4A – Forming An Opportunity Belief
Part 1
What is the unmet need?
What is the unmet need?
Better public transportation in the city of Orlando, FL.
Who has the need?
Any and all people who live and travel to the city of Orlando, FL.
Where did the need come from?
The need has always existed. Public transportation does exists, however one may need to wait 2 hours on a bus stop in order to catch a bus towards the desired location.
What are people doing to meet this need now?
Those who have money to buy a car, and pay for insurance, gas and maintenance, meet this need buy using a car. Those who do not have money, have to deal with the public transportation as it is.
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Part 2
Interview Questions
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Part 2
Interview Questions
1) Do you use public transportation?
2) If we had a better public transportation system, where buses would be available every 15-30 minutes, would you use it?
3) How often would you use it?
4) Since public transportation is not very efficient, how do you manage your transportation needs at the current moment?
5) Would you still use a car if the public transportation system was better?
6) Would a better public transportation system fulfill or make a great impact on your transportation needs?
Interviewee #1
Karolina Vanegas, Female, 24
Answers to Questions
1) I used to when I was studying at Valencia College but after I bought a car I have not used it anymore.
2) Definitely. I remember having to use take the bus and it was a nightmare, if I was 5 minutes late I would miss a class since the next bus would only come 2 hours later.
3) Probably daily to go to work.
4) I have a car which I use for my transportation needs.
5) My husband and I have two cars, which we pay for car insurance and gas for both of us. If the transportation system was better, we could probably sell one car and keep just one to lower our monthly expenses.
6) As mentioned in the last answer, it would not completely fulfill my transportation needs as I would still keep one car, however it would be of great help if the transportation system in Orlando was more efficient.
Interviewee #2
Marcus Scott, Male, 33
Answers to Questions
1) No, I have never used public transportation in Orlando. I would take public transportation everyday in NY (bus/subway) however I have not used in Orlando since I moved here 6 years ago.
2) Absolutely. Having to drive everywhere to me is a waste of time. I drive everyday to work and it is a 40 minutes drive, I-4 is in construction and there are accidents everyday. If a better public transportation system was available I would take it and use the time for something more productive, such as reading.
3) Everyday.
4) I use my own car to get around.
5) No. I have been using public transportation my whole life, I would definitely go back to that.
6) Yes it would make a huge impact. I would be able to save a lot of money and make better use of my time. Not only that, but the risk of getting injured in a car crash is much smaller in a bus than in a car. So it would also be a plus for safety reasons.
Interviewee #3
Elizabeth Lopez, Female, 21
Answers to Questions
1) No, I don't.
2) I don't know. I grew up in Florida, so I don't really know if public transportation is for me.
3) Like I answer the other questions, I don't know.
4) I share a car with my younger sister, so we arrange our schedules so we can both use it.
5) I guess I would still use.
6) If I felt comfortable using the public transportation, it would be helpful.
Reflection
It was very interesting to see how different people feel about public transportation. It was very surprising to me to see that some people would be able to have one car instead of two, and be able to save money that way. It was also interesting to see that a person's perception of whether public transportation would be an advantage or not for them depends greatly on their past experience with public transportation.
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Part 3
Summary
How much of your original opportunity is still there?
I believe that the initial theory is still valid, it would be a great benefit to have an improved transportation system in the city of Orlando, FL.
Do you believe that your new opportunity is more accurate than when you started?
I believe that this opportunity is more accurate than when started, the first two interview confirmed that people would greatly benefit from a better public transportation system.
How much do you think entrepreneurs should 'adapt' their opportunities based on customer feedback?
I believe that this type of research is great for entrepreneurs to test their theories. In this case, adaptation is not needed (at least not until now), however, given the answers given by the interviewees, it shows that possibly the next step would be to see some statistics of the people residing in Orlando, FL and be able to answer the following questions:
What percentage of the population grew up in Florida?
What percentage of the population has moved here from cities with efficient public transportation?
What is the average commute time for workers to go from home to work?
2) If we had a better public transportation system, where buses would be available every 15-30 minutes, would you use it?
3) How often would you use it?
4) Since public transportation is not very efficient, how do you manage your transportation needs at the current moment?
5) Would you still use a car if the public transportation system was better?
6) Would a better public transportation system fulfill or make a great impact on your transportation needs?
Interviewee #1
Karolina Vanegas, Female, 24
Answers to Questions
1) I used to when I was studying at Valencia College but after I bought a car I have not used it anymore.
2) Definitely. I remember having to use take the bus and it was a nightmare, if I was 5 minutes late I would miss a class since the next bus would only come 2 hours later.
3) Probably daily to go to work.
4) I have a car which I use for my transportation needs.
5) My husband and I have two cars, which we pay for car insurance and gas for both of us. If the transportation system was better, we could probably sell one car and keep just one to lower our monthly expenses.
6) As mentioned in the last answer, it would not completely fulfill my transportation needs as I would still keep one car, however it would be of great help if the transportation system in Orlando was more efficient.
Interviewee #2
Marcus Scott, Male, 33
Answers to Questions
1) No, I have never used public transportation in Orlando. I would take public transportation everyday in NY (bus/subway) however I have not used in Orlando since I moved here 6 years ago.
2) Absolutely. Having to drive everywhere to me is a waste of time. I drive everyday to work and it is a 40 minutes drive, I-4 is in construction and there are accidents everyday. If a better public transportation system was available I would take it and use the time for something more productive, such as reading.
3) Everyday.
4) I use my own car to get around.
5) No. I have been using public transportation my whole life, I would definitely go back to that.
6) Yes it would make a huge impact. I would be able to save a lot of money and make better use of my time. Not only that, but the risk of getting injured in a car crash is much smaller in a bus than in a car. So it would also be a plus for safety reasons.
Interviewee #3
Elizabeth Lopez, Female, 21
Answers to Questions
1) No, I don't.
2) I don't know. I grew up in Florida, so I don't really know if public transportation is for me.
3) Like I answer the other questions, I don't know.
4) I share a car with my younger sister, so we arrange our schedules so we can both use it.
5) I guess I would still use.
6) If I felt comfortable using the public transportation, it would be helpful.
Reflection
It was very interesting to see how different people feel about public transportation. It was very surprising to me to see that some people would be able to have one car instead of two, and be able to save money that way. It was also interesting to see that a person's perception of whether public transportation would be an advantage or not for them depends greatly on their past experience with public transportation.
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Part 3
Summary
How much of your original opportunity is still there?
I believe that the initial theory is still valid, it would be a great benefit to have an improved transportation system in the city of Orlando, FL.
Do you believe that your new opportunity is more accurate than when you started?
I believe that this opportunity is more accurate than when started, the first two interview confirmed that people would greatly benefit from a better public transportation system.
How much do you think entrepreneurs should 'adapt' their opportunities based on customer feedback?
I believe that this type of research is great for entrepreneurs to test their theories. In this case, adaptation is not needed (at least not until now), however, given the answers given by the interviewees, it shows that possibly the next step would be to see some statistics of the people residing in Orlando, FL and be able to answer the following questions:
What percentage of the population grew up in Florida?
What percentage of the population has moved here from cities with efficient public transportation?
What is the average commute time for workers to go from home to work?
I think the problem you identified is a problem that many cities in Florida face. It seems to be a common theme that Florida cities cannot seem to set up an efficient public transportation system. I have visited Miami quite a few times and they have the same issue. I think one of the issues is that some cities are not able to build underground rail systems due to being so close to sea level. I definitely agree that this opportunity exists.
ReplyDeleteHi Arthur,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100% that Orlando needs a major upgrade to their transportation infrastructure. The metro Orlando area is Huge, you have to think from Sanford to Poinciana and everyone in between is a ton of area to cover and we are only getting bigger. One of the solutions that I am surprised nobody mentioned is Uber and Lyft. Both companies, although not perfect, have definitely contributed to improving the transportation issues here in Orlando.
Hi Arthur,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, there are many cities in Florida where the lack of public transportation is inconvenient. Not only is it inconvenient, but also not environmentally friendly. However, I do understand why we don't have much public transportation in the state. In a city, like Orlando, it is so large and has such crazy traffic that a public transportation ride might end up taking much longer than another route. All in all, I agree that Florida could use more public transportation and I am interested to see what happens in the future.