24A - Venture Concept No. 1

My company is called EasyShade and our mission is to provide used and new cars with the most high tech and easy to use sunshades in the world. Our product includes an automatic sunshade, a fixed sunshade that would be pulled down with your hands, and an app that would allow pre timed heating and cooling of your vehicle. Let me get into a little more detail.

The Opportunity:
There is almost one car for every person in the United States! That is about 300 million vehicles driving around the US. Everyone knows what a sunshade is but the age old problem is that people are too lazy to use them. Sunshades allow for a cooler car and protect the interior of your car. Our product is high tech and actually works, plus it is automatic! Our target market is 30-50 year old males and females with cars worth more than $25,000 new or used. A conservative estimate puts this at about 25 million vehicles. I would sell the non-automatic sunshade at $50 and the automatic sunshades from $200-500. At an average price of $200 this puts the total market size at $5 billion. Assuming we are unique and could obtain 50% of the market share this could be a huge opportunity. The nature of the need is that people like their vehicles and like being comfortable therefore they will pay for this. One negative force in the environment is that there is more public transport however I would sell shades to buses/trains as well. I am defining the market in the US but would like to license the idea overseas. This would allow me to save money on marketing but collect royalties while focusing on the US. I am going off the premise that people are not loyal to their current sunshades. However, I am also assuming most people see the value in a sunshade which may or may not be true. The window of opportunity should stay open if I can get a patent and partner with new cars being manufactured.

Innovation:
I am taking an existing product and reinventing the wheel so to say. I have a group of products with the main one being sunshades. The automatic sunshade could be sold in the aftermarket or in new car manufacturers. It would be sold for $200. I would also sell a sunshade that would attach to your windshield permanently and could be pulled out by hand for $50. This would appeal to a wide array of the market as well. The automatic sunshade would be installed at a shop or by yourself and would automatically go down when you lock your car. It would rely on a sensor in your car that knows when your car locks and would trigger the sunshade. My sunshades also come with an app that I will build out. This app would allow you to login and remotely turn on heating and cooling before getting in. This product duo is my version of innovation.

Venture Concept:
My desire is to bring my sunshade and app innovation to the market opportunity of helping people improve their cars and feel more comfortable. I think it will be decently easy to get people to switch because they can buy the hand one for $50 or the automatic for $200, both of which are way easier than taking one on and off that may not even fit the windshield. A possible weakness is having enough capital to fund inventory and figure out the distribution strategy. Competitors include current options, car manufacturers, and other auto aftermarket suppliers. The packaging will have to be superb and display the product well. Distribution online will be the most profitable but might require online marketing. I would possible create some funny videos and try to go viral. My desire is to create a luxury brand and get people talking about the product. I would hope to have around 15-20 employees in marketing, finance, social media, engineering, and operations.