16A Whats your secret sauce

1) I am really good with numbers, investments, funding, accounting. This arises from the fact that I am majoring in finance. This will help the company to always stay on track when it comes to money matters.

I have a very diverse background with Vietnamese roots, born and raised in Germany and studying in the US. This will help the company to grow internationally.

I have good leadership skills which is important when forming, motivating and leading a team.

I am a very empathetic person, which means that I can read and understand what employees and customers feel and need.

I speak 3 different languages which helps when it comes to international relations.


After the 5 interviews I have learned that there are several traits that I have never noticed, for example that I am good at small talk which is important to establish new relations.

https://soundcloud.com/viett181097/entrepreneurship

15A- Figuring out buyer behavior

I decided to interview 3 students who all are willing to buy reusable plastic bags in supermarkets.

All of them agreed that they would evaluate reusable plastic bags mainly in terms of size, usability, sturdiness and looks.
These things are all accounted for in our product development.I would like to offer different sizes of bags that are able to keep for example meat cold until the customer arrives home. Moreover, they will be made out of natural materials such as cotton and covered with a layer of isolation material on the inside. Moreover, we will offer many designs, and even limited editions. Also we will later expand to customizable bags that are tailored exactly to the customers needs.

Obviously for all of the students, purchasing is quite easy, since you can buy by cash or debit/credit card at the supermarket counter.

For the after purchasing all students agreed that the bag should serve its purpose for many years. Of course we will provide guarantee options.

12A- Figuring out buyer behavior

In general there are not many segments in my idea than others maybe.

So I came up with two different options. First of all the basic idea is that supermarkets implement making customers pay for plastic bags which the supermarkets provide. This incentives them to bring their own one.

My first interviewee was a college student. He said he would be very upset with the idea since it decreases his convenience. Therefore, he would most likely still pay for them since he might not remember to bring his own bag.

My second interviewee was an elderly women who said that she is already bringing her own bag. Therefore, she does not really have the need.

My third interviewee was working male. His opinion was really interesting since he said he would most likely buy a bag that is sturdy and reusable.

This directly brings me to my second option/segment. Come up with a fashionable, sturdy and cheap option as a shopping bag.

The third interviewee then mentioned that the things he would like most in such a bag would be that it is light, and protects meat from going bad. Therefore it should be insulated. He stated that the look of the bag does not matter.

Another college student, when I asked him about such a bag, in contrast stated that looks were very important and he would like to have shopping bag in different colours/themes. Also he would be willing to buy it online and not only in a supermarket

Conclusion:
These interviews helped me to see that there are certain things I have to take into account when developing such a bag.

Elevator Pitch No. 1

https://youtu.be/3LkBEsm3n5s

9A- Testing the hypothesis Part 2

Who: Not every retailer has the need for plastic bags. Imagine a car dealership or bicycle shop where there is simply no need for bags. However just like the majority of supermarkets they are reselling products. This comes from a business consultant that i interviewed. Moreover, customers are a big part of the who because they are the ones affected by the change that I want to achieve. The most concerning "who" in my idea is as stated by every interviewee that the producers of plastic bags will be very upset about the change. There has to be a lot of negotiation because all supermarkets are likely to have big contracts with the producers. Hence this will become a big problem. Also one person mentioned that there are already supermarkets that have a solution.

What: This part is where it becomes very similar in all interviews that I conducted. Since supermarkets can mostly buy plastic bags for a very low price the question is whether they would change their behaviour in offering them because of the environment but because they want to be greenwashing their business. This in general means that they change their behaviour with other intentions than being environmental friendly. Therefore the idea might have boundaries. Therefore the need for those two things are substantially different.

Why: This is also something where everyone agreed since my idea is very broad and people generally have the same idea about it. For insiders, the supermarkets, it means that they want to engage because of business reasons. For outsiders, such as the customers, it means that those that want to help the environment have a better opportunity to do so. Hence there are two very different reasons why this change should happen.

8A - Solving the Problem

The identified opportunity that I have is to reduce the use of plastic bags in supermarkets. I recognize this problem every day since I am an exchange student from Germany and in my opinion the policy regarding plastic bags back in my home country is more innovative. Supermarkets will make customers pay for any plastic bag, which means that this gives an incentive for customers to bring their own reusable shopping bags. This will largely benefit the environment since their will be less harmful plastic waste.

There are different alternatives to "sell" this idea to the customer, since it is not a business idea at the core. But for example this idea could be used in a consulting firm which provides the best and most efficient way to implement this idea in supermarkets.
Other options are for example a non governmental organization or non profit organization, which will try to implement this idea by showing the benefits that come with this idea.

7A- Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1)
I believe there is an opportunity for supermarkets to rethink their use of plastic shopping bags. For example they could give an incentive for customers to bring their own reusable shopping bags such as making them to pay for plastic bags. This is a very important topic, since plastic waste is mostly not degradable and puts our planet at a risk.


2)
The who: Supermarkets in the US who hand out plastic bags for their customers.

The what: The plastic bags that are given out to customers are harmful for the environment.

The why: Plastic is a synthetic material that is not biodegradable, meaning that it is not capable of being decomposed. Therefore it will stay somewhere in the atmosphere and harm wildlife, nature and the environment in general.

3)
My hypothesis: Reducing the use of plastic bags in supermarkets by rethinking the policy in regards to those will significantly benefit our environment.

Testing the who: Definitely not only supermarkets are the ones affected/responsible of this opportunity. More broadly everyone who uses plastic in an inefficient way or where it is actually not needed is a potential "who". Therefore, all other shops and people responsible for the amount of wasteful plastic is a "who".

The what: Not only plastic bags but more broadly all plastic packaging or inefficient use of plastic is in the scope of the "what".

The why: In general I think that this opportunity is surely not questionable. However, managers or people behind supermarkets might have a different opinion because they think that it is a way of customer support or to make the life of customers easier.


4)
First respondent (Student, 19 years old from America, Business):
This respondent agreed with the who. He also thinks that the way people think of plastic bags are distributed and most importantly the amount of them is a huge concern. Additionally he mentioned, that also customers are part of the problem, since they could just as well bring their own reusable shopping bag. However, no one does that. He also agreed with the what and even added additional points to deal with environmental concerns, such as riding a bike instead of using the car.
Since he is a business student he says that he thinks customer satisfaction is the most important thing for a company. That is why he thinks most supermarkets will not make customers pay for plastic bags. Nevertheless, with a good marketing campaign that will give the company a good image he thinks that it might be possible.

Second respondent (Student, 21 years old from America, Civil engineering):
This respondent also mostly agrees with the first two points and adds that he has also thought about the same opportunity. He thinks that the government should intervene, since it is such an important topic. So this would be part of the "who".
To the "why" he adds that managers and supermarkets should not only act in their best interest but show some corporate social responsibility.

Third respondent (Student, 21 years old from America, Law):
The third respondent mostly thinks that the "what" aspect is most important, since plastic bags are a rather small part of a larger picture. Packaging for fast food and especially straws should also be a similar concern. Moreover, as a law student he also thinks that people who violate rules such as throwing away plastic irresponsibly should be given harsher fines or even jail if they do it continuously.

Fourth respondent (Student, 20 years old, from Germany, Business):
He said that the way that it works back home with the plastic bags (supermarkets charge for it) is way better and in general people in America should overthink their behaviour in terms of disposables, since for examples in dorms (room waste) they do not separate between different types of wastes which would be a big step toward a better environment. Therefore the "who" gets more broad here.

Fifth respondent (Working adult, 58 years old, from the US, works for an oil company):
He agrees with most of the aspects. However, he as a manager in an oil company thinks that oil is a scarce resource which runs out at some point and that people use it without even thinking if there is an alternative. Therefore the "why" becomes larger, because it does not only harm the environment but also take away important natural resources that could be used somewhere else where is is more needed.

5) Most generally I absolutely agree and I am happy with the interviews. They added value to my opportunity and I liked the different perspectives such as the different way of thinking about the problem between a law and business student. Moreover, the working adult added a whole different insight that I did not think of beforehand.