Who I am: I am a senior mechanical engineering student who is passionate about cars, animals, travel, and food. I am good at video games, public speaking, and racing go-karts. Some of my more business-related skills include Microsoft Office, time management, and a strong work ethic. I have survived 4 years of engineering curriculum, and I also interned for two summers at Fast Lane Travel, who takes customers on luxury Porsche driving tours through Europe. I have also been to countless car shows where I get up-close with a wide variety of cars, which provides a lot of the design inspiration for my padded seat cover idea. I aspire to finish my BS in mechanical engineering, then get my MBA and try to earn as much money as I can to afford my dream cars and travel. If I were to start this business, I would try to grow it on the side until it became profitable, then devote all of my time to it with the end-goal of selling the company for at least several million dollars.
What I'm offering to customers: I am offering customers a way to make their car seats much more comfortable on long journeys while simultaneously making the seats more attractive. The seat covers will be padded to provide additional comfort, while a selection of styles, colors, and materials will allow customers to customize their seat covers to suit their taste.
Who I'm offering this product to: My customers are automobile owners who drive for more than 2 hours at a time on a semi-regular basis. They are mostly middle-class and do not have especially luxurious cars that would make long journeys more comfortable. Some of them suffer from back pain or other preexisting conditions, which makes them more inclined to seek out a way to make their car seat more comfortable, like my padded seat covers. They comprise a wide range of ages, from 18 years old and up. They take pride in their car and want it to look good, they are individualistic, and they enjoy expressing themselves.
Why they care: They care because everyone wants to be comfortable in their car, and my target segment values their comfort enough to seek out a solution to their car seat's lack of comfort and pay for it. This is especially true for my potential customers who have pre-existing health conditions, so a portion of my marketing would target them specifically. They also care enough about the style of their car's interior to seek out a more attractive solution than the existing cushions and padded covers on the market. They're also interested in having the option to create a unique seat cover that reflects their personal tastes.
My core competencies: My knowledge of automobiles, including the interior design and materials, is exceptional. Also, I am good at planning and staying disciplined to achieve my goals, which will be very helpful for getting the business off the ground. My experience interning at Fast Lane Travel allowed me to see how a small business is run, which would certainly serve me well starting my own business.
I definitely think that these elements work well together. I understand the types of customers who would buy my product, and through the interviews I have conducted, I know what their needs are and how to tailor my product to satisfy them. My personal attributes also fit well with the business idea, as I am in-tune with trends in the car industry which influence the design and material options for my seat cover both now and going forward. The only thing that does not fit very well is my knowledge of how to make the seat covers, as I have no experience with sewing or producing fabric.
Feedback Memo: I received two comments on my first idea napkin. The first comment made note of how my internship at Fast Lane Travel connects to my idea since both are in the automotive area. Although the link between the custom seat covers and the Porsche driving trips isn't especially strong, it's still a good point, and I learned a lot about how a small business is run during that internship. The first comment also mentioned that they could see my product doing very well on the market and even becoming trendy because everyone wants to be comfortable. The second comment mentioned that my idea was creative and unique, which is exactly what I want people to think when they examine my product. They related their experience driving to UF as an out of state student and how uncomfortable it gets for them. The second comment also mentioned that it is a good idea to market it toward people with health conditions that make sitting in a car seat more uncomfortable. The last thing they mentioned was that the customizability of my product is nice since many people like to express themselves through the way their car looks.
Based on the feedback I received, I added some things to my idea napkin, but I didn't have to delete anything and most of it is the same. I have italicized my changes in the idea napkin above. The changes focus on emphasizing the parts of my idea napkin that my peers thought were most valuable, but that I had not already focused on. For one, I emphasized how my potential customers are individualistic people who care about how their car looks. Then, I specified the desire of being comfortable in the car as a universal one, not just exclusive to my potential customers. Next, I decided that more emphasis should be placed on the value of my product to people with back pain or other pre-existing conditions that make driving less comfortable. The final change I made was explaining how my experience interning at Fast Lane Travel contributes to my core competencies.
Hello Jake, that is really good that you have a good sense of knowledge of automobiles. IT is ok I believe that your product is similar to your past internship. Like we learned in the class it is ok to have competition. What needs to be done is that there needs to be a significant difference between your product and others. This will make yours stand out and people will favor yours over others.
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