Evaluation

Preliminary Idea Evaluation

Marketable

My top 10 ideas from last week:

1. Insomnia Pen
2. Ring Storage Binder
3. Pen Stapler
4. Detachable Poster Board
5. Custom Clip Pen
6. Cleanup Pen
7. Fingertip Headband Pen
8. Protective Defense Pen
9. Ring Binger Clip Pen
10. Wristband Pen

The Poll:
I collected 20 responses from an online survey to test how marketable my top 10 ideas were.  To ensure that I was collecting information from an appropriate user base, I required that all respondents were U of M students.

The survey asked the same series of questions for each of my top 10 ideas.  The first question gauged how much the user liked or disliked the product.  I chose an even number of responses to force the user to take a side.  The second question asked if the user would buy the product with a simple yes or no response.  If the user answered yes, they were then prompted to respond how much they would pay for the product.  See the example below for Insomnia Pen (all 10 products followed the same series of questions).

A link to the survey can be found here (for grading purposes I have removed the U of M username requirement): Click here

Results:

To narrow down to 5 products I selected purely by the percentage of the user base that is willing purchase.  In the case of a tie, the product with a higher sum of likes, loves, and best ideas gets a higher ranking.

Top 5

Ring Clip Pen (60% would buy)
Insomnia Pen (45% would buy)
Detachable Poster Board (45% would buy)
Cleanup Pen (45% would buy)
Finger Tip Pen (35% would buy)

Ring Clip Pen

Insomnia Pen

Detachable Poster Board

Cleanup Pen

Fingertip Pen

Bottom 5 - Eliminated
Ring Binder Storage (35% would buy)
Pen Stapler (35% would buy)
Wristband Pen (35% would buy)
Custom Clip Pen (20% would buy)
Protective Defense Pen (10% would buy)

Novel

To benchmark each of my ideas I created a 2x2, compared prices, and searched for similar patents.

2x2, Price Comparison, and Patent for Each Product

Ring Clip Pen

Insights: There is a market opportunity for a pen that can be securely attached to things that is easy to access.  The ring clip pen can meet this need.  There is a gap between standard pens and more sophisticated attaching pens (like the magnet pen).  The market would be willing to pay between $2 and $8 dollars for a secure and easy to access pen.

Related Patent: Safety Lock Loose-Leaf Ring Binder Mechanism

Link: http://www.google.com/patents/US3884586?dq=ring+binder&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_ZQ7VNuQAYrK8gHpvYCICw&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA

 Detachable Poster Board

Insights: The detachable poster board has market opportunities because its size can be scaled to meet consumer needs.  It will be used relatively infrequently.  Its unique characteristics will yield an opportunity to charge more than $10.

Related Patent: Toy Building Brick

Link: 

https://www.google.com/patents/US3005282?dq=lego&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zpc7VPWfNOeZ8gGblIHgAg&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA

Fingertip Pen

Insights: There is a market for a small, inexpensive, and easy to write with finger tip pen.  Some products already exist, but they are significantly larger than the fingertip headband pen.  Using a size reduction to drive cost down gives an opportunity to produce an inexpensive finger tip option.

Related Patent: Finger Pen

Link:

https://www.google.com/patents/US5314260?dq=finger+pen&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sZs7VJ-vH8i_8QGQsoHwDQ&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA

Insomnia Pen

Insights: There are lots of multifunctional alarm systems.  Some are stationary (in the wall), others are mobile (battery powered).  There is an opportunity for an alarm that also can be used as a pen.  This is unique to the market.  It can carry a middle of the market price somewhere between $20 and $50.

Related Patent: (Chinese) Pen with electronic watch and player

Link:

https://www.google.com/patents/CN103434305A?cl=en&dq=pen+watch&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gpw7VLv_LrOI8QGWxoH4Bg&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA

Cleanup Pen

Insights: Because all other cleaners only have one function that cleanup pen can justify an expensive market price.  It gives the user more chances to utilize the product (either as a pen or cleaning agent).  The pen should both reliably write and clean, but this may be difficult to balance in such a small device.

Related Patent: Bleach stabilizer for stain remover pen

Link:

https://www.google.com/patents/CN103434305A?cl=en&dq=pen+watch&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gpw7VLv_LrOI8QGWxoH4Bg&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA

Feasible

Biggest concerns

Ring Clip Pen:

I am concerned that the pen will be uncomfortable to write with.  Will the top-heavy weight of the ring throw the user's writing habits off?  I am also concerned that this product may not differentiate itself on the market.  Even if it does and is very successful, the idea could easily be copied by another company.

Insomnia Pen:

I am concerned that this product cannot be created at a low enough cost to meet customer price expectations.  I am also concerned that the pen will not be able to create a loud enough noise to wake people up.  How much sound can a pen really make?  The pen loses its value if it can't wake people up.

Fingertip Pen:

I am concerned that users will not be willing to adapt their writing style to use this pen.  Also, if it is successful, competitors will have an easy time copying the concept.  I am also concerned about people getting ink on themselves from using this pen.  Having a pen at your fingertip will be a new experience for almost all potential users.  I also hope that there will be enough ink storage capacity for the pen.

Detachable Poster Board:

I am concerned that users will view this as a "one time use" type of product and opt to purchase a whiteboard or other tool instead.  I am also concerned that the attaching feature will not be strong or reliable enough.  It needs to be strong enough to commute with, but also easy to pull apart so that content is not ruined when disassembling.

Cleanup Pen:

I am concerned that the bleach or ink chambers will accidentally mix.  This could cause problems on both ends of the pen.  Users will not want a Cleanup Pen that makes a mess.  I am also concerned that there will be a shortage of both ink and bleach because the two chambers are working together in limited space.

Prototyping
At Leonardo's Basement I had the opportunity to prototype some of my ideas.  I started by creating the fingertip pen (using an appleseed as the pen tip).

 I then had the idea to create a whole line of wearable pens.  I prototyped the wristband pen and made it a bit more upscale and fashionable.

I also created a not-to-scale necktie pen.  Users would essentially hide a pen behind their tie and they could be confident that they will look great and always have a pen with them!

The physical representation of my fingertip pen idea inspired some synergy between products.  Perhaps a whole product line of wearable pens would be a noble solution. 

Cost Estimation per Unit

Ring Clip Pen (cost estimates come from standard pen and raw material prices):
Raw Materials - $.10 pen + $.10 Ring Clip = $.20
Labor - $.20 for assembly
Manufacturing Cost - $.40
Wholesale Price - $.80
Retail Price - $2.00
Average Price the User is Willing to Pay (from survey results) - $2.14
Retail Price (2.00) < Market Price (2.14)

Insomnia Pen (cost estimates come from standard pen prices and working backwards on standard alarm prices):
Raw Materials - $.10 pen + $2.00 alarm + $1.00 writing sensor
Labor - $2.00 electronic configuration + $1.00 pen assembly
Manufacturing Cost - $6.10
Wholesale Price - $12.20
Retail Price - $30.50
Average Price the User is Willing to Pay (from survey results) - $17.80
Retail Price (30.50) > Market Price (17.80)

Finger Tip Pen (cost estimates come from standard pen prices):
Raw Materials - $.05 pen tip and ink + $.15 finger band
Labor - $.20 assembly
Manufacturing Cost - $.40
Wholesale Price - $.80
Retail Price - $2.00
Average Price the User is Willing to Pay (from survey results) - $6.21
Retail Price (2.00) < Market Price (6.21)

Detachable Poster Board (cost estimates come from standard poster board prices):
Raw Materials - $.50 poster material
Labor - $.50 cutting + $.50 testing
Manufacturing Cost - $1.50
Wholesale Price - $3.00
Retail Price - $7.50
Average Price the User is Willing to Pay (from survey results) - $8.89
Retail Price (7.50) < Market Price (8.89)

Cleanup Pen (cost estimates come from standard pen and bleach pen prices):

Raw Materials - $.10 pen + $.50 bleach cleaning pen
Labor - $.60 assembly
Manufacturing Cost - $1.20
Wholesale Price - $2.40
Retail Price - $6.00
Average Price the User is Willing to Pay (from survey results) - $8.22
Retail Price (6.00) < Market Price (8.22)

The fingertip pen and cleanup pen are projected to be the most profitable of the five remaining ideas.