Forming An Opportunity Belief

I believe there is an unmet need in gun safety regarding children finding guns in the house and hurting themselves. Parent who owns a gun and has a child has this need. Almost 40% of households in the United States reported having a firearm within their household (Washington Post). This need has existed since owning guns in a household became common. In order to combat this issue, gun safes that need a code to be opened have been sold and people have begun to teach firearm safety to their children at an earlier age. People have recently begun trying to create a firearm that would require the owner’s fingerprint in order to fire; I believe that this would be the best bet in solving this problem. I am about 70% sure that this opportunity exists in the United States.

1.     18 year old male, UF student

·      Do or did you live in a house where there was a firearm present?

·      “No, I have never lived in a house where a firearm was present.”

·      Did your parents ever give you any gun safety training?

·      “No, my parents never owned a gun and I’ve never even shot a gun.”

·      Do you believe that guns in the household are a threat to children?

·      “Yes, if the children are not supervised and they do not know how to properly use them.”

·      Did you know that 1297 children die every year thanks to gun related injuries (CNN)?

·      “I did not, that’s a lot more than I expected actually!”

·      Do you believe that children get enough gun safety training?

·      “I believe they don’t but it depends on how you’re raised. If you want to own a gun then you need training.”

·      Do you plan on owning a gun at some time in the future?

·      “No, I do not.”

·      Do you believe in a product that would allow access to a gun in an emergency while limiting access to children?

·      “Yes, if the person is trained then yes.”

Reflection: What I learned from my first interview was that not everyone is intrested in owning a firearm. This would limit my potential customers because if one does not want a gun then they would not need a product that would make a gun safer; but perhaps if there was a product that made a gun safer then some of these people might be willing to purchase a gun.

2.     48 year old male from Miami, FL

·      Do or did you live in a house where there was a firearm present?

·      “Yes, I currently live in a house with multiple firearms.”

·      Did your parents ever give you any gun safety training?

·      “Yes, when I was about sixteen.”

·      Do you believe that guns in the household are a threat to children?

·      “Yes, I think its is a threat because statistically many children die from self-inflicted gun wounds in their homes.”

·      Did you know that 1297 on average children die every year thanks to gun related injuries (CNN)?

·      “Yes.”

·      Do you believe that children get enough gun safety training?

·      “No, I believe that they should get more training.”

·      Do you plan on owning a gun at some time in the future?

·      “I own a gun right now.”

·      Do you believe in a product that would allow access to a gun in an emergency while limiting access to children?

·      “Yes, it will make it more difficult for children to gain access to the firearms thus, saving many lives.”

Reflection: From this interview, I learned that this product may appeal more to older people who already own guns. This could be because they already have experience with firearms and know the dangers they present.

3.     18 year old female, UF student

·      Do or did you live in a house where there was a firearm present?

·      “I have lived in a house where a gun was present.”

·      Did your parents ever give you any gun safety training?

·      “I received some gun training when I was a child but it was not very expensive.”

·      Do you believe that guns in the household are a threat to children?

·      “If the children have access to the guns then it could be a threat.”

·      Did you know that 1297 children die every year thanks to gun related injuries (CNN)?

·      “I did not know that the number was so high, I expected it to be lower.”

·      Do you believe that children get enough gun safety training?

·      “As a child I believe that I got enough gun training, but I do not think that the average child gets enough training.”

·      Do you plan on owning a gun at some time in the future?

·      “Yes.”

·      Do you believe in a product that would allow access to a gun in an emergency while limiting access to children?

·      “Yes, that sounds like a great idea.”

Reflection: From this interview I learned that while some college students are not too comfortable with owning a firearm, others are all for it. This makes me believe that there are even more potential buyers than I expected.

Summary: After my three interviews of prototypical customers, I learned a lot about my potential customers. I believe that most of my original opportunity is still there. However, I believe that the new opportunity is more accurate than when I started. This exercise made me realize that entrepreneurs should definitely adapt their product from customer feedback. By doing this, they would make a product that would still solve a problem while making sure more people buy it.