Forming an Opportunity Belief: A Twist on Opportunity Identification

In this post, I will discuss a belief I have from which an opportunity can be taken.
1) I believe that there should be a simple way to find your phone when you've misplaced it somewhere. 

2) There isn't an easy way to locate your missing phone. It's extremely frustrating when you set your phone down somewhere and walk away and just can't remember where you placed it. Everyone who owns a phone has misplaced it one time or another. This need comes with anything you own that's important to you, but misplacing your phone is the most common and frustrating item to lose. There is an app called "Find My iPhone" which exists for Apple users who lose their phone. The app can be accessed from another Apple device and if the phone is on, it sounds an alarm on the missing device and also lets you where it is on a map; however, this only works on Apple products, when the phone is on and is an all-around time-consuming process. There is a 99% chance that an opportunity to make an easy way to find your phone exists.

• Prototypical customer #1: a student at the Starbucks in Library West 
• How often do you find yourself misplacing your phone? 
• "Probably at least twice a week, sometimes more depending on where my heads at that week"
• Do you find that losing your phone is an issue you wish you could solve?
• "Yes, I waste a lot of time looking for my phone."
• How long have you had a phone that you've been misplacing?
• "I've had a phone for about 8 years, and have probably been losing it ever since my first flip phone"
• What kind of phone do you have and how are you currently dealing with finding your phone when you lose it?
• "I have a Samsung and I usually have to tear my house apart to look for my phone, there's really no other way to find it."
• Have you ever been really inconvenienced by losing your phone? 
• "Yes, there have been times where I've been late to class or work because I can't find my phone. It's one of those little things in life that really bothers me.
• Prototypical customer #2: faculty member working at Marston Library
• How often do you find yourself misplacing your phone? 
• "I'm pretty good about keeping my phone on hand, so maybe 3 times a month."
• Do you find that losing your phone is an issue you wish you could solve?
• "Yes, it's annoying but it's not something I consider a huge problem in my life."
• How long has losing your phone been an issue?
• "I've had a cell phone for about 10 years"
• What kind of phone do you have and how are you currently dealing with finding it?
• "I have an iPhone and when I can't find it for more than like 10 minutes, I go on my laptop to Find my iPhone."
• Have you ever been seriously inconvenienced by losing your phone?
• "Yes, I can say I've probably missed some phone calls and been late to things by losing my phone."
• Prototypical customer #3: graduate student teaching ENC1102
• How often do you lose your cellphone?
• "Maybe once a week."
• Do you wish losing your phone was an issue you could easily solve?
• "Yes, I think there should be an easier way to find a missing phone."
• How long has losing your phone been an issue?
• "I've been irresponsible since I was born and have been losing my cellphone since I got my first phone in 2008"
• What kind of phone do you have and how are you currently dealing with finding it?
• "I have an iPhone and usually use a friends phone to go on Find my iPhone or if no one's around, I'll tear my house apart until I find it."
• Have you ever been seriously inconvenienced by losing your cell phone?
• "Yes, I lost my phone for a week once and it was the worst week of my life."

  Reflection: All three people I talked to lose their phone about once a week or more, which makes this a big issue. Everyone seemed to deem losing their phone a very inconvenient experience that they would like to have an easy fix for. From talking to everyone, I learned that my belief and opportunity were valuable and I was reassured that this is an issue that most people deal with and don't have an easy fix for. 

Summary: My original opportunity belief didn't change much. The people I talked to all found losing their phone an inconvenience and it's something that they legitimately deal with on a weekly or monthly basis. Entrepreneurs should completely adapt to customer feedback and change anything that doesn't seem viable for people. If someone had said they don't lose their phone, then I would redirect my focus and adjust my opportunity. It's important to realize that customer feedback is more valuable than anything because they are the people who will be buying your product and using it in their lives.