Assignment 4A - Forming An Opportunity Belief

I believe there is an unmet need for knowing your vitamin levels and what state your health is at immediately. I feel that everyone wants to be healthy and live longer. No one wants to be at the mercy of making doctor appointments and the high costs of Medicare. This need has existed ever since the advent of fast food and the want for quickness. In turn, the want for quickness and speed developed this need. Less people are eating whole foods and getting the actual vitamins they need. The product I would create is a toilet that after you urinate it will provide you with an electronical list of your vitamin levels and maybe bacterial and viral infections you may have. People are already doing an action they do every day, so in the end, it would only benefit them. However, I am not a scientist and realize there may be constraints on how possible this may be. Somehow, the public needs to know their health right away so they can take immediate action. This product can also help with the problem of wasting money on vitamins and supplements people actually don’t need. To meet this need now, people are going out and buying all the possible vitamins/supplements and waiting to go to the doctors. I’m probably 60% sure this opportunity exists.


#1: Female College Student

· Do you actively do your best to be healthy?

o “Yes! I try my best but being in college definitely holds me back. You are exposed to more bacteria and viruses. Being on your own for the first time can cause you to become lazy with your normal routine.”

· When did you first start caring about your health?

o “I grew up caring about my health. My mom was definitely a major health nut and always gave me different vitamins. I would say though that I started taking my health into my own hands when I quit travel soccer. I wasn’t exercising every day so I started to notice my health go down.”

· Do you ever wonder what you could be doing to better your health?

o “I take my health very seriously and it has always been one of my top priorities. However, college has definitely made me more busy and it is hard to take time to spend on your healthy habits.”

· What do you currently do to know what vitamins to take? Are you happy with this solution?
o “I do not exactly know what vitamins to take. I take about 5 different vitamins every day and hope that they are making me healthier.”

· What do you currently do to know what illness you have? Are you happy with the quickness of this solution?

o “If something feels wrong with me I just sit and wonder until it gets worse. When it does get worse, I call my mom or go to the doctors. I don’t have a car here so it is definitely difficult when I feel sick.”

· Would you buy a toilet that could test your vitamin levels and potentially tell you of an illness when you urinate?

o “I would definitely tell my family back home to get it. It is not really practical for college since most people live in apartments. In the future, I would seriously think about getting one.”



REFLECTION: The protypical customer is most likely not a college student as they usually have limited funds and cannot replace toilets. Although it may be something useful to them, due to their busy schedules and the scariness of living on their own, it is not practical.

#2: Young Adult Male in Relationship

· Do you actively do your best to be healthy?

o “Yeah, all the time. I workout, cook fresh food, and eat vegetables and fruit every day.”

· When did you first start caring about your health?

o “I always grew up caring about my health. I was taught by my parents. However, I actively started to care about being healthy in high school.”

· Do you ever wonder what you could be doing to better your health?

o “I don’t wonder about things I can’t control or don’t know about. I do wonder how much my health could increase if I become more consistent with what I already do.”

· What do you currently do to know what vitamins to take? Are you happy with this solution?

o “I don’t take any tests or anything like that. I just take vitamins depending on the way I feel. For example, when I am feeling a little sick I take more vitamin C.”

· What do you currently do to know what illness you have? Are you happy with the quickness of this solution?

o “I wait it out until it is bad enough to go to the doctor. I am not happy with this and definitely wish it was quicker. No one wants to feel under the weather longer than they have to.”

· Would you buy a toilet that could test your vitamin levels and potentially tell you of an illness when you urinate?

o “It depends on how expensive it is. It wouldn’t be my first priority to buy it but if I could easily afford it I would definitely buy it.”



REFLECTION: The protypical customer could potentially be everyone if the item is affordable because everyone wants to be healthier and live a longer life. However, I believe that this opportunity is not for someone who is just starting to create a life and is looking for inexpensive options.

#3: Female Adult with Family

· Do you actively do your best to be healthy?

o “Yes! I try and take the supplements I need and get as much sun and exercise as possible.”

· When did you first start caring about your health?

o “I started caring about my health after I had children. I didn’t want to be sick and then get them sick. I also wanted to teach my children good habits that would last a lifetime.

· Do you ever wonder what you could be doing to better your health?

o “Yes, absolutely! I want to achieve all the optimal levels I need for any vitamins.”

· What do you currently do to know what illness you have? Are you happy with the quickness of this solution?

o “I just buy my time and see if it goes away. I drink a lot of water and rest. I am not happy with the quickness of this solution because I have to wait and see if it’s anything serious. I don’t want to spend money on going to the doctor if I don’t have too. This solution I have is too time consuming for a busy family.”

· What do you currently do to know what vitamins to take? Are you happy with this solution?

o “I don’t know what vitamins to take. I just guess. Throughout the year, I just switch how many of each vitamin I take. I am not happy with this solution because I could be throwing money away.”

· Would you buy a toilet that could test your vitamin levels and potentially tell you of an illness when you urinate?
o “Yes absolutely. I would probably not install it in all four bathrooms I have but rather just one.”



REFLECTION: Having a family could potentially mean having more of a need for this opportunity. The responsibility of having to care for someone else increases the need for this product. A family also means spending more money on doctor visits and vitamins.


SUMMARY: I believe my original opportunity is still there. There is certainly a huge portion of customers, such as college students, who would not buy this product but still are intrigued with it. My opportunity is definitely without a question more accurate than when I started as I learned a bunch of things from the multiple people I interviewed. Based off my interviews, people are not happy with potentially wasting money on vitamins and supplements they may not need. They are also not happy with the wait time to figure out what is wrong with them. How well the product does is based on the customers opinion of it so of course entrepreneurs should adapt their opportunities based on the customer’s feedback.