11A - Idea Napkin #1

Assignment 11A – Idea Napkin #1

1.     You

My name is Hope Dougherty, I am a sophomore Business student majoring in finance (soon to be accounting) and I plan to do the 3/2 Masters in Accounting Program. I am extremely hard-working and dedicated and love to find balance in all of my intellectual, academic, physical, and emotional pursuits. If I were to start this business I would anticipate that I would put my entire life and soul into it, because that’s the kind of person that I am. I would work hard to ensure that I am putting the best possible product/service out into the world and hope that it would change people’s lives for the better.

2.     What are you offering to customers?

I am offering customers the chance to find balance in their own busy lives by providing another way to get healthy meals at home. MyChef is that way. When they don’t have time to cook or would rather spend that time doing something else at home, they can simply order any personal chefs signed up with the program and in their area to come over and make their specialized dish. That way, you are getting healthy, home-cooked meals without any of the time-constraints associated with it.

3.     Who are you offering it to?

I am offering this product to any busy, working professional who sometimes can’t find the time to cook at home. They are also the ones who care about their health and the ingredients in their food which is why they don’t simply want to eat out all the time or order take-out on their way home. They will probably also have a larger family, with kids and a spouse, and so cooking for them would take even more time than simply cooking for one.

4.     Why do they care?

These customers will be the ones that care greatly about their health and happiness. They don’t want any of the health hazards that come with eating out, especially eating fast food all the time. They also want to find balance in their busy lives and would rather spend time with their family, workout, or anything else instead of spending countless hours cooking after a hard day of work.

5.     What are your core competencies?

I don’t think there are any other products/services quite like this one on the market today. Or if there are, I am not aware of them. There are food delivery services, countless fast-food options, and new “healthier” fast food options, but there are no services that will create home-cooked meals for you in your own home. What sets me apart from my competitors is the fact that you don’t have to step one foot outside your house to get this service.

I believe that all aspects about this business mentioned here fit together nicely. My business is about health, happiness, and time management. It is for the working professional who needs a little extra time to do things for him or herself, while getting healthy meals at the same time. The weakest aspect of this idea is that I would need personal chefs to first sign up with the program. I would also need for them to go through a background check and obtain a security clearance before they could be eligible to be a chef.

Elevator Pitch

9A Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Who: After conducting these interviews, I realized that there are several groups of people that are outside the scope of this unmet need. The first is people that are too busy to cook but aren’t concerned with the ingredients or the health content in the foods they eat so they would rather just eat fast food, or have it delivered to their house. They don’t feel the need to wait for someone to come over and cook food for them or find fast food/eating out just as satisfying. The second group of people I found to be outside of the boundary are people who just aren’t willing to spend the money. They realize the benefits of quality, healthy, home-cooked meals and would love to have someone come into their house to make this happen for them but simply don’t have the money or aren’t willing to spend it.

What: The need of having healthy, quality meals cooked at home by someone else while you are busy doing something else that needs to get done is the need I am identifying. This need is different from simply being lazy and wanting readily available food at your fingertips. There are fast food restaurants and delivery services available for that.

Why: The underlying cause of the need for people outside of the boundary is the need for quick food options at the cheapest price. The underlying need for people inside of the boundary is the need for health-conscious meals with ingredients that are brought into your home that you can see and recognize. It is also the need for time management, allowing someone else to make your meals for you while you are busy doing something else in the house, like tending to your children, cleaning, working from home, or even resting.

Inside the Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who is in: Busy, working adults who are health conscious	Who is not: Busy people who are not health conscious, or not willing to spend the money
What the need is: Need for healthy, quality home-cooked meals without spending the time to make them	What the need is not: The quick, cheapest option for meals
Why the need exists: Working adults are sometimes too busy to spend the time preparing healthy, quality home-cooked meals	Alternative Explanations: Quick food options at the cheapest price, a fix for lazy people