4A – Forming An Opportunity Belief
Beginning point
I believe there is an opportunity for more gym space at the University of Florida
Describe your belief
The unmet need at this university is excess weight room space. Students at this university have this unmet need, as they experience long lines and crowded spaces whenever they use the limited weight room space available. The need has come from a combination of a growing student population and a fixed amount of weight room space. In an attempt to meet this need now, students are trying to go to the gym during times of the day where its least crowded, at the expense of having the freedom to go whenever they want. I am 95% sure that the opportunity for more weight room space exists.
In order to identify prototypical customers, I surveyed individuals who were at University of Florida's Southwest Recreation Center.
Iteration (Customer) No. 1
Answers to Questions: The first customer said that the exact nature of the need is simply for more gym space. They said that they became aware of the need quickly as they became a routine member of the gym space. This customer said that the University's had this unmet need ever since he's arrived at the school, and that he first became aware of this need based off of how incredibly crowded the workout space was during his very first workout. He believes this is due to how UF has such a large student population, but such little gym space. He is addressing the need by trying to fit his workouts in in-between class, when the space is typically less crowded. He loves the idea of having more gym space, and notes that it would be a great solution
Iteration (Customer) No. 2
Answers to Questions: The second customer I spoke to agreed that the need was for more gym space. He said that he become aware of the need every time he enter the gym and saw how crowded it was. This customer said he's had the need since about halfway through college, when the customer started working out. The customer said he became aware of the need after attempting to workout at the gym multiple times around 5pm. The customer said that unfortunately, he found out the need by visually observing the crowded space. The customer said that he doesn't know how to avoid the crowd, so he doesn't have a way of addressing the need. He was excited by the prospect of having more gym space on campus
Iteration (Customer) No. 3
Answers to Questions: The third customer didn't exactly pinpoint the need as simply being more gym space. She said she was unaware of the need for more gym space until this school year started. She said that since this school years started, she's thought of the need every time she's worked out. Furthermore, she's had the need for a few weeks. She attributes this need to the influx of freshman students. She is addressing the need by not letting herself get phased by the number of students in the area at any given moment. She said that she wouldn't mind the solution of having more campus gym space, but she personally doesn't believe it's necessary.
Reflection:
By interviewing these customers I learned that people agree with the need that I identified. Honestly, the most surprising thing I learned was that one of the customers I interviewed didn't view the solution of more gym space as being 100% necessary. Other than that, I wasn't surprised to hear most of the customers agreed with the proposed solution of having more gym space.
Summarize:
Based on how my interviews went, I believe most of the original opportunity that I identified is still there. I personally don't believe that any new opportunity is more accurate than the opportunity that I identified at the start. However, every situation is unique, so I believe that entrepreneurs should adapt their opportunities based on customer feedback whenever they see fit. I think that there's value in tailoring your opportunity to customer feedback, but I also think it's important for the entrepreneur to have conviction and stay true, for the most part, to their original idea.
I believe there is an opportunity for more gym space at the University of Florida
Describe your belief
The unmet need at this university is excess weight room space. Students at this university have this unmet need, as they experience long lines and crowded spaces whenever they use the limited weight room space available. The need has come from a combination of a growing student population and a fixed amount of weight room space. In an attempt to meet this need now, students are trying to go to the gym during times of the day where its least crowded, at the expense of having the freedom to go whenever they want. I am 95% sure that the opportunity for more weight room space exists.
In order to identify prototypical customers, I surveyed individuals who were at University of Florida's Southwest Recreation Center.
Iteration (Customer) No. 1
Answers to Questions: The first customer said that the exact nature of the need is simply for more gym space. They said that they became aware of the need quickly as they became a routine member of the gym space. This customer said that the University's had this unmet need ever since he's arrived at the school, and that he first became aware of this need based off of how incredibly crowded the workout space was during his very first workout. He believes this is due to how UF has such a large student population, but such little gym space. He is addressing the need by trying to fit his workouts in in-between class, when the space is typically less crowded. He loves the idea of having more gym space, and notes that it would be a great solution
Iteration (Customer) No. 2
Answers to Questions: The second customer I spoke to agreed that the need was for more gym space. He said that he become aware of the need every time he enter the gym and saw how crowded it was. This customer said he's had the need since about halfway through college, when the customer started working out. The customer said he became aware of the need after attempting to workout at the gym multiple times around 5pm. The customer said that unfortunately, he found out the need by visually observing the crowded space. The customer said that he doesn't know how to avoid the crowd, so he doesn't have a way of addressing the need. He was excited by the prospect of having more gym space on campus
Iteration (Customer) No. 3
Answers to Questions: The third customer didn't exactly pinpoint the need as simply being more gym space. She said she was unaware of the need for more gym space until this school year started. She said that since this school years started, she's thought of the need every time she's worked out. Furthermore, she's had the need for a few weeks. She attributes this need to the influx of freshman students. She is addressing the need by not letting herself get phased by the number of students in the area at any given moment. She said that she wouldn't mind the solution of having more campus gym space, but she personally doesn't believe it's necessary.
Reflection:
By interviewing these customers I learned that people agree with the need that I identified. Honestly, the most surprising thing I learned was that one of the customers I interviewed didn't view the solution of more gym space as being 100% necessary. Other than that, I wasn't surprised to hear most of the customers agreed with the proposed solution of having more gym space.
Summarize:
Based on how my interviews went, I believe most of the original opportunity that I identified is still there. I personally don't believe that any new opportunity is more accurate than the opportunity that I identified at the start. However, every situation is unique, so I believe that entrepreneurs should adapt their opportunities based on customer feedback whenever they see fit. I think that there's value in tailoring your opportunity to customer feedback, but I also think it's important for the entrepreneur to have conviction and stay true, for the most part, to their original idea.
Hey Michael,
ReplyDeleteI really like the opportunity you chose because it is a problem that many students here at the university can relate to it. The gym is usually quite busy and workouts can take up 2 hours due to long wait times for equipment. I liked how the three customers you questioned actually came up with solid answers to this problem. Simply going to the gym at less popular hours can hopefully solve this problem to some extent.