What's Next?

Existing Market

Step 1
I think the next step for my business venture is to come up with a prototype and test it. While I think my product is feasible, I need to actually develop it and come out with a beta version that I can advertise to consumers. I also think that my venture can create those extra features I mentioned in my elevator pitch.

Step 2
I had one person who really liked my concept. She stated that I should come up with a prototype and test, as that would allow for a more clear understanding of my product to others. I had another interviewee who also encouraged a more clear path for my venture in a prototype, and how my product is different than the typical 'out of office' email.

I had one interviewee suggest that customers may want an all-encompassing system, similar to Google (slides, docs, forms, etc. The system would allow employees to clock in and out of work, and potentially limiting employees' hours to maintain a balance. My first interviewee suggested an automatic status recognition, rather than manually changing an employee's status from working to unavailable.

My last interviewee also agreed about creating a prototype, and again suggested an emergency feature to receive alerts for certain situations. She wasn't sure about any future adaptations customers may want, though.

Step 3
Based on the feedback I received and my own expectations, I think the next step for my venture is to create a prototype and test it on a few companies and employees. I've gotten lots of feedback on the idea, including a need for a sense of clarity on my product. A prototype will help clear up any confusion regarding features, how the product works, and more. In addition, testing a prototype on a group will allow for even more feedback, allowing me time to improve my product.

In terms of growing my market, I think first testing on a small group, and then using word-of-mouth combined with some commercial-level advertising will help increase the number of customers. Word-of-mouth is important because my business isn't paying for it, so the reviews are much more authentic. However, some commercial-level advertising is necessary in order to make my product known to the market.


New Market

Step 1
A radically different market from my current target market (working young adults and college students) is stay-at-home moms.

Step 2
Honestly, I am not sure if my venture will create direct value for the new market. Stay-at-home parents are essentially working 24/7 because they are raising kids and taking care of familial tasks. If their spouse were to enter into my venture, they may indirectly gain value by being able to spend more time as a family with fewer work distractions.

Step 3
The first interviewee suggested the product be compatible with her phone and contacts to fit her needs. As a stay-at-home mom, she oftentimes feels that people don't respect her time because they think she is at home doing nothing. If the product somehow showed her status to her contacts, she'd benefit from it directly. She also thought that this product would indirectly benefit her if her husband had the product because he would not disturb family time with incoming work calls at night. My second interviewee liked the idea, but the main struggle will be getting people to use a product that isn't necessarily targeted towards them. She wasn't sure about any adaptations and suggested a prototype for people to try.

Step 4
I learned that the stay-at-home moms market is quite hard to target. Apple's Do Not Disturb feature can likely solve their needs of getting phone calls and text messages at undesirable hours. However, what surprised me the most was their encouragement for my idea. I fully expected them to respond in a way that rejected my product completely, but instead, I received feedback for ways I could adapt my products to their needs.

My assumption of benefiting indirectly from my product was correct. One interviewee specifically said that she would benefit indirectly if her husband had the product. However, I don't think this market is as attractive as my existing market. I think in the future, I could target this market and be successful, but in the early stages, I don't think stay-at-home moms would have a strong enough need for my product.