Assignment 29A: Venture Concept No.2

• Opportunity:
• Until recent years, society has associated the words "health" and "healthy" to one simply just not having an illness or being sick. Health has taken a whole new meaning now as people associate health with not only being free from illness but connecting the mind and body and being the best self you can be. The global market for health/wellness has been growing rapidly in the past few years and, according to Euromonitor International, has reached $686 billion in the year 2016.
• The doctors office always take longer than you actually think they will. By the time it takes to get there, check-in, wait in the waiting room, have the nurse take your vitals, wait for the doctor, have the doctor examine you, check out, drive to the nearest pharmacy and wait 10-15 minutes at the pharmacy it feels like your whole day is gone. It is not actually the doctor visit itself but the whole process that takes so long. In fact, Medscape released a report that stated typical doctor-patient time is only 13 minutes long. 
• The need is for people to be able to know their levels of vitamins/nutrients in a timely manner and not need to make a lengthy/expensive visit to the doctor's office. Currently, customers simply do their research online and take what they think they need not what they actually need. This need has not been satisfied in a way of prevention. People often wait until they are at their absolute worst to go to their doctors and often it is something that could be preventable.
• Potential Customers: multigenerational households, university owned buildings, millennials willing to pay (in general, people who wish to maximize their health)
• 
  
• Innovation:
• For both individuals and colleges, I will sell toilets that will be advertised as personal performance identifiers and health monitors because that is what is unique to the toilet. This product will analyze your urine after you urinate and give you an electronical list on a screen of various things you are deficient in. This product is a fast and easy way for people to monitor their health and be more proactive about their body. The way I see my product is there being a sensor that will detect when you urinate. Once this sensor is triggered, the toilet will open a compartment or simply extract a sample to analyze. Once it is finished analyzing, the toilet will dispose of it down the pipe as a toilet normally would dispel of its contents. I am selling a toilet along with a scanner and screen for between $400-$500 depending on how advanced the technology is. In general, a good quality toilet is between $200-$300 so if I would have to estimate I would add a couple hundred on that for the screen and scanner.
• For families, I would also like to include a downloadable app that will notify parents of their children results. This way, parents can keep track of their child's health without being a super helicopter parent.
• Venture Concept:
• Customers will buy my innovation simply because it will save them time and money in the future. They will switch because this is a more efficient process due to the fact that they are doing something they do everyday, the bathroom. They don't have to change their routine, thus, making it easily adaptable to their lifestyle. Customers will also buy this products so they don't constantly waste money on vitamins/nutrients their body is not deficient in.
• The competitors include businesses where people have to send in their "sample" of saliva or  urine to get tests that can take weeks to come back.  In today's society, people seem to have an obsession with quickness. It is always "I want it now" or "I don't have time for that". My product will give you the results at that moment so there is no waiting or handling involved. 
• The price point must be perfectly balanced as it cannot be too expensive so young millennials will be able to buy them. It must be above $1000 but below $3500 so it would definitely be considered an investment. Although my main target segment is multigenerational households, millennials are the most willing to take initiative on healthy eating habits and wellness experiences (Nielsen). I believe that influencer marketing is one reason behind this. This online community has created a space where people can share recipes, wellness tips and healthy habits as well as products that fall within this category. This information can be quickly shared with millions of people. I think this is something I should take into consideration with the distribution of my product to millennials who use social media frequently.
• Unfair Advantage:
• Never underestimate the power of social media. After reading "The Art of Social Media" by Guy Kawasaki, I truly realize the importance of your brand's reputation/consistency on social media. My familiarity with social media and the knowledge that I gained from reading this book will definitely help me jump start my business. 
• What's Next:
• My goal for this product is not to ruin physician's careers but rather reduce the amount of visits that can be easily solved and prevented with my product. I could easily add a different product category of powders that change colors for the most common vitamin/nutrient deficiencies.
• For Me:
• I want to continue to promote healthy lifestyles and being proactive about the state of your wellbeing. If this product is scientifically feasible, I would look forward to creating a health brand out of this. One day, I would hope to take it beyond just the toilet in order to promote healthy habits globally. 

Feedback

• The three responses to my venture concept were all positive. They all were really assuring and made me feel as though my business concept mattered. It was a nice feeling to have as throughout this class I had doubts about my concept and wasn't really full on in it.
• Focus on multigenerational households/advertise in suburban areas
• Express that the computer aspect of the product will have updates on the analysis of different deficiencies/illnesses 
• Manufacture in the US, promotes my values, healthy labor 
• Maybe not participate in influencer marketing, not practical??
• So...probably should have done this before but I actually researched my product to see if there is anything like it out there
• I found one article about a Japanese company who has a toilet that can test your sugar level, blood pressure and body fat.
• It runs for a whopping $3500 so maybe need to reconsider the price for my toilet lol

How Venture Concept Changed

• I was not aware that there was a product like this out there and neither were my peers in this class and the people I interviewed.
• My goal would be to make it more common and inexpensive. Market it more. Spread the word.
• I haven't seen any product like this in the US so I could be the first company here to do it.
• I will definitely have to up the price of my original thought of $500, guess I was not educated enough to make that guess
• Want it to be below the $3500 of the other company 
• My product will aim to do more and is marketed more towards vitamin/nutrient deficiencies. 

This is what the "Smart Toilet" in Japan looks like. Mine will be very similar but I would have a more slick touch screen not necessarily all this buttons which can be intimidating.