19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1. I am Jacob McManamon and I am a junior journalism major, business minor at the University of Florida. I believe that my major has increased the efficiency in my ability to communicate effectively, along with increasing my creative outlook on the world. I have aspirations of being successful in what I set out to do, and once I determine exactly what that is, I hope to excel at it.  I think that if I were to start this business, it would play a large role in my life. I have always wanted to start a business and believe that I have some good ideas so this business would play an important role in my life.
2. I am offering an alternative to the prototypical alarm clock, it is called MattressRise, it helps users wake up. This way consumers having a helping hand (literally) in waking up on time for school or work. This product solves the need for an alarm clock malfunction or not being able to wake up just with sound. This product wakes the user up with sound and motion and doesn't stop until the user wakes up and gets up from the bed. This solves the problem that many users face with normal alarm clocks that are not reliable for deep sleepers or sleepers who struggle to wake up.
3. The demographic that I am appealing to is the age group of 18-50. Younger people who are in school or work and have to wake up for early morning obligations. These people tend to be in deeper sleep due to the fact that they have late-night social activities or just don't go to sleep as early as older people. My customers all have a tough time waking up in the morning for one reason or another, such as deep sleep problems or not having effective alarm clocks, or hitting snooze too often.
4. Customers care because they are missing important aspects of their life because their alarm clocks do not do the job of waking them up. Many people look for alternatives or stronger alarm clocks but there is not a strong product out there that uses motion like this one. Throughout my many interviews of potential consumers for this product, many people said they would spend the money to buy this product if it helps them wake up better.
5. This product is set apart from the rest of ordinary alarm clocks because it is something that impacts your entire body and won't stop until you stand up out of bed. This product uses motion and sound to wake the user up, something that no other alarm clock does.

I believe that these elements fit together properly and in a way that is supportive of a solid business idea. I think that many of the people in this segment of the younger generation has this issue, especially with electronics keeping more of us up at night. I also think that this idea is one that everyone who I talked to was really interested in trying out and maybe something that is much more effective to many people than just ordinary alarm clocks. I think the weakest part of this idea is how many people out there will actually want this product, versus the number of people who will just try and fix their sleep schedule with time to create an internal alarm clock.
Memo: 2 elements that I addressed here were narrowing down the exact age demographic, and distinguishing this product from other normal alarm clocks. I incorporated these elements by narrowing down an exact age and type of people that would find this product most effective. I also provided a clear explanation as to why this product is unique and different from other alarm clocks.