Assignment 11A- Idea Napkin Number 1

1. Who you are? What your talents are? What your skills and experiences are? Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

• My name is Cameron Matos and I am a second year general chemistry major. I have a talent for talking and connecting with people while also connecting them to others. I have had many experiences with approaching people in a sensitive situation and being able to help them to resolve their issues. I have many experiences in bringing people together and creating new connections. My aspiration is to simply live a sustainable and comfortable life. So if I were to begin this business it would most likely play a large role in my life. I would want it to succeed to the fullest extent. In the long run I would most likely build this business to the point where I could start other ventures and put myself into a position to continue to accumulate profits and continue building.

2. What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs).

• With this product I am offering individuals the ability to find new living accommodations, specifically apartments, in a streamlined and accurate manner. The product itself will be solely online for convenience of the users and will be accessible through some kind of payment or subscription. The unmet need I am exploring is an accurate and convenient way of finding a new place to live. Many websites already say they offer this but their information is on many occasions inaccurate and almost seems fabricated. This forces people to go to multiple sites and spend hours trying to get an idea of what the actual prices are and whats offered in that price. This becomes a hassle as people can be very busy with many things and they are forced to delegate time else where. This product will either go to or contact the location directly everyday in order to make sure the most accurate and up to date information is available to those searching. 

3. Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?      

• This product is primarily focused on individuals looking to find a new place to live, with a focus on apartments. This group is incredibly diverse as it can deal with the entire spectrum of incomes and backgrounds. These individuals can be first time searchers or frequent movers. People will be happy to have the ease to search for a place to live without as much worry as many before them have faced. Most of these potential customers have one primary thing in common, and that is the preconceived notion that finding a new place to live is difficult and stressful. 

4. Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

• I believe that people will use this product because of the convenience. No one likes wasting time and having to redo things they have already done. Anything that makes difficult tasks easier for someone is something people will want to use. With my product people don't have to double check their research and can feel content with the decision that they came to. People can also use this site to check and see what people think of the places that are being considered by people. With day to day updates on prices and features individuals can rest assured that they have made the right choice.

5. What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has?   

• I do know that there are many services like this already out there, however many of them only update prices when new prices are created at the end of a leasing period. This does not help people however as the apartment market is incredibly fluid and is ever changing. That is why my product updates day to day so that people using it are able to see exactly what it is they would be paying and getting with what they sign up for. The primary thing that sets my product apart from the rest is the constant updating and accuracy of the information. 

In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others. 

• I believe that these are elements that blend very well together. The only weakness I could think of currently is the way to make the service stand out from other services like it. This is because the market is close to saturated but it is with inferior products that are frustrating at best. Another potential weakness is the limiting of my potential customer base to those looking for apartments and excluding those who may be looking for something other than apartments to live in. Past these issues I am hard pressed to find anything else that does not mesh well with the rest of these elements.