Opportunities

1. I believe that if we had more storage for scooters including a front compartment, we could make scooters lighter and have less weight, thus increasing acceleration and faster times.


2. There is a need for this; I drive a bintelli scorch, which is a larger, heavier scooter because it has a bigger back and larger storage compartment. These two things make it bulkier and thus, slower to accelerate and reach its top speed. There is a need to have fast scooters that accelerate quickly that way they don’t become a danger in areas of heavy traffic like university or 13th, two key places for students. This would be huge for off campus students, as they often have to traverse these roads with others cars easily reaching 30 35 in no time while heavy scooters often take a significantly longer amount of time to reach the speed limit. This need comes from the fact that scooters all have to have the same engine, and any bigger (which would allow for quicker acceleration), would classify it as a motorcycle. As the use in scooters continues rise, more are students scooting off campus and down heavy traffic roads. This demands fast scooters who can fit in high paced traffic that they dont pose a danger to themselves and others. A lot of scooters are already becoming smaller and lighter, but its often a tradeoff between storage space and weight. I believe there is an opportunity to to add on another compartment on the front of the scooter while still keeping a lightweight scooter that can accelerate fast. I’m 70 percent sure this exists.


3. Prototypical Customer: Off campus students


4a. The first person I interviewed was one of my friends who lives in an off campus over by sorority row. I interviewed him because they often have to traverse roads like 13th and University and he has a relatively large bintelli scorch. I asked about the size of his scooter, how often he drove on those roads, and if he wished has more storage. He talked about how his scooter is too big and often couldn’t accelerate to the speed limit fast enough. He didn’t mention that he needed more scooter space, however, and that he just wanted a smaller scooter that could quickly accelerate so cars behind him wouldn’t, “ride his a**.”


4b. The second person I interviewed was another off campus student, who lived in a house behind the McDonalds on University. I asked her the same questions, talking about scooter size, acceleration, how often she drove on high traffic roads, and if she wanted more storage. I had much different answers with her, as she had a much different scooter than the first student I interviewed. She had a Bintelli Breeze, which is a much smaller and lightweight model, so she didn’t have nearly as much problems with speed and acceleration. However, she did say she needed more storage, as her scooter was smaller and could only keep a helmet and little else.


4c. The last person I interviewed was a freshman who lived on campus at the dorm Jennings. I wanted to get diversity in my interviews so I could truly see how much demand there would be for a product like this. I started off with the same questions, except adapting it for someone who lived on campus, a key factor since the speed limit is 10 miles lower. It was interesting because he felt like he didn’t need a faster scooter, despite the relatively large size of his. He drove a Wolf EX-150, which is bulkier than most and had plenty of storage. However, because of the lower speed limit it fit all of his needs and didn’t ever need to accelerate to fast because he didn’t leave campus that much.


5. After interviewing the three candidates I’m not entirely sure if the opportunity for my product still exists. I learned that while some people definitely have the need for faster scooters and more storage, the majority I interviewed did not find it essential. This is especially true for on campus students, as they have lower speed limits and less need to exceed anything more than 25 mph. However, even the two off campus students I interviewed seemed relatively hesitant about needing a scooter with fast acceleration, as if it was something they would like but isn’t essential. I did see some hope with the first interviewee, as his scooter was too big and would like to get faster but didn’t want to sacrifice size for scooter storage. However, the other interviews showed there are plenty of scooter models that do this well enough.





6. As I mentioned, I do not believe much of my original opportunity exists to much. Smaller scooters that have decent enough storage space seemed to work well enough for students that live off campus. However, there might still be potential for bigger scooters by opening up a smaller compartment on the front of the scooter and taking some weight off the back. If anything, these interviews showed me that products are purely based off of what customers want and need to be adapted to their demands. By talking to customers and getting accurate feedback, we can tailor our products to what they need.