The University of Dayton Business Plan Competition Coaching Session one: How to frame a problem so that it leads to an opportunity that judges will like www. UDBPC. com

Elevator Pitch Stage: Synopsis of Key Dates November 11 th : Application deadline November 21 st : Elevator Pitches December 2 nd Five Finalist teams announced December 11 th : Finalist team rosters finalized

Goals for Today’s session What is an opportunity? What do judges want to see? – “Twisting the Familiar” How do you best frame a problem? Writing a problem statement Finding resources for supporting your problem statement

What is an Opportunity? An Opportunity has four elements 1. Newness (Product/Service/Process) 2. Potential for profit/benefit/advantage 3. Legitimized by society and stakeholders 4. Technical feasibility DEF: An opportunity leads to the development of something new that society will accept, that has potential to be accomplished in a beneficial manner.

An Opportunity must have all four elements Newness by itself is only a concept or idea. Lacking profit or potential means it isn’t worth pursuing If it isn’t technically feasible it is merely wishful thinking – (but solving that can lead to an opportunity) – Magic isn’t technically feasible, but would be very profitable—just ask J.K. Rowling

What do judges want to see?

What do Judges want to see? A problem that needs solving. A solution to the problem, that is profitable as well. This is the opportunity. A solution that can be expanded, replicated, scaled, or otherwise rolled out. – This shows growth An idea they “can get” quickly--It will seem viable more easily. What is the key insight to the idea – It is what makes the idea really work—why it is clever, novel, useful

Twisting the familiar: Make the judge’s job easier to “get it” Put an existing idea in a new setting.

Think about how you describe movies “It’s like Spider-man, but with a different action hero” (Iron-man) “Airplane-like humor, but the setting is the 2008 election” (An American Carol)

Here’s some ideas from previous entries “An umbrella for your backpack” – (backback cover) A daycare for dogs – (doggie daycare) Like a crank radio, but it re-charges your iPod or cell phone – Battery generator You already drink fair trade coffee: How about food to go with it? – (Flyers for fair trade)

Simple is beautiful! Frame the problem so the judges sees it instantly.

Framing the problem

Start with the problem to be solved Three questions to be asked Do people know they have a problem? – Do they need education, are they busy trying to solve it, do they seek out solutions, but are dissatisfied? How important is it to them to be solved? – How many people does it directly affect? Indirectly? How do people currently solve the problem? – (the answer could be “they live without it”) – List the current solutions, and describe their pros and cons Don’t start with the solution, or you’ll waste a lot of time.

Once you have a list of how people currently solve their problem, ask one more question: What are the 3-4 key parts of the decision- making process (hint: price is normally one of them)? Those 3-4 key parts help frame the problem

Utility and problems Many problems are really about the hassle of having to make trade-offs The next slide categorizes three common trade-offs: time, space, money.

Time/space/cost: Going high and low People with MORE Time: – Will DIY – Will sell their place in line – Will wait for a bargain Space – Will buy in bulk – Will not pay a premium Money – Will pay for premium brand – Will not wait—want it now – Will pay for assembly – Will pay for customization People with LESS Time: – will seek shorter products – Will pay a premium – Will pay to jump the queue Space – Will accept less features – Might pay a premium Money – Will accept less features – Will wait – Will DIY – Will accept more commodity

What constraints exist? What types are they? Legal Financial Cultural Technical Tradition Each of the above can drive the three trade- offs

Framing the problem Use affect words to describe the trade-off people have been making Indicate how many people are directly affected, and the cost of the problem Citing a source often helps Indicate why the most prevalent current solutions are unacceptable

An example: car tires Under-inflated tires can cause unsafe driving conditions, and lower fuel efficiency. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that hundreds of thousands of crashes could be prevented if vehicle owners kept their tires properly inflated. The wasted fuel adds 30 cents a gallon to gas prices for all Americans, billions each month. This problem affects almost all cars sold prior to 2006, when premium cars began installing dash-based low tire alerts. That’s over 100 million cars and trucks The problem is one of training--Visual inspection means you’ve waited too long. If you can see it is low, you waited too long. People lack the time to check tire pressure daily or weekly, and cannot afford to have someone check it for them. People don’t want unsafe tires, and they want better gas mileage, but current solutions take too long or cost too much money.

Having read that, what solutions come to mind? A good problem statement leads judges and investors towards considering a potential solution.

BTW: what’s one solution? Accue pressure safety caps “pop up red” when it is time to add air to tires. Checking them is visual (30 seconds a day at most), and they are modestly priced. Quick and Cheap.

Twist the familiar: how would you describe it?

Sources for supporting your problem statement Many thanks to Joan Giglierano, Reference Librarian and Assistant Professor at Roesch Library

How many people are affected by your problem? Start with Population data and Demographics – Income, education, age, origin, to the neighborhood level Economic Indicators – Housing starts, Services, Inventories – Trend analysis

Better yet: Social Explorer A graphical view of census data Geographically based—good for visualizing, down to tract level

A sample of Geo data

Roesch library has tons of data for you to use! Here are just a few Market Share Reporter: Lists the major firms in each NAICS code HQ USA (HQ addresses and contact info) Ohio Business Directory (addresses by city, # employees, and manager’s name) Manufacturing and Distribution: Addresses by city and industry, and market leader info Ohio Valley Industrial Buying Guide Professional Licensing and Occupational Directory – Lists # of licensees by state for each licensed career)

Concluding thought Start with problems people have Brainstorm solutions, using the techniques we have shown you. It’s okay that 75% of the storms are silly—you only need one good one Keep twisting the familiar until you see something new