily basis and she mentioned that the world is just getting crazy. She is astonished when she watches the news and hears of all these crimes that are being committed every day. While she does not actively fear for her children’s safety because of the area she lives in, she does always pray that nothing happens to them as the world continues to get crazier every-day. I asked her how she would feel about giving her children jewelry or clothing that functioned similarly to a life alert, contacting law enforcement and providing a GPS location when the distress signal was functioned. She stated that it would be a great concept, but that she would be unsure how effective it would be if her children forgot how to use it or if her children were younger.
· Interview #4:
o For this interview, I interviewed a female freshman UF engineering student who is living by herself for the first time. I wanted to make sure to get a perspective from someone who does not go out a lot, but who is living by themselves for the first time. She told me that she is always careful when she goes out to run errands by herself and always is sure to lock up before/after she leaves her apartment. She is aware of the heinous crimes against women and children and that is why she is always aware of her surroundings. When presented with my idea of personal safety clothing technology, she said that it would actually be a discrete way to let someone know if something is not right. I also had to think about how she stated that if the technology became very popular, how that would impact criminals and their behavior? Would they adjust their methods and destroy the technology or would this technology deter them from committing the crimes in the first place?
· Interview #5:
o For my final interview, I decided to interview a male sophomore UF business student about how this issue affects men. He states that he never really feels unsafe, but does feel vulnerable when he is walking by himself at night or when he is under the influence and is walking back home from the bars. He never really worries about getting sexually assaulted or kidnapped, however he does worry about getting robbed or ending up in a situation he should not be in. When presented with my idea of personal safety clothing technology, he stated that he could see it being effective for women, but not so much for men. Robberies are such high-pace crimes that by the time he would activate the distress signal, the crime would have already been committed and there would be nothing that could be done. He mentioned that it would be more effective for people who are afraid of getting kidnapped.
· Given your interviews, what do you know about the opportunity that you did not know before?
o I learned from my last interview that the pace of the crime would have an impact on how effective my product would be and who my target market would be. This leads me to believe that my product would be most effective against kidnappings or potential assaults on women where a distress signal could be instantly activated and law enforcement could be contacted right away. While men could sometimes be the victims of such crimes, the student I interviewed stated that he would not really feel inclined to purchase a product that solved this issue as he rarely feels unsafe.
o I learned from interview #4 that the success of the product may not solve the issue, but just force criminals to adjust their methods when committing these crimes. While this is certainly plausible, I still think it would be possible in deterring these crimes from being committed and saving people from dangerous situations based upon the feedback I received.
o From interview #3, I learned that the product created to address this issue would have to be simple to use or activate. For children to have this product and understand how to use it, it would need to be very simple to explain and use. Advertising and promoting a solution would be the answer to addressing this concern and just keeping the prototypical user in mind as well when constructing a solution.
o Overall, I learned that my belief that women and children are continuing to feel increasingly unsafe was valid. All of the girls I spoke to admitted feeling unsafe when alone or at night, and this provides some support for this opportunity. Even the women that did not go out to bars/parties often still admitted feeling unsafe and having to become increasingly aware of her surrounds, making me feel that this is an issue that needs to be solved.
6A - Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends
· Economic Trend: Federal Reserve Lowering Interest Rates
o Source:https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/16/fed-decision-expectations-rising-that-rate-cut-might-not-happen.html
o This leads me to believe that an opportunity exists to diversify investment portfolios since the Federal Reserve is continuing to decrease interest rates on its bonds. With many speculating that interest rates could potentially reach the negatives, this provides an opportunity for investors to diversify their portfolio through the stock market, real-estate, mutual funds, or alternative investments.
o The prototypical customer to take advantage of this opportunity would most likely be middle-upper class Americans with disposable income to invest for the future. I do not think the opportunity is that difficult to exploit, especially with how easily accessible resources are to learn how to invest and diversify into these different asset classes. Also, there are a variety of services such as “Robinhood” that make it easy to track stock prices and invest so this economic trend provides an opportunity for people to learn about these different assets and how to invest in them.
o I saw the opportunity because I am currently taking FIN3403 and I have been learning more in my free time about investing in the market and identifying arbitrage opportunities. With interest rates continuing to get cut, this makes treasury bonds a less attractive investment option, providing an opportunity to learn more about different investment types and to find other ways to continue to grow their wealth. I am a finance major so I find it interesting to analyze these economic trends and identify ways to profit off of them.
· Economic Trend: Rising Oil and Gas Prices
o This leads me to believe that an opportunity will exist in terms of developing alternative energy sources. The US Energy Information Administration energy outlook predicts the price of oil will rise through 2050. This provides an opportunity to take advantage of the growing emphasis on climate change and develop sustainable and renewable energy sources.
o The prototypical customer to take advantage of this opportunity would be entrepreneurs or energy companies that are looking to grow economically and develop a product that could become a cornerstone in US energy usage within the next 50 years. If the prototypical customer can take advantage of this opportunity, they will have no issue selling their product to every homeowner or car owner in the US and beyond.
o I think that it is still mildly difficult to exploit, however it is becoming easier. The media’s coverage on climate change is placing more stress on developing sustainable energy sources and with oil projected to rise, this is the perfect opportunity to capitalize. Companies like Tesla and Sono Motors are working on developing solar paneled cars so it will not be too long before we start to see this opportunity grow even further.
o I saw this opportunity with how much climate change is being covered in the media today. The media is placing the spotlight on this controversial issue and I think this creates the perfect environment to develop and create a product that is energy-efficient and sustainable, minimizing the carbon footprint we are leaving on this planet. The news of Tesla and Sono Motors working on developing solar paneled cars has me interested in the future of energy efficiency and I think looking at hydro-power or even wind power and solar power provides some opportunities to exploit this need for sustainability.
· Regulatory Changes: Legalizing Marijuana in the United States
o This leads me to believe that there is an opportunity to begin to create and develop marijuana products as all the issues with vaping continue to get exposed. Over the past decade, the government has continued to relax its view on marijuana, as a whole, and this leads many people to believe that soon marijuana will be legal everywhere in the United States. Also, the issues with vaping and illegal marijuana vaporizers that contain harmful chemicals may push the government to legalize marijuana and become more regulatory of the industry, similar to tobacco.
o The prototypical customer to take advantage of this opportunity would be current marijuana producers, tobacco companies, or entrepreneurs looking to expand and capitalize upon the marijuana industry. The tobacco industry in the US is worth $750 billion so there is no reason that marijuana can’t reach that worth, especially considering that marijuana is seen to have less dangerous side effects associated with usage.
o This opportunity is still difficult to exploit, as it is still unclear when/if marijuana will be fully legalized in the United States. As long as marijuana remains illegal, issues will continue to grow associated with products not being tightly regulated. When marijuana does become legal, the opportunity will be extremely easy to exploit as there is already a market of people who would like to smoke and who do smoke consistently and making it legal will make it easier to purchase/consume products.
o I saw this opportunity with how much I see vaping occurring on a daily basis. In recent news, the Juul and other vaping devices have been heavily criticized as people are starting to die or experience serious health issues as a result of these products. This leads me to believe that there will be an increase in regulation within the smoking/vaping industry, but that the government may decide to turn to marijuana since it is a more natural product. I also see that the market for marijuana has continued to grow, increasing tourism in areas like California and Colorado where recreational marijuana is legal, and that by legalizing it everywhere, this will make it much easier for consumers to access these products.
· Regulatory Changes: Regulation of Cryptocurrency
o This leads me to believe that there is an opportunity to invest in cryptocurrency as the value will rise if the United States take a pro-crypto approach and decides to regulate the market. The regulation of cryptocurrency in the US will reaffirm the value and recognize it as an official asset. Currently, cryptocurrency has mixed reviews resulting from the lack of regulation within the market and the fact that some companies have yet to decide whether they want to acknowledge the presence of crypto within the country.
o The prototypical customer would be middle-upper class Americans with disposable income to invest or eventually every American with income. Crypto could become the future of currency and there could come a time in the future where paper currency is completely removed and we get by paying for goods in stores with crypto on our cell phones.
o I think it is still difficult to exploit this opportunity as crypto still has to get accepted and recognized in the US. Another difficulty may be that there continues to be a growing number of different cryptocurrencies that makes accepting them difficult. If cryptocurrencies can eventually be consolidated to a few and become regulated, this will certify their value and allow them to rise.
o I saw this opportunity as I have friends that have invested/traded cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and have made a lot of money. I think the opportunity is there to invest in crypto as the value will rise if the US decides to step in and regulate the industry. The growing coverage on cryptocurrency allows it to start gaining recognition in people’s mind, but without government validation the value is quite limited.
Thursday, September 12, 2019
5A: Identifying Local Opportunities
· “Bahamians booted off Florida – bound evacuation ferry. Feds are blaming ferry company” by Monique O. Madan and Taylor Dolven of the Miami Herald.
o In this article, written September 9, 2019, the author is discussing how 119 people evacuating from the Bahamas right before Hurricane Dorian were forced to leave the ferry headed to Florida, despite having proper documentation.
o Problem: Lack of viable transportation from the Bahamas to the United States. One of the primary reasons the ferry kicked these people off was that they were going to have to wait on a dock for all the passengers to clear customs, whereas the ferry company did not want to wait and did not feel the value in fulfilling the trip. All the customers were confirmed to have proper documentation prior to boarding, however the ferry company did not want to waste time sitting in a dock until everyone had been processed. The issue that this article exposes is the lack of transportation from the Bahamas to the United States, specifically during times of forecasted natural disasters. Perhaps if there had been alternative and more reliable forms of transportation to the United States from the Bahamas, there would have been less casualties than there were.
o People: Residents of the Bahamas and tourists would directly be affected by this problem, especially during a natural disaster like Hurricane Dorian. When a natural disaster is forecasted to strike in the Caribbean, there has to be more reliable forms of transportation to get them to safety.
· “SCR begins next steps of King’s Bay Restoration Project” by Buster Thompson of the Citrus County Chronicle.
o In this article, written September 9, 2019, the author discusses restoration efforts for King’s Bay in Crystal River, Florida.
o Problem: Pollution and contaminants in the King’s Bay in Crystal River, Florida. This article discusses the problem of pollution and contamination in one of the larger bodies of water in the county and also gives insight into the problem of removing the contamination and restoring the bay. The Fish & Wildlife Commission is aiding in the restoration which has removed gunk and pollutants from the bay and is pumping water through filters to remove nitrogen and phosphorous from the water, which helps algae grow even faster.
o People:Homeowners with waterfront properties on the bay, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission, and honestly all of the people living in Citrus County are affected by this problem. While the restoration effort is currently focused on King’s Bay, the bay is connected to the river so any pollution that negatively impacts the bay will be sure to impact the river as well. Homeowners with waterfront properties want the bay to be healthy so that their properties retain value, the Fish and Wildlife Commission is concerned with the health of the plants and animals living within the bay and river, and all of the people in Citrus County are affected because this could negatively impact tourism within the county which revolves around its beautiful springs and nature preserves.
· “Manatee, calf trapped in Daytona marina cove” by Eileen Zaffiro-Kean of the Daytona Beach News Journal.
o In this article, written September 9, 2019, the author discusses how raised water levels during Hurricane Dorian caused a manatee and her calf to be stuck behind a retention wall in the Halifax River.
o Problem: Rescuing the manatee and her calf and also preventing further wildlife from getting stuck during periods of increased rainfall/natural disaster. Daytona Beach Officials and the Florida Wildlife Commission are facing the problem of how to rescue the manatee and her calf that are currently stuck behind a retention wall in the Halifax River. The issue is especially concerning as the manatees are stuck nearby boat docks and the goal is to get them out of the river safely and back into the ocean.
o People:Florida Wildlife Commission, Daytona Beach Officials, and boat owners nearby the Halifax River are all being affected by this problem. The Florida Wildlife Commission is trying to safely rescue these animals without causing distress/injury to the animals. Daytona Beach officials are affected as they must save the animals to avoid bad publicity. Boat-owners along the Halifax River are also affected as they are unable to drive their boats or go fishing until these animals are safely removed from the cove.
· “Students and activists make posters ahead of blue light protest on Fraternity Row” by Jordyn Kalman of the Independent Alligator.
o In this article, written September 11, 2019, the author discusses the recent outrage and protests on UF campus surrounding the lack of blue safety lights located around Fraternity Row on campus.
o Problem: Lack of blue-lights around UF Fraternity Row has people feeling unsafe. Many people are protesting and outraged after discovering that there are zero blue-lights around fraternity row. This has people, especially women, feeling unsafe and wondering why there are no lights in this area. This problem is worsened by statistics reporting that a quarter of the sexual assaults at UF happen in on-campus fraternities (linked within the article). With two reported counts of rape/sexual assault within the last month and a half, the problem is considered very large and needs to be addressed.
o People:UF students, faculty, and the National Women’s Liberation Office here in Gainesville are all affected by this problem. UF students want their safety to be ensured here on campus and the lack of blue-lights is counter-intuitive to that. UF faculty wants the school to be highly-ranked, yet this is difficult when the school can’t even take full precautions to keep their students safe. The National Women’s Liberation office in Gainesville is impacted as they aim to prevent sexual assault/rape and with the lack of blue-lights in an area that has statistically shown higher percentages of sexual assault, this problem is of high concern.
· “Boil water advisory issued after water main break on Beach Boulevard” by Nick Jones of News4Jax.
o In this article, written September 11, 2019, the author discusses how a water main line break has now caused a boiled water advisory in the Jacksonville area.
o Problem: A main waterline in Jacksonville is broken, allowing the water to become contaminated. With the main waterline breaking, some residents in Jacksonville face a clean water issue as they now have to boil their water before using it until the break is fixed. The article presents an opportunity in terms of creating a better water filtration system or creating a clean-water backup for residents so that in cases such as these, they are not left having to boil their water.
o People:Residents in Jacksonville surrounding the area of the waterline and the Water/Sewage company that has to fix it are impacted by this problem as they are now without clean water until the line is fixed. They are now left with having to boil their water to clean, cook, and bathe. This problem also impacts these residents as some of them may have been unaware of the advisory and may have drank the contaminated water. The water/sewage company is impacted as they must now fix the mainline and ensure that water is not contaminated.
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