29A - Venture Concept No. 2

1. Venture Concept

• The opportunity I chose to pursue throughout ENT3003 was the issue of chores not being evenly distributed amongst household roommates. This problem is inherent, because people often have different standards of cleanliness.
• The driving forces creating my opportunity are lazy roommates, messy roommates, and the high prevalence of students entering college with careless, random roommates.
• People in this market comprise the majority of college students, suburban families with young kids, and young adults who live with their friends. Geographically, this market exists in college towns, big cities, and the smaller cities surrounding them.
• Customers only two current options for satisfying this need are either asking roommates for help or hiring a maid. They are probably not inclined to constantly ask for help since this comes off as a hassle, but if they have had a maid for years then they are likely very loyal to them.
• My innovative solution to this issue is a digital algorithm that will optimize the balance of chores and other household duties based on users' personal preferences within individual households. Users will input their preferences (chores they don't mind vs. ones they hate) from a thorough list of options, and my algorithm will evenly distribute daily chores to each roommate individually. This way, the work is coordinated and users will only sometimes have to do a chore they despise.

2. Feedback

• I received a fair amount of feedback on both my first venture concept as well as my "What's Next?" assignment, and I think all of it is undoubtedly worth considering. The feedback that stood out most to me was a peer's very thorough comment about how things could be done differently. He used a lesson we learned in class (could your goals be executed in a simpler manner?) to show that my venture concept COULD be done by something as simple as a poster around campus or something similar. This would also foster a healthier environment, since my venture concept heavily relies on people's increasing use of technology.

3. Change

• Although I value the 3rd-person perspective I gain regarding my venture concept, I can't just pack up and quit because a poster MIGHT be just as effective. I don't think it's possible to put up posters around hundreds of college campuses, and my technology will be inherently widespread since it has never been done before. One change I know will be beneficial is my endorsing universities to push my application on their students. I'm confident it would prove to be an organized way of splitting up chores amongst roommates.