11A – Idea Napkin No. 1

1) You. 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?

I am someone very passionate about human rights and international politics. I want to go into foreign affairs to promote a humanitarian agenda for U.S. policy. Because of this, I would sell my business concept so I could focus on my work and use the money to travel and study the world.

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

Current microwaves on the market are loud in every way: when you open the door, when you press the buttons, and especially when the timer is finished. My microwave has silent capabilities giving users the options to be silent.

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?

The majority of users would have roommates including those living in large cities or those in college. The demographic would be fairly young because of these living conditions. Another set of people would be those who have a personal preference of not hearing loud noises.

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. 

Because roommates share a living space, they also adjust to accommodate each other. This is difficult when they have different systems and sleeping schedules. Morning and evenings can be tricky if roommates sleep at different hours and this difficulty means that one may have to be quiet when accomplishing tasks. Microwaving a meal without waking your roommate is an almost impossible task if your quarters are close (unless they sleep like a brick). Likewise, a roommate who is using the microwave while you sleep is bothersome when they wake you. This is a common problem on both sides that many young adults would like to solve.

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

Microwaves are obnoxiously loud, and in some cases, there is a reason like a beeping to call out. But more often than not, its unnecessary as you wait in the kitchen. Our microwave will have the capability of beeping and staying silent-- a feature that will be revolutionary.

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. 

Because my demographic involves those with roommates, often times this means they have less money to spare as part of the younger demographic (who have already been burdened with a bad economy, astronomical student loans, and poor wages). To gain traction, the price of my microwave would have to be attractive and possibly the microwave itself might need a modern look. Otherwise, I think I have a strong platform to sell on. Often times, young people moving in to these new places, need new devices like a microwave so there would be a market.