29A – Venture Concept No. 2

1) The opportunity present here is those current subscription box subscribers that are unhappy

with their subscription boxes. They are unhappy with the choices and costs that come with

their current boxes. The opportunity is also present in people who are interested in joining a

subscription box but don’t like the idea of getting items they will not enjoy. This particular

market really can be defined in all demographics, my subscription box will appeal to both

men and women, as well as people of all ages, with all types of interests and hobbies. The

main target market would be women in their 20’s and 30’s, as they are the most willing to try

a subscription box as well as those currently subscribed to one or more subscription boxes.

Customers are currently satisfying their needs of variety by ordering multiple subscription

boxes and getting a hefty bill. I think once they see a cheaper option their loyalty to these

other companies will end. I think my business has a huge opportunity because subscription

boxes are becoming extremely popular and their profits are growing significantly. I think this

window of opportunity will be open until someone else thinks up this idea, which could be

any day.

My subscription box is definitely a new and creative product. It is a completely customizable monthly subscription box that offers a wide variety of options. The cost of this box will be $35 a month, and every month the subscriber can go online and pick 5 items from any category to be placed in their box. This still offers them a great deal of surprise because they do not know what items will be provided to choose from each month. We also offer a surprise me option, where customers will go online and fill out a personality type quiz that will match them to certain products they are interested in that month. This will still give those customers the total element of surprise they may be looking for in a subscription box but ensures variety and things they would enjoy determined by their personality test results.

My business is going to solve the unmet needs of consumers who are paying $100s of dollars a month to get multiple subscription boxes in order to get a variety. It solves the unmet needs of consumers who are getting subscription boxes currently and are disappointed with the items received because they’re unwanted items—items they are not ever going to use. And lastly, it solves the unmet needs of those who are not currently subscribed to any subscription boxes for the sole fact that they are afraid of getting items they’re not interested in, or that they don’t like that there isn’t a box that offers a variety of items that they can choose from. My product will solve all of these unmet needs. My box offers a one-time monthly payment of $35, which allows consumers to create their own boxes, that they have selected each item from a wide variety of categories. Customers will want to buy my subscription box because it solves all of these issues. They can feel at ease that instead of spending over $100 a month they’re only spending $35 and still getting a variety. They will be willing to purchase my box because they’ll know that they are getting items that they are going to actually use. And they will be willing to give my box a try because it is something that offers something new each month, that they have total control over and appeals to everyone. I think these are all great reasons to switch to my product, and it will be easy to get them to switch. I’m offering a reasonably priced product that is totally customizable with a wide assortment of items and categories to choose from. My competitors are other subscription boxes. The current most popular ones being, Birchbox, Ipsy, and HelloFresh. Their weaknesses, along with all other subscription boxes, is that they only provide one category of items. Birchbox is a lifestyle, Ipsy is makeup, and HelloFresh is cooking/food. Birchbox is the closest item to mine, but unlike mine is not customizable. There is not another subscription box currently on the market that allows you to handpick every single item you receive nor is that a subscription box currently on the market that offers multiple categories of items to choose from. I think packaging plays an important role in defining my business concept, because I want it to be eco-friendly, as well as something that men and women, old and young will enjoy—while making my brand stand out and ensuring product safety during transportation. Price points are also important, I want to keep it affordable for consumers, and competitive to prices of other boxes, however, I can’t go too low or I will lose money because I have to pay more to get suppliers willing to be a part of my product. The distribution will be easy because it comes in the mail. Customer support will be available 24/7 via email and set periods throughout the day for phone and chat. I want to provide chat assistance because that is the preferred method for most customers. The business location doesn’t play any role in defining my business concept because this is a mail-only product. I would keep the employees as small as possible, and I would try to do it all myself. Just packing up the products and shipping them out. If I grew rapidly, I would recruit a few people to ensure the product is going out in a timely manner each month.

My secret sauce is being the first person to think of this idea and getting suppliers on board with me. I appeal to suppliers because they are wanting to ensure their products, they’re providing to subscription boxes are actually going to get them to repeat customers. Unlike other subscription boxes, they are sending them out not knowing if the consumer will ever actually purchase them. My box, the customer is selecting their product because they want to try it.

In the future, I would like to offer a more expensive option that allows customers to add more than 5 items to their boxes. Possibly endless options that of course come with extra fees.

In 5 years, I would like to be living comfortably. Working from home and being able to spend most of my days with my kids, is my dream. I would have minimal work because I would have others assembling boxes and shipping them out at the end of each month. The only tasks I would really be doing is networking and finding new suppliers that are interested in investing in my product. In the next decade being so successful that I have someone completely running my business and I am just able to oversee all the actions the business is doing.

2) Most of my feedback from my previous venture concept was all positive. A point that was made is that I could potentially get all my products for free if my marketing budget is high enough, so that is definitely something I would invest a lot of funding into because I agree with that suggestion. Mass marketing would make suppliers very interested in my product. In my whats next research I did find out that I could have a broader market that I anticipated. That is not something I would dive into right from the beginning but is definitely something I would look into testing the waters out a few years into my business.

3) My venture concept didn’t really change because I received mostly positive feedback. The only thing that changed is how I forsee my business being ran in the future and where I would allocate my funds.