24A

Opportunity

            For the ignition lock, there are numerous different opportunities available. This product is aimed at keeping roads safe, which is something that every driver, biker, passenger, pedestrian, and more use on a daily basis. The ignition lock is an innovative way to prevent drunk drivers from operating vehicles while under the influence of alcohol. Therefore, our product is aimed specifically at alcohol consumers but will benefit a greater population than that.

            If statistics came out to show the number of alcohol related accidents that occur on an annual basis, the demand for the ignition lock would increase as individuals would become more aware of the actual dangers of drunk driving. Furthermore, if a campaign began to increase awareness of this issue, my product’s demand would undoubtedly increase. Demographically, my product is aimed at 21-25 year olds, which is the age group most likely to drive while under the influence of alcohol. In addition, these young adults have just begun obtaining alcohol legally and do not necessarily know their limits. Also, they are all newer drivers compared to their elders so they do not have as much experience operating a vehicle.

            Currently, customers are not satisfying this need in a sufficient manner. Many intoxicated drivers will refuse to believe they are incapable of driving and will get behind the wheel anyway. This is what the ignition lock focuses on preventing. Because there are so many drivers that do consume alcohol regularly, the opportunity for this product is huge. However, we need to increase the awareness of the risks and frequency in which drunk driving occurs. The opportunity will remain there for a long time but we do not want it to do so. By selling the ignition lock to car manufacturing companies, customers of popular car companies will be receiving the good for free when they purchase their vehicles. Obviously the car would be more expensive with this addition but it will not seem like it to the customer because they only see the car priced at the full value.

Innovation

            The ignition lock is an innovative product because there are very few other companies that produce a service or product similar to it. Customers can either buy the product separately from when they purchase their vehicle or they can choose to buy a car with the product in it already. This means that my company would sell the ignition locks to car manufacturing companies as well as ordinary drivers. We would be able to install the product in any vehicle for a small service fee as well. The ignition lock will have numerous settings but the idea behind it is to prohibit the operation of a vehicle when the driver is under the influence of alcohol.

The way that the ignition lock works is simple. When a driver attempts to turn on their engine, the ignition lock will force them to take a breathalyzer test before the engine turns on. If the driver’s blood alcohol content is above the legal limit, the engine will not power on and the car will refuse to allow the driver to operate it. In order to turn the engine on, someone needs to pass the breathalyzer test. There would be options to turn off the ignition lock but they would need to be turned off 24 hours prior to the time that the driver requests the lock to be off. This would ensure that the driver is fully coherent and sober when he or she decides to forego the product and take their own risk at operating the vehicle.

The cost of the ignition lock would vary depending on a variety of factors. I would like to contact organizations who advocate for safe driving, like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), to sponsor our product. This would make it more affordable for our customers to purchase the product. I am hoping that with the numerous sponsorships we will obtain, the price of the product will come out to around $200.

Venture Concept

Customers are fairly easy to understand from an emotional standpoint. If you pull at their heartstrings hard enough, they will be more understanding and tend to view your product from a more emotional stance. Therefore, it is imperative that my company launch numerous campaigns warning about the dangers of drunk driving, especially in this day and age among young adults. Once they are informed about this lethal issue, I am positive that many of them will be eager to test out our product in order to keep our roads safer than ever before.

There are few other companies that make this same product so competition will not be too large of an issue. However, many of my competitors do not have the option to power off the ignition lock. While this might create a problem in terms of safety, I have established many regulations that come with turning off this lock which will not sacrifice the safety of our customers. This special feature will make my company more successful and more popular than my competitors’ companies.

Our whole product relies on the humanistic assumption that people are kind and want others, as well as themselves, to be safe. Therefore, our entire product and company relies on customer satisfaction and trust. Our employees will be trained in the best manner possible to ensure that they treat all customers fairly and we will include a thirty day test trial of the product. Mainly, our product will be sold online but once the company has more revenue, I plan on setting up stores where customers can go in and converse with our sales representatives as well as test out the product on a company car. While it would be cheaper to solely sell our product online, it is crucial for customers to be able to communicate in the best manner possible with our employees so opening these physical store locations will benefit our product and sales in the long run. I would only hire 5 employees to work at this location per shift and would require them to have customer service experience as well as some previous experience in the automotive industry.