11A- Idea Napkin No.1
1. You
My name is Rebeca Puerto and I am a second-year Finance major with an interest in pursuing a Master in International Business. As far as talents go, I am pretty good at cooking, math, directions, telling people what to do, thinking of fun things to do, and I used to be good at playing soccer. Throughout my time at UF, I have developed a wide variety of skills that I believe can be put to use in various settings. I have taken academic coursework that has allowed me to become very familiar with Accounting, Business Finance, Marketing, Information Systems, and Professional Speaking. I had a finance internship last summer where I helped refine the company's pricing strategies in order to attract a greater market segment by looking at things such as target market demographics, preferences, and overall taste. I also became very proficient in Excel, as I had to use the program every day at my internship. I have certifications in Excel, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Dreamweaver, and Adobe Illustrator. I am fluent in writing and speaking in English and Spanish and am very comfortable in both settings. I also studied abroad last summer in Spain which is where I interned as well. As far as my opportunity is, I aspire that my opportunity will help reduce so much plastic waste that it will actually help the environment and we will see a change on our planet. In other words, I see my opportunity to create a retractable, reusable rubber straw creating a lasting impact on the planet. I believe that if this were the primary straw used by people all over, we would be able to ultimately see long-lasting impacts.
2. What are you offering to customers?
I am offering the creation of a retractable, reusable rubber straw. My opportunity stemmed out of the desperate need to eliminate plastic bags throughout stores nationwide. Since plastic bags do not affect everyone, I figured that straws would ultimately be able to reach and appeal to a wider market. This retractable straw is small in size and allows for easy storage since it doesn't take up much space. It would be easily accessible at any time and any place. The rubber material makes sure that the straw stays durable and does not rip or break at any point during use. Lately, there has been a push for the exclusive use of paper straws, which are extremely unpopular because they break very easily and are not great for any temperature drink. The creation of a retractable rubber straw would allow people to not only be able to ditch the use of paper straws, but also save plastic because it would dramatically decrease the use of plastic straws.
3. Who are you offering it to?
I am offering this opportunity to all people who care a lot about the environment and are trying to reduce their carbon footprint, and to people who absolutely can't stand having to use a paper straw when they grab a drink. Particularly, I believe that my greatest appeal will be to people of ages 18-30 who are extremely environmentally friendly. I have many friends who carry around their own metal straws when they go out, so I believe that replacing the metal straw for a more comfortable, smaller straw would really appeal to this crowd. Also, my target market is people who are extremely cognizant of their personal carbon footprint. They acknowledge the fact that climate change is happening and that unless everyone puts in their part, nothing is going to change. These people want to make a difference and will encourage their friends to do so as well. They will most likely me females which also tend to be a bit more understanding and awareness of their effects on the planet. I would also say that these people will live in more developed countries because they will be more aware of the fact that their actions can actually contribute to the bigger picture.
4. Why do they care?
I believe that my customers will actually pay money to own and use this product because they genuinely care about the environment. I personally believe that this is the main underlying reason for such. Since my customers are so environmentally aware of how important their personal decisions are, they will choose to spend money on something that will ultimately benefit the planet. Also, a good part of my customers will purchase the straws because of their physical appeal. The straw will come in a variety of colors, and people will want to buy them to make specialty drinks at home. The main reason is also that buying these reusable straws will allow people to stop buying plastic straws which will ultimately save them money since they don't have to continue spending money on straws whenever one pack runs out.
5. What are your core competencies?
What sets me apart from everyone else is my drive and passion for a result. I am always hungry to learn more and to do more, no matter what it may take in order to get there. Whenever I set my mind to something, I can generally get it done because I am determined to do so. A huge part of this is being able to understand my personal capabilities, and thus knowing that positively manifesting what I hope to achieve is crucial in ensuring that I am able to do so. I have a decent network of people who I can share my ideas with and who can also provide me critical and constructive feedback, which I believe is very important when you want to improve something.
Overall, I would say that these elements seem to fit together pretty well. I believe that my core competencies are a result of all of my skills and experiences. I also believe that being able to really understand my target market has been made easier through all of my academic coursework and past experiences. This has helped me find specific techniques and tactics to use in order to appeal to a greater segment while also allowing me to add features to my opportunity in order to ultimately widen my reach. I think that being within the age range of my primary market gives me the leg up allowing me to understand the targets on a very personal level because a lot of the people within the range are very similar to me. I don't think any part of the opportunity seems out of sync beside one aspect. I might be overestimating the extent of this need and that is an issue because maybe people do not care enough about the environment or about the reusable straw in order to spend money on it, and that would ultimately harm my opportunity.
My name is Rebeca Puerto and I am a second-year Finance major with an interest in pursuing a Master in International Business. As far as talents go, I am pretty good at cooking, math, directions, telling people what to do, thinking of fun things to do, and I used to be good at playing soccer. Throughout my time at UF, I have developed a wide variety of skills that I believe can be put to use in various settings. I have taken academic coursework that has allowed me to become very familiar with Accounting, Business Finance, Marketing, Information Systems, and Professional Speaking. I had a finance internship last summer where I helped refine the company's pricing strategies in order to attract a greater market segment by looking at things such as target market demographics, preferences, and overall taste. I also became very proficient in Excel, as I had to use the program every day at my internship. I have certifications in Excel, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Dreamweaver, and Adobe Illustrator. I am fluent in writing and speaking in English and Spanish and am very comfortable in both settings. I also studied abroad last summer in Spain which is where I interned as well. As far as my opportunity is, I aspire that my opportunity will help reduce so much plastic waste that it will actually help the environment and we will see a change on our planet. In other words, I see my opportunity to create a retractable, reusable rubber straw creating a lasting impact on the planet. I believe that if this were the primary straw used by people all over, we would be able to ultimately see long-lasting impacts.
2. What are you offering to customers?
I am offering the creation of a retractable, reusable rubber straw. My opportunity stemmed out of the desperate need to eliminate plastic bags throughout stores nationwide. Since plastic bags do not affect everyone, I figured that straws would ultimately be able to reach and appeal to a wider market. This retractable straw is small in size and allows for easy storage since it doesn't take up much space. It would be easily accessible at any time and any place. The rubber material makes sure that the straw stays durable and does not rip or break at any point during use. Lately, there has been a push for the exclusive use of paper straws, which are extremely unpopular because they break very easily and are not great for any temperature drink. The creation of a retractable rubber straw would allow people to not only be able to ditch the use of paper straws, but also save plastic because it would dramatically decrease the use of plastic straws.
3. Who are you offering it to?
I am offering this opportunity to all people who care a lot about the environment and are trying to reduce their carbon footprint, and to people who absolutely can't stand having to use a paper straw when they grab a drink. Particularly, I believe that my greatest appeal will be to people of ages 18-30 who are extremely environmentally friendly. I have many friends who carry around their own metal straws when they go out, so I believe that replacing the metal straw for a more comfortable, smaller straw would really appeal to this crowd. Also, my target market is people who are extremely cognizant of their personal carbon footprint. They acknowledge the fact that climate change is happening and that unless everyone puts in their part, nothing is going to change. These people want to make a difference and will encourage their friends to do so as well. They will most likely me females which also tend to be a bit more understanding and awareness of their effects on the planet. I would also say that these people will live in more developed countries because they will be more aware of the fact that their actions can actually contribute to the bigger picture.
4. Why do they care?
I believe that my customers will actually pay money to own and use this product because they genuinely care about the environment. I personally believe that this is the main underlying reason for such. Since my customers are so environmentally aware of how important their personal decisions are, they will choose to spend money on something that will ultimately benefit the planet. Also, a good part of my customers will purchase the straws because of their physical appeal. The straw will come in a variety of colors, and people will want to buy them to make specialty drinks at home. The main reason is also that buying these reusable straws will allow people to stop buying plastic straws which will ultimately save them money since they don't have to continue spending money on straws whenever one pack runs out.
5. What are your core competencies?
What sets me apart from everyone else is my drive and passion for a result. I am always hungry to learn more and to do more, no matter what it may take in order to get there. Whenever I set my mind to something, I can generally get it done because I am determined to do so. A huge part of this is being able to understand my personal capabilities, and thus knowing that positively manifesting what I hope to achieve is crucial in ensuring that I am able to do so. I have a decent network of people who I can share my ideas with and who can also provide me critical and constructive feedback, which I believe is very important when you want to improve something.
Overall, I would say that these elements seem to fit together pretty well. I believe that my core competencies are a result of all of my skills and experiences. I also believe that being able to really understand my target market has been made easier through all of my academic coursework and past experiences. This has helped me find specific techniques and tactics to use in order to appeal to a greater segment while also allowing me to add features to my opportunity in order to ultimately widen my reach. I think that being within the age range of my primary market gives me the leg up allowing me to understand the targets on a very personal level because a lot of the people within the range are very similar to me. I don't think any part of the opportunity seems out of sync beside one aspect. I might be overestimating the extent of this need and that is an issue because maybe people do not care enough about the environment or about the reusable straw in order to spend money on it, and that would ultimately harm my opportunity.
Hello Beca.
ReplyDeleteFirst I want to mention that I did see one grammatical error in the following sentence: "They will most likely me females." Obviously it should have been be, not me. I just mention it so you can edit if you wish since you still have time to re-submit.. As for your idea, I think it is an excellent one for the customer base you describe, which are predominately young environmentally concerned persons like yourself. You did mention at the beginning of your post how you that it might have a huge, even worldwide market.But you conclude that maybe the market might be much smaller. I agree with your final conclusion, yet the market may be enough for you to make it a profitable venture, and you would be making the world a better place. Good for you!
Hey Beca,
ReplyDeleteI agree and think all of your skills do fit together nicely for this idea. This seems like something you're interested in, which is great because it is for such a good cause as well. I like how you said you may be overestimating the need, this may be true because there are alternatives like metal or other types of straws. However, I know for me personally, if I was at a place say like Starbucks, and they had this product sitting at the counter for sale, I feel like I would be inclined to buy it, especially seeing it there in person as I am buying a drink.
Hi Beca,
ReplyDeleteI liked reading about your background and what you like to do. I believe it really shows where your passion for this project stems from! I do think your elements fit well together and that you should continue to use your drive and passion in future entrepreneurial possibilities. Regarding your retractable straw idea-- i love it and i would totally buy one!