Venture Concept No. 1

My venture concept is Recycle Rewards, an innovative smartphone application that motivates its users to recycle more while equipping them with all of the information they need to recycle successfully and efficiently. To walk you through the full scope of Recycle Rewards, I am breaking the information down into three sections: opportunity, innovation and the venture concept.

The Opportunity

The main opportunity here is that recycling efforts in America are not as efficient as they can be. Inefficiency can occur at two different ends of the recycling process: the front end and the back end.

The front end of recycling consists of consumption to disposal, factors we have direct control over. We choose which products we consume and how we dispose of them. Recycling is an option. Inefficiencies in the front end occur when we choose not to recycle or simply forget to. Other causes include not having the knowledge to recycle properly, having a negative mindset towards recycling or even having the false belief that recycling takes too much effort. People have the ability to control their recycling-related decisions, therefore an opportunity is present to provide people with all of the knowledge and motivation they need to become effective recyclers.

On the other hand, inefficiencies in the back end are harder to control. These include issues with Waste Management not sorting recyclables properly or carelessness leading to the disposal of recyclables into landfills. If the Waste Management crew commingles the wastes, people’s recycling efforts become moot. Although this is an important issue, it is difficult for us to create a change in the entire waste disposal process. Instead, all we can do at this moment is increase awareness of the importance of recycling and instill proper recycling habits in Recycle Rewards’ users.

The issue of conservation and protecting the environment is wide spread and affects everyone. As our population continues to grow and people produce more waste daily, the Earth is going to become more damaged. The condition of the environment affects not only people living locally to the affected area, but also affects the population on a larger scale. The need for a safe and healthy ecosystem is crucial to human life. That being said, although everyone should be concerned about the environment, not everyone actually cares.

So, who are the potential customers?

The potential customers of Recycle Rewards are those who want to make a conscious effort to learn more about recycling and to start recycling more efficiently. These people want to see how their actions are benefiting the world and want to become better. The need is wanting to recycle more and help the Earth. There are no demographic boundaries on who may be a user, but the users are geographically bound within the United States.

What is the nature of the need?

This need has been present for many years now and will continue to be present well into the future. Waste is multiplying by the minute and something needs to be done to combat that. This opportunity is large because there are many ways one can educate and motivate people in regards to recycling.

The Innovation

My innovation is Recycle Rewards, a free iPhone application dedicated to the improvement of recycling efforts. The app will motivate users by offering a platform that allows users to track their recycling efforts in exchange for a coupon reward. Innovative technology built into the app will allow thousands of bar codes and recycling symbols to be recognized, scanned and logged in a user’s account. Users earn rewards in increments of 25 items scanned. For example, once the 25^th item is scanned, the user will receive a notification that they have earned a reward. The user is then given the choice to redeem their reward or to use the cash value as a donation to a charity.

When users download Recycle Rewards and create an account, they will be prompted to enter their zip code in. This will customize the localized recycling information provided for the user. Users can find their local recycling information under one tab and general recycling information in another. If a user moves, they can change their zip code in their account settings.

Since Recycle Rewards is a free app, profit will be made mainly through selling consumer data. Smaller profits will be made from selling ad space, but that is limited since I don’t want the app overrun with ads. I am also hoping I can enter a partnership with charities and organizations and potentially generate some revenue there as well.

The Venture Concept

The question that every venture concept faces is: “Why will people download and use this innovation?” Recycle Rewards will combat the present recycling issue for several reasons, as listed below.

-  It’s free!

- The barcode scanning action gamifies recycling.

        o   Gamification is HUGE nowadays and the act of scanning your items makes recycling 

            more fun.

- It’s a way to earn discounts with minimal effort.

        o   Coupons are easily earned and will incentivize people to be active users.

- They’ll earn customized coupons tailored to their consumption patterns.

        o   The more waste a user tracks, the more we can determine about a user’s product preferences.

- They can convert their rewards to donation money.

- They’ll feel like they’re doing something good for the Earth.

        o   The “Do good, feel good” effect