How I created a profitable business in one semester?

This semester I took Entrepreneurship 320 “New Venture Planning”, the concept of the class was to create a business in teams based on Steve Blank’s Start Up techniques. I decided to be a team of two. (less people, less problems).

My partner and I were given a two week deadline to decide on an idea. Our initial idea was a skincare product dispenser (through our interviews we found that a morning/night skincare routine took too long and people were looking for a more time efficient routine). We figured that the automatic dispenser would decrease the time spent washing your face in the morning and night. (START UP TIP: once you come up with an idea, go out into the real world to see if people would even use your product/service; doing this will save you time and money)

That idea went in the trash because there was not a market for it. In other words, there wasn’t a NEED for this product. (START UP TIP: Find a need. Need-based businesses will always make money. Find a problem and solve it)

We went back to the drawing board and focusing on a need in the skin care industry. After going through weeks of trial and error, we decided that we wanted to create a platform, “Swift Beauty” – A search engine for African American women who are seeking natural products for healthy and radiant skin. The reason why we focused on African American women is because we found through our research and interviews that African American women spend a lot of money on skincare products and there is a lack of products in stores like Target and Walmart that are specifically for African American women. Our platform will not only narrow the search for skin care products but will also feature products created by black business owners. (START UP TIP: Never fall in love with your first idea! Keep brainstorming and be open minded)