Week 5 Reflection

Welcome back,

In this week's iteration of my weekly blog reflection, I would like to reflect on our information-packed two classes that we had this week. In addition, we had a meeting with our professors about our product that we are in the process of conceptualizing and developing- an advanced self-dimming, weather-resistant car windshield.

In both classes this week, we watched a Shark Tank clip about a company called "Phonesoap" numerous times. The company had developed a phone sanitation device that simultaneously charges the phone. Personally, I found the idea a brilliant one. In the cell phone accessory market, product differentiation is key, and what Phonesoap did well was that they blended product cleanliness with a consumer need everyone has- charging their phones. The product undoubtedly had potential, and most of the sharks respected that. In each clip, we were tasked we making observations about the reactions of the "sharks" and how their specific biases related to the chapters we read. Chapters 10 and 11 complemented the clip extremely well, and these chapters dealt with product concepts and product development, respectively. "Mr. Wonderful" was concerned with the product's mass-market potential, whereas Robert was concerned with the actual technical value of the product. The deal came down to a sales versus commercial debate. Eventually, a deal with Laurie was settled which would put Phonesoap on QVC which displayed a quick-sales mindset. However, I thought Mark Cuban's proposal that would put the product in hospitals would have been a better alternative for the long term success of the company.

In Chapter 11, I thought the concept of new-to-the-world products to be extremely interesting. Specifically, the book's example of Nike Flyknit really piqued my interest, considering I own two pairs of shoes utilizing this technology. In the creation of the Flyknit technology, Nike had to create a machine to produce the woven fabric. No machine was capable of producing as intricate a woven pattern that the technology required, at the conceptualization of Flyknit. Three years later, Nike Flyknit is one of the company's most successful technological advancements in recent history. This proves that producing new products needs some sort of calculated leap-of-faith if they want to be successful.

Lastly, our meeting with Dr. G and Dr. Spotts this week helped our group establish research interview questions and observation techniques. In the next two weeks, our research that we gather will aid us in developing a re-developed car windshield. To be continued... Until next week...

Best,
Chris