4A Forming An Opportunity Belief

I believe there is a need for a platform, like an app, to help people with conversation starters.  Some people tend to find themselves in situations where during a conversation there is a moment of awkward silence. Maybe the people of the conversation ran out of things to talk about. Maybe someone is trying to start a conversation with a person they have never talked to before, but do not know how to begin the conversation. No matter what the setting is, there is always a need for conversation starters. Anyone could have this need. A good example of someone in need of conversation starters would be first year college students. Many first-year college students may not know very many people and may need a way to strike a conversation with other students they have not met before. There has always been a need for ways to strike a conversation in any setting. Some people have the ability to walk up to someone and strike a conversation easily. Others may not feel comfortable with that idea and may write a list of things to talk about or use common conversation phrases, and hope that there are never any awkward moments of silence during a conversation. That is why I think an application that generates conversation starters for any setting and allows people to discretely check their phone for help, would help prevent any awkward pauses or difficulty in starting a conversation. Now this may not be for everybody, but I do think it would be a good tool to have if someone needs a quick idea on what to say next. I would say I am about 70% this opportunity exists.

       First-year teenage female college student

·       How often do you experience awkward silence in a conversation?

Ø     Answer: “I’d say 2 out of every 10 conversations I have.”

·       Do you ever feel anxiety or stress during periods of awkward silence?

Ø     Answer: “Definitely”

·       Do you tend to look at your phone when faced with silence and do not know what to say?

Ø     Answer: “Yes, I do.”

·       How often do you look for conversation starters?

Ø     Answer: “Probably 75% of the time there’s an awkward silence”

·       Is there any particular setting(s) where you find it is difficult to start a conversation?”

Ø     Answer: “When I’m confused in class and need another opinion”

·       How do you currently come up with conversation starters?

Ø     Answer: “I find a common goal and ask if they want to work on it together.”

·       Do you feel like your current methods of starting conversations are effective?

Ø     Answer: “Somewhat.”

·       How would you feel if there was an app that allowed you to quickly find a topic/question that would aide you in starting conversations in any setting?

Ø     Answer: “It would certainly take the edge off of the awkwardness.”

Reflection:

There is definitely some potential for this opportunity. It seems that some people are comfortable talking and creating conversations, but at the same time experience awkward silence sometimes. It seems like someone like this would be open to using an application that could help which means there is definitely an opportunity.

    
    
    Second-year female college student

·       How often do you experience awkward silence in a conversation?

Ø     Answer: “Rarely or never.”

·       Do you ever feel anxiety or stress during periods of awkward silence?

Ø     Answer: “No, I do not”

·       Do you tend to look at your phone when faced with silence and do not know what to say?

Ø     Answer: “Yes, I do.”

·       How often do you look for conversation starters?

Ø     Answer: “Pretty often. I like to talk a lot.”

·       Is there any particular setting(s) where you find it is difficult to start a conversation?”

Ø     Answer: “Yes, in class when the teacher goes ‘discuss among yourselves’ and you have no idea who the person is next to you.”

·       How do you currently come up with conversation starters?

Ø     Answer: “I guess it would depend on the situation because sometimes conversations just start naturally in certain settings.”

·       Do you feel like your current methods of starting conversations are effective?

Ø     Answer: “Yes, since I talk so much, and I am not shy.”

·       How would you feel if there was an app that allowed you to quickly find a topic/question that would aide you in starting conversations in any setting?

Ø     Answer: “I think that could be helpful to lots of people, but I do not think it is something I would necessarily use.”

Reflection:

Some people are very comfortable with freely starting conversations in any setting. This opportunity probably would not be as effective with this group of people. This reinforces the idea that this opportunity would not work with everyone and that is ok. I was surprised by how she acknowledged that even though an application like the one proposed may not be for her, it would be good for others.

     First-year, 19-year-old male college student

·       How often do you experience awkward silence in a conversation?

Ø     Answer: “2-3 times a day”

·       Do you ever feel anxiety or stress during periods of awkward silence?

Ø     Answer: “Yes, definitely.”

·       Do you tend to look at your phone when faced with silence and do not know what to say?

Ø     Answer: “Yes, I do.”

·       How often do you look for conversation starters?

Ø     Answer: “4 times a week.”

·       Is there any particular setting(s) where you find it is difficult to start a conversation?”

Ø     Answer: “First time meetings with people.”

·       How do you currently come up with conversation starters?

Ø     Answer: “Ask for pointers from other people.”

·       Do you feel like your current methods of starting conversations are effective?

Ø     Answer: “No, I do not.”

·       How would you feel if there was an app that allowed you to quickly find a topic/question that would aide you in starting conversations in any setting?

Ø     Answer: “I would like the app.”

Reflection:

 Based on these responses, I learned that there is definitely an opportunity for an application to help with conversation starters. It seems that it would be very helpful to those who experience awkward silence in conversations frequently.  

4 

   
    First-year, 18-year-old male college student

·       How often do you experience awkward silence in a conversation?

Ø     Answer: “Not frequently.”

·       Do you ever feel anxiety or stress during periods of awkward silence?

Ø     Answer: “When I do experience awkward silence if I am the one causing it then I do feel stress or anxiety.”

·       Do you tend to look at your phone when faced with silence and do not know what to say?

Ø     Answer: “Half and half.”

·       How often do you look for conversation starters?

Ø     Answer: “I occasionally will.”

·       Is there any particular setting(s) where you find it is difficult to start a conversation?”

Ø     Answer: “After late night classes/meetings.”

·       How do you currently come up with conversation starters?

Ø     Answer: “No particular strategy. Something just comes to mind.”

·       Do you feel like your current methods of starting conversations are effective?

Ø     Answer: “Relatively, but they always can be improved.”

·       How would you feel if there was an app that allowed you to quickly find a topic/question that would aide you in starting conversations in any setting?

Ø     Answer: “I would be interested in using it if others were using it frequently.”

Reflection:

For some people, they would be open to using something like an application to help with conversation starters, but only if others are using it. This could mean there is still potential for this opportunity, but in order to be successful with some people it would require a wide acceptance.

Summary:

I think that the opportunity still exists. I knew that there would not be an opportunity with everyone and that was reconfirmed by some of the feedback. I think after hearing some feedback, I can definitely narrow down the customer base where this opportunity would be the most successful. I do think my new opportunity is more accurate than when I started. I think that in order to be successful, the opportunity would have to be modified to work well with different groups of people. I think it is very important for entrepreneurs to “adapt” their opportunities based on customer feedback, especially in the early stages on deciding if the opportunity exists. However, I think it is important to not change too much of the original designs and values once you decide to pursue the opportunity.