Assignment 4a - Opportunity Belief

Assignment 4a

Opportunity Belief

I believe that there is an opportunity regarding the prevention of the use of vape products such as the Juul. More specifically, services that would help individuals stop this bad habit such as the Alcoholics Anonymous services provided for alcohol abuse. This need is mainly present in the younger demographics, between high schoolers and college students. Over the last few years, the younger generations have gravitated to these products due to the “buzz” they receive from using them. This has come from the introduction of higher percentage nicotine products as well as flavored nicotine products which make it easily to be hooked on. People are starting to realize the harm this habit can cause and have started to stop in several way such as adopting the use of nicotine patches or chewing on nicotine candies. I am almost 100% sure this opportunity exists since the Federal government has begun to take action against vape products.

Prototypical Customer #1: 19-year-old college sophomore

My roommate has been an avid user of the Juul and similar products for several years now. He has recently become aware of the problems it could lead to when he heard about the government issued warnings. However, quitting is easier said than done. Although he’s tried the nicotine patches and the nicotine candies, he can’t seem to really get over his addiction. This is when he became aware that he needed and exterior help and motivation to quit. If he had the same type of talks and meeting given to drug addicts of alcoholics, he said he’d feel more motivated and more easily convinced that all those products are as bad as he is being told. He feels that being able to express his feelings with others that have the same issues would help him find other ways to combat it and make him get over it faster.

Prototypical Customer #2: 17-year-old High School Senior

My sister, who is in high school, does not use such products but sees her friends using them. She told me that it had been taken up by kids her age a few years ago and has gotten worse and worse each year. She says that none of them are aware of the problems these products can lead to in the future and is scared for them. She said that the ones that have quit, had a difficult time doing so and that it was a whole process. She feels that giving them services where they can talk about it with others and feel like they are not alone in their fight would make them more inclined to quit and facilitate it as well. She said that most of them started because it was a trend and they all followed suit. If they see everyone stopping, they’ll follow suit and stop. They just need to be motivated in doing so and helped along the way.

Prototypical Customer #3: 22-year-old college senior

This individual, who is a little older than the two other individuals interviewed, says that he personally had given up vaping about a year ago. He said that he saw how it was affecting his breathing and his endurance when running since he played sports. He decided to stop by using nicotine patches for several weeks and slowly weaned himself off. He also said that if he had received attention and was spoken to by someone who was an expert on the matter, he would have been more easily convinced into quitting the products. He feels that being motivated by someone and not being alone when combatting against something always makes it easier. He said that a lot of his friends still use them and that he has tried to get them to stop too but they always end up going back to them. If they received the services and the talks for addicts to share the feelings they were having, they’d be more likely to get out it of their heads and talk it out with similar people. 

Reflection

After interviewing each of these individuals, each of them in different age groups and situations, it became clear that everyone felt the same way. Everyone believed that it would be beneficial to have some sort of service which would put them in a comfortable setting where they could speak with other people dealing with the same problems. From the active user who said he’d be willing to sign up for such a service to a high schooler who believes it would help her friends stop to an individual who has already quit but who feels such a service would’ve made it easier for him to stop, everyone believed that the motivation and support given from these types of services would help individuals quit vaping products. I was surprised that the idea received this much enthusiasm and agreement. It seems that people look for support when doing such acts and need to feel motivated to quit at times.

Summary

Honestly, after completing the interviews, I felt that the opportunity kept getting bigger and bigger. This vaping problem has become such an issue in our society and people are looking for help to quit. All they need is a helping hand and some motivation, however, there are no such services. Services that are provided to alcoholics and drug addicts should also be provided to vape users. I feel that the opportunity has become more real after these interviews and my knowledge on the problem has deepened greatly. I feel that it is important for entrepreneurs to really gauge how successful a product or service would be if it were released. This allows them to adapt it and perfect the opportunity in front of them, minimizing possible complaints or problems.