Young Entrepreneur's Journey

Interviewer: I met Caleb through Thunder Bay Ventures “Enter the Den” pitching event, and his idea and determination immediately impressed me. After hearing his pitch, I was thrilled when he decided to join our Trailblazer + ProtoZone program to further develop his product and validate his idea.

Q1: Caleb, could you start by telling us a bit about your initial idea and what motivated you to join the Trailblazer + ProtoZone program?

 

My initial idea is a new type of guitar pedal that solves a problem I face while playing guitar. There aren't any other products that solve the problem this conveniently, so proving the business potential of this idea led me to Carole and the Innovation Center. Asides from Carole's recommendation, I was motivated to join the Trailblazer program for a couple of different reasons. The first, was that I wanted to go through the key first steps for getting an idea off the ground, as that early stage the course covers is the one I am currently in. I was also motivated to join the program for the funding opportunity that follows the completion of the course. 

 

Interviewer: As part of the program, we helped Caleb connect with a local guitar pedal influencer to get feedback on his product idea. The influencer liked and understood the value of the concept but shared that he wouldn't use it himself because of how the way and reason he plays guitar differs from the way someone who would value this solution does. This insight helped clarify Caleb's customer segment and the product's appeal to a specific type of guitarist.

Q2: What was it like meeting with the guitar pedal influencer, and how did his feedback shape your understanding of your target audience?

 

It was nice to be able to talk to a fellow guitarist who can understand the value of my product, and who is able to give me their honest opinion on it. His feedback solidified that the problem my idea solves is experienced by a certain type of guitarist, not all guitarists. This led to thinking about implementations of certain features or even different versions of the product that can reach a larger market. This understanding of having a specific type of guitarist as my true target audience led to ideas of how advertising and marketing can reach them directly; instead of trying to reach and convince other types of guitarists that don't already know that they want my solution.

 

Interviewer: Another key benefit of the program was our ability to connect Caleb with the Applied Research and Innovation department at Confederation College. They're now supporting him with manufacturing and electronics, helping to make his product vision a reality.

Q3: How has the collaboration with Confederation College supported your product development? Has it brought any unexpected insights or advantages?

 

Collaboration with the Confederation College offers me the chance to have a prototype made by engineering students, without the costs of having to hire professional engineers. This will allow me to test and revise the prototype for little to no cost, so that the perfect final product can then be developed. An unexpected advantage is also having the teachers at the college making sure the product is held to a very high standard.

 

Interviewer: Thanks to the Innovation Centre's contacts, Caleb also had the opportunity to meet with a local music studio that has decades of experience in music creation. The studio owner, along with a guitar pedal specialist on his team, gave Caleb crucial feedback about his product's potential in the competitive music sector.

Q4: How did meeting with the studio owner and the guitar pedal specialist shape your perspective on your product's viability? Were there any specific insights that influenced your approach?

 

The guitar pedal influencer helped me validate certain parts of my solution, as well as suggest improvements to a couple flaws that I had overlooked. The target audience to which my product is viable, was again shown to be very specific. However, I received validation to my ideas on how I could reach a larger audience with another model resembling my initial idea.

 

Interviewer: Seeing Caleb's idea validated by industry experts was inspiring, but a major component of the program was encouraging him to validate his idea even further. Caleb took this to heart and creatively reached out to people through Discord and other guitar forums to gather more feedback.

Q5: You went above and beyond in your customer interviews, even reaching out on Discord and guitar forums. How did this process help you refine your product, and were there any insights that surprised you?

 

What surprised me was simply how many people passionately related to the problem I asked if they had experienced. I never told them my solution; however, found out about their own solutions and the problems they had with them. This didn't necessarily help refine my product but helped me confirm that my solution is unlike the flawed personal ones that my target market is currently using. This validated that there is a demand for a better solution, the one I am developing. 

 

Interviewer: One of the most challenging, but also the most valuable, aspects of the Trailblazer + ProtoZone program is encouraging participants to do thorough customer validation. It's often tough to convince people to participate, but it consistently yields insights that are invaluable to shaping a business model.

Q6: From your perspective, how valuable was the customer validation process? Would you say it changed or solidified your vision for the product?

 

The customer validation process was valuable as it proved that the problem my pedal solves is very common amongst my target market. The skills of finding the ideal customer and getting them to respond to my messages will help down the line where I must locate them for advertising, and say the right thing, much like in the interviews, to get a response from them. This solidified my vision for the product as I really found how passionate people were about their negative experience with the problem I am solving.

 

Interviewer: Our Trailblazer + ProtoZone program is designed to help entrepreneurs turn groundbreaking ideas into thriving businesses. The four-part workshop series, along with our 1-on-1 support, guides participants in validating their ideas, creating business models, and preparing to go to market with a clear understanding of customer needs.

 

Q7: Caleb, looking back on your experience, what aspects of the program were most valuable to you? What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs considering the Trailblazer + ProtoZone program?

 

I found the very first part of the program, the business model canvas, valuable. Because of this portion, I came out of the course with an organized yet detailed page to see all of the important and even less thought about components of my business plan all in one place.

The customer interviews were extremely valuable to give me confidence in my idea and get the contact information of potential customers who now share a connection with me. I also found out where I must look to get a hold of my target audience, which will be invaluable when trying to advertise as efficiently as possible later down the line.

One piece of advice I would give to others considering the program, is to go through the program no matter which part of the early stage you are at. The course covers finding your target market, to providing a tour of the college where your prototype could be made. Potential access to funding is also provided upon the completion of the course.

 A piece of advice specifically for the customer interviews, is to find a discord server through a google search, about something all potential customers would be interested in. Ex, Guitar discord server. Within the server find the specific channels where you can narrow the people down to your ideal customer. Ex, guitar pedal showcase. These are the people you want feedback from. It is most important to gain validation from those who currently experience the problem you are solving.