11A – Idea Napkin No. 1
1) Who I am:
My name is Paul Radomski. I am a transfer sociology student at UF in the Innovation Academy program. This is my first semester and I am enjoying all of the experience so far. I am a transfer because I took two years off to volunteer after getting my AA degree in high school. In those two years I worked for AmeriCorps in the Grasses in Classes program. We taught thousands of kids each month a custom natural science curriculum to encourage future scientists and plant a local salt mash grass, additionally my AC program worked to restore dozens of acres of national parks and the coastline with the removal of invasive plants and the building of oyster reefs. After volunteering, I was hired by the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance, the nonprofit that partnered with the Grasses in Classes program as their Education Technician to edit and create the GIC curriculum as well as train and manage the next group of AmeriCorps members. Additionally I have been a bike technician, lifeguard, and swim instructor for several years as well.
I am currently trying to decide how to best use my interests in education, science, the environment, communication, and sociology but my current plan is to blend those interests with a trend in my favorite hobby and create a science based educational board game. I have a lot of experience with public speaking/communication (teaching to adults, high, middle, and elementary schoolers, and toddlers), on the job problem solving (nothing goes correctly in a nonprofit or volunteer position), and helping people.
I see the Zip Strip as a way to gain experience and proficiency creating a product, finding a way to market it, and find what people are interested in/need. This has already made me start planning how to make my game idea a reality and start working on something more concrete than the vague goal I had before.
2) What am I offering to customers:
The product I am creating is the Zip Strip. As seen in the picture above, it is a strip of elastic material with zippers on both sides. The goal of this is to expand the width of jacket torsos for those who have difficulty fitting into the standard sizes. Additionally I have been told that many would want this just as a way to accessorize jackets that fit them. In the picture below you can see that my prototype is very stylish if you ignore all the awful color choices (the penguin socks are the only part I will defend from all attacks). I plan to sell this on a website where you can select the color, size, and type of zipper you need. I only have the one product but the different options will allow my already specialized target audience the depth to find what they need or want.
3) Who am I offering it to:
I am making this for those that are too wide to fit into standard clothing sizes. From what I've found this need can show up in people that are overweight, shorter, or even taller/larger than clothing makers are assuming.
With the color and pattern options I hope to capture some people who just want to make their jackets look distinct and unique by adding a Zip Strip for accessories.
4) Why will they care?
The primary audience will be interested in this because the only other option would be a custom fitted jacket or tailoring, and both should be more expensive than a product like the Zip Strip that can be made in a factory or at least in batches with a sewing machine.
5) What are my core competencies?
Everyone I have interviewed for this so far has not heard of a similar idea, and several have gotten excited thinking of ways to help other pieces of clothing even if they don't personally have problems with the width of jackets. I think the primary strengths of the Zip Strip are that it's unique, simple, and could be easily made in many different options. Additionally because no one has seen anything like it, I think that people would be curious and ask people they saw wearing one about it especially if it is one of the colorful or patterned options.
Self Verdict:
I thin that my idea is strong in its simplicity and intention, but that it might be difficult to reach enough people with the problem or the willingness to buy. I think that if I could find the consumers, the website, production, and costs would be viable for at least a side project. Most people I've talked to don't have the problem exactly, but everyone has had trouble with fitting clothes of some type. This leads me to think that there is a market for clothes that better fit sized and uses people have. Pants especially seem to be a problem for most people.
If you have any opinion of the viability or ways my idea could be improved, please comment and let me know.
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