#19 – Idea Napkin No. 2
1) I am Taylor Butler, and I am a student in the ISOM combined degree program. My talents include having good time management, being very detail oriented, and understanding the importance of working on a team. My experience includes internships and other jobs that have prepared me for my future endeavors. My aspirations include having a successful career that will be more operational focused. I think it would be cool to eventually work for a sports team or athletic based company. Regarding my business concept, I see my business as an integral part to my career and where I want to eventually end up. By developing this app, I will have an advantage by understanding athletes (specifically runner’s) needs, and use this knowledge for future opportunities.
2) I am offering an app and accessory ankle bracelet for runners. This would solve the unmet need of trying to sustain a consistent pace when participating in outdoor runs. Essentially, the app and anklet would calculate your target pace based on the average of the last 5 seconds and notify the runner to either speed up or slow down. This ankle bracelet is only giving off a vibration when you are over or under your intended target pace.
3) I am offering this product to any runner who downloads the app, but more specifically athletes, competitive runners, and true beginners. My customers will all have a pacing problem when they run outdoors, and some will be unhappy with their current running applications. They will all have the mindset to get better, and achieve their target pace goal. I aim to promote my product before popular races for runners who are trying to maintain a specific pace, or even potentially marketing it to personal trainers or gyms who are looking for new technology. However, word of mouth will be the best market tool to help me. It will be offered to customers all over the U.S. but will start out in cities that contain a lot of runners and ones that host many marathons and races. These will be bigger cities such as Portland, Chicago, Boulder, or Boston. These places offer spirited running communities and provide so many places to train and races to participate in. Individuals in these areas also are more likely to have a higher income, meaning they are more likely to pay for my product as opposed to a college student who doesn’t have much spending money on a start-up product.
4) Customers want to get better at running, or are trying to achieve goals in the most efficient way possible. I believe customers would by in to my product because it’s a new way to establish a target pace, as well as it’s easily adaptable to be used on current devices such as apple watches and smartphones (which many runners are currently using now).
5) I have many competitors, which I am well aware of, but they all offer something different. My core competency is providing a runner’s real time pace instead of split times after X amount of distance. This solution is as easy as plugging in your goal pace, and receiving a vibration every time you deviate. It will be very simplistic for everyone to use. Also the accessory ankle bracelet is a new addition to the market.
Evaluation: I believe these five elements fit together in my business concept. There seems to be a larger amount of people with this need, but the challenge will be targeting them properly. Specifying the exact demographics will help me start with a sample target market, and then expand from there. I also think modification will be very important for this product depending on my target market or what customers want over time, so being able to create new designs will also determine my success. I have a weakness in sales, but hopefully my background of information systems and entrepreneurship will assist me on this journey. There are obviously some other things I need to work on with this opportunity, but I think this is a pretty good start.
Feedback Memo: The feedback I received related a lot to the demographics of where I should market and sell my product. I received suggestions such as starting in an urban setting and continuing to expand outwards to the suburbs and other regions, or starting in smaller cities with a lot of running trails and fundraising events or community running events, or even big cities where runners are constantly active day and night. I was also advised to think about the purchasing power my customers would have. I incorporated some of these ideas into my demographics section 3. I also received feedback about how my product specifically worked, so I added in more information on section 2. All of the feedback I received was very valuable, and really helped me specify the details of my business concept.
2) I am offering an app and accessory ankle bracelet for runners. This would solve the unmet need of trying to sustain a consistent pace when participating in outdoor runs. Essentially, the app and anklet would calculate your target pace based on the average of the last 5 seconds and notify the runner to either speed up or slow down. This ankle bracelet is only giving off a vibration when you are over or under your intended target pace.
3) I am offering this product to any runner who downloads the app, but more specifically athletes, competitive runners, and true beginners. My customers will all have a pacing problem when they run outdoors, and some will be unhappy with their current running applications. They will all have the mindset to get better, and achieve their target pace goal. I aim to promote my product before popular races for runners who are trying to maintain a specific pace, or even potentially marketing it to personal trainers or gyms who are looking for new technology. However, word of mouth will be the best market tool to help me. It will be offered to customers all over the U.S. but will start out in cities that contain a lot of runners and ones that host many marathons and races. These will be bigger cities such as Portland, Chicago, Boulder, or Boston. These places offer spirited running communities and provide so many places to train and races to participate in. Individuals in these areas also are more likely to have a higher income, meaning they are more likely to pay for my product as opposed to a college student who doesn’t have much spending money on a start-up product.
4) Customers want to get better at running, or are trying to achieve goals in the most efficient way possible. I believe customers would by in to my product because it’s a new way to establish a target pace, as well as it’s easily adaptable to be used on current devices such as apple watches and smartphones (which many runners are currently using now).
5) I have many competitors, which I am well aware of, but they all offer something different. My core competency is providing a runner’s real time pace instead of split times after X amount of distance. This solution is as easy as plugging in your goal pace, and receiving a vibration every time you deviate. It will be very simplistic for everyone to use. Also the accessory ankle bracelet is a new addition to the market.
Evaluation: I believe these five elements fit together in my business concept. There seems to be a larger amount of people with this need, but the challenge will be targeting them properly. Specifying the exact demographics will help me start with a sample target market, and then expand from there. I also think modification will be very important for this product depending on my target market or what customers want over time, so being able to create new designs will also determine my success. I have a weakness in sales, but hopefully my background of information systems and entrepreneurship will assist me on this journey. There are obviously some other things I need to work on with this opportunity, but I think this is a pretty good start.
Feedback Memo: The feedback I received related a lot to the demographics of where I should market and sell my product. I received suggestions such as starting in an urban setting and continuing to expand outwards to the suburbs and other regions, or starting in smaller cities with a lot of running trails and fundraising events or community running events, or even big cities where runners are constantly active day and night. I was also advised to think about the purchasing power my customers would have. I incorporated some of these ideas into my demographics section 3. I also received feedback about how my product specifically worked, so I added in more information on section 2. All of the feedback I received was very valuable, and really helped me specify the details of my business concept.
Hi Taylor,
ReplyDeleteI think you used the feedback you received really well. You definitely got more specific with your ideas and how you are going to implement them. Starting off in the specific cities with big races like Boston and Chicago is an excellent idea. Those are great places to get your product off the ground and into the hands of as many runners as possible.
Hey Taylor!
ReplyDeleteI am really glad to see that you incorporated the feedback that you received back into your idea napkin. I also really like the fact that you have a computer and technical background which would definitely be useful in making both the app and the accessory anklet bracelet. In addition to that, I also agree with Grant. It would be a great idea to reach out to runners in an upcoming marathon and see what you can do. Overall, great post!
Best regards,
Matthew Mrnacaj
Hello Taylor,
ReplyDeleteYour second idea napkin is really good. I like the fact that you included many details about your product and how it is going to help runners achieved their goals. I think that targeting those big markets will be your ultimate goal and will definitely get your product recognition. You did a great job using the feedback you received to improve your idea.