Forming an Opportunity Belief - Assignment 4

1. I believe, from my own experiences, that an opportunity exists within music streaming services.

2. An unmet need in my life, and I am positive that many others experience this, is that pre-made playlists on music streaming services based on my listening activity are never accurate enough for the moment. I'm constantly wishing for a "mood ring" playlist. A streaming site that is able to gauge your mood and put together the perfect playlist so you don't have to spend your day holding down the skip button. This need is unmet particularly with teens and college students because we spend so much of our time trying to put together the "perfect" playlist that is never perfect enough for an exact moment. To meet this need now, people are settling for the playlists that Apple Music or Spotify are putting together for them daily. I believe that this opportunity still exists because there is only so much that these streaming services are doing now to satisfy their listeners.

3. #1: A prototypical customer is a college student who has many different moods or situations they would like to adapt their music playlists to.
#2: A high school student.
#3: A young professional.

4. Prototypical customer #1: This customer described to me that this is a need they hadn't particularly thought about before, but that they are aware of now because of my interview with them. Despite this, they believe that this is something that students would reap all the benefits of. They're currently addressing their need by searching on streaming websites various criteria like "workout playlist" or "study playlist," etc. They are not satisfied because of how different someone else's idea of these playlists is, so they are unable to get exactly what they want.

Prototypical customer #2: This customer described to me that they have actually thought about this before, but were unsure of how to ever make it happen. They think that it is something people would use, but may need to be offered as a premium service to streaming services since it will take more ingenuity to put in place. This customer is currently addressing this need by spending tons of time outside of school and activities creating playlists that they think they will like at certain times, though this person did mention that they get tired of these playlists after a short time, so then they're back into the cycle of making more playlists.

Prototypical customer #3: This customer described to me that they have never really thought about this before and that it is not extremely relevant in their life. They described that they generally stick with what they're given on their streaming service. They are not overly satisfied, but enough to not challenge the status quo because they don't have the time in their day to care enough.

5. Prototypical customer #1: I learned that my opportunity is actually something that students will like and could see themselves using. The most surprising thing I learned was that the student knew that the situation right now isn't cutting it, but they weren't sure of a possible solution.

Prototypical customer #2: I learned that my opportunity is something that more people would actually consider using, but that it might be harder to put into motion than I had originally thought. The most surprising thing I learned from this was how much time people actually put into creating tons of playlists on a constant basis!

Prototypical customer #3: I learned that this opportunity will not be for everyone, and may even be a product for a niche market of avid music lovers. I was most surprised by how much less people listen to music as they move from college to professional life.

7. I believe that a lot of my original opportunity is still there, though it would be very difficult to carry it out in as accurate of a way that I am imagining. This opportunity is more refined than when I started, but after interviewing the different prototypical customers, I found that although it is an opportunity that exists, it would not benefit as many people as I once thought. Entrepreneurs should adapt their opportunities significantly based on customer feedback, though the core of the opportunity should remain the same throughout the adaptation. It is important to respond to customers' needs since they are the end user, but entrepreneurs also must stay firm in their vision and not get washed away or else they will never be successful.