Feedback on Programming for Kids

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I have been out gathering some feedback about our project (Programming for Kids) and thought I would share some of it with you. For those of you who need a quick reminder: We want to make kids interested in programming by making it easier and more fun with an app and easy-programmable hardware (make stuff happen in the real world, in other words).

 

How did you find these people?

I work as a salesman in a store that sells electronics and home appliances, and I’ve taken the opportunity to talk to a few customers that have bought Arduino-related products (Arduino is a small and cheap microprocessor).

 

Which feedback did you get from them?

All are generally positive to the cause, and acknowledge the issue and opportunity we’ve identified. We can split our product into two parts: hardware and software. The software comes in a form of an app, which parents seem willing to try since it would probably be a cheap and convenient way to try to get their kids more interested in programming. However, the hardware requires more devotion and a bigger cost, so they are less willing to try the product without the kids showing any interest on their own. One parent also commented on how hard it would be to develop a product that was borderline between a toy and an educational tool for our target age. That age is very sensitive, and you could end up trying to sell a product with a “lame”- status if you’re unlucky.

 

How do you think how you found these people and who they are influences the feedback you received?

I specifically asked people who bought Arduino-related products, so they were definitely into programming, electronics and mechatronics themselves, which influences their opinions on the cause. One parent actually worked with the Arduino together with his son, who was 12 years old. He says that his son is really interested in programming, but he probably wouldn’t have been if he didn’t have his dad that could help him, since the Arduino is more advanced than our product.

 

Will you change your idea based on their feedback, why, why not?

The issue is that “an app is just an app” as we concluded during our discussion with Serdar. Sure, you can get people to download it, but making money from it is much tougher. That’s why started thinking of “modular mechatronics” in order to be able to add to our offerings. In addition, our mission is to get the kids using our app excited about programming, and seeing something that they’ve programmed happen in the physical world would probably add to the excitement. This is why we think the hardware is an important complement to our product. However, it is also the most challenging and expensive part of the project. With all this in consideration, the hardware might be in a later release wave if we manage to establish and sustain a customer base for the software alone.

 

 

Feedback collection

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Since our product is a device to integrate with the clothes, our primary decision was whether to address the product towards the apparel companies or towards the end customers. Hence, I decided to collect feedback from two companies and three end customers in order to have as assorted the findings as possible.

Luxury apparel company – Gucci

  1. How did you find these people? I sent an email to the company through the specific form
  2. Which feedback did you get from them? The company appreciated the idea of the LED dress. They confirmed it could be the new trend for the following years. They appreciated the control by smartphone as they believe it is the device most used by the customers. However, they would not buy the right to use the technology in a long-term contract because they are uncertain about the reaction from the end customers.
  3. How do you think how you found these people and who they are influences the feedback you received? I think who answers was an employee in the customer relationship department. Actually, I did not expect an answer. I believe  the feedback received is quite reliable as it is from a professional who I do not directly know.
  1. Will you change your idea based on their feedback, why, why not? On the basis of this answer I would not change our idea.

Cost leader apparel company – H&M

  1. How did you find these people? I contacted by mail the personnel appointed for the general enquiries.
  2. Which feedback did you get from them? According to this store, the integration of the LED technology in the dresses would entail a high price for the final product that their customers would not be able to afford.
  3. How do you think how you found these people and who they are influences the feedback you received? I think who answers was an employee in the customer relationship department. Actually, I did not expect an answer. I believe the feedback received is quite reliable as it is from a professional who I do not directly know.
  1. Will you change your idea based on their feedback, why, why not? Yes, I would change because this feedback have led me to think that the apparel companies addressed towards the mass market would not be interested in our product because of the high price.

Anu Koppel, Estonian girl, 23 years

  1. How did you find these people? She is a friend. She studies at KTH.
  2. Which feedback did you get from them? She would use this new type of dress because she often faces the problem of what to dress. She would like to wear some dress completely innovative allowing them to distinguish herself.
  3. How do you think how you found these people and who they are influences the feedback you received? She is a friend so this might influence slightly the answers she gave. However, she is always sincere so I consider the feedback sufficiently reliable.
  1. Will you change your idea based on their feedback, why, why not? No, I would not as this feedback reinforce the foundations behind our product.

Elin Rogberg, Swesish girl, 30 years

  1. How did you find these people? I met her in a clothing store. She agreed on being interviewed.
  2. Which feedback did you get from them? She found great the idea of expressing the feelings on the dress through an app. However, she is not sure whether she would wear this suit because she does not like attract the attention. Perhaps in the future, if this trend becomes common, she would decide to try: she is not an innovator user.
  3. How do you think how you found these people and who they are influences the feedback you received? I found her in a clothing store and I’ve never meet her before. I do not consider very trustworthy the feedback as it may answers to the questions with superficiality.
  1. Will you change your idea based on their feedback, why, why not? Although she did not express the intention to buy this new kind of dress I would not change our idea. There is such a sufficient amount of customers ready to try innovative dresses, enough to reach a critical mass and then expand the market.

Maria Karlsson, Sedish woman, 54 years

  1. How did you find these people? I found her while she was making shopping in a store. She accepted to be interviewed.
  2. Which feedback did you get from them? She liked the idea of LED technology incorporated in the dresses. She would not often wear these dresses but just occasionally. She is such a fashionable woman who does not care about the money spent on apparel. Maria said she has a huge budget for monthly shopping. She will be able to pay more than 1000 SEK for one dress with LED technology
  3. How do you think how you found these people and who they are influences the feedback you received? I found her in a clothing store and I’ve never meet her before. I do not consider very trustworthy the feedback as it may answers to the questions with superficiality.
  1. Will you change your idea based on their feedback, why, why not? Despite Maria does not belong to the age segment towards we would address our product, she expressed exactly the customer need we are aiming to solve. However, this feedback let me thinks that the young girls, with a high willingness to try innovative dresses would not have a high availability in money to pay expensive dresses.

FuckUp Morning Stockholm III

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This morning, I attended a start-up event called Fuck Up Morning Stockholm III. At first, I was surprised by the choice of name for the event but later I found out that it was named like that because the road to become an entrepreneur is never a smooth journey; there are full of obstacles and failures, or you can call them ‘fucked up’ moments. This event was getting increasingly popular and it is the third time of having such talk. For today’s talk, there are 3 guest speakers invited to share their experiences:

  1. Andreas Vural – Happy Plugs

When he first started the Happy Plugs, he just wanted to solve the problem of tangled ear-phones. He then searched for the perfect material and eventually built Happy Plugs. A few key take-aways from his entrepreneurship journey:

  • Do not be afraid to start your business because of financial issues. There are always sources of fundings to look for if you indeed want to look for it.
  • In order to expand globally, you first need to establish your brand in a single country. After it is successful in one country, you can leverage on that and try to expand your brand.

After that he ended his presentation with an inspiring quote “Try and fail but never fail to try”.

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  1. Emilia De Poret – Singer, Author and Entrepreneur

IMG_8648The second guest speaker was a very passionate woman who has went through several obstacles in her life but managed to turn over a new leaf. The first stumbling block that she encountered was when she was 23 years old when she was fired from her recording company. At that point, she felt that she was a complete failure and she locked herself in her room for almost 2 weeks. Since that day on, she made a promise to herself that she wanted to be in control of herself; she did not want to be hired by anyone and that’s how she becomes an entrepreneur. If she had not experienced being fired, she would not be the successful woman she is today. The following is a few tips that she shared with the audiences:

  • In life, you are presented with a lot of opportunities but you need to learn how to prioritize and learn to say no. By saying no, it does not mean that you are rejecting the opportunity, but it means that you are making yourself to commit to an opportunity.
  • When you feel like you are at the lowest point of your life, you need to gather your strength and pull yourself out of the pithole. Believe that you can do it and keep trying again.
  • To find a suitable partner for your start-up, sometimes you don’t need to look too far away. It can be strangers in the plane, your familyyou’re your relatives. Go out and connect to people more.
  1. Peder- Tech enthusiast, Boka bord

IMG_8650Since his study at Uppsala University, he knew that he was really interested in technology field. He began working at Nord Net, a Swedish online trading application. He shared a few lessons that he learnt based on his experiences:

  • Do not ever attempt to do a lot of things at the same time. Focus on one and make it happen. He made the mistake of doing at least 7 things at the same time and resulted into lack of focus.
  • Rather than focusing on trying to get investors, try to utilize bootstrapping and focus more on building your idea and product.

He ended his presentation by giving us a quote that we must remind ourselves constantly: “Believe that you yourself are capable of doing so much more than you think.”

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