ENT3003 Assignment 24A – Venture Concept No. 1 - Capable Pencil

Venture Concept - Capable Pencil

Opportunity:

• I believe my product's opportunity lies in the inefficiency of the current marketplace. Specifically, for mechanical pencils there's a highly diluted market with a variety of different branded pencils, pens, and other writing utensils. However, all of these products are relatively similar to one another without much room for competitive advantage. This changes when it comes to the Capable Pencil, my product will be something new that the marketplace hasn't seen and it will hold many capabilities that the current products on the market lack. With all of this said, I believe my opportunity will be found with the consumer demand for a high quality product that offers features they wanted and never knew while providing these benefits at a basic cost similar to that of our competitors. This opportunity is advanced even more because of the technological advancements we're facing that's driving more people to use electronic devices, however this means a more niche audience is created for hand-writing utensils which my product will provide. I believe this opportunity is large enough to gain investments from big time sources while having the ability to last for decades to come if we instill constant improvements that keep up with times.

Innovation:

• The Capable Pencil, my business idea, is similar to that of a mechanical pencil that writes using lead inserted into a plastic pencil. The innovation for my product comes with its many features that offer benefits that consumer's hadn't before thought of, while also removing the annoyances that current similar products offer. My product will use the best available lead that's thicker in size resulting in breakage while writing becoming a much more rare occurrence. Furthermore, the pencil will a built in limit on it that only allows for lead to go an optimal amount out of the tip, therefore there's even less chance of lead snapping or going dull while you write. The final feature of the product lies in the clip on the side, while most mechanical pencils already have a clip on the side, they're not being used for any other purpose. This changes with the Capable Pencil, as the clip on the side of the product will also have a  compartment that holds additional lead inside of it that the user is able to put back into the pencil when they run out. This will effectively reduce the amount of wasted pencils that get thrown out as soon as they've run out of lead. Finally, I believe this product can be made at the same cost of current products on the market, likely with an initially higher price to makeup for the scale of economy it will possess to start. This price is likely to be somewhere around the range of five pencils for $10, offered in packs of five, ten, or twenty, while also selling individually for 3$.

Venture Concept:

• My product will prevail mainly because of it's improvements on current available products. Plainly put, the Capable Pencil is a superior product to it's competitors but doesn't charge a price similar to a premium brand. This results in the best of both worlds including a premium, quality product with a price point that is competitive with the inferior products available. Customers will switch from standard pencils, pens, and current mechanical pencils as they will receive the many benefits discussed in the innovation section while paying the same or slightly greater/less amount. All other things equal, paying the same price for a better product is always the better choice. Current competitors on the mechanical pencil market include BiC, Pentel, and paper mate. Additionally, competitors exist in the arena of substitute products, these products include #2 wooden pencils, colored pens, iPads, laptops, and "smart pencils". The exploitable weaknesses in my competitors are the fact that their prices are significantly above the costs, leaving room for my product to be initially made a smaller margin while providing features that none of them offer. For production of my product, I envision a consistent growing business that likely will begin with myself and around five employees, but that could quickly grow if we receive the proper investments. 

Three Minor Elements

Unfair Advantage: 

• I believe my most important resource will be a high-quality product. Above all, I think consumers want a product that satisfies their needs, and the Capable Pencil will do this and much more. Quality products will win out against inferior products almost every single time when the price point is even and the accessibility is at par.

What's Next for this Venture:

• With the existing customers of the Capable Pencil, there are many other products that could be targeted at them with similar improvements to everyday products. These products include sticky notes, pens, highlighters, and a number of other stationary products that can be produced cheaply and lack significant features.

What's Next for Me:

• I hope to be successful in the future, if that comes in the entrepreneurial fashion than I will be more then ready to tackle several projects to earn my success. However, I can't see myself full-on committing to the time it takes to be an entrepreneur and dedicate my life and sanity to creating products and running everything about them.