9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

Interview 1: I interviewed my friend Letty, who works at Relish. She told me that everyone complains about the new paper straws and how they wish they offered a different solution. She even believes that people would not even realize a small change in price of a few cents to cover the switch to a better alternative such as bamboo straws, and even believes it would drive a lot more business with people coming just for that. She told me my idea to set up a distributor for these alternatives would probably attract her business.

Interview 2: I interviewed my roommate Angelo, because I saw him come back from McDonalds with a paper straw. I asked him if he would pay an extra few cents for a different straw and he definitely agreed. He also agreed he would choose a place with better straws to eat over a place with paper straws. This made me curious to see how much bamboo straws were, and found some bulk orders for straws costing only a fraction of a cent a piece. This means that up charging by only a penny would give profits, and would gain more business.

Interview 3: I interviewed my brother John, because he travels a lot for work, and he said he noticed a trend of more places using plastic straws. He is currently in California for work, and said that places either only offer paper straws, or sometimes none at all. He agreed with me that it sucks for places that you get something a little thicker like a milkshake, and have to use the paper straw. He said he definitely would invest into a place that offered better solutions like bamboo straws.

Interview 4: I interviewed my friend Elinor, who is in my business fraternity, about opening a business that distributes alternative straws. She said she definitely sees a need, and would be successful in many markets, even within Gainesville. We discussed ho it would be viable to start here and grow, and then one day growing to other markets.

Interview 5: I interviewed my father for my last interview. He said he doesn’t eat out much, but when he does, he is unhappy with a paper straw because they do not work as intended. He was saying how his dissatisfaction sometimes drives him to not order a drink if he goes in the drive through, which is a loss of business for the restaurants, and would incentivize them to invest in better alternative straws.

Who: Businesses that currently use paper straws would use this distribution service. Certain companies who already us alternative products, such as places with new types of lids that you drink off of would not need this service.

What: This need is targeting the dissatisfaction of paper straws, and peoples need for a better alternative. It may be related to other things people get dissatisfied with at restaurants including long wait times. These things both can drive a customer to a different restaurant, resulting in loss of business.

Why: The outlier cause is directly caused by the insiders need. There is dissatisfaction with how things are currently being done, and distributing better alternatives could be a viable solution.

Inside The Boundary	Outside the Boundary
Who: People who go out to eat and use paper straws and are dissatisfied with them	Who: People who do not go out to eat, or like paper straws
What: A need for a better alternative to paper straws	Need Not To: People who fear paper straws are the only thing that a good alternative to plastic straws for the environment.
Why: Government regulations outlawing paper straws	Alternative Explanations: Paper straws are the only thing that doesn't pose a threat to the environment.