Testing the Hypothesis 9A

Who: My idea is complex and deals with a lot of different people from different sides of the equation. Some of the people I talked to are just normal people with a standard day job and a middle-class life. I noticed that most of the people I talked to that were in this class generally were very open to donating goods and helping others. They have excess and are conscious about the environment and those around them. One of the people was very open to donating goods and said they would even drive their goods to the nonprofit that most needed the item and would use the service I was providing to know the options available. However, two of the middle-class people I talked to were less enthusiastic about driving the goods to the nonprofits. They loved the idea of having a service that helped connect them to the people that needed the goods they had but said they do not have the time to frequently go and deliver their goods. One business owner I talked to said that they have limited waste and generally do not have much to donate in the realm of excess food. He also said that some restaurants have unused or slightly damaged goods that they donate to soup kitchens already. However, he also said optimizing this process with my business could be an asset to all involved. It still has been hard to get in contact with managers of supermarkets to see what they do with the goods. However, employees tell me that they generally try to sell them to discount stores or donate them to nonprofits that they know. They may be open to my process if it does not cause any more work for them on their part.

What: When I first started this process, the idea was to help eliminate waste. I still think that this is a large part of the idea for the company, however there are some other problems that I have identified as well. I think that many people want to help eliminate waste and help the needy in their communities. They also do not have the time to drive to donate the perishable goods they have and no longer need. I think the need here is a way for someone to come and pick up the goods to take to the nonprofits to distribute them. There are some nonprofits that have people that can do this, and I think that this will be the number one solution. However, we will need a broad base of different nonprofits that can have people go to pick up the goods on different days and times. There also could be potential for ride sharing services to participate in picking up and bringing goods to the store front.

Why: The underlying need for outsiders is the lack of time to donate the goods they have. It is easier to just throw it in the trash rather than take the time to donate it. They do not see the cost benefit as strong enough to take the time to donate the goods. Insiders believe this is a worthy cause and would take the time to donate the goods. I think that in conclusion I would need to create the process as extremely streamlined and time efficient. Also, there would need to be an option that could allow people to request people to pick up their goods with out having to bring them to the location themselves.

Why: The underlying need for outsiders is the lack of time to donate the goods they have. It is easier to just throw it in the trash rather than take the time to donate it. They do not see the cost benefit as strong enough to take the time to donate the goods. Insiders believe this is a worthy cause and would take the time to donate the goods. I think that in conclusion I would need to create the process as extremely streamlined and time efficient. Also, there would need to be an option that could allow people to request people to pick up their goods with out having to bring them to the location themselves.



Inside the Boundary:

Who is in: Middle class people that have the time and see the benefit of taking the goods to nonprofits? Also, some restaurants that make a lot of goods from scratch ingredients are open to donating as well as stores that do not have a good way to donate imperfect goods.

Insiders: Their need is a way to know what goods nonprofits are requesting currently and a streamlined way to donate their goods and eliminate the waste the have.

Why: The need exists because these people want to make a difference and would love an easier way to donate and cut back on waste.



Outside the Boundary:

Who is not: Middle class people that do not have the time to drive to donate goods? Some businesses who already have a relationship with a nonprofit may just want to donate to them.

Outsiders: There need is not to have a streamlined way to know what to donate. Instead their need is someone who can come pick up the goods and does not cost them any time.

Alternative Explanations: Their needs are based more on the need for a way to someone coming to pick up the goods. I don’t think it is that they do not want to help, but they simply do not have the time. Also, businesses that already have a relationship helping someone would not want to lose that and would continue to want to help that organization.