Samantha Parish

Ideas Program 3

31 Aug 2020

About

Samantha Parish is a dairy farmer from Wensleydale, Victoria.

Samantha applied to the Ideas Program with an idea to create functional, fun and feminine workwear, designed specifically for ladies of the land. Samantha, having never started a new business venture before, joined the program to be able to learn best practice from experts and mentors.

The Idea

Samantha identified an opportunity to develop waterproof workwear tailored to women in the dairy and agricultural industry.

As a dairy producer, she had experienced the challenges herself in finding waterproof garments that were fitted correctly and served a functional purpose. She had only been able to find workwear that was either unisex or suited for the male body with limited colour options.

Samantha believed there would be a demand from women who wanted to be able to express their individuality and personality whilst also feeling comfortable and having practical options for the variety of tasks to be undertaken on the farm. Prior to the program commencing, Samantha surveyed over 70 women online to understand key concerns and differences in body types.

The F2F program enabled me to validate my business idea, whilst equipping me with resources and a skill set required to bring a product to market. The structure of the program kept me accountable and made me think outside of myself. To anyone thinking about applying for the ideas program, do it!

Program Impact

During the program, Samantha undertook over 20 interviews with women from her target segment which helped her to build on previous learnings. The customer interview process allowed for Samantha to dive deeper into key pain points with existing alternatives and feel confident that there was market demand for her concept.

The program also explores setting up digital marketing and sales funnels to target potential customers and further validate business ideas. This process helped Samantha to make decisions more objectively and have a stronger understanding of business channels.
"I would describe the program as a platform that enables those with an idea, the tools and mechanisms to execute that idea. It is a little community that supports and sustains one another. The structure is simplistic and builds each week. It pushes you at just the right pace and makes you think outside of yourself. The program presents all the opportunity, but it is self propelled.”

Following the program, Samantha has a goal to undertake further interviews, set up additional purchase tests and continue to refine her prototypes by collating real feedback from potential customers. In the next 6 months, Samantha will finish building her website so that she can make direct sales and finalise the design of prototypes by July 2021.