Friday, May 24, 2019

Forming An Opportunity Belief - Assignment 4A

I have a belief that people in the Gainesville community have a need for a cheeseboard delivery service. More specifically, party hosts love good cheeseboards at their parties. It caters to people of all ages and it can be made for all kinds of events and occasions. The options in the area are limited. Restaurants will make cheeseboards for pickup, but not delivery. Also, no restaurant in the area offers customized cheeseboards. Starting a company that offers a wide range of cheese and meat pairings would satisfy customers in a way they have never experienced before. Cheeseboards have always been popular, but they are consumed more now than ever. It is a new and growing trend. People are sick of having limited options for cheeseboards at restaurants and the large majority of these people would rather not take the time to make a cheeseboard on their own because it takes a significant amount of time to do it right. A cheeseboard delivery service is an opportunity that needs to be capitalized on as the market for cheeseboards continues to grow.

Customer #1... Household with a stay-at-home parent

  • How often do you throw a party in which you cater food for guests? Twice a month.
  • How often do you make cheeseboards? Once a month... about every other party I host.
  • How often do you order cheeseboards from restaurants? Maybe once a year when I have something going on and I'm too busy to take the time to make a quality cheeseboard.
  • Would you be open to the idea of ordering customized cheeseboards? Definitely.
  • Would you order a cheeseboard for a casual dinner at home with your family? I would, but only so often as a treat.
  • How much would you be willing to pay for a customized cheeseboard that feeds about 10 people? $100 for a really nice one.
  • How long have you wanted such a service? It's been on my mind for probably about a year now. Making cheeseboards is a pain when I have people over because there is so much else to do.
  • When did you first become aware of your need for a cheeseboard delivery service? Why? I wanted to order a cheeseboard for a Game of Thrones party that I had about a year ago and the restaurant I was ordering from wouldn't customize their cheeseboard to work with the theme.
  • How satisfied are you with this solution? Very satisfied! It'd be very convenient considering I'm always trying to host parties and please my guests.


Reflection: Prototypical customers are looking for a way to make their lives easier when hosting parties for a lot of people. They may enjoy the process of making a cheeseboard all nice and pretty, but sometimes they just don't have the time for it.

Customer #2... Household with two working parents

  • How often do you throw a party in which you cater food for guests? Around 4 times a year
  • How often do you make cheeseboards? Never. 
  • How often do you order cheeseboards from restaurants? Maybe twice a year.
  • Would you be open to the idea of ordering customized cheeseboards? Yes!
  • Would you order a cheeseboard for a casual dinner at home with your family? No.
  • How much would you be willing to pay for a customized cheeseboard that feeds about 10 people? Anywhere from $50-$200.
  • How long have you wanted such a service?  Ever since the guests at the last party I hosted complained about me not having a cheeseboard at the house. They also talked about how nice it would be to pick and choose different meats and cheeses for the different occasions.
  • When did you first become aware of your need for a cheeseboard delivery service? Why? After the last party I hosted, I realized I needed this type of service because it is hard to find the time with my busy work schedule. 
  • How satisfied are you with this solution? It would be awesome and a huge convenience, especially considering I like to host parties, but don't have a lot of time to spend on making a cheeseboard.
Reflection: Prototypical customers have always thought a cheeseboard is a nice touch to a party, but not until recently did they view cheeseboards as an essential party snack. People expect there to be cheeseboards at most parties now, and prototypical customers are beginning to realize that. Prototypical customers are also willing to pay a lot of money for customized cheeseboards.

Customer #3... Household with a retired couple
  • How often do you throw a party in which you cater food for guests? Probably close to a dozen a year.
  • How often do you make cheeseboards? We make cheeseboards for every party we host.
  • How often do you order cheeseboards from restaurants? Never.
  • Would you be open to the idea of ordering customized cheeseboards? Of course.
  • Would you order a cheeseboard for a casual dinner at home with your family? Probably not.
  • How much would you be willing to pay for a customized cheeseboard that feeds about 10 people? Maybe $50 or so.
  • How long have you wanted such a service? Since retirement and since we started hosting so many parties. Everyone loves a good cheeseboard... especially if it's customized.
  • When did you first become aware of your need for a cheeseboard delivery service? Why? The last couple parties I hosted made me aware that I couldn't keep taking so much time to make a cheeseboard for so many people.
  • How satisfied are you with this solution? This would satisfy me in that I wouldn't have to worry about doing such a task when there are a million other things to do to get the house ready for our monthly gatherings.
Reflection: Prototypical customers will order from such a service consistently because they tend to follow a schedule for when they host parties. For example, a retired couple may tell their friends that they can expect a monthly party at their house. Cheeseboards are a convenience for people because it takes pressure off of them as they are preparing the house for a party or special event.

Summary: People tend to do as much as possible to make their lives easier. In this case, that means ordering from a customized cheeseboard delivery service to save time and also satisfy their guests with a cheeseboard made for the particular occasion. The original opportunity to start this cheeseboard business seems even better after interviewing prototypical customers. The opportunity is even more accurate than I had originally hoped which is exciting. It is now clear that people of all ages desire to have such a service available to them. Entrepreneurs should stick to pursuing the same end goal, but they should potentially adjust the means to the end. For example, entrepreneurs should listen to customer feedback in this particular business idea by offering different variations of platters and providing people with deals depending on how many people they are serving.

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