Most of the objects and services we use in our daily lives are electronics, but all electronics have a small battery life compared to the amount of time we use them for. However, outlets are limited in most public places, and this causes people to be upset at the lack of services a building is providing. Therefore, a lot of people have this need, but I plan on targeting people in Universities and airports. University students constantly use their laptops and other electronics to complete assignments. Businessmen who travel all the time and need to do work on the go need to have a dependable outlet that works all the time. Overall, this product I have come up with will eliminate the problem(the absence of outlets) that these people face while doing work in public places. Our world is changing to an electronically dependent environment which creates this opportunity that I have chosen to work with. This opportunity is pretty large considering the demand to have a person’s electronics charged at all times, especially for college students. Having one’s computer die during an important quiz is not exactly the best thing to happen because most teachers blame it on the student and not the electronic. Another important aspect is Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is one of the most common services needed in the world right now. Every public and private business in America understands the importance of having free wifi for customers. Students and businessmen need a reliable connection to the internet in order to work. As a student, I know that an unreliable internet connection can lead to not being able to watch a class lecture or complete a quiz. This combined opportunity is important because of the great need of a power connection and internet connection. This window of opportunity is closing fast considering the amount of portable chargers for cellphones there are in the market and technological advancements are improving greatly. So it is only a matter of time before companies will be selling the portable chargers that I am offering to my customers.
The innovation I have created is a portable charger with outlets on it that will serve as a way to charge any electronic with a plug. This product will also be a Wi-Fi hotspot which is very important because crowded places like libraries can be hard to get an accurate Wi-Fi connection. It will provide a reliable connection for all students and businessmen. My product has a dome like shaped with up to four outlets on it and is called the Pod. The Pod will be sold privately to Universities and airplane companies in bulk for a cheaper price. I want to add a cool aspect to the pods by selling customized pods that are designed to match logos and colors of companies. For example, if I were selling pods to the University of Florida, I would make ones that are blue and orange. I would paint a gator on them too. It will make the pods more fun to use. As far as working them, the customer simply plugs in their charging chord to any electronic the device will charge or start working. The most important thing of the Pod is that it is a chargeable device. A power chord will be given to the customer and they can be charged at home or a dedicated location in the library. Customers can take the pods with them to any place in the library or airport. To the companies that buy them in bulk, a censor will be added to the Pod that will set a buzzer off once it leaves a building so they are not stolen. For the individual customers who want to to buy the Pod for their own personal use they will be available on the website. They will be sold for seventy-five dollars individually. Additional designs and shipping will be added fees, but otherwise it is a pretty affordable device for those who want it.
Customers would switch to my product because it will be a reliable internet connection and a way to have their electronics constantly charged. People won’t have to worry about forgetting their charger at home or where the nearest outlet is. It is just very necessary for the technology dependent life we have adapted to. The competitors are the companies that sell portable chargers for I-Phones, but customers will come to find that the Pod works for all electronics(lamps, hair straighteners, blow driers,ext.) Customer experience and support is important for this business concept because if there are glitches, University libraries will not want to invest in the product. Price points have a role in my business concept because I will use it to find a way to charge the companies I will be selling a lot of Pods to. I would organize my business by making it a small office with ten salesmen, a team of accountants, and a team of engineers dealing with the advancement of my product.
Being a college student, I understand the importance of a reliable internet connection and outlet; therefore, other competitors cannot relate to college students like I will. I also have connections with a marketing expert who sells computer advancements to schools. The next step in my venture would be to create a Pod that is waterproof. It will be a new device that will be even better for the customers. In five years, I want to have a large building and be selling devices all over the world. In the next decade, I want to be coming up with new ideas and discovering new opportunities to tackle. This venture was really important in developing my skills as en entrepreneur. I will always look back at it and use the same techniques I learned to develop my ideas.
An interesting idea. I've only used a portable charger one time; on a business trip to Toronto and it never really stuck with me. That said I'm not against it but I have no idea how technically it would work. I'll give you a very real scenario though (and with it an issue I think you should solve for). My wife and I traveling with our three children. It was a 9 hour flight to Hawaii and we had 2 iPads; 2 iPhones; 2 LeapPads and a partridge in a pear tree to keep the kids busy for the entire time. By the end of it all our batteries were dead... that said; there was NO room for another thing to carry and still keep hands for our children. I would have been happy for a plug in the plane... but to carry another device wasn't in the cards. Same with business trips; I like to be light... so how can you solve for these dilemmas?
ReplyDeleteHello Alexandra, I enjoyed reading your venture idea: Pod. I liked how you analyze the opportunity from your perspective as a college student. It is so frustrating to have a low battery device with me whenever I am outside. This product will definitely save my life. Moreover since Pod has Wifi connection so that it is useful especially for travelers who does not know the area.
ReplyDeleteAlthough in reality, it would be challenging to have wifi hot pot in a device. So what would the companies who distribute the network’s work?
Above all, good work!
Here is my post. http://yukikokurashima.blogspot.com/2016/03/venture-concept-no-1-week-12.html
Alex,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your idea about providing charging and Wi-Fi capabilities to students and businesses. My only concern would be that charging pods are already readily available in the market, however, you are aiming to stand-out by providing hotspot WiFi. It might be hard to configure that as you would have to directly work with every single Wi-Fi provider, such as UF campus, or tech companies to provide this type of configuration, which may be hard technology-wise, as there is no way to ensure "better" wifi connections, unless there was a second company that was enabling this. Where would the profits come from?
Here is the link to my venture concept: http://jaryprinent.blogspot.com/2016/03/venture-concept-no-1.html