Forming an Opportunity

Beginning Point:

I do have a belief that an unmet need exists

Describe your Belief:

The unmet need I believe exists is the need to know how full parking lots on campus are without having to drive into them. I think the need applies mostly to students and maybe faculty. I think the need as always existed, as parking on campus can be hard to find. How this need is being met at the moment is simply building more parking spaces to try and accommodate more people. At this point I am 90% sure that this opportunity exists

Interviews:

Interview #1: Rebecca

Me: How important is parking on campus to you?

Rebecca: I park on campus all the time, for class and for group meetings

Me: Is it hard to park on campus? How do you know where to park on campus?

Rebecca: Yeah, parking during the day is very hard. I would say the worst is the mornings when I arrive to campus. I don’t know where to park, I usually just try and find a place close to my classes.

Me: When did you first become aware that parking was a problem, and that it was hard to find a parking lot that was open?

Rebecca: I would say once I started driving to campus, so last year.

Me: What do you when there is no parking close to you classes?

Rebecca: I usually just drive around to other parking lots and see if I can find a spot.

Me: My solution to the problem would be to either create an app to tell you where there is space to park or putting digital signs at parking lots to show how many free spots there are. Does that sound like a solution to your problem?

Rebecca: Yeah, I think so. I think it would be nice to have both, that way you would not necessarily need one or the other.

Interview #2: Ethan

Me: Do you park on campus often? How easy is it for you?

Ethan: I don’t park on campus much. I don’t do it much because it’s actually quite hard to find parking close to my classes.

Me: When do you become aware of the need for a solution?

Ethan: Only when I miss the bus. Then I drive to campus and I find it hard to park, so I only experience it occasionally. 

Me: How do currently address this need?

Ethan: Well I avoid driving to campus, I rather take the bus.

Me: Would you find an app that locates available parking or a digital signs that inform you the amount of available parking in a location helpful?

Ethan: Yeah, I think that would be beneficial. Maybe I would drive more to class, but I still think I would predominantly use the bus

Interview #3 John:

Me: Do you drive and park on campus often?

John: I wouldn’t say often, but a good amount.

Me: What is you main concern when parking?

John: Mostly that I will have to go around looking for somewhere to park, it’s kind of a hassle sometimes.

Me: How often is this a problem for you when you drive?

John: I would say almost every time I drive to campus

Me: How long has this been a problem for you?

John: I would say probably since sophomore year, once I moved off campus

Me: How do you currently solve the problem?

John: I bike to campus, it’s easier and good exercise

Me: Would you drive to campus more if you could identify where available parking was?

John: I think I would, knowing that I wouldn’t have to stress about finding parking

Reflection:

Based on the interviews I conducted, I learned that there in fact may be an opportunity to cease, as many people find it frustrating to not know where to park on campus. The most surprising thing I found was that this problem, is based on efficiency. Meaning that people want to park close to their classes, not necessarily look for where there is parking elsewhere. As you can see from interviews with John and Ethan, not being able to find parking close to class was why they found other means of transportation.

Summarize:

I find that most of my original opportunity is still there. People want to know where to park, but also want to be able to park close to their classes. I do believe that my new opportunity is more accurate, but also harder to solve. I believe that entrepreneurs should adapt to customer feedback, as they are the people buying the service or product. However, there should be product champions as well, that believe that an idea can be successful, but may need some modifications to help it break into a market.