Week 7 Reading Reflection

1. It was very surprising to learn that most people focused on segmenting their advertising as opposed to their product, but after reading the article I'd have to say that I agree with it to a certain extent.

2. I was a little bit confused by the technical terminology, but it didn't take away from the article's message at all.

3. I would ask how many companies actually have issues with their definitions of market segmentation?

4. I think that innovation of products is imperative in certain markets, and in these markets there is not as much of a need to rediscover anything. I think there are only certain markets that this article applies to, and even only certain major companies well ingrained in their markets.

Elevator Pitch No.2

I decided to add the vending machine option and add a little bit more information about the product idea itself. I also tried to through in a bit of the nutritional benefits as well, though I wasn't sure how best to fit them in or how explicitly to describe them as well. I also focused on the time as opposed to the effort due to the feedback from my last round of interviews. I hope it sounds good, too!

Interviewing Customers No. 3

I asked the same basic questions but then asked a little bit more about the business side of it. People would be willing to pay more for an appliance that can cook their food for them, but most people were more concerned with time than effort. That slight difference was something that I think I failed to emphasize earlier. They were also very open to the vending machine version of the appliance, which I think would be interesting but very difficult to do in such a quick time limit. I will continue to think about other ways that food could be automatically cooked because texture was increasingly important in these interviews. I believe that this is a genuinely viable idea, and I think that there is a market for it.


https://www.dropbox.com/s/lvnqok4aibs5kjm/Interview%2011.m4a?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zalopw9eaugf8ql/Interview%2012.m4a?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wr03zgwa44k7g3k/Interview%2013.m4a?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/apjjn1r29spiqtj/Interview%2014.m4a?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lshczim1uxfg0k6/Interview%2015.m4a?dl=0

Idea Napkin No. 1

As you know by now, my name is Jackson Cole, and my entrepreneurship idea is to automate the cooking process, specifically by the rehydration of dehydrated food. The specifics are still in the works but the goal is definite. I am an engineer, so I am very good at logically progressing through a problem and finding solutions, but I am also very good with people. I have learned how to get along with most everybody and how to communicate effectively through many different mediums. I've learned those communication skills through trial and error, mostly error though. I want to get a PhD. in Biomedical Engineering to study specifically cellular functions. If this idea actually turned into a profitable business, I would use it to fund my research and hopefully create an engineering conglomerate for research into helping people with the aid of all fields.

I am offering customers an easy and less time-consuming way of preparing the food that they want the way they want it. I want to offer nutritional options for people as well as giving them the gift of more time to do what they need to do in life and worry less about simply sustaining their own life. Hopefully I could make this a fairly economical option as well, because that would allow it to help many more people who may desire to spend less time cooking and more time playing with their family or doing more work.

I am reaching out to people who are busy, people with commitments to multiple groups in addition to themselves, people who need food and nutrition but do not have the time or energy to cook legitimate meals for themselves. Most quick-cook meals are not very nutritious, and microwaves don't cook food evenly. I am gunning for the people who have a desire to eat but also a desire to have more time to dedicate to their many responsibilities and pleasures.

This product would cook food for you. The food that you want, the food that your body needs, the food that is usually not available without a legitimate cooking process will be available to you with the push of a couple buttons. Professional chefs create meals with multiple courses and many side options; that is now accessible to you. My product allows any food you want to be at your fingertips, ready to be prepared and eaten.

My product would be a singular item that can be used on any approved food products. It will become a household item, like a stove or refrigerator. It will make the preparation of food happen fast and come out cooked evenly and with computerized accuracy every time. No more rushing-through-the-kitchen mishaps, this product will prepare the food precisely every single time with automated controls that only require a selection by the user to initiate cooking procedures.

Interviewing Customers No. 2

This time around, I decided to add the idea of nutritional value of the food into my interviews. It seems that overall, people are very concerned with what they put in their body. All people cared at least a little bit, though some much more than others. Flavor and choice seemed to continue to be the main reasons people cook, even though more people admitted that they enjoyed the actual cooking process. Even the subject who eats so little and enjoys cooking so much that this product would be useless for him, recognized that many people would probably appreciate the ability to automate the cooking process. More people seemed less concerned with the texture than before, though it is still something that they would consider. I am feeling more and more confident that, if I could actually find a way to create a product and system to perform this task, I would have at least solid foundation of people willing to try a product like this because of the benefits. Cost analysis, pricing, and efficiency of actually producing the food would be issues with actually starting the business, but I think that those are areas that become progressively easier with time and practice. I will continue to think of alternate venues and ways of cooking, but so far I think that the in-home rehydration process is viable at a minimum. What do y'all think?

Also, I would advise people to be systematic in deciding who to approach for an interview. People often give off body language clues to people about whether or not they are approachable and cooperative. People sitting down, with no headphones in and looking around are prime candidates because they are not rushing anywhere and are often waiting for something, so they have time to fill with a short interview. Headphones are the biggest identifier that I have noticed, steer clear of people with headphones. Be confident and calm, and success is inevitable.

Interview 6
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3q1dv4cm6owxyo6/Interview%206.m4a?dl=0

Interview 7
https://www.dropbox.com/s/teldicxvruo9rbu/Interview%207.m4a?dl=0

Interview 8
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ne1kzu3h233kwa6/Interview%208.m4a?dl=0

Interview 9
https://www.dropbox.com/s/meu3xp9h0ap878t/Interview%209.m4a?dl=0

Interview 10
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fi3tut600rqr1nb/Interview%2010.m4a?dl=0

Elevator Pitch (No. 1)

The idea is to find a way to effectively deliver fresh and convenient food to people who need it. I obviously need to  work on specifics for the idea (most of which are difficult without actually developing products and testing them) and its implementation. A computer interface would be fairly straightforward but not very new. The goal is to find a way to store and prepare food quickly and without damaging the properties of the item itself. I'm thinking that the system could be called "Quick Cheffing", thoughts?