7A - Testing Hypothesis

1) Pick an opportunity you would like to pursue. From this point forward in the class, many of these exercises will be related to a specific venture you want to start. Here's where that path starts. 

·      An opportunity of creating much more efficient nicotine replacement that would be sold to Universities, Colleges, and schools that would remove the nicotine from the body of the subject to remove the addiction. I think that this is an opportunity because people need to find solutions to stop these addictions.

2) Clearly state the opportunity you have identified, including the who, what, why. For instance, "Hospitals in the United States are unable to easily, efficiently bill Medicare for drugs they distribute because of the logistical challenges in linking a drug given to a patient and the patient's bill." 

·       The who:

• People who smoke in the United States – Students in College

·       The what:

• They are unable to stop smoking and want an effective way to stop smoking. More than nicotine packets

·       The why:

• They want to stop smelling like ashtrays, stop wasting 7-12$ per pack, avoid yellowish teeth, have better stamina and health.

3) This is your 'hypothesis' about the opportunity. It is a statement of your belief related to an opportunity. I'd like you to test the boundaries of the hypothesis by pushing and prodding each of the three elements. That means:

·       Testing the who: Are there others who have this need? Or, does everyone in your current 'who' share the need? 

• There are others, basically, everyone who smokes in the world. This is directed to students who can stop smoking at an early age

·       Testing the what: What are the boundaries of the need?

• All nicotine addictive substances such as Cigarettes, Tobacco products, Cigars, E-Cigarettes, etc. The boundaries are people that cannot afford these products or that do not want to stop smoking.

·       Testing the why: Not everyone will perceive their need the same way; here, I'd like you to test the boundaries of the 'why' -- for the people who have the need you have identified, what are the range of whys that they offer? Does the "why" you have identified hold for everyone? For the example above, maybe some hospitals will see their need rooted in logistics, maybe they'll blame government bureaucracy, maybe they'll blame the nurses and doctors. 

• There are people who do not necessarily want to stop, such as students who just started smoking, people that do not see it as a bad habit or that their social cycle involves many of their friends smoking. The reason I target these students is that I know that as you get older and smoke more time, it is harder to stop smoking, and the reason is Nicotine. It is better to stop at an early age; that’s why I need to convince the students that it is a horrible habit to smoke (because I smoke).

4) In Part 1, you must interview five people. These interviews must be lengthy enough for you to get the information you need. In these interviews, you want to ask questions that try to capture the variation in the who’s, what’s, and whys, and your objective is to test the boundaries of your opportunity hypothesis. 

Interview 1: David Jacobs 

1.    Who’s:

·      Smokes since 16

·      Social Smoker

2.    What’s:

·      I smoke because it relaxes me

·      He wishes he could stop smoking forever.

·      They want to stop smoking but do not like the idea of the product.

o   He thinks that to stop smoking, it must come from within himself, not by a product.

o   He would try it if it would give results recommended by a friend.

3.    Whys:

·      Stink

·      Money

·      Health.. My dad smokes and I don’t want to have my lungs as he currently has,

Interview 2: Javier Guzman – Smoker - 20 years old

1.    Who’s:

a.     Smokes since 16 years old

2.    What’s:

a.     The idea of the product must be voluntary, not involuntary

b.    He has tried stopping before with vapes, it worked for the first month but after month the maintenance tired him

c.     Awesome to stop smoking, not hate it, but replace

                                               i.     Hookah worst

                                             ii.     Cigarettes less than hookah

                                            iii.     Vape is the best, (he thinks that its 90% less harmful)

3.    Why’s:

a.     My parents divorced and I managed to eliminate stress by smoking

b.    He wants to stop smoking because he is concerned about his health

c.     Socialize with people by smoking by sharing time

Interview 3: Enrique Cabañas – 20 – Cuban

1.    Who’s:

a.     14 years old, social smoker, smokes one per party  

b.    doesn’t like cigars but likes vapes, he has one

2.    What’s:

a.     If not harmful

b.    he would like to stop

3.    Whys:

a.     smokes because he likes the menthol taste, doesn’t like normal cigarettes

b.    he would like even if he does not smoke so much.

Interview 4: Juan Martin Montejo – 20 Years old

1.    Who’s:

a.     Only smokes vape since 2017 (19 years old)

2.    What’s:

a.     Smokes e-cigarettes JUUL

b.    Nicotine is bad for me

c.     I think that smoking JUUL would make me addicted, and would drive me to cigarettes (it's against his moral principles)

3.    Whys:

a.     Its bad for my health, but a JUUL is a “healthier” way

b.    I would like the product since it would help me remove this addiction to this JUUL and avoid the bad habits of cigarettes

c.     I would like to see if it works and try it.

Interview 5: George Bukovski 19 years old

1.    Who’s:

a.     Smokes since 15 years old. Pack and a half per week (30 cigarettes)

2.    What’s:

a.     I smoke because I wanted to try because of peer pressure and know I am addicted to it and can't stop

b.    When I smoke, I feel relaxed, I feel disconnected, a break

                                               i.     Cigarettes

                                             ii.     Vape

                                            iii.     Hookah

3.    Whys:

a.     I would like this product. Nicotine patches should work; I have never tried them but the inner strength to stop smoking comes from within.

5) Include your write-up of each step in your assignment. For step 4, please summarize what you find. Given your interviews, what do you know about the opportunity that you didn't know before? 

I now know that some people do not like to use products to stop smoking, they think that stopping comes from within. I also realized that some people think that Vapes and e-cigarettes are much “healthier” than cigarettes or hookah. Much of the reasons why people smoke is to get away from reality for a while, or sociologic trauma such as divorced parents or other reasons to “escape” reality and smoke a cigarette.

People smoke cigarettes because of the pleasure, relaxing feeling and taste they receive off smoking. Sometimes my perception obscure my scope of a market, but when interviewing people I realized that there are much different perspectives of what I though a “perfect solution is”.