Opportunity Belief

Assignment 4A

Beginning point: One time, I got into an argument with another student about the idea of originality; he argued that no one has EVER had an original thought, and I argued that there is such thing as an original thought.  We both were really interested in screenwriting and movies, so we talked a lot about movies and what we liked and didn’t like, and so on.  Though according to him someone might have thought this before, my original idea is an app or website to connect young screenwriters with those who are in the industry, much like LinkedIn does for the professional world, as well as share spec scripts and anything else they are working on.

Describe belief: It is way too hard to connect, network, and work with other liked minded individuals in the screenwriting industry.  Like many others and myself, we don’t know how to get our foot in the door for something we are super passionate about.  If I were super passionate about being a CEO of some company, it is easier to connect with them because of LinkedIn.  This problem has existed since the industries Golden Age in the 1920s, and maybe even earlier.  Right now, you kind of have to just get lucky and hope that someone important isn’t too busy to read your script and help you meet other people.  There are places on different social medias for writers to “meet,” but this is also more or less for all kinds of writers, not just screenwriters.  There is about a 90% that this opportunity exists, even if screenwriters aren’t entirely sure if they need it.

Prototypical customer: Whether you are new to screenwriter and doing it for a hobby, want to get a job in the screenwriting world, or an established screenwriter, this social network is for you.

Iteration No. 1: I talked to my twin brother Jacob, who wants to become a screenwriter and has written several scripts (including a feature film), about the need for this kind of networking and social media tool for screenwriters.  At first, Jacob didn’t really know that this was a need because he just wrote for fun and didn’t really think that there was any opportunities for him in this career, but when he took a screen writing class at Boston College last semester, that all changed. Jacob went to a networking event in Vermont, almost 3 hours away from his dorm at BC.  He said, “the only real way to network is by going to these events, but it would have been so much easier to have something like Facebook or LinkedIn to connect with them instead.”

Iteration No. 2: Speaking with my close friend Joshua, he writes scripts more for a hobby, but would “like to be famous [through writing scripts].”  Josh just doesn’t have a place where he can get good notes, and didn’t have the luxury of meeting any screenwriters like Jacob, so a place on the Internet for people with the same interests to meet would be amazing.  Josh said that this kind of app would be really cool and he even had some ideas about the look and flow for the idea, which was fun to even dream up.

Iteration No. 3: My friend Zane’s uncle David works as a screenwriter, and he worked on The Big Bang Theory and King of Queens and I got to talk to him a while back.  Although I was asking him questions on how he got started and what I could do to get my foot in the door, he said that that was the biggest hurdle.  It’s hard to connect with other screenwriters and get a job on a writers table, and that you have to work your way up.  Something like this would definitely be interesting to make to help screenwriters meet.

Reflection: Just by talking to some screenwriters I do know, my opportunity is definitely an opportunity.  The need for a social media where it’s easier for screenwriters to meet is something that all screenwriters actually yearn for.  The most surprising thing to me is that there are so many people with this problem yet no one has jumped on this opportunity yet. Jacob (wants to get into screenwriting jobs), Josh (does it more for a hobby, but wants notes), and David (does it for a job) all agree that there isn’t an easier way to connect and get notes on their scripts. 

Summarize: My original opportunity (in my eyes) is 99% still there.  The only thing is that some push back can be said about the use of Facebook as a place to meet other screenwriters, but it’s still hard finding them and it not being weird.  The opportunity is more accurate than I started, for fear of other social medias like Facebook and LinkedIn. Lastly, I didn’t have to experience having to adapt too much with customer feedback, but entrepreneurs should adapt to what customers want or they won’t be able to sell as much as they’d like if they didn’t.