Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

For this week's assignment, I had the pleasure of interviewing five people again to further refine my conceptualization of my venture concept and the opportunities that lie within it. For whatever reason, the interviewers that I have picked all fall within the boundary -- meaning they all agree that Metropolis, Gainesville's newest high-end mall that I have proposed, is a very big need for the community. I interviewed five people, all within the same age group -- early 20s. I didn't plan it this way, but there were four females and one male. Some of my findings are below.


Julie

Julie is a female in her early 20s, and she's lived in Gainesville for about a year. She isn't very happy with the current mall here, as she's accustomed to the Mall of America in Minnesota that essentially has their own theme park inside of it. A great takeaway from Julie's interview was that she not only gave me her opinion, but she also gave me the opinion of other people that she's spoken to that share the same frustration about the lackluster mall in Gainesville. She agrees that it is a very big need.

Valerie (Val)

Val is a female in her early 20s, and she's lived in Gainesville all of her life. She loves going to the mall, but does agree that the one here could be better. She concedes that she wouldn't necessarily drive out of her way to go to a mall, and I asked her that because I wanted to gauge the importance of a mall in her life to her. She got excited about the possibility of a new movie theater (in my mall) because she says the ones here are really old.

Juan

Juan is male in his early 20s, and he's lived in Gainesville for 10 years. He agrees that there is a huge need for a new mall in this town, but he didn't seem overly enthused about it. He did admit that he does not do any online shopping for his clothes, and does rely on the mall for that. He also thinks that new bars and restaurants would be beneficial for the new mall, and he would like to see more sporting goods shops, as he's a bit of a workout guru. He doesn't necessarily go out of his way to go shopping, though (he doesn't make long trips), and it's a bit unclear what that means. Does it mean he doesn't really care for shopping? Or is he just content with the mall that we currently have in Gainesville?

Heather

Heather is a female in her late 20s, and has lived in Gainesville for 2 years. She expressed some concern about the tax implications for my concept, but also seemed intrigued by the idea. She didn't seem overly enthused by it, and seemed also content with the current mall here, but knows friends that would seem excited about the idea. She isn't a big nightlife person, either. Her perspective was great, however because while she might not necessarily be a loyal customer, she knows plenty of people that would be. She didn't like my name idea, though, and recommended I name it something related to the Florida Gators.

Rosa

Rosa is a female in her late 20s, and has only resided in Gainesville for a few months. She didn't seem overly excited to live here, if I'm being completely honest. She's from South Florida, and mentioned the Aventura Mall several times. If you haven't been to Aventura Mall, I would highly recommend it, as it is one of the top malls in the state of Florida, in my opinion. She, too, agrees that malls aren't necessarily just for shopping. They're considered another form of entertainment for her, which is the whole premise for my compelling argument to open it.

Inside the Boundary 

Julie is inside the boundary.
The need for her is that she feels the mall here is lackluster in comparison to the mall that she used to in Minnesota.
It exists because she's not satisfied at all with the mall here.

Valerie is inside the boundary.
The need for her is that because she won't necessarily drive to go to another mall, she'd rather have one here.
It exists because she isn't necessarily happy with the movie theaters here.

Juan is inside the boundary.
The need for him is that he does not like the mall here due to the lack of options in sport stores.
It exists because he is not happy with the mall in Gainesville.

Rosa is inside the boundary.
The need for her is that she does not like the mall here. She is from South Florida and would love to see a new mall here.
It exists because she is not happy with the mall in Gainesville. She would also welcome nice nightlife additions to the city.

Outside the Boundary

Heather is outside of the boundary.
While Heather liked the idea, she wasn't necessarily enthused by it, so I don't think there's a need for her. She is also concerned about the tax implications.
Heather liked the idea, but she isn't much of a nightlife person, which is a pretty big component of my plans for Metropolis.

Inside the Boundary
Who is in?	Julie, Val, Juan, Rosa
What the need is	They do not like the mall in Gainesville, don’t like movie theaters here, as well. Want better nightlife.
Why the need exists	Because the mall in Gainesville is lackluster, and customers aren’t happy with it.

Outside the Boundary
Who is in?	Heather
What the need is not	Heather liked the idea, but was not enthused about it. Also wary of tax implications.
Alternative explanations	Heather liked idea, but isn’t much of a nightlife person, which is a pretty big component of my plans for Metropolis

https://soundcloud.com/jared-vanegas/julie
https://soundcloud.com/jared-vanegas/juan
https://soundcloud.com/jared-vanegas/val
https://soundcloud.com/jared-vanegas/heather
https://soundcloud.com/jared-vanegas/rosa