Opportunity Belief

Begging point 

1.  Starting my college Journey in Gainesville at the begging of last years fall, I quickly realized the new trend among college students of "Juuling", a pen sized  nicotine vaporizer that has a variety of flavors. Everywhere I went I saw every college kid with a Juul, the demand for Juuls and especially Juul Pods sky rocketed. The demand has sky rocketed so much that most gas stations, and smoke shops run out of Juul pods immediately, and there is a huge shortage of Juul pods in college towns.  

Describing My belief

1. I first realized there was an opportunity when I realized how quickly gas stations and smoke shops sell out of Juul Pods. The Juul itself is easier to find. but the Juul pods, especially the good flavors , almost sell out immediately because of the demand. In todays day and age, with the social media platform available, college trends can skyrocket a product, which is what happened with the Juul. Also, many smoke shops and gas stations have started ordering fake Juul pods from china but sell them for real prices. With no regulation over the Juul Pod market, an almost unlimited market demand , smoke shops and gas stations have been making unparraleled profits on Juuls. College students who Juul have an unmet need of buying Juul pods, most of the times gas stations and smoke shops don't have pods, and if they do, its the worst flavors. College students, and older high school students primarily have this need, but also, all nicotine addicts. This need has come from the popularity of Juuls sky rocketing and the demand for Juul pods not being met. Nowadays people are ordering bulk packages of fake pods, buying fake pods that fit the Juul or trying Juul imposters that have pods always available. In percent terms , I am 80 percent sure that this problem exists because of the popularity of Juuls skyrocketing among young adults especially college students. 

Identifying the Prototypical customer 

1. My prototypical customer would be a young adult between 12-24 , most likely a college student or living in a college town. My opportunity belief was realized among college students in a college town, so my ideal customer would be a college student who has jumped on the Juul train. 

Iteration 1

1.  Since my prototypical customer is a college student, I decided to interview some of my pledge brothers , from Phi Delta Theta , about their Juul habits, and consumer needs. I decided to first ask them about their Juul habits before asking them about the 4 criteria that I'm basing my opportunity belief on. The first prototypical customer I talked to is Zach Frey, a freshmen electrical engineering student at Uf. I first asked him when and why he started to use the Juul. Zach said he first started using the Juul in his summer semester in Gainesville, and that he now is a Juul user. I then asked him to tell me about his experiences trying to buy Juul Pods, Frey said " The only thing I don't like about using the Juul is that I can never buy the pods I want, even if they have pods I never get the flavor I want." Zach says  " that he became aware of the need for Juul pods and more variety of them as soon as he started Juuling in summer B, and that getting pods has been a hassle ever since. He explains about the constant biweekly need of Pods and the hassle that it involves to buy pods.  Frey explains that he currently solves he's need by buying a Phix, a Juul imposer, because the pods are always available but that it is not as good as the Juul. He says that he is not very satisfied with this solution, but that trying to get the pods he want here is almost impossible. 

Iteration 1 Reflection

1. Zach interview shows the need of Juul pods in college towns, and the struggle of trying to buy them. This interview helps me see that my opportunity belief is correct, and that their is a great need for more Juul pods and more variety of Juul pods. This prototypical customer's interview shows that their is a need for more Juul Pods and that their is a opportunity from the sky rocketing amount of college students that use a Juul.

Iteration 2 

1. For my second prototypical customer I decided to interview a older member of my fraternity to see the opinion of an older college student . I decided to interview Evan Levy a senior studying business administration. I first asked Evan when he started Juuling and why, Evan said " The first time I saw a Juul was this summer over break, but I didn't start Juuling instill Fall 17." Evan said that he first tried it when one of his friends had it so he tried it out, and that he then bought his own Juul. I then asked Evan if he had any problems with buying Juul pods and he said " the worst thing about the Juul is trying to buy more pods, I don't even care what flavors anymore , I just want to buy them." Evan said he first became aware of the need during fall when he bought his first Juul, but could never buy the Pods he wanted, or even buy pods at all. Evan said this need popped up when he , and everyone else, started Juuling and that he's been aware of it ever since. Evan currently calls all the gas stations and smoke shops in Gainesville until one of them says they have pods. He speaks of the hassle of trying to get pods, and how its almost not worth buying pods. He's not happy with his solution because of how time consuming it is.

Iteration 2 Reflection

1. I decided to interview an older college student to see if they have the same needs as a freshmen in college. This interview showed me that the need for more Juul pods is not only for young freshmen, but all college students. This trend of Juuling has made most college students, not just the young ones, to have an unmet need of Juul pods and variety of Juul pods. The most surprising thing I learned was how hard Evan would look to find Juul pods, and proved the unmet demand of consumers. 

Iteration 3

1. For my last interview of my prototypical customer I decided to interview someone not in greek life. I decided to interview a fellow student in my survey of calc class. I wanted to interview a prototypical customer that was not in greek life ,like my other two customers were, so I interviewed Lawrence Kinkade. I first asked Lawrence when he started Juuling, Lawrence said " I started Juuling during My first semester at Uf, summer B." I then asked Lawrence about buying Juul pods, Lawrence said " As a freshmen with no form of transportation, I can only walk to get pods , and most of the time the gas stations I walk to don't even have Pods." Lawrence showed his frustration by adding " I use to complain about not finding the flavors I wanted, but now I'm happy if they have any pods." Lawrence said he first noticed the need during the fall, when everyone started Juuling, and how much of a hassle it has become to buy pods.  Lawrence said he experiences he's need about twice a week, he goes through 2 packs ( 4 pods each) of pods a week. Lawrence has started buying Juul pods from students or friends for ridiculous prices because of shortage of them. He is not happy with his solution, but it is the only way he currently has of buying Juul Pods. 

Iteration 3 Reflection

1. For my last interview, I decided to interview someone not in greek life to have a better perspective of the average college student. His interview showed me that the need for Juul pods is felt by all college students, not just students in greek life. His interview showed the desire for Juul pods, and his solution to the need shows the shortage of Juul pods compared to consumer demand. The most surprising thing he said was how much he was copping Juul pods from other students, because it proves the customer demand for Juul Pods. 

Overall Reflection

1. After conducting 3 interviews, and questioning my opportunity belief, I can confidently say that there is a shortage of Juul Pods in the market around college towns. Each interview to a prototypical customer proves that their is a unmet demand for Juul Pods, and shows that the demand is all college students not just a portion. I believe that all of my opportunity is still here, and that now I can confidently say that my opportunity belief is 100 percent correct. My interviews and the 4 criteria which I judged my opportunity belief prove that their is an unmet demand for Juul Pods among college students.