25A – What’s Next?

Existing Market. 
Step 1:

 Next for my product would be to start designing how I would like my product to look like, how I would manufacture it, and how will I distribute it. The designing part will just be me and maybe a few other people designing ideas. But for the other part, it will include a lot of talking with investors and potential business partners that have more experience than me in developing and distributing products

Step 2:

 My 3 customers agree with me, they think that I should get started on a prototype design before I go to investors so they can also probably help me modify the design if they have any better ideas. One of them pointed out that I should probably also do some research on existing plant-based products and their ingredients. That way, I can see if there is something that I could also modify in that area.

Step 3:

I think that what’s left for this is just doing the research, getting a design, and contacting potential investors. Most of my feedback on the product has been positive and all of them agree that there is a need for a product like this. I think it’s time to stop focusing on just the straws and trying to change many more products. I just think that in order to keep growing, I have to advertise the idea more.

There are many people that are really concerned about these extreme climate changes that we’re having and want to genuinely do something about it. So after I design all of it and have a more solid idea, I just want to advertise and promote the product. I would probably just want to start talking about it more and contacting companies that work with these kind of products and gain their feedback and interest.

New Market.
Step 1:
            A radically different market would be creating cheap water filters for poor civilizations. A lot of poor areas in the Eastern side of the world have to walk to the nearest lake or river to collect water. But most of the time, these waters are contaminated so they’re not good to use. I would want to create an attachable filter that would attach to whatever they’re using to collect their water (i.g a bucket) and then they would be safe to use the water to cook, take a bath or clean their clothes.
Step 2:
            I think my venture concept will still help me with this product because it all has to do with helping the world, it’s just in another area. The social capital that I have for my original venture can also help because one of my contacts is experienced in creating and developing sustainable products. That means that he would be able to help me design a product like this one and can also help me distribute it.
Step 3:
            Something that my interviewees liked about my product is the fact that even though it’s targeted for poor countries that have a need for clean water, they could easily buy a product like this and use it on a camping trip or something like that. They could also benefit by it if they ever decide to have a trip outdoors and they encounter a river. They could use it to make sure that the water they collect either to drink or something else, is clean and safe.  They also talked about how I could make it different sizes and shapes that way it is able to easily attach to any type o container.
Step 4:
            What surprised me was the quick response both of my interviewees had when I asked how my product would help them I don’t know why but for me it was a little bit hard to think about how I would relate my product to people that don’t come from a poor country. I also liked how they were giving me so many great ideas in how to modify it. I wasn’t surprised by the positive reaction they had to it because I know them both very closely and I know that they are really passionate about helping the world so hearing about a product that will do that, would just bright up their day.
            I think my existing market would be more attractive just because it’s something that could be implemented in every single place that sells drinks. I think that in order to make my second product more attractive I would have to make a lot of modifications to it and adapt it to many different places. It would also require more research than my existing market just because I really know nothing about how to create filters and what kind of materials it would require in order to properly work.