Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity:

The unmet need involves the millions of people who have begun to and continue to shop online for clothes. From interviews most people shop online for a large variety of reasons. Some want to take advantage of the cheap prices or large sales. Others like the convenience of shopping from home to avoid the rush at the mall. The list of reasons to shop online is abundant and growing. A specific description includes; ages 15 to 35. Mostly females with a growing male population. These are working people with part-time or full-time jobs. They are technologically literate. They are on their phones or computers 15 or more hours a week. They can navigate online markets, do their own research, and check multiple sites. They are cable of downloading and using simple software. They can set up and use simple technology like cameras and USB cables. They shop online with regularity. Only a portion of their clothing purchases come from offline. They are trend conscious people that are looking to save time and money by shopping online. However, those that shop online face a myriad of problems when it comes to ordering clothes. First off, each brand and style fit differently on every person. Sometimes a medium in one brand is too tight while another brand the same size is too large. Further, when trying the clothes on, they may fit but do not give a flattering appearance to your specific body type. Sometimes users shy away from buying clothes online for these reasons. Also, the return policy may make it difficult to remedy the problems. The advancement in technology and the desire for instant gratification in our culture are a few of the forces creating this opportunity. Currently customers must go to the stores to try on clothes and then order them online or roll dice and hope their online orders live up to expectations. Most people are loyal to whatever brand or trend is popular. The opportunity is massive with almost two thirds of all US adults shopping online monthly. The window of opportunity is closing as more people recognize the need are developing technology to meet it, but if you are first to the market then the projection technology may last 10 or more years depending on how quickly other technologies advance.

Innovation:

My solution to fix the ordering, returning, and repeating cycle is virtual projection technology. The software would take four photos of you to create a 3D image of your body. The user would then select their desired clothing and see it mapped onto their body through their mobile phone or computer. This would show online shoppers the correct size and see how the style looks on their own body without ever even trying the clothes on. My software could be used with your mobile phone or laptop web cameras. Pictures of individuals could be taken with modest clothes on with high contrast. The 3D body image is saved to storage for future reference. Privacy would be a big selling point when it comes to images of people. The price to sell this technology to companies would be 10,000 dollars or more. This would be the price for the setup of the software on their site and licensing rights. The privacy and maintenance services would be a negotiated price.

Venture Concept:

The end user would be the online shoppers for different online clothing retailers. The buyers would be the online retailers. My selling point to retailers is multifaceted. I would first start by explaining the issues that their customers have with online shopping. Explaining that with increased user satisfaction there would be an increase in customer loyalty and more than likely a sales increase. The next step would be to find out how much money companies lose each year on the expenses associated with returns. Preventing returns would reduce transportation, fuel costs, postage, and any number of smaller issues.

Others suggest that there is possible competition for this service. The recent fad is mirrors inside of department stores that photograph an item you try on and you can switch colors or compared them to other outfits tried on. My argument is that currently this technology is far too expensive to bring to a mass scale. Further, it requires users to actually try on all the items of clothing in the store to compare them. My software would allow you to take a onetime photo and then with a few mouse clicks users let the computer try it on for them and project the 3D image onto their screens. Using the users own computer or phone would be an inexpensive way to reduce costs and spreading the product to the masses.

Business would have me at the top as president, three major officers below me for the different divisions, then five officers under them for different parts of the company, and then the rest of the employees. The three officers would vote on company direction and I would be the final vote.

Three minor Elements:

My top resource is the virtual projection technology. It is more important because it the main driving force in the company, it would be unique and hard to copy. My secret sauce is my well rounded background in engineering and coding along with personal attributes like hard work and competitive.

I want to create an interactive program with a 3D printer so that customers can feel the actual texture of the clothes, for the next step of my venture.

For me in five years I want the launch of the company to go well and sell in within the first 3 years as soon as the profits are great enough. I want to take that money and then begin my own aerospace company. First venture will allow me to make mistakes with minimal risk, learn how to manage people, and learn the tricks of trade with regard to the business world.