7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1. Pick an opportunity you would like to pursue. From this point forward in the class, many of these exercises will be related to a specific venture you want to start. Here's where that path starts. 
1. College students getting adequate meals.
2. Clearly state the opportunity you have identified, including the who, what, why. For instance, "Hospitals in the United States are unable to easily, efficiently bill Medicare for drugs they distribute because of the logistical challenges in linking a drug given to a patient and the patient's bill." 
1. The who: College students and Parents
2. The what: College students struggle to eat well balanced quality meals, leading many parents to worry.
3. The why: College students have strenuous schedules which can leave little time for them to prepare meals.
3. This is your 'hypothesis' about the opportunity. It is a statement of your belief related to an opportunity. I'd like you to test the boundaries of the hypothesis by pushing and prodding each of the three elements. That means:
1. Testing the who: Are there others who have this need? Or, does everyone in your current 'who' share the need? 
1. Not everyone in the current who shares the need, there are some students that do not have issues with preparing quality meals within their time restraints, additionally some students do not mind eating out.
2. Testing the what: What are the boundaries of the need? For the example above, the questions you'd ask could include, "Are all drugs a challenge, or just some drugs?" "Are all patients a challenge, or just some patients?" "Is it just Medicare, or does it include Medicaid or private insurers?" Etc.
1. Are all college students struggling to prepare meals
2. Do all parents concern themselves with where their children eat
3. Is cooking for one at home cheaper than eating out
3. Testing the why: Not everyone will perceive their need the same way; here, I'd like you to test the boundaries of the 'why' -- for the people who have the need you have identified, what are the range of whys that they offer? Does the "why" you have identified hold for everyone? For the example above, maybe some hospitals will see their need rooted in logistics, maybe they'll blame government bureaucracy, maybe they'll blame the nurses and doctors. 
1. For some college students it is cheaper to eat out
2. Some college students do not want to prepare their own meals
3. Some college students find the time to cook for themselves
4. In Part 1, you must interview five people. These interviews must be lengthy enough for you to get the information you need. In these interviews, you want to ask questions that try to capture the variation in the whos, whats, and whys, and your objective is to test the boundaries of your opportunity hypothesis. 
1. Interview 1
1. What is the exact nature of the need?
1. Student can not cook in dorm
2.  How are they currently addressing their need?
1. Dining pass and eating out 
3.  How satisfied are they with this solution?
1. They are moderately satisfied with their current solution. (6/10)
2. Interview 2
1. What is the exact nature of the need?
1.  They are tired of cooking every day
2.  How are they currently addressing their need?
1. Student comes home from class and cooks every day
3.  How satisfied are they with this solution?
1. They are highly satisfied with their current solution. (7/10)
3. Interview 3
1. What is the exact nature of the need?
1.  Student is too lazy to cook everyday
2.  How are they currently addressing their need?
1. Reheating precooked frozen meals 
3.  How satisfied are they with this solution?
1. They are highly unsatisfied with their current solution. (3/10)
4. Interview 4
1. What is the exact nature of the need?
1.  Student is on a tight budget
2.  How are they currently addressing their need?
1. Eats budget foods ie. hotdogs, sandwiches, chips
3.  How satisfied are they with this solution?
1. They are highly unsatisfied with their current solution. (3/10)
5. Interview 5
1. What is the exact nature of the need?
1.  Student is on a tight budget
2.  How are they currently addressing their need?
1. Finds discounts and special deals online for fast food delivery services
3.  How satisfied are they with this solution?
1. They are find their current solution to be passable. (5/10)
5. Include your write-up of each step in your assignment. For step 4, please summarize what you find. Given your interviews, what do you know about the opportunity that you didn't know before?
1. There are many different reasons as to why the need exists, but I feel as if many of the needs can be tackled in similar fashions.