24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity:
Nicotine is a highly addictive substance that is commonly found in tobacco products such as cigarettes, but now companies have created new electronic devices to try and help people get off cigarettes, but they inadvertently created a bigger problem. Most of the time people will get hooked on nicotine due to social influences, meaning they see their friends doing it so they are more inclined to try it themselves in order to fit in. My product is designed for these types of people trying to quit their addiction and try to better themselves for personal health reasons. The main force creating this opportunity is the introduction of nicotine products like JUULs that gives teenagers the ease of using nicotine whenever they please. The kind of market for my product would start off nationally and if this product were to become widely popular and a huge success it would be nice to expand nationally. Most people I know that would fit into my target audience are currently not satisfying this need with any potential competitor because some people don't see the need for such a product, which in turn makes somewhat of a challenge for my product. This opportunity has the potential to become fairly big depending on how well received people take this product, I firmly believe that there is a big need for something like this and hopefully many others think so too. The window of opportunity for me will be open for as long as there are nicotine products on the market. This probably means for many decades because that's also how long nicotine has been around.

Innovation:

My product exactly is a bracelet or necklace that the user wears and helps relieve withdrawal symptoms a person would get from stopping the use of nicotine after a prolonged period of use. This product can be customized in order to fit the aesthetic needs of the consumer. It works by emitting a safe chemical compound into the body that is able to stop these symptoms effectively, but without the use of more nicotine. I plan on making money from this from primarily an online store at first, but a huge goal to shoot for would be getting this product onto pharmacy shelves. I would charge $30 for a bracelet and $40 for a necklace. For individuals, I will sell my product just as described. For other businesses, I wouldn't sell my product to them except in places where I can sell my product successfully on their shelves.

Venture Concept:

My product would be able to help people that want help stopping their nicotine use. It would be able to reduce withdrawal symptoms with my proprietary chemical that is safe for human consumption. It will be absorbed into the skin via the wearable device and will last roughly a couple of weeks with each replaceable cartridge. This would perfectly solve the opportunity I have selected because there's people out there who are struggling to get off this highly addictive substance Consumers will buy my product because it is unique in the sense that no other company has been able to create a product quite like this. All other competitors have products that actually have nicotine in them.  Relatively speaking, it shouldn't be too hard to get people to switch over because my product wouldn't contain nicotine at all, thus creating a better health atmosphere for the consumer. The biggest competitor right now would be patches because these have been around for many years now and I would be a new entrant in this type of market. Their biggest weakness is that their products still contain nicotine and once consumers are introduced to this alternative they would be inclined to switch. I feel that a big role in my company would be the price point. From a price stand point, my product is relatively cheap, and the replacement cartridges would only cost about $7, in comparison to a normal nicotine patch which retails or roughly $24, but only contains two weeks worth of product. In the short run, the patches may be more cost effective, but in the long run is where my product would shine. This business would be organized in a traditional type of manufacturing facility where there's workers working in the factory and then research and development teams that are constantly improving the product based on feedback. The amount of workers would vary depending on the initial amount of capital raised for this product as well as the amount of growth the business has.

Unfair Advantage:

From the VRIN analysis I found out that having a connection in the doctor world would be the most helpful because with a doctor's seal of approval on my product it would really help boost sales and potentially doctors can even recommend this kind of product to their clients if they're having lung issues from smoking and are trying to quit. Also, this would help achieve an initial goal of getting this product on the shelves of pharmacies.

What's Next:

There's not too much else to add on to the venture besides the fundamental stuff already included in the product, but there's always room to continue improving the product based on feedback. In addition, it would be nice to continue the growth of my company in order to solve an important issue as well as make some money along the way.

For me:

Personally, in 5 years I am hoping this product is widely successful and the goal is to see people wearing this product wherever I go. In addition, I hope to have created another successful venture by this time and hopefully those are fixing important issues as well. This first opportunity would give me important information and knowledge on how to successfully start a venture and I feel like the next upcoming ventures will be able to be run much more smoothly off the start.