Statement of purpose
There is always a desire of needs we have as human beings. Some have different desires than others, focusing on a specific demographic and or group. There will always be a need for plants and agriculture because without it we as a species couldn’t survive, no species could survive without it, and we all thrive off of it. So why not make it more efficient thus the idea of Smart Garden was created.
Estimated initial startup costs:
- Marketing- $5,000 – can be an endless amount depends on the scale of marketing
- Initial labor cost- $5,000 (includes parts for the prototypes)
- Postage- varied depending on orders and locations
- Copyrights and patents- $15,000
- Research and Development- $20,000
Business Description and Background
Over the years man has invented new machines and techniques to increase the amount and variety of crop production. We find many of the early civilizations began along major river systems. For example Egyptians settled along the Nile River, Harappa culture along the Indus, Chinese Empire along the Huang River and the Mesopotamian Countries along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The river systems provided these early civilizations with a consistent source of silt from the yearly floods and water for the crops. The silt is like a natural fertilizer, bringing new minerals to enrich the crop depleted soil.
(picture of the nile river showing all the vegetation)
So initially in class we were given the task to come up with a new media or a startup. The idea started when our group was talking about plants and agriculture. This in turn led to the topic of efficiency. This is where I pulled out my phone and started doing some research about this topic and researching into this market. After doing so I noticed there was a whole market that hasn’t been touched yet because no one knows how to or where to begin. So this is where I realized that if we create a device that I could monitor the life status of a plant. Initially the idea was to start off small so the idea was it would be a small device that goes inside the soil. The first design would have two gauges which would show over exposure to light and over saturated soil. Along with the device it would come compatible with an app. It will be created to be available on all mobile devices and platforms. The app itself would contain a plethora of information about agriculture and the most efficient ways to grow plants.
(sort of what the gauges will look like)
Products and services
Smart Garden was created to be an efficient entity. It allows for users to be able to see the status of their plants and lifecycles it takes. This shows where the nutrients levels fluctuate which is dependent on the plants usage. This is where you would be able to determine where one plant might need more or less nutrients than another, which allows for the most effective growth cycles. With all the monitoring we can also see if any genetic mutation occurs. The app would act like an encyclopedia for plants, which I like to call a Plantopedia. With all these ideas Smart Garden was born. The Plantopedia would contain information such as ideal temperatures the plant needs or the micro nutrients that keep it thriving. This allows for average users to know what would be best for their plant growth. With having a better understanding of plants this will help reduce the amount of resources wasted and keeps plants from dying. Although the app is designed to be a long term idea because obtaining all the information about all the plants that have been discovered and then coding it into the app would be a very large task at hand.
The app will have a notification system in which it will notify the user when it is ideal to water your plants and when it needs a certain type of nutrient.
Market Analysis
With some research it can be seen that in today’s time we are a society which is concerned about what we put into our bodies, this whole concept can be determined by what we put into the foods that we eat in which a majority of them are “naturally” grown or that’s what we are led to believe. This affects all types of people whether they are herbivores or omnivores or vegan. Also for people that are not vegetarians can take into consideration that the animals that they consume eat the plants, if a plant contains any GMO’s or any other byproducts it will affect the animal and you long with it. Therefore consuming it indirectly affects you. One specific concern is the possibility for GMOs to negatively affect human health. This could result from differences in nutritional content, allergic response, or undesired side effects such as toxicity, organ damage, or gene transfer. Mutations in DNA are closely tied to cancer and other diseases, and thus mutagenic substances can have dire effects on human health. The creation of mutations, called mutagenesis, can be measured and compared to known mutation causing agents and known safe compounds, allowing researchers to determine whether drugs, chemicals, and foods cause increased mutation rates. Although scientists have been able to demonstrate that GMOs are not toxic to all of the animals that eat them, what about side effects being passed on to our next generations?
This product doesn’t necessarily focus on one specific demographic. It allows for all types of users to be able to use this product. Users can vary from farmers to urban city folk. It allows for people who just want to monitor a plant that their mother gave to them as a house warming gift or on a much larger scale such as monitoring the life of a large family of Korean mint or Hyssop which helps reduce nervousness and muscle fatigue. Theoretically this device allows for all types of plants to be grown anywhere in the world because SmartGarden allows for users to know what the different necessities for specific a plant. Reports of food-borne illnesses and contamination have been widely become an epidemic. Interest in organic gardening and the availability of organic produce has increased. Consumers are aware of additives and preservatives found in processed foods but yet do nothing about them.
Competition
After investing some time into research there aren’t many companies doing anything like this. There is one company that has a design for a pen that goes into the dirt and changes color dependent on sunlight exposure. The only water monitor that exists for plants is slightly outdated because it only monitors the moisture in the soil and tells you p-H levels in the soil. Smart Garden is designed to be the first of its kind, an innovator for a new market. It’s meant to show everything you would ever need to know about a plant. So in this case it will notify you when your plant needs more sunlight, water and other micro nutrients.
Correlation to the video and class
The video talks about how there should be an idea present followed by a product and a team to help support said product and finally execution. Every idea leads to a product in this case the idea was efficiency and the product was Smart garden and Plantopedia. Followed by support, unfortunately I haven’t looked into a team yet because this is still in its early stages of development, but after doing some market research it can be seen that there is a demand for both of the products. Finally an execution has to be taken to bring it all together.
Tech is being incorporated into everything in our lives whether we like it or not. The idea of eversion is occurring we are better off accepting it and adapting to it. The app itself focuses more on a long tail market because it’s not attacking a specific demographic immediately it’ll get users and grow over time.