Forming An Opportunity Belief 4A

Forming an Opportunity Belief

I have a daughter who is one and a half and a son who is four. Let’s just say that going to the grocery store is an event. Usually, shopping goes pretty smoothly, with the occasional temper-tantrum thrown into the mix. However, the scary part is walking to my truck in the parking lot with my two small children, plus, a cart full of groceries. I get to my truck, put my littlest one in her car seat, my son in his, and then begin loading the groceries. I remote start the truck to keep them cool, while keeping them safe (I fear that someone will jump in and take off with them). I always try to watch my surroundings, but it is difficult while trying to quickly load groceries to go home.

I believe that there is a need for more protection for people who are alone or with small children. A majority of these individuals will probably be women. In my opinion, the need for more protection has always existed, but I think that it is escalated in today’s world. Every hour in the United States two women are murdered, 12 women are raped, 124 are assaulted, and 900 are the victims of theft, according to the Women’s Self-Defense Institute. There are already a few devices that can help this problem. For example, iPhones will call 911 if the off button is pushed five times in a row. However, not everyone has an iPhone, plus, it may not be charged or easily accessible, or like my son, your child may be playing on it while you are loading the groceries. In addition to the iPhones safety option, there are self-defense keychains as well. These keychains are activated when a button is pushed, then a loud alarm sounds. However, I strongly believe that there could be a device that is even better. To illustrate, this device should be small and have a clip on it that would allow you to clip it on your pants pocket. This feature would ensure that it is always easily accessible. When the button is pushed, a loud alarm would go off and 911 would be called. With a GPS in the device, the authorities would know exactly where you are as long as the device stays on your person. I am 80% sure that this opportunity exists.

The Prototypical Customer

The prototypical customer with this need for more protection would probably be women. This would include young college women, women with children, and older women. However, I believe some men would find this device useful, as well. Although, a majority of men would probably not feel the need to use it, whereas, I believe a majority of women would.

Prototypical Customer #1—Middle-Aged Woman

1.     Have you ever felt scared/worried and like you need more protection while walking to your car alone? Yes

2.     Do you feel this all the time or is there a certain time that you feel this? Like when I am more isolated or it is dark.

3.     How long have you felt the need to have more protection? My whole life since I left home.

4.     When did you first become aware that you needed more protection? And why? When I left home and I had to go places alone. I first felt this need because of the crime.

5.     Are you aware that every hour there are 2 women murdered, 12 raped, and 124 assaulted in the United States? Wooooow.

6.     How are you currently addressing your need? I try to not go out alone especially at night or to places that are isolated.

7.     How satisfied are you with this solution? Satisfied.

8.     Does your current solution allow you to live the way you want? Yes

9.     If there was a device that you could clip on your pants pocket and push a button to sound an alarm and call the police if you were in danger, would you buy this product? Yes

Prototypical Customer #2—College-Aged Woman

1.     Have you ever felt scared/worried and like you need more protection while walking to your car alone? Yes

2.     Do you feel this all the time or is there a certain time that you feel this? When I am in places that have higher crimes rates.

3.     How long have you felt the need to have more protection? Since I started going places by myself but I try not to go places by myself. But even when I am in places with a few friends, like the OP mall I still feel worried.

4.     When did you first become aware that you needed more protection? And why? The world is scary.

5.     Are you aware that every hour there are 2 women murdered, 12 raped, and 124 assaulted in the United States? That’s scary

6.     How are you currently addressing your need? I’m planning on buying a stun gun, pepper spray, and a rape whistle.

7.     How satisfied are you with this solution? Not satisfied because I have not bought my stun gun, pepper spray, or rape whistle yet.

8.     Does your current solution allow you to live the way you want? Not really. I don’t want to feel scared when I go out.

9.     If there was a device that you could clip on your pants pocket and push a button to sound an alarm and call the police if you were in danger, would you buy this product? Yes because it would be easier to push the button than to get my phone out if someone were attacking me.

Prototypical Customer #3—16 year old girl

1.     Have you ever felt scared/worried and like you need more protection while walking to your car alone? Yes

2.     Do you feel this all the time or is there a certain time that you feel this? When I am in a bad area.

3.     How long have you felt the need to have more protection? Since I started driving.

4.     When did you first become aware that you needed more protection? And why? Because crimes like carjacking and kidnapping.

5.     Are you aware that every hour there are 2 women murdered, 12 raped, and 124 assaulted in the United States? No!

6.     How are you currently addressing your need? I’m not doing anything currently.

7.     How satisfied are you with this solution? Not satisfied at all.

8.     Does your current solution allow you to live the way you want? No I feel like I need something more to protect me.

9.     If there was a device that you could clip on your pants pocket and push a button to sound an alarm and call the police if you were in danger, would you buy this product? Yes but it also should have a microphone incorporated so 911 can hear what is going on when it calls them.

Reflection

I learned that women of different ages feel the need to be more protected. While some women are not doing anything to protect themselves, others change their lifestyle to feel safer (like not going out alone). In addition, there are some that plan to invest in devices to protect themselves, but they have not done that yet. All three women that I spoke with do not have any devices that they could use in their defense or to call for help. The most surprising thing I learned about my opportunity was that each woman I spoke to felt this need. I only thought that maybe 2 out of 3 would feel like they needed more protection. Also, I was surprised that none of them have devices that they could use for protection.

Summarize

After completing the interviews, it is clear that women have a need for more protection and are not currently doing anything about meeting this need. One of the women suggested that the device have a microphone that would allow the victim to talk with police. However, I am unsure that this would make the device more beneficial. The main objective of the device is to alert others that are around the victim, startle the attacker, and allow the police to be able to track the exact location. I would like to interview even more women to ensure that my opportunity is 70% or greater. I think that entrepreneurs should take the advice of customers to make their products better. If I were making this device, I would definitely consider adding the microphone. If I interview more people, I will pose the question—do you think a microphone enabling you to talk to the police directly would be more beneficial?