Idea Napkin No. 1

1) Hi, my name is Will Kutash and I am trying to change the way that people approach reading in a way that makes it fun, interactive, and easy to obtain new books each months.  My talents include being very resourceful, innovative, and passionate about the work I do. When it comes to my work I have always strived to do the best job possible and it shows in my work. I feel like the skills that have led me to this point will give me an advantage in the entrepreneurship world and will  allow me to see my business grow and prosper along the way.

2) The business that I have created is an online subscription website that allows customers to select up to 3 books per month that will be delivered right to their door. We hope to encourage people to start reading more books so they can expand their minds through the written word of thousands of authors. The customers will input their preference for books and our website will come up with a suggested list of books for that recipient. This way the customer can select from a large list of books that are more personalized towards their preferences.

3)   This business is targeted for people of all ages who enjoy reading and want to start doing more of it. Books are a way to connect with the characters in a fun inspiring way that keeps you wanting more. At first I had thought that this business would be better suited for children but after conducting interviews I found that this unmet need was for people of all ages. All of the customers will have the desire to increase their vocabulary, expand their minds, and dive into a world full of adventure. 

4) Reading has been proven to have many benefits such as stress reduction, vocabulary expansion, memory improvement, and stronger analytical thinking skills. These are just a few of the reasons that reading is beneficial to your health.  For kids, reading is a way to start their journey into learning and education. This business will be very useful for parents with children who want to encourage their kids to read.

5) The difference between us and other businesses that offer books is that we will deliver your pre selected books right to your door each month for a low cost. This style of business will encourage people of all ages to dive back into reading so they can reap many of the benefits that come with it. Our website will be very user friendly so that people can navigate our page with ease and find exactly what they are looking for. With the personalized list of book suggestions our customers will be able to find the perfect books for them.

I think that all of the elements that are listed above will help to contribute to the success of my business and encourage customers to dive back into reading. There will be things that I need to work out with my business plan so that the customers receive the best possible service. We will have talented graphic designers on our team to make sure the website is user friendly and easy to navigate.  A main goal for my business is to bring books to people of all ages so they are able to expand their minds and encourage others to do so as well.

10A Elevator Pitch One

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Who: A business that would lie outside the boundary of my opportunity would a public library that every county has in their area. Libraries offer people the chance to expand their minds with their vast collection of books. Even with all of these option you are still leaving the reader will thousands of options to choose from. My opportunity seeks to bring books right to people's doorstep that they are interested in monthly. This unmet need could help to encourage younger children to pick up a book instead of a tablet after school. Even though this opportunity is helpful to many people there still are some people who may fall outside of the boundary. Such as someone who may travel for work and not see the need for such a service.

What: The need I identified would be very beneficial to someone who is looking to grow their minds and soak in the vast knowledge that books have to offer. Even though this is monthly service some people might find this as an unnecessary expenditure if they are trying to save money for other priorities. I would say that even though this service may not be as appealing to some it could be just what someone you may know needs. With a service such as this one you would end up saving money by using this service over buying a new book every time you want something to read.

Why: Those who are inside the boundary are all seeking the same need, to expand their minds with the literary works of great authors. Those who find themselves outside of the boundary are those who had a whole range of reasons as to why this need was not necessary for them.  Based on the interviews I conducted the reasons ranged from staying on a budget to not being able to find a book that is right for their preference.

Interviews: After conducting these 5 interviews I gained valuable insight into why others might not feel my opportunity is in the best interest for them. The first interview I conducted was with a neighbor from back home. After explaining the premise of my opportunity I asked if this service is something that he would be willing to try. His answer was that he sees how a service like this is valuable but for him he was unable to spare room in his budget. This led me to start thinking of a way to lower costs and still maintain a great customer service base. The next interview I conducted was with a young nurse on her lunch break. She informed me that she has such a passion for reading but that her job takes up much of her time. A service such as this one would not be in her best interest with her schedule. During these interviews I started to wonder why people have started to read less and less and I realized is is because of technology. The next interview was with a  young mother who has a child in first grade at a local elementary school in the area. I explained the educational benefits from utilizing a service like this and she was intrigued. Her only rebuttal is that she could take the kids to the public library for free and let them chose a book. This is true but I thought to myself how many people actually still go their public library besides mothers with young children. These interviews helped me to gain beneficial knowledge into  what the customer base might be wanting for a service such as this. They also helped me to realize that people even though they might agree with the reasoning behind an opportunity it still might not benefit them


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Inside the Boundary
Who is in: Young children starting to read, Elderly folks, Those who travel often
What the Need is: A need to expand the mind through books and other written works
Why the Need exists: Many people are not reading enough

Outside the Boundary
Who is not: Those with busy work schedules, people on a budget
What the need is not: A necessary expense for people on a budget
Alternative Explanations:  People who are not interested in reading so they do not feel that this service is a necessary expense 

Solving the Problem

The opportunity I am pursuing is a monthly subscription service that offers books to those who wish to expand their minds through the great works of many authors. This type of business would encourage people of all ages to start reading more by sending them books based on their own interest to their doorstep each month. This service would be web based so customers can go online and easily set up a book for next month or chose to be surprised with the book of the month. This way customers have the option to either chose books from a list based on their own interests or have one selected for them by our staff. If customers enjoy our service we would encourage them to spread the word to friends and family and if they do so it would allow them to get a discount on the nexts months subscription. By doing this we would hope that more people would start to spread the word and we can reach a lot of people with this great service. The online website will be well designed and very user friendly so that customers of all ages can easily interact with our website.

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1. In life people tend to not be able to read as much as they like due to hectic schedules or not having access to books. These priorities are what keep us from expanding our minds into the literary world. I believe an opportunity exists to bring books for all ages to any household in the country. This would help to increase the literacy rate as well as get people back into reading. 

2. Who: People of all ages who want to start reading more books

What: Many people would choose to scroll through social media instead of pick up a book and read. 

Why: With hectic schedules and not having access to books people tend to not read 

3. Hypothesis Testing 

Who: Many people have this need not just any one group. Younger children who are starting to read books, adults who want a good novel to curl up with at night, and even elderly individuals who want to take their mind on a journey, all of these groups would benefit from a monthly book service. 

What: Having access to a monthly book subscription service would expand the minds of all ages into the literary world.

Why: The vast majority of our country does not read as much as we should and a service that offers a monthly book would help to increase the number of people reading in our country. 

4. Interviews

I interviewed 5 people and was able to come up with a plan that would bring books to people of all ages for an affordable monthly cost. A few people that were interviews suggested that the service offer customers the chance to select more than one book per month in case they might read fast. One man suggested that there should be a way to select the books online from a list of books that have been selected based on the readers interests.  These were great suggestions and I will use it in my future business plan. An overall consensus I received from my interviews was that they all felt like they were not reading as often as they'd like and a service such as this one would benefit them greatly. An interviewee suggested that I offer a yearly subscription for a discounted rate which is a great idea. I felt as if the feedback I received from the interviews will be very useful moving forward. This opportunity exists for people of all ages and I feel like there is a huge untapped market for this type of business.  This opportunity will allow me to spread the literary works of great authors to people of all ages. 

Your Entrepreneurship Story

3A- Your Entrepreneurship Story

   In high school I volunteered with a group that was trying to raise money though various fundraising opportunities. We ended up customizing and selling t-shirts at school to raise money for a club. We brought in a lot of money for the club and it was a great learning experience into the world of entrepreneurship. Even though I was only in high school I found the entire process exciting that I was able to create a product and take it from beginning to end. I enrolled in ENT3003 to get a better insight into the world of entrepreneurship and expand my knowledge on ways to enhance my skills on observing products and improving them. I'm excited to learn about new techniques that will allow me to advance my career. I believe this class will be a great step in advancing my way of thinking about products and inventions in our everyday life.

Bugs List

2A- Bug List

1.      Receiving a box in the mail and despite the size of the object the box is always larger than needed.

a.      Exists because: helps to expedite the shipping process

2.      Texting a friend with an iPhone and it turns green instead of blue

a.      Exists because: There isn’t adequate service available

3.      When ordering food from a drive through it never looks like the picture that is presented when ordering

a.      Exists because: Workers are trying to expedite service which means less attention to the product

4.      iPhone X now has only one adaptor port, so you cannot simultaneously charge your device and listen to music at the same time

a.      Exists because: They want you to buy an adaptor piece, so you can use both

5.      Bookmarks that are designed to keep the place of where you are in a book regularly slip out

a.      Exists because: The material used allows it to slide out between pages

6.      When is its supposed to be clear skies all day but then it ends up raining and I am not prepared with an umbrella

a.      Exists because: Inaccurate weather predictions

7.      Advertisements on Pandora

a.      Exists because: Helps bring in more revenue for the company

8.      Radar detectors that are used to check the speed of passing vehicles is usually incorrect

a.      Exists because: There isn’t good enough software to detect the sped of a moving vehicle with a stationary speed checker

9.      Fitted sheets that have no correct way to be folded

a.      Exists because: There is no easy way to fold a fitted sheet

10.  Outdoor furniture that is supposed to be mold resistant

a.      Exists because: Humidity and other factors have a greater effect on the fabric used

11.  When you buy chips, but the bag is half filled with air

a.      Exists because: The added air makes the bag seem fuller

12.  Opening a condiment package but the perforated sides never tear apart

a.      Exists because: The edge isn’t perforated enough

13.  Doors that seem like they are push when in fact they are pull or vice versa

a.      Exists because: The door design is deceiving

14.  Picking up children at school and the traffic is backed up into the street resulting in a parking lot of stopped vehicles

a.       Exists because: There is not a reliable traffic pattern to avoid such inconveniences

15.  Gas prices that fluctuate daily

a.      Exists because: Supply and Demand needs

16.  Buying concert tickets online for one price but when you check out there is $10 added to the end for service fees and other taxes

a.      Exists because: They know you will still buy the ticket even with the service fees added

17.  Traffic on Gamedays is horrendous due to the excess of people coming in town for the game

a.      Exists because: Thousands of people are coming in town to see the game

18.  Using a liquid deodorant that is only half full once you screw the liquid to the top to be dispensed

a.      Exists because: They want to make it seem that it is full

19.  Coffee cups that don’t have a large enough part so you can fit your hand in to hold the cup

a.      Exists because: They are made for small hands

20.  When devices say water resistant

a.      Exists because: They don’t want to be responsible for water damage since they did not say water proof

Reflection: This assignment was slightly challenging to think of everyday bugs that we encounter. It really made me think about all of the inventions around me and what I do and don’t like about them and ways that they can be improved. Once I began to think of items that I encounter everyday it was easier to find the bugs that I use and have an issue with. This assignment helped me to realize that no matter the product things can always be improved and revamped.