The opportunity I would like to pursue would be a way to quickly and cheaply clean dirty shoes. Many people get their new shoes dirty very quickly, either through weather, going out frequently with them, or just the dirtiness of streets and sidewalks. Currently I clean my shoes relatively frequently and it is a time consuming task, especially for my white shoes.
The Who: Everyone that has shoes that are dirty, or that will get dirty in the future that would like them to look clean again.
The What: There is not an easy and quick way to clean shoes within a few minutes.
The Why: Being on the ground constantly means they will constantly get dirty, so people do not want to spend a lot of time cleaning them.
In the who, there is no one else that would need a shoe cleaning product other than those people who have dirty shoes, or soon to be dirty shoes. The what can be challenged because there are many different colors of shoes, and the materials that they're made with, so finding a one-cleans-all solution could be tricky. The why can be challenged by the people who would rather either just buy new shoes, or that do not feel like exerting the energy into cleaning the shoes.
For my interviews, I talked to 5 of my friends (John, Joe, Robby, Michael, and Nico) and listened to their thoughts. I started off each interview with a few broad questions before going into more specific ones. I found that each person has an issue with their shoes, and each wishes that they had a product that could clean these quickly and effectively. This strengthens what I thought of for my who, because I had suspected a few might have had no interest. I then asked how they are currently dealing with this problem. Two of them responded that they're doing nothing, two others said they have lengthy processes, and the last said that he stops wearing the shoes once they get too dirty. Why did each person say they followed that process? The general thought was that their way was the most economically and time effective way that they could think of. Each then stated that if they could buy a relatively cheap product that could clean their shoes, they would be customers.
Hi James,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting idea. I personally understand the struggles of attempting to keep your favorite pair of shoes clean and it can be very tedious. More times than not, I just give up and allow them to get dirty until the point where I need to buy a new pair. However, there are many cleaning products on the market now but what makes your concept different is trying to find a solution that will clean all types of shoes, while keeping it simple and inexpensive. This will surely be a challenge but if it could be done, much success could come from it. Perhaps something to look into would be to create a device that can clean your shoes overnight. Rather than trying to clean your shoes yourself, make a product that you can put your shoes in at night and when you wake up in the morning they are fresh and clean.
James,
ReplyDeleteI feel you completely on shoes getting dirty is a huge issue. As the owner of a few pairs of Jordans, I recently picked up the Royalty 4's and I wore them one time and the white bottoms started turning brownish. I was very disappointed and went home and tried to wash it off but had little success. I believe a lot of people would be customers if you were to create a new product for this.
Hi James,
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel that this is a need for so many people. This is especially a problem in Gainesville or "Rainsville" since it's muddy and swampy, shoes pick it up easily. Certain types of running shoes can be washed in the washing machine, but it has the potential to tear up the shoes. As far as I know, no convenient cleaning system for shoes exists, which means that your product has a lot of potential.