Assignment 4A: Forming an Opportunity Belief

Every year, thousands of dollars in electronics, furniture and time can be plagued by a simple mistake; knocking over your cup. Whether it’s your dog’s tail or an uncoordinated attempt to pick up your cup, it’s something that can happen to anyone, and can be quite expensive in certain circumstances. This is where I see an opportunity. How can we keep our cups from falling over and ruining our belongings but also make them easy to pick up? Moving them to the center of the table only goes so far, and high coffee tables may just be downright uncomfortable. I believe there is a great opportunity to solve this problem, and the solution may be very simple.

Most people become aware of this problem when there’s either a close call or a complete mess-up that sometimes costs them a lot money. My prototypical customers, all of which were dog owners, admitted that this has happened to them before, and it wasn’t only from their dogs. They admitted that they often knock their own cup over more than their dog does, however their dogs were also the culprits. Two of which had great expenses, losing their computer, while the other had ruined their rug and phone. The solution I pitched immediately grabbed their attention, as they admitted that it probably would’ve saved them these expenses.

What I learned from these interviews is that this solution didn’t necessarily have to be for dog owners but can be used by anyone who sees this as an issue. A person knocks their cups over and ruins their belongings every day, even if it’s your morning coffee before work. It can be a day-ruiner, but it doesn’t have to be. Through research on any kind of similar product, and the feedback from prototypical customers (who could be anyone), the opportunity is very real, and I am even more confident that the opportunity is more accurate than when I started. Customer feedback is vital when taking advantage of an opportunity to create a solution to a problem. If customers don’t think it will work, or that it is a waste of money, then there’s no market for your idea. Adapting the needs of consumers is very important in manifesting your ideas in a way that consumers will see as applicable and valuable.