11A - Idea Napkin No. 1

1.) You. – My talents include delegating in a team setting and making sure that everyone is on task and of our goals are met by their deadline, I am a very organized and dedicated person. My skills are creativity, hard worker, team player, and that I am highly motivated. I have experience in leading a team and working with clients. I am interested in account management in advertising, which means I am an organized person who works hard to make sure to meet others needs. If I were to attempt my business idea my aspirations for it would be to get every business that sells beverages to use my biodegradable, recyclable straws instead of regular plastic.

2.) What are you offering to customers? – My product would solve customers needs by providing an alternative, one-time use straw that replaces plastic straws that are bad for our environment. This isn’t a straw that consumers would have to reuse, so it wouldn’t cause any extra effort on their part. Businesses could feel good using this straw knowing that they can recycle it or it will simply biodegrade hundreds of years faster than normal straws.

3.) Who are you offering it to? – My customers would be two types: individual consumers who buy straws at the store and business owners who sell beverages. Individual consumers demographics are most likely parents with children, college students who use straws for parties, or other individuals who enjoy using straws in their home. Any business that currently uses plastic straws to give their customers would be someone who I would offer this product to.

4.) Why do they care? – My customers would care to buy my product over regular plastic straws because they are also one-time use, so they are just as convenient, but they don’t have the same negative effects on the environment once they are thrown away. Businesses would especially care because they could advertise in their restaurant, bar, etc. that they use straws that are recyclable and biodegradable. This would be a big plus to customers who care about the environment which would make them want to go back to their establishment over others who maybe don’t use my product. Individuals would buy my product for the same reason—so they don’t add plastic to the environment from their home.

5.) What are your core competencies? – I am different from my competition because no one else produces straws out of the material I have suggested for my product. It would be the first of its kind that is one-time use and doesn’t negatively affect the environment like plastic straws.

I think all these elements fit together very well, I honestly think my product could really work and people would want to buy and use it. Some weaker aspects of my product idea though are that it might be hard to find a manufacturer for my straws that would allow me to price them competitively against regular plastic straws. I think that unless they are around the same price as regular straws, many people and businesses wouldn’t spend the extra money for my alternative.