4A - Forming An Opportunity Belief
1. I have a feeling that an opportunity exists based on my own experience with a particular problem.
2. I believe that others have the same unmet need I do, not knowing what to cook or make using the limited ingredients on hand in your kitchen at any given point. Generally, anyone that is low on groceries and not particularly creative or very advanced with their cooking abilities could have a need for this feature. This need has existed for as long as mankind has made meals, as many people, such as myself, struggle with figuring out exactly what dish to make; an issue that likely stems from either a lack of ideas or from a feeling of boredom in one's typical diet. Currently, people meet this need by either searching on the internet for recipe ideas or by simply crafting a meal using their best guess. At this point, I am 65% sure that this opportunity exists.
3. The prototypical customer is a young adult that has some experience with making meals but is not adept enough to intuitively know what to create based on what is on hand in this kitchen at any given point.
4. First iteration:
Q: Do you ever struggle with figuring out what to cook?
A: Yeah, at times I blank out and don't know what to make and end up staring into the fridge for a solid five minutes.
Q: When does this bother you?
A: When I'm hungry or trying to make something to eat.
Q: How long have you had this problem?
A: Since I moved out and started cooking for myself.
Q: When did you first realize this was something that either frustrated or bothered you?
A: Probably my second or third day in the kitchen.
Q: How do you deal with this now?
A: Usually I just throw some stuff together or if I really have no idea I either go buy food or order delivery.
Q: How satisfied are you with that solution?
A: It bothers me. I want to avoid spending money as much as possible and don't want to waste my time sitting around thinking about this.
Second iteration:
Q: Do you ever struggle with figuring out what to cook?
A: To be honest, yeah, I do.
Q: When does this bother you?
A: Literally all the time when I'm home and want to make something.
Q: How long have you had this problem?
A: When I moved into my apartment.
Q: When did you first realize this was something that either frustrated or bothered you?
A: After I got groceries and already made all the obvious meals.
Q: How do you deal with this now?
A: Basically I eat random elements of a meal and end up not loving it.
Q: How satisfied are you with that solution?
A: Not at all.
Third iteration:
Q: Do you ever struggle with figuring out what to cook?
A: Sometimes I do.
Q: When does this bother you?
A: Sometimes I'm just out of ideas and not in the mental space to actually figure it out on my own for a bit.
Q: How long have you had this problem?
A: Since I started my college coursework.
Q: When did you first realize this was something that either frustrated or bothered you?
A: When I would just get annoyed after thinking about what to cook for a minute or two and just give up.
Q: How do you deal with this now?
A: Not eating or eating something boring.
Q: How satisfied are you with that solution?
A: I want to figure out something better.
5. Overall, I learned that many people share the same frustration I do when faced with this situation. It surprised me that a friend that I considered to be very put together and knowledgeable with food also faces the same problem sometimes.
6. I believe that my original opportunity is primarily still valid, but it could be further adjusted and refined. I do believe that my opportunity is more accurate than my initial idea, as after hearing from multiple people, I now have been affirmed that I am not alone in this. I wholeheartedly believe that entrepreneurs should adapt their ventures based on customer feedback, as by doing this, they have a much higher likelihood of better satisfying customer needs. That being said, I do believe that there is a certain value in staying firm and sticking to one's own suspicions.
2. I believe that others have the same unmet need I do, not knowing what to cook or make using the limited ingredients on hand in your kitchen at any given point. Generally, anyone that is low on groceries and not particularly creative or very advanced with their cooking abilities could have a need for this feature. This need has existed for as long as mankind has made meals, as many people, such as myself, struggle with figuring out exactly what dish to make; an issue that likely stems from either a lack of ideas or from a feeling of boredom in one's typical diet. Currently, people meet this need by either searching on the internet for recipe ideas or by simply crafting a meal using their best guess. At this point, I am 65% sure that this opportunity exists.
3. The prototypical customer is a young adult that has some experience with making meals but is not adept enough to intuitively know what to create based on what is on hand in this kitchen at any given point.
4. First iteration:
Q: Do you ever struggle with figuring out what to cook?
A: Yeah, at times I blank out and don't know what to make and end up staring into the fridge for a solid five minutes.
Q: When does this bother you?
A: When I'm hungry or trying to make something to eat.
Q: How long have you had this problem?
A: Since I moved out and started cooking for myself.
Q: When did you first realize this was something that either frustrated or bothered you?
A: Probably my second or third day in the kitchen.
Q: How do you deal with this now?
A: Usually I just throw some stuff together or if I really have no idea I either go buy food or order delivery.
Q: How satisfied are you with that solution?
A: It bothers me. I want to avoid spending money as much as possible and don't want to waste my time sitting around thinking about this.
Second iteration:
Q: Do you ever struggle with figuring out what to cook?
A: To be honest, yeah, I do.
Q: When does this bother you?
A: Literally all the time when I'm home and want to make something.
Q: How long have you had this problem?
A: When I moved into my apartment.
Q: When did you first realize this was something that either frustrated or bothered you?
A: After I got groceries and already made all the obvious meals.
Q: How do you deal with this now?
A: Basically I eat random elements of a meal and end up not loving it.
Q: How satisfied are you with that solution?
A: Not at all.
Third iteration:
Q: Do you ever struggle with figuring out what to cook?
A: Sometimes I do.
Q: When does this bother you?
A: Sometimes I'm just out of ideas and not in the mental space to actually figure it out on my own for a bit.
Q: How long have you had this problem?
A: Since I started my college coursework.
Q: When did you first realize this was something that either frustrated or bothered you?
A: When I would just get annoyed after thinking about what to cook for a minute or two and just give up.
Q: How do you deal with this now?
A: Not eating or eating something boring.
Q: How satisfied are you with that solution?
A: I want to figure out something better.
5. Overall, I learned that many people share the same frustration I do when faced with this situation. It surprised me that a friend that I considered to be very put together and knowledgeable with food also faces the same problem sometimes.
6. I believe that my original opportunity is primarily still valid, but it could be further adjusted and refined. I do believe that my opportunity is more accurate than my initial idea, as after hearing from multiple people, I now have been affirmed that I am not alone in this. I wholeheartedly believe that entrepreneurs should adapt their ventures based on customer feedback, as by doing this, they have a much higher likelihood of better satisfying customer needs. That being said, I do believe that there is a certain value in staying firm and sticking to one's own suspicions.
Great post Nicholas! I can definitely relate to this because sometimes I will think for a solid 5 minutes on what I will eat for dinner. I never really thought of this as a problem but great way to think outside the box. I do agree that in order to get better at something we need feedback to continue in the right direction.
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