25A What's Next - For Kids Sake

Existing Market:

To grow this business as a B2C product, the consensus is to build a prototype piece to then try to sell to stores such as Amazon or Walmart. There would have to be sections of the stores for selling baby products. It would have to be low cost and have to be something that would make a consumer want to spend the money on it. After speaking with my nephew Brian (new father), my Brother (new grandfather), and Amanda (new mom) -there are two new babies in our family, we had some collaborating ideas: Brian thought it might activate while the car is stopped, not off. He said only if the car is in park. I said, the motor would be off. But we wondered how to connect it to a motor that is off. I thought it would be better to connect it to the driver’s seat belt when it is unhooked. Brian liked that idea. My brother, Jeff asked if the sound could grow louder if the baby is not removed and we all agreed that that was a good idea. Since the activation is connected to the seat belt being unhooked, that would take some additional thought. This brings me to the new market.

New Market:

After discussing this venture, I think it is best presented as a B2B product. The reason is selling this product to a manufacturing company that already produces child safety seats would be the easiest way to gain their technological skills, piggy-back on their coat tails, and gain their momentum. Since I have changed my product drastically, the interviewing process was almost like a new venture. Everyone I spoke with is passionate about the idea of saving children and about a simple way of doing so. The next step of the business is still looking at the idea as a viable product within the market and to make a prototype sample to show it to potential manufacturers and investors. I spoke a woman with the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Administration) and she gave me this website for further exploration: www.volpe.dot.gov/sbir. It is the US DOT Small Business Research Program. (Dept. of Transportation). I also reached out to IMMI’s team Indiana Mills and Manufacturing Inc. (https://www.imminet.com/industries/childcare/) about the product as well as Safe Kids Worldwide. I will next try to reach Evenflo and Greco’s manufacturing departments. Finally, I looked at getting a patent on the idea and it would cost about $100 which isn’t bad for piece of mind. One of the patent websites said you should not discuss your product idea because it could take away the novelty aspect of it which is a requirement for a patent.