After playing video games for 16 years of my life, I recognized there was an untapped opportunity that if correctly exploited could be very profitable. This opportunity arises out of a pain point in gaming and something that has always been a problem, the fact that there is no way to limit the amount of sweat you release on to gaming controllers. Playing video games has always been fun but when you have to wipe off the controller every time you use it or someone passes it to you, it takes away from the phone. The force in the environment that created this opportunity to create a gaming controller with an internal cooling system is the fact that too many people get frustrated from sweaty controllers and no other company has fixed this problem yet. The market is defined demographically rather than geographically. Our target market is basically anyone who plays video games and uses gaming controllers. However, the prototypical consumer for our product tends to be males aged from 10-21. Customers currently attempt to satisfy this need for a way to reduce sweaty controllers by either just wiping off the sweat with their shirt or towel, or they buy controllers that have grips. Although these grips make it easier to hold on to the controller while you sweat, it does not actually limit the amount of sweat there is. They are not very loyal to these grips because it is not that efficient. This opportunity is huge solely because there is such a need for it and no other company has created a controller with an internal cooling system yet. The window of opportunity will be open until someone creates the actual controller.
Our product is a controller with an internal cooling system specifically designed to limit the amount of sweat that gets released from one's hand to the gaming controller. It basically works when the sensor inside the controller senses it is getting overheated and then the cooling system gets to work. By making the cooling system start with a sensor, we are able to save money in production because you can use a smaller battery. We will sell the cooling controllers for 75 dollars.
Our innovation will solve the problem of sweaty hands while playing video games. Customers will definitely switch to this new product because there is currently no product like ours out there. They will easily switch over from using grips to using our product when they hear that our product will completely solve the problem rather than just attempt to make it a little less worse like grips do. There are no direct competitors but companies that put grips on controllers would be the closest competitor. They are very weak and vulnerable because grips just make it easier to hold sweaty controllers, it does not actually make you sweat less. Packaging plays a huge role because the customer should be able to clearly see what our product is and how it works from the packaging. I would rent out a big factory and pay employees to make the product. I would probably need about 50 employees for production. I would need about 25 employees to package the product and then another 25 to distribute the controllers to retailers.
I think my most important resource will be my human capital. My perseverance and hard working nature will make my company successful because I will never give up on my product until it is is successful. It is impossible to match someones personality and that gives us a leg up on competitors.
Our next venture will be to get our technology, the internal cooling system, in to any small device that gets overheated such as iPhones or even computers.
In five years, I want to be the leading gaming controller company and as an entrepreneur, I want to have had started another company in a different segment to diversify my portfolio. This venture helps with my vision because it gives me valuable experience on how to run and start a company.
I received some feedback on my last venture concept that was very helpful. I received feedback from people asking me how it would be possible to have a cooling system inside of a controller without it making it heat up and actually make you sweat even more. We would have to make a system inside the controller with a fan, using technology already developed today like someone told me in one of my feedbacks. This would make it cost less to design the controller as we would not have to spend as much on R & D. This is the only way I would change my venture concept because now we could charge less for the controller and make it more affordable for the average consumer.
Hey Reed!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your new and improved venture concept. I think you have such a cool and innovative idea! If you actually created this, I already know so many people would buy it! You could even have an adjustable, high-low setting for people when their hands get too cold. I like how you thought about the previous feedback you received and then found an even cheaper way of solving the problem. A true innovative entrepreneur!
Good luck to you.
Reed,
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent business idea. What surprises me most is that I've never heard of such a product on the current market. You would think they would've started creating this product years ago! Perhaps a high cost of production is what's keeping companies from producing these controllers on a mass-market level. I think one big issue you may face is that many gamers simply aren't willing to pay extra for something they don't completely need. Yes, you'll have loyal customers who adore your product, but you'll be missing out on the masses of consumers who don't want to pay extra, largely because they're young and limited in capital. However, I think a great milestone for you to aim for would be to partner with the large corporations that sell video game consoles (Xbox, Playstation, Wii, etc.). A lot of gamers don't buy additional controllers because they have all they need when they purchase the console (which usually comes with 1 or 2 controllers). If your product could be sold in unison with these consoles, your business would explode! Good luck.