Venture Concept No 1

1.  Opportunity
        The opportunity I decided to explore relates to the problem of telemarketers and robocallers. People constantly receive these useless calls and can easily get annoyed by them, especially if they tend to receive more than one a day. Since there is no program or no-call list that actually blocks these types of calls, I decided to create a program that will. My customers include both individuals and businesses. However, my prototypical customer will look like a forty year old male business owner or one who conducts a lot of business on the phone. My customer lives in the United States. Currently, there is nothing that is satisfying my customers need so there is no loyalty for me to combat. This is a huge opportunity. The only limit on the time window is if another company is also trying to solve this problem.
   
   
2.  Innovation
        My product is a program that uses an algorithm to block the fake numbers used by telemarketers and robocallers. It prevents these callers from continually calling individuals and using up their precious time. The original product will be launched in the form of an app that can be downloaded from any app store for a small one-time fee of $11.99. However, down the road, I also intend to develop the program so it can be used by businesses to block these unwanted calls. This program will most likely go through the business's service provider. It is perhaps even more essential for businesses because robocallers prevent businesses from answering the calls of their actual, paying, customers.
   
   
3.  Venture Concept
   
        My innovation offers a solution to the people who have to deal with telemarketers on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Since there is no product in the market that accomplished what mine does, there will be no 'switching' cost for my customers. I also have no competitors, except for the on-line 'no-call' lists. However, none of my competitors target my target audience. All of my business will be done online, so there are no packaging, distribution, or business location roles in my business. However, customer support and satisfaction do play a major role in my business. And, since this is an app, I most likely would not have many employees. I would most likely have an employee to manage the coding of the app and maybe one or two (and myself) who handle the customer support part of the business. However, if the business grows, then I will indeed add more employees.
   
   
   
4. Minor Elements
1. 'Secret Sauce'
        My most important resource is my network. While other companies can create their own networks, it would be incredibly difficult for them to copy mine. Their inability to imitate my network makes it rare and extremely valuable to me as a start-up business.
   
2. Next Venture
        My current venture focuses on individuals. The program is developed in the form of an app which makes it easy for individuals to access. However, the app makes it impossible for businesses to use the program. So, my next step would be to develop a program so that service providers can implement it. This way, businesses will have access to my robocall blocker program.
   
3. The Future
        As an entrepreneur, in five years I hope to be on to my next business. While my program is a great idea, I do not see it existing long term. Therefore, in five years, I hope to have another successful (long-term) business. In ten years, I also hope that my business is still thriving and I am able to live comfortably. Perhaps I will own more than one business? Only time will tell.