4A – Forming An Opportunity Belief

The unmet need I identified is finding a compatible roommate. Anyone who shares a household with others will have this unmet need. Citylab.com stated "in 2017, 32% of Americans lived in a shared household; most between the ages of 18 and 24 (para 2)." This need has always existed, but has become more prevalent since the Great Recession due to high housing prices. The prototypical customer can be anyone, from ages 18-24, who shares a household. Most incompatible roommate problems occur while attending college. A Boise State University survey disclosed that 25% of students reported an issue with their college roommate (para 1). This could affect the student's grade point average, overall mood, and drinking habits. To met this need people are using roommate matching websites, such as ""Roomster or "Roomsurf," and apps. Niche conducted a survey of 800 people, 31% of them chose Facebook as the number one resource for finding a roommate (para 2). Currently five colleges, including the The University of Florida, uses the app "RoomSync," which uses the information found on the student's Facebook profile to create a list of potential roommates. Even though there are websites that people can use to find compatible roommates they may not be accurate. A person may be complete different then how they describe themselves online. I believe there is a 50% chance this opportunity exists.

  Interview #1: Female in college, age 18, one roommate

1. How did you met your roommate? She was my high school best friend.
2. Would you say you and your roommate are incompatible or compatible? Why? Incompatible because we both are strong minded and have a lot of opinions that clash. 
3. When did you become aware you and your roommates were incompatible? We started living together in Summer, but did not have problems until the beginning of Fall.
4. How long have you lived with your roommate?  7 months
5. Did you know 25% of students reported having issues with their roommate? I did not know that. That is very interesting. It probably is higher since those are only ones reported.
6. In the past how have you found a roommate? I've only had one roommate, which I found in high school.  
7. Were you satisfied with the solution? No, I am not really satisfied with the solution because it is awkward between us. We do not talk to each other and I lost a good friendship. 
8. How do you plan on finding a future roommate? I'm living with someone I know from high school next year. We were not best friends. 

Reflection: The opportunity exists even between people who chose their roommates. I personally believed finding a compatible roommate would be easier if you know the person, but this may not be the case. I was surprised to see she is living with someone she knows again after such a bad experience. 

Interview #2: Female in college, age 21, one roommate

1. How did you met your roommate? I met her the first day I moved into the apartment. 
2. Would you say you and your roommate are incompatible or compatible? Why? I would say we are compatible, because we both are very easy going and respect each other's boundaries. We also have a similar view set. I would not considers us friends though. 
3. When did you become aware you and your roommates were incompatible? N/A
4. How long have you lived with your roommates? Since Fall semester
5. Did you know 25% of students reported having issues with their roommate? No, but I am surprised that it is not more people. 
6. In the past how have you found a roommate? I have only had one roommate and she was random. 
7. Were you satisfied with the solution? No, I prefer not having a random roommate, but I did not know anyone at UCF who wanted to live off campus.
8. How do you plan on finding a future roommate? My roommate for next year is an acquaintance from my CIG 2030 class.

Reflection: I learned even though Interviewer #2 labeled her and her roommate as compatible, she still would have preferred living with someone she already knew. I also learned people consider the world "compatible" to mean sharing the same living space without having issues. It does not always mean you are friends. Many people who are placed with a random roommates do not get a long, so I was surprised to see they were compatible.

Interview #3: Female full-time employee, age 21, 2 roommates

1. How did you met your roommates? They were random.
2. Would you say you and your roommates are incompatible or compatible? Why? One is compatible, because she is nice, organized, and clean. One is incompatible because she has hamsters and a ferret that smell bad and she is messy.
3. When did you become aware you and your roommate were incompatible? Towards the middle of last semester, because she did not have pets at the beginning. 
4. How long have you lived with your roommates? Since August 2018
5. Did you know 25% of students reported having issues with their roommates? No, but I am not surprised.
6. In the past how have you found a roommate? I found my old roommates mainly through friends.
7. Were you satisfied with the solution? Yes, because I knew them before I lived with them. I knew we would get along. 
8. How do you plan on finding a future roommate? I plan on moving to a place by myself.

Reflection: In the beginning of the semester, all of her roommates were compatible, but then one of her roommates purchased pets. I learned the unmet need of finding a compatible roommate may grow as individuals begin to live with each other longer. Someone may first start out as being compatible, but then change to incompatible as the year progresses.

Summary:
I believed my original opportunity still exists, but not at such a high percentage as 50%. I would say there is 35% chance this opportunity exists, because many people live with individuals they already know. All of my interviews mentioned finding a past or future roommate through a friends or acquaintance. After the interviews, my opportunity is more accurate then when I started. From my first interview, I learned people are more likely to live with an acquaintance than risk living with someone they do not know. My second interview taught me the word "compatible" can be interpreted different ways. Lastly, I learned some (like my third interview) decide to live by themselves after having an incompatible roommate. I think entrepreneurs should completely adapt their opportunities based on customer feedback. The customer is the one purchasing the product. If he/she does not like the product or service the business will not make a profit. Entrepreneurs should always analyze their target audience and adapt to what the customer wants. 


Work Cited:
CityLab Staff (2018, August 29). Our Best (and Worst) Roommate Stories. Retrieved from https://www.citylab.com/life/2018/08/our-best-and-worst-roommate-stories/567616/

How to Handle 9 Typical Roommate Problems. Retrieved from https://stevebrownapts.com/blog/research-shows-25-students-experience-college-roommate-problems/

The Roommate Dilemma. Retrieved from https://ink.niche.com/roommate-dilemma-random-roommates-vs-living-friends/