Venture Concept No. 2
29A
Opportunity
Individuals who do not have that much time, such as busy moms, students with a full plate, and in general, anybody who does their laundry. I came up with this idea when I realized how I was wasting my time re-drying and re-running the dryer machine.
· The forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity is the forgetfulness of humans. We forget to check the lint before drying out clothes causing the machine to have to be re-run.
· This market is defined geographically and demographically by households and laundromats.
· Customers are currently satisfying this need by re-running their dryer when they forget. They are definitely not loyal to that technique since it causes their utilities bill to increase and their time to be wasted.
· I think this opportunity is big because these busy individuals would be saving a lot of money and time which is very valuable to the person on the run. I think this window of opportunity is very wide, it will be open for as long as this problem is fixed.
Innovation
My invention is basically an addition to dryers. It would be an LED light that would be placed next to the on/off button so that individuals would not have a chance to miss the light if it is on. If there is lint detected in the dryer, the LED light will shine a bright red color. I would be selling the light to manufacturers, or individuals, and I would have some LED lights that are easy to install for the individuals. To manufacturers, the LED light will go for $40 and for individuals, the LED light will go for $15-$20. There will also be a free app that can be programmed to said washer and dryer so that individuals can add more time or stop the machines if they think their clothes should be dry enough.
Venture Concept
Some reasons that customers would start using this product is because it would save these individuals time and money. Also, if a running dryer has too much lint in it, it could potentially start a fire. If the individual is not home, their house could burn down! As of right now, the only “competitors” in this market are the well-known appliance companies such as Maytag, LG, and Samsung. I think this innovation is brand new and untouched by the market. Packaging would either be in a nice little box for the individuals who want to self-install or given to the manufacturer in a factory setting. There would be customer support easily accessible to the customers through the app.
The Three Minor Concepts
1. I believe my persistence and drive to make my invention into a reality is my important resource or “secret sauce”. I believe in my product and my drive shows that.
2. I think the next opportunity would be to talk to manufacturers and get their take on my idea. I would also work on my prototype and pitch them my elevator pitch. I would also see if I could start marketing to laundromats and university housing.
3. After launching, I would hope that my invention is useful and popular to my target audience and I would start brainstorming another invention since I like this process and solving problems.
Feedback
All of the feedback I received was very positive. I got compliments on my style of writing and answering my assignments. One of peers also said that she was doing her laundry the other day and thought how useful my invention would have been. This positive feedback was very much appreciated. The only constructive criticism I received was from one of my peers. He said that I could view the well-known appliance companies that are already out there. In the “what’s Next” exercise, one of peers commented that I could market to laundromats expanding my market without changing my invention or concept.
What I Changed
Based on the feedback that I received, I updated my possible competitors, adding the well-known appliance companies like Maytag, LG, and Samsung. I also added that I would see if I could start marketing to laundromats and university housing in order to expand my market.

Hey Deborah,
ReplyDeleteReading your second venture concept and seeing the changes you made based on the feedback that you received was inspiring. Being able to acknowledge this feedback is a skill on its own, but you take it a step farther and modify your idea to better fit the feedback you have received. This helps to build trust between you and potential partners and customers.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteYou did a really good job with this post. I definitely think that talking to manufacturers is a great next step, because your idea is so unique yet useful that I could easily see it being sold at places like Sears or Home Depot. It's also affordable and really worth it in my opinion! I would love something that does this for me and HATE waiting for laundry to be done. The app is also a really great addition and would be a big hit.
Great job,
Linnea Lindeman