24A

• What are the forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity? 
• There are many things in the current social environment that creates the opportunity for my product. The enjoyment of your drink can change your whole day. It can change how much coffee you consume , which can lead to how much energy. Changes like covid 19 could make my product less popular as people are drinking from outside there homes which means they will not use the straw we provided.
• How is this market defined geographically and demographically? 
• This market is large geographically. The market is anyone who consumes a drink with a straw. The demographic is not limited by my product either. By definition my product provides anyone that uses a straw the experience they used to have with plastic.
• How are customers currently satisfying this need?  And how loyal are they to whatever they use now? 
•  Right now customers need this by using a paper straw which they do not want to use based off my countless interviews or are using a lid which you can consume your drink directly without a straw. The reason my product is relevant is because  the consumers are dealing with it but truly miss their experience with a plastic straw.
• The only loyal customers are those that approve of the eco-friendliness of the straws. My product will continue to provide that benefit and give them the old experience they had with plastic straws.
• How long will the “window of opportunity” be open? 
• As long as no one put out a product that is even more eco friendly than mine the window of opportunity will always be there. Straws are a necessity in life and there's a reason they have never been replaced. 

Innovation.

My innovation is a straw which you can drink out of and be eco friendly at the same time. When you use my straw you will understand the purpose for my product which has been missed by many recently. With my product my straw becomes the best option to enjoy your beverage out of . The paper straw never was a good enough product to release on its own and was released because there was. We will be constantly changing the straws and making sure we are using the most efficient and eco friendly materials to stick by the purpose of our product. I hope to be able to sell these in stores and online in the future and make subscription type programs for those that enjoy out product.

Venture Concept. 

• What are the reasons to think customers would switch to this new product?  How hard will it be to get them to switch? 
•  Paper straws were put on the market to please a small minority and was not made for commercial use. People hate there soggy drinks and drinks that get wasted due to the paper getting in there drink. The switch will be easy as we bring the best experience of drinking back with our straws. People will notice how nice it is to have their normal and eco friendly straw option at restaurants and coffee shops.
• Who are the competitors?  What are their possible weaknesses or vulnerabilities?  
• Our competitor is amazon and other online websites that do sell straws but haven't made them eco friendly or are not cost effective to the point where they can be mass produced to make a profit. There are other straw companies but the most important concept is making them in bulk at a low costs where restaurants and coffee shops can order them for a low enough price in order to use them. Corporate companies will not make the change to other straws if they cannot offer a straw at a similar or lower price.Money is everything and my product is everything you need in order to be mass produce,
• What role does packaging, your price points, distribution, customer support, the customer experience or the business location play (if any) in defining your business concept? 

Cost of packaging will be kept at minimum to ensure we are profitable. Distribution will be the way we succeed. The more people want to buy the product the better.. I want to ensure our product it in the correct condition. My price point and experience define my business product. 

• How would you organize a “business” to support the ongoing production of your new product, service, or process? How many employees? What roles are in the venture? 
•  Expansion would be the way to support ongoing product . However I think that greed is your enemy. If you get to big your profits can go down and customers will suffer also from this. I want this to be a small company with good profits. Keep costs low and the amount of straws being made and distributed high. Those are the roles I would only take on more money and endeavors if I see the business striving and not losing its quality while it grows.

The three minor elements

Besides your actual innovative product, service, or process, what will you have that will make it hard for competitors to copy your success?

The material we use to make the straws cannot be remade as it is patented therefore they would need to make a whole new product that is cheap and eco friendly. I believe it would be near impossible to copy my product and have be as low cost and eco friendly as it is.

Second, what’s next for the venture? Describe either the next opportunity you want to tackle with your current innovation, or describe the next new product, service, or process that may be aimed at your existing customers. 

My next venture is just to keep expanding our product. Using different color straws and maybe different fruits and vegetables to keep bringing the cost of my overall product down.It would be to keep innovating and never let comfortable with my product the way it is. There will always be a way to have a better product and I have to make sure I'm always ahead of my competitors.

Third, what’s next for you? Assuming you launched, where do you want to be in five years with this venture? Where do you want to be, as an entrepreneur, in the next decade, and how does this first venture help you achieve your vision? 

In five years I want this venture to be profitable and have a power customer base.I want to keep the company simple. I want to keep customers happy and proud to support my dream. I hope to be what the plastic straw was for may years which was irreplaceable