Assignment 4A- Forming and Opportunity Belief

Unmet Needs of College Students and Beyond

I believe there is an unmet need for effective antitheft locks for scooters and mopeds. Anyone who owns a scooter has this need. There are high volumes of scooters as a mode of transportation in college towns. These locks are not just applicable to scooters in college towns, motorcycles, and mopeds anywhere can have this same problem. From further research, moped and scooter theft is a global problem, especially in European cities. I believe I could provide a product that is more effective than grip locks, disc locks, and cable locks. This need is definitely not new. Ever since the 1800’s with their invention, a moped size and mobility have caused it to be an easy target of theft. According to the Metropolitan Police’s official website, “Over 9,000 scooters, motorcycles and mopeds were stolen in London in the last year.” Companies have made various locks that decrease the chance of a scooter getting stolen. However, a lock that prevents from roll away, starting, moving, and has tracking has yet to be made. A simple, discrete tracking device could be incorporated into a multifunction lock. Due to the many different ways of theft prevention, this market could be difficult to enter. However, until a full proof theft prevention method is developed, there will always be a need for new, innovative systems. Therefore, I say 60% sure this opportunity exists. 

#1 College female scooter owner with current lock system 

• Do you own a scooter?
• “Yes, I’ve had one since the beginning of the semester.”
• Do you ever fear that your scooter will be stolen?
• “Yes, because my mother sends me proof every day of their scooters getting stolen.”
• Have you or someone you know gotten their scooter stolen? 
• “Yes, I know someone who has gotten their scooter stolen, bought anew one, then it got stolen the same week.” 
• Did you know that there are over 7000 scooter decals sold from the UF transportation office sold each year?
• “No, that’s a lot.”
• Did you know a man was recently arrested in Gainesville for stealing and selling hundreds of scooters? 
• “No way, that’s crazy.”
• Did you know that most scooter insurances only cover injury and damages?
• “ I did not know that.” 
• What do you currently do to prevent your scooter from being stolen? Are you happy with this?
• “I have a buddy lock, which holds down the break so no one can move it. Yes, I have not gotten my scooter stolen so far.” 
• Would you feel more comfortable if there was a lock that prevented more ways of theft and had a tracking system?
• “Yes, I feel that my scooter does not prevent everything and I have just gotten lucky so far.”

REFLECTION: Prototypical customers probably do not, but can, include scooter owners that have an antitheft system. They do agree that there could be better ways to protect their scooters. However, since they have a system that seems to be working, they may be more hesitant to spend more money on extra protection. Even people who have not gotten their scooters stolen and have antitheft locks recognize that it is a problem. 

#2 College Female who has gotten scooter stolen

• Do you own a scooter?
• “ I did up until last week.”
• Do you ever fear that your scooter will be stolen?
• “Yes, it was always a concern, but then it actually happened.”
• Have you or someone you know gotten their scooter stolen? 
• “Yes, I got my scooter stolen four days ago and have had multiple friends also get their scooters stolen.”
• Did you know that there are over 7000 scooter decals sold from the UF transportation office sold each year?
• “I knew there was a lot, but not that many. I’m sure there are more unregistered ones.”
• Did you know a man was recently arrested in Gainesville for stealing and selling hundreds of scooters? 
• “I think I heard about it a few months ago.”
• Did you know that most scooter insurances only cover injury and damages?
• “I think my parents mentioned it, but they were more concerned about my safety.”
• What do you currently do to prevent your scooter from being stolen? Are you happy with this?
• “When I had mine, I just locked the handlebars like they instruct you to when you buy it. This obviously was not effective enough.”
• Would you feel more comfortable if there was a lock that prevented more ways of theft and had a tracking system?
• “Yes. The whole process of reporting my scooter to the police has been inefficient. They can’t do anything unless there is video footage of the thief. Therefore, a tracking system would be useful.”

REFLECTION: Individuals who have experienced getting their scooters stolen are prototypical customers. They recognized the need for more efficient methods before and after their property was stolen. The need for more efficient methods is definitely there. 

#3 College Male without antitheft mechanisms

• Do you own a scooter?
• “Yes indeed since mid-September of 2019.”
• Do you ever fear that your scooter will be stolen?
• “I have worried that my scooter may be stolen at some point. Especially when I park it off campus.”
• Have you or someone you know gotten their scooter stolen? 
• “Yes, my friend got his scooter stolen earlier this year when he parked it in midtown overnight.”
• Did you know that there are over 7000 scooter decals sold from the UF transportation office sold each year?
• “No, I did not. I can see on campus daily there are a large number of scooters used for transportation however the scale of 7000 scooters making their daily commutes to campus is crazy.”
• Did you know a man was recently arrested in Gainesville for stealing and selling hundreds of scooters? 
• “I did not and I am fortunate that my scooter was not one of the many stolen.”
• Did you know that most scooter insurances only cover injury and damages?
• “I did not. And this convinced me to look over my insurance policy to see what is covered and possibly upgrade it if necessary.”
• What do you currently do to prevent your scooter from being stolen? Are you happy with this?
• “I do not own anything. And I should invest in a lock to prevent my scooter from being stolen after learning the information about the large amounts of scooters that are stolen.”
• Would you feel more comfortable if there was a lock that prevented more ways of theft and had a tracking system?
• “I should buy a lock for my scooter so I prevent my scooter from being stolen which is a common issue in Gainesville.”

REFLECTION: Individuals who have not gotten their scooters stolen and do not have a lock are aware of the risks they are currently taking. They realize that they do eventually need a lock, but have yet to take action on it because they did not know the scale of the problem. 

SUMMARY: I think the opportunity is still there for sure, however, I feel that already developed products may limit the customer base. I was aware that there were lock systems in place, but obviously, there is a need for more since scooters still get stolen. I think that after completing the interviews, I solidified the fact that individuals who own scooters do not believe the antitheft systems are adequate. It showed that owners with and without locks both agreed there could be improvement. I believe entrepreneurs should definitely adapt their opportunities based on customer feedback. An entrepreneur could think they had the best idea in the world based on personal beliefs and problems. However, if there is not a customer base for it, then the project will never succeed. Therefore, I feel that customer feedback is a very vital step in product creation and development.