Idea Napkin No. 1

1) You. 

My name is Lauren. I am a second-year student majoring in journalism, and if I have a talent, then it is definitely writing. I haven't had any experience professionally writing, but I am hoping to at some point in the near future. My aspiration would be to be successful in a business or some endeavor that I embark on. The business concept I came up with has the opportunity to be successful, so if I were to start expanding on the faux leather and fur industry and really improve it, I think it would be very successful. 

2) What are you offering to customers? 

The product I am offering to customers is a leather alternative made from some sustainable resource such as fruit enzymes/skin or mushrooms. The alternative will be just as good as leather in regards to quality and appearance, but it will be very sustainable and accessible. I would be selling this to companies who want to make the switch to sustainable leather but want the best quality. 

3) Who are you offering it to? 

The demographics of faux leather would be probably younger people who have a desire to help the environment or have concerns regarding animal cruelty. These people also might not be very invested in their leather products or material items in general but appreciate the quality of leather. 

4) Why do they care? 

Companies will pay for this product because companies are always looking to create the image that they care about something like the environment. There is a trend right now to raise environmental consciousness and companies who acknowledge this will draw in a bigger audience. Customers will support brands who are doing something for change rather than companies who aren't. 

5) What are your core competencies?                                                                                           There are some companies who sell really good quality faux leather but it is very inaccessible and not offered at stores that majority of the population shops at. The goal of my business is accessibility in both the physical product and price. I would sell to companies like Nike who would buy the faux leather and then implement it into their designs so it's accessible. 

• All of these elements fit together in making a good business. It is important to keep in mind the core beliefs of your business and integrate it with your customer demographic in order to make sure that someone will buy the product you're trying to sell. I would say there are parts of my concept that are weak since it is up to the companies to buy my product and it is extremely difficult to have a company switch their products from real leather to faux especially because of their inventory and price. 

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Elevator Pitch No. 1

https://youtu.be/9vGzF6bvLP0

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

• Who: Through my interviews, I found that there are people who fall outside of my boundaries or market. These people are those who don't care enough about factors such as the animals, the environmental effects or humanitarian effects of the leather and fur industry. One interviewee said that she doesn't necessarily care about the animal side of the leather and fur industry and said she doesn't see a difference between using animals for meat or for leather.
• Another person I interviewed said a similar thing as the first girl I interviewed. In his opinion, there are bigger things to worry about and that leather is an important industry for the economy.
• What: One interviewee said she would be very worried about the quality difference of the faux leather and furs. She said that it's hard to switch from a brand who uses leather to one that she isn't as comfortable with or might not necessarily share the aesthetic that she tries to achieve.
• Why: I don't think that people outside the boundary have a different need, they are just too comfortable with what they already know and love and find it very difficult to switch over. The majority of people I talked to agreed with the need for this product, they just buy what they like and would find it hard to stop buying what they like.

Inside the boundary: 

• Who: Environmentalists, people who go vegan or vegetarian in order to minimize their contribution to animal cruelty, people curious about changing their lifestyle due to a growing concern for the environment, humanitarians or people who are concerned for working conditions.
• What: Help reduce climate change, to raise awareness of animal cruelty, to raise awareness for the working conditions of industries that produce animal products.
• Why: When going into a store, most options available involve animal products, there isn't a widespread availability for alternative options, the alternatives aren't cost-efficient.

Outside the boundary:

• Who: People who don't believe in climate change, people who don't have an interest in animal cruelty, people who love real leather and fur.
• What: To fix climate change, to end animal cruelty, to end poor working conditions across all industries.
• Why: There are other ways to help climate change and getting leather is easier and more accessible than faux leather.

Solving The Problem

• My product has to do with creating an alternative to fur and leather products. The fur and leather industries are extremely detrimental to the environment due to the production practices that are used when creating leather and fur. The industry is also very cruel to animals, as they often kill the animals in various inhumane ways, and the workers are forced to work in poor conditions. 
• I would create a product that is comparable in quality to real fur and leather and can be used for every product that leather/fur would be used for. The product will be sustainable and environmentally friendly and the conditions for the factory workers will be good. 
• Materials that can be used as alternatives for leather:
• Fruit fibers: orange peel fibers can transform citrus juice byproducts into sustainable textiles while reducing waste and pollution. They have the cellulose fibers that can be weaved into sustainable fabrics that are silky to the touch.
• Apple skin: You can use the waste produced from the apple industry into materials that can be used for fashion, footwear, and accessories. The skin of an apple creates a sustainable material that is totally compostable and recyclable. The final material not only looks and feels just like leather but also has the durability of leather. 
• Mushroom leather: Mycelium grows by absorbing nutrients from the environment, and is strong and durable. You can remove mycelial and you get a dense foam log with a pebbled texture. Once it is large enough it can go through an environmentally friendly version of what animal products go through to create leather (tanned, flattened, etc.)
• Synthetic fabrics: Making faux fur is very simple. It only requires synthetic fabrics such as polyester and nylon. You can also make faux fur more environmentally friendly by using cotton fibers.
• The leather alternative would be sold to companies that would replace leather car leather, leather shoes, sandals, handbags, couches, chairs, and any other need for leather. The fur alternative would be sold to companies who create fur coats, vests, blankets, pillows, rugs, etc. 

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Alternatives to fur and leather

• Opportunity:
• Every day, hundreds of thousands of animals are violently killed for the sole purpose of using their skin for fur and leather products. This industry is not only cruel but it is bad for the environment and the working conditions are not suitable for people to work in.
• The who: People who want leather or fur products
• The what: They want the products but don't want to contribute to the negative effects
• The why: Alternatives will provide better working conditions and won't be as bad for the environment 
• Testing the who: Everyone who wears leather or fur or wants to wear it will have this issue. The "who" is not only limited to people purchasing the products, but it will benefit people who work in the conditions where they are producing leather or fur and are being poorly paid and working in awful environments. This will also benefit the animals who are killed for these products. 
• Testing the what: The boundaries of this need will be that new materials might need to be developed in order to be comparable to the quality of real leather and real fur. It might cost more money in order to develop these materials and it will take more time. It will also cost more money to be able to pay workers a reasonable amount while having them work in good conditions. 
• Testing the why: Why people wear fur and leather is because of the quality and appearance of it. People don't consider the environmental and humanitarian impact that goes into the creation of fur and leather. This opportunity will shed light on the fact that fur and leather are not ethical and will peak the interest of people who have leather shoes and products, etc. 
• Interview #1:
• This interview was conducted with a female student who said she mostly wears leather shoes and she doesn't consider it an issue. She said that she knows that an animal will have to die for the shoe but she thinks eating meat could be considered just as wrong, and therefore, doesn't consider it an issue. She mentioned that she has never given leather alternatives a thought because the quality is not the same and it isn't as easily attainable.
• Interview #2:
• In this interview, I talked with a male grad student. We discussed the fact that leather and fur are extremely detrimental to our environment, as well as cruel for animals. He seemed to care more about the fact that there is a large environmental impact, not so much about the ethics of the industry. He is an engineering student who tries to budget while in college, so leather is not something he thinks very much about. He said he owns a few leather products, but would reconsider the materials of his shoes next time he decides to go shopping. He said his main concern when buying products is the price, so if the alternatives are priced well, he will buy them.
• Interview #3:
• In this interview, I decided to talk with someone who had a vegan pin of her backpack. I asked her several questions about what her opinion was about the leather and fur industry, and she didn't even seem to be aware of the environmental impact. She said that she had a vegan diet but sometimes if she found a bag or pair of shoes that she really liked but were made with some leather, she might consider buying them. She was surprised to find out that the working conditions for people producing leather were very poor and she said she would be very interested in buying a good leather alternative. 
• Interview #4:
• I interviewed a sophomore journalism major. She is in a sorority and works closely on The Alligator magazine as well as some on-campus magazines. She has a passion for humanitarian efforts and tries to write mostly about injustices. I informed her of how the leather and fur industry drastically underpays its workers as well as forcing them to work in awful conditions. She said she was surprised by this fact, as she frequently wears shoes and bags with different types of leather. When asking her if she would be willing to switch to an alternative she said she was very open to it and said it would be an important industry to educate people on. She seemed to believe in the opportunity. 
• Interview #5:
• This interview was conducted with a library staff member who has been working in the library for 6 years. He is an older man who doesn't shop or think about material items much. I asked him what he thinks of the leather industry and he didn't have much to say about it other than it was a "necessary evil." I proposed the idea of an alternative to leather in order to cut down on the environmental impact of leather and he said he would prefer to buy items that had less of an impact on the environment. He said he wouldn't go out of his way to make the switch but if it were in front of him, he would buy a faux leather. 
• Given your interviews, what do you know about the opportunity that you didn't know before? 
• The interviews gave me a new perspective on the idea of faux leather. I wasn't sure if people would be willing to make the switch considering the wide availability of leather and the number of trendy companies and items that are made with leather that young people want to buy. The interviews let me know that not everyone, like #1, is willing to make the switch due to the inconvenience and price of a leather alternative. I also learned that people would make the switch for different reasons like #3 would switch for ethical reasons but #4 for humanitarian reasons. Overall, the interviews led me to believe that an opportunity exists here if you play off of peoples sympathy towards animals and the working conditions. 

Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic Trend: The U.S. GDP grew 3.9%

• https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-gdp-current-statistics-3305731
• An opportunity might exist since the economy is growing in the U.S. Employment will rise, but inflation will not occur since the growth is not extremely rapid. It is proven that with a rise in GDP, comes a higher employment rate if the growth does not result in inflation to occur. 
• The prototypical customers are those who might be unemployed and with the growth in the economy recently, they have the potential for employment. The opportunity is relatively easy to exploit, being that the economy is growing at a steady rate. 
• I saw this opportunity because there is such a focus on economic growth in America, that when it occurs, it is considered a huge deal in the political and economic spheres. 

Economic Trend: America's Humongous Wealth Gap is Widening Further

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/pedrodacosta/2019/05/29/americas-humungous-wealth-gap-is-widening-further/#7c7ea3942ee1https://www.forbes.com/sites/pedrodacosta/2019/05/29/americas-humungous-wealth-gap-is-widening-further/#7c7ea3942ee1
• An opportunity might exist here because of the large percentage of people in America who are living below the poverty line is extremely disproportionate with the small percentage of hugely wealthy people. Financial struggles are something that most Americans are forced to deal with while there are individuals holding onto $30 Billion in assets. 
• The customers of this opportunity are prototypical Americans, and this opportunity is easily exploited due to the obviously and embarrassingly huge gap in wealth. 
• I saw this opportunity because it is becoming more and more apparent that it is unacceptable that people are sleeping in the streets while Jeff Bezos walks around with billions in his bank account. 

Regulatory Changes: An opportunity for NYC's online and urban growth

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/andriacheng/2019/05/28/ikeas-new-manhattan-planning-studio-spells-growth-and-potentially-missed-opportunities/#506091ef640e
• An opportunity might exist here since IKEA opened up a panning Studio, a smaller format than its traditional stores, tailored to city centers on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. This could be an opportunity advantage for other large retailers to do that same. 
• The customer for this opportunity is prototypical, or anyone who resides in a large city and finds it difficult to have a personal experience when shopping. This is an easy opportunity because of the number of cities in the world and the number of people wanting to shop. 
• I saw this opportunity because I personally love shopping and thought this would be good for me to utilize in the future. 

Regulatory Changes: An opportunity to delete fake or unused social media accounts

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2019/05/24/facebook-deleted-more-than-2-billion-fake-accounts-in-the-first-quarter-of-the-year-infographic/#6b6a588d67e3
• An opportunity to expand on the fact that there are so many fake or unused accounts on Facebook and Instagram exists here. There are so many spam accounts that aren't even run by real people, there isn't a point to them. You can't interact with them so it defeats the point of social media and contributes to the fact that it is a toxic environment.
• The customer is anyone who uses social media and gets frustrated with bot accounts liking or commenting on their pictures. It is an easy opportunity to exploit because mostly everyone with an Instagram account deals with this. 
• I saw this opportunity because I deal with it daily. Robots or fake accounts commenting on my pictures is uncomfortable and makes the internet feel like an unsafe environment. 

Identifying Local Opportunities

I chose the Sun Sentinel newspaper
1) BSO alleges man shot girlfriend, pointed gun at deputies

• https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ASFLB%21Sun%2BSentinel%2B%2528Fort%2BLauderdale%252C%2BFL%2529/year%3A2019%212019/mody%3A0528%21May%2B28&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/173B413FE06B58D0
• A man shot his girlfriend and then was shot several times after pointing a gun at a Broward County deputy. Despite being told several times to lower his weapon, he refused and was then shot multiple times by police and is now in a Fort Lauderdale hospital. 
• The problem presented in this story is violence, more specifically, gun violence. Gun violence is a horrifying epidemic plaguing America, and it causes the deaths of an immense amount of people every day. 
• In this specific story, the man clearly has a mental health or anger problem, but in general, everyone who owns a gun has the potential to contribute to gun violence.  
• The title of the article
• The link to the article.
• A description of the story, in your own words
• A description of the problem presented in the story
• A description of who has the problem

2) Buzz kill - Bar owners: Lively vibe in downtown Delray under threat

• https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ASFLB%21Sun%2BSentinel%2B%2528Fort%2BLauderdale%252C%2BFL%2529/year%3A2019%212019/mody%3A0528%21May%2B28&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/173B413EC8F03158
• Firefighters and police constantly monitor bars and restaurants in downtown Delray to make sure everything is running smoothly. Their constant presence is deterring people away from downtown and really affecting businesses. 
• The problem presented in this story is the fact that firetfighters are showing up in large numbers to different bars and restaurants, and are causing people to stop going downtown. 
• The bar and restaurant owners have the problem, as it is putting their business at jeapordy. 

3) 14% of Floridians are living without health insurance

• https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ASFLB%21Sun%2BSentinel%2B%2528Fort%2BLauderdale%252C%2BFL%2529/year%3A2019%212019/mody%3A0527%21May%2B27&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/173AEDBD272604B8
• A new survey shows that over 2.8 million people in Florida don't have health insurence. Due to the repealed mandate under the Affordable Care Act, which forced Americans to have health insurance, nearly 3 million people don't have health insurance in Florida. More people are opting for no health insurance or the cheapest, bare minimum coverage. 
• The problem presented in this story is the fact that health insurance in America is so unattainable for so many people that they simply opt out of it even though it is seemingly necessary to live. 
• Everyone in America who doesn't have a stable income or a job with good health insurance coverage has this problem. 

4) Woman hit by car while crossing the street

• https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ASFLB%21Sun%2BSentinel%2B%2528Fort%2BLauderdale%252C%2BFL%2529/year%3A2019%212019/mody%3A0527%21May%2B27&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/173AEDBD1F3C0090
• A woman was hit and killed by a car, as she was crossing the highway.
• The problem preseneted in this article is the fact that people are unaware when driving and aren't observent enough
• Anyone who drives can encounter this problem. 

5) Despite health risks, many use septic tanks - People still refuse to make switch to sewer when it's available

• https://infoweb-newsbank-com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&t=pubname%3ASFLB%21Sun%2BSentinel%2B%2528Fort%2BLauderdale%252C%2BFL%2529/year%3A2019%212019/mody%3A0526%21May%2B26&f=advanced&action=browse&format=text&docref=news/173A9629CB5536F0
• People are refusing to connect their sewer lines due to the high cost of the service and instead are using septic tanks. This causes severe health concerns among the Florida Department of Health as well as environmental concerns. 
• The problem presented is that people can't afford the service that is required of them and are putting themselves and the environment at risk. 
• Everyone who owns a home in South Florida but doesn't want to pay for the service of connecting their sewer lines will have this issue, as well as the surrounding neighbors who will feel the side effects.