Venture Concept No. 1

            After a struggle to come up with which opportunity to pursue, I decided to clear my mind and go out for a run. There’s just something about running outdoors that a treadmill can’t compare to. It just so happened that a few minutes into my run, I began to cross paths with several bees. The average person would continue to run and hope to avoid them; I am not the average person. I have a level 6/6 life-threatening allergy to bees. If I do not carry my big, bulky Epi-pens—plural since I require administration of two doses upon reaction—I risk my life within minutes of a bee sting. And then it hit me: I have an opportunity to change the lives of people with life-threatening allergies.

            My opportunity begins with a clear target customer: those with severe allergies whom require epinephrine in order to prevent fatal reactions from anaphylaxis, a deathly reaction due to the release of histamine in the body after coming into contact with a specific allergen. These reactions occur to each and every age group, gender, race, etc., and are due to venom reactions such as bees, or food reactions such as those from peanuts or shellfish. Although the cause differs as well as the target consumer (allergies do not discriminate), the opportunity is based on one great similarity: any fatal allergic reaction can be stopped by only one specific drug: epinephrine. This drug is often seen in the form of an auto-injector, a long, bulky needle encased in a large plastic container, which requires you to release a cap before jabbing the needle into your own outer thigh. If that’s not scary enough, oftentimes people with 5/6 and 6/6 allergy levels require 30 mL of epinephrine, meaning two injections, because each epinephrine auto-injector only holds 15 mL of the medication.

Currently, Epi-Pen is the leading brand of this auto-injector, with sales of over 60 million units since 1987. Their followers are loyal, but to the extent that they believe the Epi-Pen is the only product available to save their lives. If they knew there was another product that could save them faster and more efficiently, I believe they would revert sources. My belief would not normally be a strong determinant, but I am my own consumer of a very particular life-saving product, so it does hold some ground.

What I am offering is a new and improved epinephrine auto-injector—the EpiBand—that will not require you to stab yourself in case of emergency. Instead of the manual injection of an extremely large needle, a needle will be encased within a very small device. This device, about 3 inches long and 1 inch in height, will contain the needle that will painlessly be placed in the thigh (think: insulin auto-release devices, but slimmer). It will also hold a very small microchip that’s sole purpose is to detect histamine levels in the blood stream. The chip will be connected to an app on smartphones, but doesn’t need to be. The app will display current blood detail level related to allergies (i.e. histamine levels) and will be a second place of alert if epinephrine is released from the device. The app is not necessary, however, because the device itself will beep repeatedly before and during administration of epinephrine. The small device will be encased in a very slim and flexible waterproof band that can be worn 24/7 around your thigh. In summary, it’s as easy as 1. Putting on the band, 2. Reacting to an allergen, and 3. Getting saved by the EpiBand. This sounds expensive, however, I plan to either sell it through medical companies which often are paid for through insurances. So, it has the potential to cost way less than it seems.

Although this product may need positive reviews to drive customers away from Epi-pens, I believe it has the potential to be life changing. The benefits that EpiBand provide are enormous. Consumers will no longer be afraid of walking the streets, hiking, eating at restaurants, etc. without feeling that their life is at risk. In the case of food allergies, the EpiBand may actually know you are having an allergic reaction before you are. Because it reacts instantly, you don’t have to run around looking for a large needle to inject yourself with while your throat is swelling shut, a main effect of anaphylaxis. No longer will consumers miss out on opportunities, especially as young children, who can’t bring parents along and cannot obtain consent to be somewhere because an Epi-Pen administrator is required and unavailable to come along. No longer will consumers have to be for immense hospital bills and near-death sentences because they couldn’t find their Epi-Pen in time and the ambulance took too long. This product won’t just change the life of someone in one instant, it will change their quality of life all of the time. No packaging, marketing, or input cost can put a price on the variable of someone’s life.

Epi-pens main weakness is human error. Humans misplace items, no matter how important; humans fear needles, no matter how necessary; humans make mistakes. Machines do not make mistakes, and so my machines will be machine made and operated. Though I don’t know how many employees will be required to make inventory, Epi-pens have sold over 60 million, so I’m definitely going to need quite a few hands. I need someone to develop the design perfectly, and I need someone to help me get patent approval and approval to sell medication. I have a lot of work in store for me, but as we’ve learned, sometimes it’s whom you know, not what you know.

My most important resource is my knowledge of my consumer, because I am one. I know what exactly needs to be developed, because it has to change my own life as well.

My next venture will be the encasement band. I will create different patterns and designs to appeal to all ages. They can also range from waterproof designs to more comfortable and sleek textures.

A decade from now, I hope to be sitting pretty on a lump sum of cash from the profit of my design.  I have all the comfort in the world saying that, because If I’m sitting pretty, that means my product has been a success; I’m saving lives.