Figuring out Buyer Behavior No. 1

What I learned:

The segment that I decide to pick were men over the age of 65. I went to a local gun shop and talk to 3 gentlemen (ages 67,68, and 71). The three gentlemen that I talked to all said that they have this need. One of the gentlemen carries a handgun on his person but leaves it in his vehicle at night. If he were to buy the lock, he would just use it at night since it in on his person during the day. The other 2 gentleman leave their handguns in their car at all times. They would have the need for this lock 24/7.

The very first thing that these gentlemen did when they became aware of this need was look online for vehicle gun locks. One of them currently uses the little safe that is cable locked to the driver’s seat. He doesn’t love it and would find something like my lock more useful. The second gentleman looked around at gun shops for other ways to lock his gun in his vehicle but wasn’t successful finding anything that he liked. The third one just looked on the internet and not anywhere else. I don’t think that this segment is the savviest for looking around on the internet for finding a product, but I think they do a decent job finding their way around.

How I would describe this segment:

I would describe this segment as a big potential user of this product. I believe that a lot of people in this segment would buy this product. I think that men over 65 years old would be the biggest user of this lock.

Idea Napkin No. 1

1. I would say I am a very hard worker. I always pay close attention to the small details. I would say I am a relatively handy person. I’m never going to be building rockets, but I can build small projects. My aspirations in life are to have a non-normal life. I like change and I am always thinking about the ‘next’ thing. If I were to start this business, I could see it having a big role in my life. I would always be working on how I could improve the product.

2. I would be offering a lock that would lock the gun to the car. It would lock around the trigger guard so the owner would still have quick access to it if needed. There are no good vehicle gun locks out on the market that the average man could afford. There are many people that don’t have a good way to keep their gun secure in their car.

3. The demographic of my customer would be anyone who keeps a gun in their car. Gun ownership rates are spread out among all demographics, but the highest owning segment are white men.

4. Customers will pay money to buy my product because they want to protect their investment. A large majority of handguns run over $500. If gun owners could keep their $500+ item safe, they would do it. If they could spend $100 on a lock to protect their $500 handgun, almost everyone would do it.

5. What sets my product apart from everyone else is that my product actually locks the gun to the car. There are some vehicle safes that have a cable that can be locked to a seat. It doesn’t take much for some bolt cutters to cut through the cable. This lock would be bolted to the floor of the car, therefore locking the gun to the floor of the car. There would be nothing to cut.

I believe that these elements fit together for the most part. I do not believe that there are any aspects of my business that are weaker or out-of-joint with the others. I think that everything looks good.

Elevator Pitch

https://youtu.be/rncKYFoNF3c

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Who: There are people who fall outside of the boundary but share a lot in common with people who have the need. The 5 people I talked to were people who carry there firearm on their person daily but leave it in their car in the garage at night. They keep their car parked in their locked garage overnight, so they don’t necessarily have the need for a vehicle lock since their firearm in either on their person or in the locked garage. These people would fall outside of my opportunity. If their gun gets stolen out of their car, someone would have to break into their garage (home) to get it. Then, we aren’t dealing with the normal car thieves, we are dealing with home invaders.

What: If somebody has their firearm stolen out of their vehicle in a locked garage, the burglar committed a home invasion since a garage is considered part of the home. A vehicle lock could help in this situation, but the burglar could walk into the house from the garage and steal a firearm from inside of the home. This is a different need from a vehicle parked in the driveway.

Why: I believe this is a different need than people who leave their guns in their cars parked in the driveway. We go from trying to prevent a firearm being stolen from a vehicle to the inside of a locked home because a garage with the door down is a part of the locked home.

                                   Inside the boundary                 Outside the boundary

Who:           People who park vehicle outside        People who don't leave a gun                                                                                             in their car for any                                                                                            period of time outside

What:  Prevent stolen guns from people's cars            Prevent stolen guns from                                                                                       inside of locked houses

Why:   There are over 400 million guns in the         Criminals will always do bad

            United States and a large number of           things

            those are kept in people's cars and are        Cars are an easy target

            getting stolen