Forming An Opportunity Belief

In society, there are a growing number of elderly people who still want to get around and do things. I have a belief that there should be an easy way for seniors to get places without risking their safety and other people’s safety by driving.

In today’s world with so many people living longer there is a need for senior citizens to have access to on demand transportation that would cater to their special needs. Currently, they have to rely on friend and family or not so “senior friendly” transportation. This opportunity has probably a chance of 70% chance of existing.

A prototypical customer would be any senior citizen, or disabled person, who can not transport themselves in typical modes of transportation. The customers would be those who require special vehicles or accommodations; for example, those bound to a wheelchair. Additionally, a customer could be

-I spoke with my grandfather who lives at a senior living center where he experiences this problem first-hand. The place he lives offers suitable transportation to certain locations, such as the grocery store, gym, and mall. However, the need is experienced often when he says that he sometimes wants to just go visit family or go to a doctor’s appointment. We talked about why he didn’t use Uber, and it was because most of the cars used are not able to fit a wheelchair in it, let alone be comfortable to get in and out. Currently, he relies on family to get to appointments and amongst other things.

The most surprising thing I learned about my opportunity was that there truly is a need for it. I learned that in order for it to work, I should tailor it to the specific needs of senior citizens and the disabled.

-Next, I spoke to my mother, who is often the one who drives to take my grandfather to appointments and on outings. My mother is aware of the need and believes it is a good opportunity because of the amount of limitation is put on senior citizens who are in the same position as my grandfather. As of now, there isn’t really anything that she can do besides playing the role as the driver. She went on to say that it is something she would happily pay for for her parents.

I learned that the opportunity is another chance to allow technology to help people. I learned that people like her would buy into the service because they have limited time and even children of their own.

-Finally, I was able to speak to a family friend who has been in a wheelchair for as long as I could remember. He would like to see this opportunity develop and give him the freedom to get around to places whenever and wherever he pleases. They are currently satisfying this need by using uncomfortable shuttle services and family drivers. Ultimately, a way for him to drive would be ideal in his mind, but he feels this opportunity would open doors that he never expected to be open.

I found it surprising that he had never thought of a service like this before. It made me realize that he seemed fine with his family and friends driving him places, even though he felt bad. I also learned that the opportunity should reach out to as many different people as possible because it could benefit all sorts of individuals.

After speaking with these three people, I found that much of my original opportunity still exists. Although it may need some more work, I believe my new opportunity is more accurate then when I started. The need is definitely present, but taking care of it will be a challenge. I think entrepreneurs should adapt their opportunities based on customer feedback, but still stick to their morals and values as a person. If customer feedback is jeopardizing something that the entrepreneur values, then I believe they should stay firm. However, there are often cases where customer feedback may be for the better of the whole population or community and