Peyton Whittington: ENT 3003

Color correcting mirror Opportunity: People who do their makeup at home or in hotel rooms rarely blend or shade correctly because the lighting indoors rarely reflects how your makeup will look in natural sunlight. The who: People who wear makeup. The what: They apply or blend their makeup incorrectly. The why: Indoor lighting doesn't match natural sunlight. Testing the who: The "who" is not limited to women or even female-identifying people, as anybody who likes makeup can wear it. Therefore, the target for this problem is simply people who wear makeup. It's not possible to narrow the "who" down by place or behavior either, since lighting is a problem in homes, hotel rooms, public bathrooms, etc. I think it's safe to target people who do their makeup in a bathroom. Testing the what: To understand the "what," I'd like to find out if this is a location-specific need. Do people apply their makeup incorrectly in their homes or just h...

1. Economic trend: Disney's new Star Wars Land will boost Disney's revenues a. Source:  https://www.ibtimes.com/disneys-new-star-wars-land-could-supercharge-already-dominant-business-2796273 b. I believe this suggests that there is an opportunity because thousands of fans have already made reservations to the new attraction. Disney says they are expecting sellout crowds for months after the new expansion opens. This means that many excited Star Wars fans will be eating, sleeping, and purchasing in the Orlando area all summer. c. The prototypical customer is described in the article. Disney's target demographic are fans of the original movies, who are now older and more affluent than the average Disney visitor. These customers are also usually visiting without children in tow, allowing them the sort of discretionary income that Disney (and other opportunists) are looking for. d. It depends on who is exploiting the opportunity. It is stupidly easy for opportunists on Disn...

1. "Orlando region rank No. 2 for new HIV diagnoses among large U.S. cities" by Naseem Miller for the Orlando Sentinel Summary: The Orlando region saw 730 new cases of HIV in 2017, the second highest number of diagnoses among large U.S. cities. Contributing factors include Orlando's rising population, lack of access to health care and transportation, lack of education, poverty, and stigma. There is legislation waiting to be signed by the governor that would allow drug users to exchange their dirty needles for clean ones, which would help with the problem. The Trump administration aims to eliminate HIV in the next decade, but proposed to roll back protections against discrimination in health care for LGBTQ people.  The problems: The HIV prevalence rate is alarmingly high in the Orlando area and not much is being done by the local and national governments to alleviate it. The causes of new HIV cases are rooted in longstanding socioeconomic disparities. Finding solutio...

I believe there is an unmet need for a salon on Disney property. Disney is starting to realize that they should not just market products for children, as there is an entire generation of adults who grew up on Disney movies. They now make clothes and accessories geared toward adults, and they are very successful in this endeavor. In keeping with this marketing trend, I think a Disney salon in one of the parks or nearby would meet many of the unmet needs of park-going adults. Customers could get their nails done with designs featuring their favorite Disney characters or simply get their feet rubbed after a long day of walking around the parks. This is different from a salon in one of the resorts, as it would be in-park and cater to park-goers in need of a pick-me-up. The salon would also appeal to those who attend Dapper Day at the parks, where park-goers dress in vintage fashions to honor how people dressed to visit Disneyland when it opened in the '50s.   could get their nails...

I've recently gotten into pole fitness, and I'm more impressed with how awesome the pole community is the more I interact with it. Tiffany Bennett a.k.a. Natalya Nightshade is the owner of Nightshade Designs, a shoe customization business highly respected in the pole community. Natalya creates heels with custom designs etched in glitter to fit the personality of the client. Insider even made a video about her business, which can be watched  here . I first discovered Nightshade Designs at my pole studio's student showcase where they were attending as a vendor. I couldn't take my eyes off the sparkly shoes, and even though I had only taken a few classes, I wanted a pair of my own. Natalya even took the stage herself, leaving me in awe of both her performance and her killer heels. Natalya capitalized on a narrow, yet vibrant market with high demand for an individualized product. What a dancer wears affects all aspects of their performance, and Natalya knows this bet...

1. Plastic bags can't be put in home recycling bins. WHY IT EXISTS: Plastic bags can be recycled, but they have a different sorting process than other common plastics. There are plastic bag recycling bins at most grocery stores, but it's more of a bother to go all the way to a grocery store than to throw the bags in with the rest of the home recycling. 2. Not being able to find a bathroom in New York City. WHY IT EXISTS: There are very few public restrooms in NYC, and the few that exist are for paying customers only. I can't tell you how many packs of gum I've bought just so I can use the bathroom. The things I saw in one particular Starbucks bathroom in Times Square will haunt me forever. 3. Astronomical carry-on fees. WHY IT EXISTS: Airlines like Spirit get you with dirt-cheap flight prices, then charge ridiculous fees for a carry-on. At the end of the day, you could just buy a ticket with Delta or JetBlue that comes with a free carry-on and actually have a pleas...