Forming an Opportunity Belief

I do have a belief that an opportunity exists. Somewhere there is an idea that can be the basis for a lucrative business, and this idea just needs to be found. The unmet need that comes to mind is not being able to communicate with others when going through an area with little to no service, typically in the middle of no where. The people who have this need are the people who like to travel to remote areas, or those who enjoy hiking, camping, or other outdoor activities away from civilization. This need has been around forever, since people always lose contact with one another when in unfamiliar places, but the problem is now commonly linked with cell phone service. Now, people will either bring radios with them or they will simply do without their cell phones. At this point, I am around 90% sure that this need exists.

Prototypical Customer #1: My Roommate Justin
Justin had noticed this need long ago, as his family would take camping trips most fall seasons. During these trips are the only times that he notices the need, as he lives near New York City for the rest of the year where there is service. His nature of the need is that he cannot talk to friends or cannot call for help if needed. Currently, him and his family simply do without phones on their trips and trust that nothing problematic will happen.

Prototypical Customer #2: My Uncle Jack
My uncle is big into fishing, and thus constantly loses contact with the landed world when he takes his boat out a few miles into the ocean. He has only become aware of this problem recently with cell phones, as he never noticed it before that. His need in this situation is that if family, friends, or business concerns need him, he will not be able to answer. He is currently dealing with this situation by using his radio to talk to other nearby boats if a problem arises. He is moderately satisfied with this solution, as family still cannot reach him if need be.

Prototypical Customer #3: My best friend David
David is yet another outdoors kind of a person. His favorite hobby is snowboarding, which is naturally in places of high altitude. Because of this, he cannot talk to anyone when he is on the mountain, and is in his own little bubble of sorts. He became aware of this need the first time his parents let him go snowboarding or down trails by himself, which then showed him that he is essentially on his own. He is now only aware of this need when he is on the mountain, and sometimes when traveling to or from the destination. He is currently addressing the need by making a plan with the family and friends that he goes with, so that they can meet up when the time comes.

These three interviews made me realize the nature of my opportunity is different than anticipated. I had assumed that everyone would rather have the option of contact rather than no contact, but this is not the case. The most surprising thing is that many people are not significantly interested in changing anything to the point of buying new devices or adding anything to their own that would allow for contact with anyone, anytime, from anywhere.

There is still a chance that my belief is there, however it is definitely less of a chance than I originally thought. I would give it around a 30% chance or so now, because I have came to realize that most of the time that people lose service, is because they intend to do so. Many people go camping, fishing, snowboarding, etc. to escape from the world and relax. Therefore, rather than thinking of ways that cell phone coverage could work everywhere, a better opportunity would now be devices specifically for people that need to talk to the civilized world when they are away from it. This is a much more accurate and reliable solution to the problem. I believe that customers should greatly adapt their product to customer feedback. It is the customer that is the purchaser of services after all, so therefore if they provide feedback to better the product and make it more successful, they should do that immediately.