11A - Idea Napkin 1

This assignment is going off my app idea for AR (augmented reality) that uses filters to determine if a food product falls under a certain diet.

1) My talents include artistic talent (graphic design & drawing, but not really painting so much), musical talent/ability to compose my own music and play piano, a fairly strong background in literature and writing, the ability to perform well under pressure, and good interviewing/pitching skills from my years involved in theatre and dance. I have an internship at the DHS under my belt, and also graduated from a Law magnet at my high school. I speak Spanish as a second language. My major is Sustainability and the Built Environment, so I've taken classes regarding environmental science, interior design, international sustainability (how different governments interact with environmental policies), and basic architecture. I hope to use this to eventually get involved with environmental public policy in the U.S., whether that means working in the EPA or working for a well-respected nonprofit organization. This app/business would help promote sustainability by allowing vegetarians and vegans to navigate grocery stores with greater ease (vegetarian and vegan diets are substantially more sustainable than an omnivorous diet). I'm not sure how this endeavor would fit into my career, it's all still a little fuzzy and feels far away, even though I know it isn't. I'm still trying to figure out my aspirations in life, to be completely honest.
2) I'm offering customers a product that would cut down time spent scanning each food item for ingredients, and looking up each ingredient to see what it means. This would relieve a lot of the stress induced by shopping on a vegetarian/vegan diet, and would also hopefully help people realize that some food items actually are veg friendly, opening new doors for dishes and promoting a more balanced diet without nutrient deficiencies.
3) I would be offering this product to people who have a specific diet, primarily vegetarians and vegans but I could also expand to include other diets (like kosher, Atkins, nut-free, gluten-free, keto, and paleo diets). These are people who want to be conscious of what is going into their body, but get worn down and tired of constantly scanning food items for ingredients, especially when transitioning to a new diet or trying a new food product they've never had before. I know I personally didn't realize that marshmallows aren't actually vegetarian and I freaked out because I'd been eating them, so my product would help prevent mistakes like that from happening for people who are also on specific diets.
4) My clients would think this product would be valuable to them because not breaking their diet is valuable to them. Personally, I'd use this product because of the marshmallow incident. There is also value in the time saved by not having to google every ingredient in a product just to make sure it's "safe" to eat. People pay for products like gym memberships and consultations with nutritionists, so this app would definitely also be of enough value to pay for to that same group of people.
5) What sets me apart is that I am a part of my target audience. I know the problems this group of people has while shopping, what is the most time consuming and tedious, and what is the most annoying. I don't have any business experience or programming skills however, so that would be a major weakness. I'd have to bring other people on board to make my idea happen, and by then I would probably have to compromise some of my idea. I'd have an advantage in having graphic design experience/knowledge, because I could make a clean, aesthetically pleasing, and user-friendly app that is easier to navigate than the food apps that are currently on the market (I have them all, and trust me, they could all improve their graphic design and user-friendliness). However, having an eye for design isn't something that only I have, there are other people in the world and even just at UF who also have artistic talent, so it's not necessarily something that makes me unique, but it would help build my brand into something unique, if that makes sense.

I actually think that most of my idea's "parts" fit together well, but something that doesn't quite fit is not knowing what my career path will end up being and not necessarily wanting to get into entrepreneurship or business. I feel like that adds up to me selling my idea for someone else to pursue, but if that happens the idea will change as they make it their own. So I'm not exactly sure how realistic my idea is or if it will fit into my own life and goals. My app would help promote sustainability on one hand, but on the other it just doesn't quite line up with the type of work I want to do.