29A – Venture Concept No. 2

29A – Venture Concept No. 2

1) Opportunity:

• “An estimated 22 million Americans suffer from Sleep Apnea.”[1] The majority of patients that treat their Sleep Apnea use a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) device.

                                                                      Figure 1[2]

• My target customer would be males aged 49+ as statistics show that males at that age have a large increase in diagnosis.

Figure 2[3]

• This market is defined geographically and demographically: Within the male population, I would specifically focus on military retirees. They receive Tricare benefits which authorizes pay for CPAP resupplies (2 masks and hoses) every 6 months. This would ensure constant need and customer acquisition. Geographically, I would target areas that were close to where Veterans retire. By targeting areas where retirees live, it would ensure fast turn around and save on costs.
• Another reason I am targeting military is because as of right now, if a military member is diagnosed with Sleep Apnea they automatically receive 50% disability. In order to prove compliance of CPAP therapy, the patients must show compliance reports that are up to date and show continuous use. Continuous use = Continuous need for clean masks. 
• Specifically, the retired military market is changing because more and more are being diagnosed with Sleep Apnea, thus more of them are using CPAP machines. Military retirees usually go on to get a second career job once they retire. So yes, they are busy even after their military retirement. They are more health conscious because their VA benefits depend on it. Military members do seek conveniences; the time they can spend with family is very important to them because of the time they missed while being deployed. 

              Figure 3[4]                                                                     Figure 4[5]

                                                                      Figure 5[6]

• All CPAP users MUST clean their masks to prevent health issues including upper respiratory issues and facial rashes. Thus, they all have a need to have their masks cleaned, what matters is if they want to actually save time and have it conveniently cleaned for them. My potential customers are ones that enjoy free time, benefit from convenience and find cleaning the masks a nuisance. The nature of the need is to ensure that the CPAP user always has a clean and sterile mask available. My customers are not people that are frugal.
• The forces or changes in the environment that create this opportunity are the fact that people are:
• Busier than ever 
• More health conscious 
• Convenience seekers 
• Currently, customers satisfy their need of having a clean CPAP mask by either:
• Physically cleaning the mask themselves with vinegar and hot water 
• Utilize a device that only sterilizes the masks – Does not remove dirt and oils 
• Loyalty to how the customers choose to satisfy their need is questionable. During my numerous interviews, I discovered that some users did not mind cleaning their own masks. Others, invested in a very expensive device that only sanitizes their masks. There were many that were not interested in spending money to have their masks cleaned for them, however there were quite a few that would love that burden to be lifted. So, as far as loyalty, they are not committed to a brand and have not been exposed to a mask cleaning service (yet). 
• This opportunity is huge! People are so busy these days; they even have apps that busy parents can use to schedule their kids to be taken to extra-curricular activities. There has not yet been a service created that solves the nuisance of cleaning CPAP masks. “While about 5 percent of the people in the United States have sleep apnea, up to 20 percent of veterans suffer from it, the foundation says. A study released in February from Stanford University found that 87 percent of veterans between the ages of 55 and 89 have the condition.”[7]
• The “window of opportunity” is NOW! I do believe that whoever strikes first, especially in a service business, can truly make some mullah. My competitor that sells a device that only sanitizes was “Ranked 54 fastest growing company in North America on Deloitte’s 2018 Technology Fast 500.”[8]

2) Innovation: 

• My CPAP cleaning service would be considered an incremental innovation. The service and (later the product) are an improvement to the efficiency of cleaning CPAP masks. My service is a CPAP masks and hoses cleaning venture. While I am running my service, I will also be working on a product invention that will be a device that the customer can put their mask in and have it thoroughly cleaned in a washing machine or dishwasher. The product invention will come later after I have established a successful service business.
• My Service will offer the customer 3 convenient ways to be freed of the burden of cleaning their CPAP masks.
• Mobile mask and hose cleaning service that goes straight to the customer’s door (within 10 mile radius of the hygiene facility) 
• CPAP Hygiene facility for drop offs 
• Prepaid mail subscription service 
• It will take approximately 20 minutes for my service to deep clean the masks and hoses. My Service would SAFELY remove germs, oils, makeup and dirt. 

                            Figure 6[9]


                                                                                                                             Figure 7[10]

• Cost of Services to the Customer:
• Mobile service: $25 per month / 2 cleaning visits per month 
• $5 credit for successful customer referrals in their neighborhood 
• CPAP facility drop offs: $20 per month / 3 cleaning drop offs per month 
• Mail subscription service: $28 per month (includes shipping) / 2 shipments per month
• Will also offer discounts for services if prepaid for 6 months or a year. 

Venture Concept:

• My innovative service with solve the nuisance of people wasting valuable time cleaning their CPAP masks and hoses.
• Individual CPAP users will use my service, because they will benefit from the time saved cleaning the masks and hoses, gain relief of knowing that their masks are safe to breathe through, and enjoy convenience. Doctors and Medical Supply Company’s recommend that the average CPAP user should soak their mask and hose in distilled water and vinegar for a minimum of 30 minutes. This does not include the time spent scrubbing the masks etc. 
• Family members of CPAP users will use my service, because 1) They are stuck cleaning the masks and are fed up with it 2) Care for their elderly parents and want to ensure their masks are safe. 
• Businesses will use my service, because it is convenient to have a mobile service go to a retirement home facility to care for their patient’s CPAP cleaning needs. It would be a great partnership. Businesses that I would partner with would be Retirement homes, Long-term care facilities and extended care facilities. By utilizing my services, their nursing staff will become educated on Sleep Apnea and their patients will benefit from clean masks and hoses. Many elderly customers are unable to sufficiently clean their masks and hoses themselves. 
• I believe customers would “switch” to this service because it is convenient, time saving, safe and new! I think it may be somewhat challenging / hard at first to acquire customers. However, once they give my service a shot they will stay. I will provide the best customer service and build relationships from the start. My Service will be fast while providing quality. It will take 10 minutes from drop off time to have the masks and hoses cleaned. My customers would save at minimum 20 minutes of letting their masks “soak” and also save on the time of preparing the distilled water and vinegar. My service charge is worth the money; it alleviates the stress of cleaning the masks, saves time and also saves remembering to clean the masks. It will already be on the customers agenda for my service to take care of their needs. 
• My number one competitor is Soclean. Their device only sterilizes though, it does NOT remove oils, dirt or makeup. 

                                                                       Figure 8[11]

• Upon my research, I stumbled across this interesting information: SoClean uses Ozone to sanitize the masks. “While acceptable levels of ozone do no harm to your health and are safe, most people tend to ignore product warnings. The most common mistake is that they don’t wait for at least two hours before using their clean CPAP equipment. Running your CPAP for 10 minutes prior to use will lessen the ozone smell.”[12]
• This is a weakness for my competitor and is something that I can focus on when competing. As my service will not use Ozone. 
• Not any of my interviewees have used SoClean, so I was unable to do a comparison of issues with Ozone. However, I did find more interesting information! “Depending on your CPAP machine, using a SoClean could potentially void your warranty.”[13] This is absolutely fascinating to me and completely helps my business as we will not be using Ozone to clean the masks and hoses. This is another weakness for my competitor that I will be able to focus on while competing.
• In defining my business concept: Customer support, Customer experience and Business location will play a major role. As a service business, it is extremely important to provide support and create an enjoyable experience for my customers. That is how they keep coming back and share your business via word of mouth. Business location is vital. I must have my facility hub close to neighborhoods (within 10 miles) that are full of my targeted customers. 
• In organizing my business to support the ongoing service, I would instill a positive organizational culture from the beginning. I would hire people that smile and care about others. I would pay special attention to funny interviewees because those employees would brighten up the day. In my experience, funny people are creative. “Laughter can help people solve problems that demand creative solutions, by making it easier to think more broadly and associate ideas/relationships more freely.”[14]
• My service would start very small with maybe myself and 4 employees. Their roles would be interchangeable as I believe in cross training:
• 2 employees at the hygiene facility 
• 2 employees running the mobile service 
• The employees would cross rotate every month. 

My most important resource is inspiring leadership. I truly care about others and have a deep desire to teach, listen, support and motivate my employees. I will build an organizational culture that my competitors wish they could copy. My “secret sauce” will be the fact that my employees enjoy coming to work and we will be a work family!

What’s next? After successfully getting my service going, I am going to begin developing my product innovation. I will use the service business to pay for the product innovation. The product will be a CPAP cleaning device that customers can put in their washing machine or dishwasher. It will sanitize and also remove dirt, oils and makeup.

Assuming I launched now, in five years, I believe business would be booming! I would have 25-50 employees and my hygiene service facility would also be a sales floor for my innovative product. As an Entrepreneur in the next decade, I would have learned lessons from my first venture and found ways to achieve my goals.

Feedback: Feedback from Dr. Pryor: 

• “Whoah! Sleep apnea is a 50 percent disability?”
• “What, specifically, about the retired military market is changing? Are military retirees really busier? Are they really more health conscious? Do they really seek conveniences? (These seem pretty general ... you've talked to lots of these folks by now ... give me some of those insights ...)” 
• “The opportunity is huge. Can you put some numbers on it? What percent of the retired military market has sleep apnea? How many people is that?” 
• “On the venture concept part ...” 
• How much time is being wasted washing masks? How much time will it take to use your service? How much time are you actually saving them? Is that worth the money you are charging?” 
• “Businesses will use your service? Which businesses are you referring to?” 
• “Have any of your interviewees, who use the sanitizer, mentioned ozone as a problem?” 

How I’ll Adapt:

• I added a new bullet under opportunity that further addresses my target of the retired military market.
• I provided information that gives the percentage of Veterans that have Sleep Apnea. 
• In my venture concept, I further explained the current process and time it takes for CPAP users to clean the masks themselves. I explained the timeframe for my service to clean the masks and the benefits they are gaining by time saved. 
• I further explained my business market venture, including who I would partner with and the benefits to them by doing so. 
• Interestingly enough, I expanded my research on my competitor and the involvement of Ozone. In doing so, I discovered a new weakness. 

Works Cited: 
[1] Sleep Apnea Information for Clinicians. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sleepapnea.org/learn/sleep-apnea-information-clinicians/.
[2] Figure 1: Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obstructive-sleep-apnea/multimedia/obstructive-sleep-apnea/img-20007685
[3] Figure 2: Retrieved from: https://www.slideshare.net/marwanmouakeh/obstructive-sleep-apnea-52853234
[4] Figure 3: Retrieved from: https://www.army.mil/article/209320/413_years_of_service_fort_rucker_honors_latest_retirees_during_ceremony
[5] Figure 4: Retrieved from: https://www.quora.com/How-long-did-it-take-you-to-get-used-to-your-CPAP-Does-it-make-you-feel-much-better
[6] Figure 5 Retrieved from: https://milops.net/
[7] Spear, L. (2017, January 9). The number of veterans diagnosed with serious sleep disorders is soaring (with video). Retrieved from https://www.gazettenet.com/Numbers-of-veterans-with-sleep-apnea-soar-7292539.
[8] SoClean. (2018, November 15). SoClean Ranked 54 Fastest Growing Company in North America on Deloitte's 2018 Technology Fast 500™. Retrieved from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/soclean-ranked-54-fastest-growing-company-in-north-america-on-deloittes-2018-technology-fast-500-300751300.html.
[9] Figure 6: Retrieved from: https://comprehensivesleepcare.com/2018/01/26/caring-for-your-cpap/
[10] Figure 7: Retrieved from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/465207836490399234/?lp=true
[11] Figure 8: Retrieved from: https://blog.easybreathe.com/2-special-discounts-on-the-soclean-2/
[12] CPAPCleaner.org. (2019, March 14). Are Ozone CPAP Cleaners Safe to Use? Retrieved from https://cpapcleaner.org/blog/is-ozone-safe
[13] SoClean 2 Review. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/socleanreview/.
[14] The Power of Humor in Ideation and Creativity. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-tao-innovation/201406/the-power-humor-in-ideation-and-creativity.