Opportunity Belief

As an individual who has been involved in the reef tank hobby for many years, I understand how important clean water is. I believe that there is a need for a store or individual that sells RODI water in Gainesville that is low in total dissolved solids (<10). Anyone who has a aquarium that is saltwater requires RODI water in order to conduct water changes and replace the water that is evaporated daily. This has always been a need of people who own or manage saltwater aquariums, but I noticed this need when I moved to Gainesville. Currently, residents of Gainesville have to travel to Ocala or Jacksonville to find reputable stores that sell RODI water. Although there are machines that can produce RODI water at your house, they retail for several hundred dollars and require expensive filter replacements. I am roughly 80 percent certain that this need exists in Gainesville and is not currently being met by local fish stores.

Iteration 1: Evan
Evan is a college student like myself that lives on campus at the University of Florida. He currently has a 15 gallon saltwater aquarium that houses corals and marine animals.

Questions:
1. How would you describe your need for RODI water?
As someone who owns a tank, I find myself constantly needing RODI water. When I need to mix new salt water for water changes, I need RODI water. I also need it on a daily basis for replacing the water that evaporates from my tank.
2. Are you constantly aware of this need?
Yes. I find myself always running low on RODI water and having to worry about where I can get it. It makes keeping my tank healthy much more stressful and difficult.
3. When did you become aware of this need?
After buying RODI water from a local fish store in Gainesville, I had a huge algae bloom. Later, I discovered that the water I had purchased was loaded with excess nutrients that severely damaged my tank's stability.
4. How are you currently addressing your need?
I either have to get water from people on the reef forum or deal with the dirty water that is sold in Gainesville. However, the first option is expensive and the second option makes more work for myself.
5. Would a water delivery service help you?
Absolutely.

Iteration 2: Tony
Tony is a local tank owner who has been in the hobby for several decades.

Questions:
1. How would you describe your need for RODI water?
Currently, I have four saltwater aquariums in my house that I maintain by myself. As a result, I go though over 50 gallons of RODI water per week. It is essential to keeping my tanks thriving.
2. Are you constantly aware of this need?
I am aware of the need, but it doesn't weigh on my mind. I have devised an easy solution.
3. Why are you not concerned about RODI water?
I invested in an RODI unit and filtration system that I can run from home. It produces more than enough RODI water to sustain my tanks.
4. Has this investment been cost effective?
Although there was a lot of up front costs, I have found that this RODI unit has actually saved me money over the past 24 months. I saved a lot of money by reusing the filters but replacing the filtration media. If you add up driving costs and the labor involved with buying from out of town stores, this is cost effective for me.

Iteration 3: Matthew
Matthew is a Alachua County Sheriff Officer. He works long hours and also has a family of 4 at home. He previously lived in Tampa and had an established tank.

1. How would you describe your need for RODI water?
Getting fresh RODI water has been extremely frustrating for me. I need it for my 60 gallon aquarium, but I don't have easy access to it.
2. Have you devised a solution for this?
Yes. Both my wife and I have Saturdays off from work. About once a month I make the drive over to Orlando and I fill up several 5 gallon containers full of RODI water from a store there. This usually last me for a few weeks, but is very pricey and time-consuming.
3. When did you become aware of the need?
After moving to Gainesville, I called around to local aquarium stores to ask if they had RODI water. The only one that had an RODI filter said that their total dissolved solids were about 100. This wasn't really an option for me.
4. How did you address this need in Tampa?
When I lived in Tampa several stores would deliver RODI water right to your door for a monthly fee. Based on how frequently you got the water and how much you had delivered the price varied. However, it was still cheaper than driving to Orlando every other week to fill up my own containers.

Overall, I learned that other people in the Gainesville area share a similar problem. Evan's situation was most relevant to mine because he is also a student. The most surprising thing I learned was that a water delivery service already existed in the Tampa area. This showed me that lack of clean RODI was previously an issue there as well. To my discouragement, Tony's investment in a personal RODI filtration system discouraged me. This told me that more people may begin to invest in their own RODI filters and bypass retailers.

I believe that roughly 50 percent of my original opportunity is still there. With RODI filters becoming more economically feasible, I believe that more hobbyists will make the investment. I believe that this feedback drastically helped me access the opportunity. Without these interviews, I would have never believed that a personal RODI filtration system would save a person money. I believe customer feedback is important to accessing opportunities. However, a few potential customers that say negative things about a business idea or possible solution shouldn't be the reason you don't pursue something. Adaptation is essential in business, but trying to change too much can be inefficient and costly to a new business or entrepreneur.