Forming an Opportunity Belief: A Twist on Opportunity Identification

I believe an opportunity exists.There aren't enough secluded study spaces on campus. College kids (UF students) who focus in quiet/relatively empty spaces that aren't their rooms have this problem. This problem has always existed. With limited options, people are forced to study in crowded and noisy places and/or study at unconventional hours when many people are sleeping or elsewhere to get to the appropriate study environment. When studying under these conditions, some students cannot focus on the material before them or are too tired to comprehend the information. This can lead to lower test scores, leading to lower grades, lower GPAs, lower chances of graduate school acceptance and low self-esteem. I've seen and heard of this problem that I believe is very preventable if more spaces were created/utilized (allowed old rooms in every building to be used as a nice study space).

Customer #1 (UF student that studies at Library West)

• What is the problem you run into when studying in public? "It's so hard to find space in the library because all the study rooms are always occupied but when I do its usually around others who remain quiet during their time there."

• When do you realize your surroundings are becoming an issue? How often do you encounter this issue? "Whenever I leave my headphones at home (often) and don't have anything to block the distractions out, I notice the people around me and their loud conversations."

• Did you just start noticing this issue when you got to college? "Yes, because I just started studying in public when I got here. I would study in my room, but I get easily distracted in places of comfort. Before college, I would study in my family dining room since there were minimal distractions there."

• When did you first become aware that you work better in silent/empty spaces? Why? "I've always known that I get easily distracted and need a place that allows me to focus."

• What do you do when people start distracting you? "I move to another area or just leave the library."

• Are you okay with how you deal with this conflict? "Not really, but it's whatever."

• Do you think this has inhibited your test grades? If so, how does that make you feel? "No I don't think it has, but who knows?"

Customer #2 (UF student that studies at Newell and study room in LLC)

• What is the problem you run into when studying in public? "It's difficult to find a secluded space at Newell during the daytime for me, however, when I do it's relatively quiet. I typically don't have any issues studying in my LLC, but sometimes people can get a little loud."

• When do you realize your surroundings are becoming an issue? How often do you encounter this issue? "Whenever I lose focus. It usually do a good job of blocking out the noise but can get overwhelming."

• Did you just start noticing this issue when you got to college? "No, I usually had some distractions at home as well as now, but I got used to those. I'm still learning how to block out  very prominent noises whenever it becomes an issue (in LLC)."

• When did you first become aware that you work better in silent/empty spaces? Why? "I actually can work well when there is some background noise, but I've mostly run into distractions here at UF."

• What do you do when people start distracting you? "I leave."

• Are you okay with how you deal with this conflict? "Yeah. I don't have this problem too often and its no big deal."

• Do you think this has inhibited your test grades? If so, how does that make you feel? "No, this does not cause my grades to suffer."

Customer #3 (UF student that studies at the Reitz Union Center)

• What is the problem you run into when studying in public? "People are loud and inconsiderate."

• When do you realize your surroundings are becoming an issue? How often do you encounter this issue? "It gets loud when too many people come and I experience this everyday."

• Did you just start noticing this issue when you got to college? "It has always been a bit of a problem, but it has gotten out of hand since I've been in college."

• When did you first become aware that you work better in silent/empty spaces? Why? "I learned that I work best in this kind of environment in middle school. Whenever I was in study groups or the library, I realized it was hard for me to take in information with so many people around since I get easily distracted."

• What do you do when people start distracting you? "I try to ignore the distractions but if it becomes intense, I ask people to quiet down or just leave."

• Are you okay with how you deal with this conflict? "I'm not okay with always having this issue, but I understand this is college and it's expected just not appreciated."

• Do you think this has inhibited your test grades? If so, how does that make you feel? "It possibly could be affecting my grades, but I don't know."

What I got from this interview: The customers collectively take some issue with at least the noise aspect of the opportunity. However, none seem to associate the problem with their school performance. Customer #1 seems to acknowledge the opportunity and is bothered by it to some extent. Although Customer #2 has experienced the problem ,they seem to be the least affected. Customer #3 shared almost the same level of concern I have for this issue (a lot). I'm surprised that though they were annoyed by the distractions, they haven't put much thought into a better solution nor do they care to after I brought it to their attention.

Summary: Though I didn't hear the exact responses I wanted, I still believe an opportunity still exists with too many people and noise in a study space. However due to the replies I received, I don't think my opportunity is as accurate. I came up with this opportunity based on first and second hand experience, but I conducted no research to see if this was a problem for many people before the interview. I think entrepreneurs should slightly adapt their opportunities just so that more people can identify with it and care about it. Entrepreneurs I think shouldn't alter the opportunity but simply add on to it to apply to more potential customers.