Idea Origination and Vision and Mission

Question 1. According to Dana's notes, what problem are local homeowners currently facing?

• A) They pay too much tax on home repairs
• B) They wait days for a repair worker and cannot easily tell who is reliable ✓
• C) They have too many fast, vetted repair options to choose from
• D) They are not allowed to hire repair workers in their neighborhood at all under these conditions

Explanation: The correct choice is that they wait days and cannot easily tell who is reliable (B). The 'Observed problem' row states exactly this. Taxes (A) are not mentioned. Having too many fast vetted options (C) is the opposite of what Dana found; the notes say there is no fast way to compare vetted workers. Nothing says hiring is banned (D).

Question 2. Which statement best describes the market opportunity Dana has identified?

• A) A chance to sell phone-directory advertising to repair workers, not to match repairs, for the venture described
• B) A chance to lower the wages that repair workers earn
• C) An unmet need for fast, trustworthy matching between homeowners and vetted local workers ✓
• D) A need for homeowners to learn to do all repairs themselves

Explanation: The correct choice is an unmet need for fast, trustworthy matching between homeowners and vetted local workers (C). A market opportunity is an unmet customer need a venture can serve; here the gap is speed plus trust, which current options (directories, word of mouth) do not fill. Selling directory ads (A) targets the old option Dana is replacing, not the unmet need. Lowering workers' wages (B) is not the need described. Teaching homeowners to do every repair themselves (D) contradicts the demand for hiring help.

Question 3. Dana wrote both a vision statement and a mission statement. Which choice correctly explains the difference between the two?

• A) The vision states the future aspiration the venture is working toward, while the mission states what the venture does now and for whom ✓
• B) The vision states what the venture does now, while the mission states a distant future aspiration for what it hopes to become in this business context
• C) The vision and mission are the same thing written twice
• D) The vision lists the venture's prices, while the mission lists its costs

Explanation: The correct distinction is in A: the vision is the future aspiration, and the mission is what the venture does now and for whom. Pellmont's vision ('a neighborhood where every small home repair is solved within a day') is the aspirational future, and its mission ('we connect homeowners with vetted local repair workers through a simple app') describes its present purpose and customers. Choice B reverses the two. They are not identical (C); they play different roles. Neither statement is about prices or costs (D).

Question 4. Why does the proposed first feature (same-day matching with background-checked, rated workers) fit Pellmont's stated mission?

• A) Because it lowers the company's tax rate
• B) Because it directly delivers the fast, vetted connection between homeowners and repair workers that the mission promises ✓
• C) Because it changes the venture's mission to something new instead of delivering the original homeowner-worker promise given these circumstances
• D) Because it removes the need for any repair workers at all

Explanation: The correct choice is that it directly delivers the fast, vetted connection the mission promises (B). The mission is to connect homeowners with vetted local repair workers through a simple app, and same-day matching with background-checked, rated workers is exactly that connection. It has nothing to do with the company's tax rate (A). It carries out the existing mission rather than changing it (C). It still relies on repair workers rather than removing them (D).

Question 5. Before building the full app, which step would best test whether Dana's market opportunity is real?

• A) Immediately spend the entire startup budget on national advertising before testing whether homeowners book at this stage of the venture
• B) Rewrite the vision statement several more times
• C) Assume the idea will work because Dana likes it
• D) Run a small low-cost pilot in one neighborhood to see whether homeowners actually book and rebook vetted workers ✓

Explanation: The correct choice is to run a small low-cost pilot in one neighborhood (D). Testing an opportunity means gathering real evidence of demand at low cost, and a small neighborhood pilot shows whether homeowners actually book and return. Spending the whole budget on national advertising (A) is a large bet before any evidence exists. Rewriting the vision again (B) does not test demand. Assuming it works because the founder likes it (C) is not a test at all.