Venture Concept No. 1: The Gator Spotter

I’ve been living in Gainesville, Florida for almost three years now. As you may already know, Gainesville is what we all consider a “college-town” given that the majority of its population are college students. One of the biggest and unique advantages for students that live in Gainesville is the free public transportation. But as many advantages it provides, it also shows areas where improvement could be done. Throughout these past three years, I’ve used the free Bus (aka RTS) to go everywhere. From my place to Santa Fe, to Downtown or to UF Campus. But it was not until this semester that I was able to perceive a potential solution for an unmet need.

Opportunity

What are the forces or changes in the environment creating this opportunity?

Almost 76% of the undergraduates that go to UF live off-campus, which means that they have to use transportation resources to get to their destinations. The vast majority of students that live off-campus use the Bus as their transportation resource, and as it may sounds great to have a free transportation source, it has its drawbacks too.  Being a college student requires effort and commitment, which means that the source of stress for college students should be to have a good performance in school. But unfortunately, this is not the case in Gainesville where students that “ride the bus” experience that stressful and nerve-cracking moment of being late to the bus stop. It is hard to imagine but this is what happens not only every year, every semester or every day, but it happens every single hour. This is clearly an unmet need that craves for a solution.

How is this market defined geographically and demographically?

My market is focused on every single person who lives in Gainesville, who owns a smartphone, and who is able to install an application. As it is a wide market, I would first concentrate on a specific portion of the market and these are all students at the University of Florida, who use the bus regularly. The ages of my potential customers range between 15 to 60 years old, which gives me the opportunity to hoard a good portion of the market. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to satisfy those who don’t own a smartphone and who are not updated with the process of downloading an application to their phones.

How are customers currently satisfying this need?  And how loyal are they to whatever they use now? 

Nowadays the only way of catching the bus on time is by setting and individual alarm and/or reminder that reminds you that it is time to go! There is a live-tracking map offered by the UF Free Mobile Application that tells you where your bus is. However, this application is not always updated and sometimes there are buses that are not registered with the GPS tracking system, which make this app useless. My potential customers are loyal to the UF mobile app simply because it’s free and works the majority of times.

How big is this opportunity? and how long will the “window of opportunity” be open?

The opportunity is REALLY BIG!!! Not only because there is no other resource that helps not only UF students, but also an entire community, to better manage their time.

Remember that we all have the same time, but it is what you do with it that makes you unique! This app will help you achieve this common and universal goal. This app will help you manage your time.

Innovation

How will The Gator Spotter work?

The Gator Spotter app will offer the student or the person that downloads the app with the opportunity of basically scheduling his or her bus. The app will send notifications 25, 20 or 15 minutes before the bus actually gets to the bus stop he or she usually uses. You just have to set up the following:

•  Where do you take the bus (what bus stop)
•   At what time you usually take the bus
• What Bus route you usually use (Bus number)

My venture will require an installation of GPS on every bus stop in Gainesville and on every Bus. Using a GPS system, the app will send you notifications before the bus gets there, so you will know it’s time to hurry up.

Throughout the life cycle and especially at the first stages, my venture will require a good amount of financial resources. To maintain this type of technology, and to satisfy all the possible costs, the price of my app will be ranging from $0.99 to $1.99 per semester (the semester will cover from January 1 – June 30 and from July 1 to December 31). This price is subject to change given possible unexpected costs.

Venture

·         The Gator Spotter would be unique and extremely helpful for students and people that use the bus as their source of transportation. It would not be hard to switch and to download the app as it would be available in the Google Play Store for androids and on ITunes app store for iPhones.

·         The only competition I will be facing is the already Free Application that UF offers, but I would have the advantage of offering more benefits to the same customers.

·         Customer feedback will be essential for my venture in order to maintain their level of satisfaction, and I will focus myself to and my venture on having a fluid and constant communication with my customers.

·         I will need to hire 4 employees experienced on the installation of GPS system as well as 3 employees experienced on coding and developing applications. This number is subject to change in specific circumstances.

The Three Minor Elements

1.       The Gator Spotter will be unique and a complete innovation for the Gator Nation. Competitors will not be able to copy us because we will be the first and only business on providing this service in Gainesville.

2.        We want to make it easier for our customers to manage their time and take advantage from it. That is why for future endeavors, we will offer our customers with a variety of events that are happening in Gainesville. This will vary from concerts, to parties to sport events, and we will tell you how the get there using The Gator Spotter!

3.       I dream that this innovation will impact not only to Gainesville, but also different college-towns across the country.

Gary Pisano: You Need an Innovation Strategy - Week 11 Reading Reflection

1)      What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations? 

The biggest surprise for me in the reading was the statement where the author describes innovation as a persistent practice that should be adopted by the company. I thought that companies and businesses had specific stages where innovation took place, but in this case, Gary Pisano shows us that we should always be innovating in the company we are working for. I was also surprised by the point that the author makes when he says that the concept of innovation in now seen as a process where technology should be involved, but it should not be like that. Innovation should be a process where the company seeks to create value for the customers with the right business models.

2)      Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

One part of the reading that was confusing to me was the innovation landscape map. I couldn’t understand the different examples used by the author. I think that a detailed explanation of the four different categories would be helpful for the reader to know the differences of the landscape map components.

3)      If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

I would ask the author the following questions:

1.      Should companies have a specific budget focused on innovation for the future of the company?

2.      What should happen after a company fails on implementing an innovation strategy? Should a company keep looking for alternative innovation strategies?
I believe that the answers to this two questions will help business to have a clear idea of how to approach and manage innovation strategies in a good way.

4)      Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I believe that this was a complete article where the author explains different ways of innovation strategies that should be applied on companies from different industries.

I also found this video where Alex Osterwalder,author of "Value Proposition Design", describes innovation a significant aspect of every company using Similar concepts as Gary Pisano. 

Amazon Whisperer

1.       Describe the revenue drivers you currently include in your business concept for this class. Revenue drivers are the different ways you make money.

The main revenue drivers of my business plan are the downloads that all the students will make for having The Gator Spotter on their smartphones.

2.       Describe what kind of product offering you believe should be next. What's the next thing your customers want?

If successfully implemented, and after being on the market for about a year, The Gator Spotter will be focused on helping it customers to not only save time, but save money too! With this in mind, my smartphone application will send text messages or notifications every Monday and Friday morning regarding the sports events of all the Gators teams, big discounts on restaurants and stores in Gainesville. What will make my app unique is that it will always be focused on helping the customers manage their time while using public transportation. This being said, The Gator Spotter will also let you know how to get there (to the restaurant, stadium or bar) using the Bus!

3.       Describe how this "next" thing will enhance your existing product/service offering. Does it improve the user experience, does it increase customer switching costs, does it foster customer loyalty, etc.?

The “next thing” will enhance my existent product by letting the customers know that it is always focused on helping them save time and money. The Gator Spotter will gain customer loyalty as it will be the only app for gators and for all the citizens of Gainesville with that mission.

4.       Go to Amazon and try to find a product that is similar to the one you want to offer next. Describe the product. Include a picture of the product.

GatorWay is the official app of New Student and Family Programs in the Dean of Students Office at the University of Florida. GatorWay lets you download guides to various events including: Preview, Weeks of Welcome, and Family Weekend. With GatorWay, UF students and families can access comprehensive schedules, detailed maps, and broad social platforms in which to engage with other Gators. Features Schedules – View updated schedules for individually-tailored programs. GatorWay lets you customize your experience by choosing the programs that best meet your needs. Maps – Find your way around UF with GatorWay’s built in map and building floor plans.

5.       What are the customer reviews for the product? What, exactly, do customers not like about the product? What do they like about it?

There are no customer reviews about this app, which makes my app to be focused on basically a market with few competition. However, this app is FREE which puts my revenue aspirations in danger.
 

6.       Describe what design/usability changes you'd make to the product.

In the first stage, I would not make any changes to my next offer. I will make any changes after making my customers try my product. The fact that there is no other app or product similar to what I would be offering makes my product unique and potentially successful.

7.       Describe why you think this product would make a good addition to your current product/service offering.

I believe that this product will make good addition to my existent product because it will attract my customers even more. There are always events going on campus and all across the city, and from a personal experience, I missed many amazing events simply because I didn’t know about them, and I’m sure that this happened to many people around the city. My product will be unique and it will exploit an unmet need that is still waiting for someone.

My Unfair Advantage

10 Resources that I already Possess

1.   I have the experience of growing up in La Paz, Bolivia, surrounded by a different culture than the U.S.

VRIN: This aspect is valuable because I’ve been able to understand and learn from two different cultures and societies. Nobody in Gainesville has lived in La Paz, Bolivia apart from me and my sister, which makes my knowledge unique and unmatchable.

2.   I’ve been living in Gainesville for 3 years and I understand the different aspects of public transportation available for UF students.

VRIN: Understanding how my potential customers behave and also having the experience of using the RTS buses, makes me capable of implementing my knowledge and experience to my venture, which is valuable, rare and inimitable.

3.   I’ve been in contact with different experts in the area of Information technology, application development engineers and coding.

VRIN: Building a social capital with potential mentors and experts on the area of my venture is something unique and incomparable for my venture.

4.   I’ve conducted surveys with my potential customers from which I’ve gained the necessary tools that would help me to develop an accurate business plan.

VRIN: Understanding how my potential customers behave and what would they be expecting from my venture is extremely valuable and rare.

5.   I understand how the industry of smartphones works and I also know which section of the society is most engaged with technology and innovation.

VRIN: Knowing the specific segment of the industry and understanding the specific targeted customers is valuable and vital for my business plan.

6.   I know the level of demand for public transportation in Gainesville.

VRIN: It is valuable for my venture to know a possible forecasted demand, which at the end will let me know if I can achieve the goals proposed with my venture.

7.   I am capable of speaking two languages fluently which gives me the advantage of collaborating and working with people that come from different backgrounds.

VRIN: The communication skills that I possess are extremely valuable and are also essential for me to be able to communicate with any potential customers with no difficulty.

8.   I’ve narrowed and targeted the specific customers who will be purchasing my product.

VRIN: Knowing the targeted customers and understanding their expectations are essential for my venture.

9.   As a business administration student, I’ve developed and forged my managerial, financial and leadership skills, which I will be able to implement on my business venture.

VRIN: Having a previous knowledge of the managerial and financial aspect of opening a new venture are critical and rare when planning a new business plan.

10. From an Entrepreneurship class that I am taking this semester, I was able to learn the different pros and cons of starting a new venture. From all the experience that I’ve lived so far in this class, I believe that understanding that failure will always be in our path to success, is a critical aspect that I will have in mind for ever.

VRIN: Understanding such an important aspect of not only a business, but also of our daily lives is critical for my venture and for myself. In this way, I will be prepared if something unexpected occurs.

My top Resource

All the other resources are also crucial for my business plan. But I think that my top resource relies on a mixture of number 3 and 10. I believe that building a strong social network will help me to build the best business proposal that I can create, and also, understanding that failure is overrated will help me to overcome any possible failures with my venture.

Week 10 Reading Reflection - Financial Preparation for Entrepreneurial Ventures

1)      What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

I was surprised by all the essential details of the required financial knowledge that this chapter gives to the student. I am a business administration student and I’ve seen the different financial components for about 3 years now, and I can say that this chapter provides one of the best summaries of the financial means that every entrepreneur must know before starting a business.

2)      Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

I understood every aspect described on this chapter. The only thing that I believe should be explained in a more detailed way should be the part where the author describes the preparation of financial budgets and the differences between them.

3)      If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

I will ask the author the following questions:

1.      Would it be helpful for an entrepreneur to have a financial assistant who could provide the entrepreneur with help on keeping the financial aspects of the venture well managed, or is it a cost that should be avoided?

2.      Do you think that having a financial knowledge previously to starting a business affects the success or failure of the business?

This questions would be helpful for entrepreneurs and instructors as they would provide answers that could help the way in which entrepreneur is being taught today

4)      Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

No, I believe that the author provided a great summary of the key points that all entrepreneur should have in consideration before starting a new venture.

Growing My Social Capital

One person must be an important supplier to your industry 

1.  Who they are and what their background is.

Bryan Dubno: He is a UF alumni who in 2009 during his sophomore year developed the “UF mobile app” which was a significant innovation for the University. The app, called "UF mobile," featured a GPS-enabled campus map, a feed from the UF news Web site, the events calendar from the Reitz Union Web site and access to UF's directory, all in one convenient location. His contribution led to the mobile app that we use nowadays. Bryan Dubno is currently working as a Lead IOS engineer at Tally app.  

2.   Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot.

 He developed a smartphone application few years ago and has a deep understanding of the different aspects that have to be considered when building a new application. Bryan’s knowledge helps me understand the required step through the process of knowing my customers and developing an app that they would like and use.

3.    A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

 I found Bryan on internet as I was looking for experienced developers in the Gainesville area. We got in contact via e-mail.

4.  The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

I sent Mr. Dubno an email and he replied to my inquiries about the process of selecting the right target market and developing the best idea for my potential customer. He didn’t ask for anything in exchange, he mentioned that he felt great for helping a UF student.

5.   How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

Having Bryan as a member of my network increases my chances of developing the right application and his contribution is essential for the first stage of my venture.

The domain expert in your industry

1.       Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot:

Luis Andino: He is an IT project manager at the University of Florida. He is also an Information Technology Expert.He is an expert on the industry of applications development and coding. His knowledge is essential for my venture as he could help me understand the process and lifecycle of a smartphone application.

2.      A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

I found Luis in internet as I was looking for someone who has a deep understanding of Information Technology.

3.       The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

Luis helped me to understand the different requirements and processes when building an smartphone application and his contribution will be vital throughout all the stages of my venture. I hope that what he suggested me to focused on helps me understand the right ways of building a crafting an app from scratch.

4.       How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

Including Luis in my network is essential because I would not only need his advice in the first stages of my venture, but also throughout all the life cycle of my business. I will need to innovate and change my platform several times in the future, and Mr. Ando’s advice will be extremely helpful in that moment.

An expert on your market

1.       Which 'slot' you are filling with each person (i.e., domain expert, market expert, supplier), and how the person fills the spot:

Transportation and Parking Services: They provide the most important transportation resources for students at the University of Florida. They are experts on the market and they are also a potential future client for my business. They possess extremely valuable information that could help my venture in the process of developing the best strategy.

2.      A description of how you found the person and contacted the person.

I was looking for the organization in charge of the transportation in Gainesville and I found them online.

3.       The nature of the exchange you have with the person -- what favor did they do for you? What is the return expectation? 

I asked them if I could be able to have information about the estimated number of customers that use the RTS buses, and more specifically, students. Unfortunately, I was not able to receive any feedback from them.

4.      How will including this person in your network enhance your ability to exploit an opportunity?

Including the Transportation and Parking Services of the University of Florida will be critical when making important decisions for my business. Their information is also essential for me to look on potential opportunities, which makes them important for my network and for my venture.

Reflection

All the network contacts that I created on this assignment are and would be critical on my aspirations with my business plan. I believe that their contribution is essential and I really appreciate all the knowledge that they were able to provide me. Building a network is critical for any business person all around the world. I think that as you know more people, you have better chances of being in the right place at the right time.

The Gator Spotter - Elevator Pitch # 3

1)    The pitch. 

I decided to extend the length of my elevator pitch this time because I wanted to include a description of the uniqueness of my venture and the possible expansion that the venture might have.

2)    A reflection on the feedback you received from your last pitch and 3) What did you change based on the feedback?

From the feedback I received on the last pitch, I realized that most of it was positive given the creativeness and the reality of my pitch. In this case, I decided to incorporate answers to the questions that my peers asked me which were based on what makes my business unique and/or a description of a possible expansion of my business plan. Some of the feedback I received last time was based on the criticizing informality of my pitch. I will say that the formality depends on what type of audience I am actually targeting, which for my business are college students. This time I decided to set my Elevator Pitch on a real “Elevator” and with more “formality”. Let me know what you think about it.

I really believe that my last elevator pitch was pretty good, and based on the positive feedback I received last time, I am including the link to my last Elevator Pitch so you can take a look at it.
Here is the link: http://alejandroentrepreneurship.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-gator-spotter-elevator-pitch-no-2.html

My Secret Sauce

1)      Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique. What is it about you, exactly, that makes you different? Write this up in a detailed list. 

The five ways in which I believe I am truly unique are the following:

1.       I am always focused on building strong relationships. I believe that friendships and all relationship are based on experiences and that is why I consider myself a really sociable and open-minded person, able to interact with people coming from any culture or background.

2.       I am able to speak two languages fluently, both English and Spanish, which gives me the opportunity of interacting with people coming from different backgrounds.

3.       I am responsible and committed on the arrangements I make with others and I always try to complete what I promised.

4.       I value my family and friends a lot and I believe that trust and communication are the essence for any of my relationships.

5.       I try to look for new solutions and new alternatives to different problems. I have an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset that helps me to be creative and solve unmet needs and opportunities in new ways.

2)      Interview the five people who know you the best. Ask them what they think makes you different -- remember, focus on your knowledge, skills, abilities, emotions -- in other words, your human capital. Try to stay away from discussing your other types of capital (such as who you know). Record each interview. In your blog post, please post each interview, as well as a two-three sentence summary of each interview, explaining what your key takeaways are.

Natalia, my sister: The key take away of this interview is the fact that I’ve known my sister more than anyone and she is one of the persons that could describe myself with great detail. This is why I appreciate everything she says.

Bernardo: Bernie is one of my best friends here in Gainesville and after listening to his description about myself, it makes me very proud to say that I have such a positive impact on him.

My Dad: He is one of the most significant persons in my life and I can say that I am a really lucky guy for having him as my dad. I feel really proud about him and I am glad to hear that what he thinks about me is all positive.

Maxi: Of all the people that I interviewed, Maxi is the one that I’ve met not too many years ago. I can say that his idea about myself makes me proud of being his friend and I am glad to know that he thinks that about myself.

Rodrigo: I feel reflected to my friend Rodrigo because he comes from the same place I come from and ever since I met him I feel that we share the same passions. It is really amazing to leave great impact on my friends and to know about it is even better.

3) Reflect on the differences. How do you see yourself, and how do others see you? Are there differences in how you assess yourself compared to others? What do you think causes these differences? Do you think your interviewees are correct about you? Finally, going back to your list from part 1, would you make any corrections to the list? How? 

I could see that almost all of my interviewees described me in the same way as I did on the first point of this assignment. The only thing that I forgot to mention is my passion for soccer and I can say that the friends that I interviewed really know me because of that. I believe that as we go through different phases of our lives, we interact with our family members and we meet people from different places and we leave part of us with them. To make an impact on their lives means that their lives impacted us as well, and I can say that my interviewees are and will always be essential for my happiness and success. This assignment helped me to make a reflection of how am I different and unique on other people’s lives and I can say that I have the privilege of having the friends and family that I have. 

Marketing Challenges for Entrepreneurial Ventures - Week 9 Reading Reflection

1)      What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

I was surprised by how the author describes that entrepreneurs believe that marketing research might contain data that is irrelevant for their ventures. This surprised me because marketing is one of the most important aspect in which an entrepreneur must spend a lot of money, time and effort. Through marketing research, an entrepreneur is able to develop different strategies that would be helpful for his or her venture.

2)      Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

One part that was confusing to me were the three steps to help lure customers to a site once it’s up and running on page 292. I believe that the author could describe more in depth these three steps in order to provide a better understanding for the reader.

3)      If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

I would ask the author the following two questions:

·         What are the most common mistakes that entrepreneurs make during a marketing research process?

·         In which stage of the venture should the entrepreneur invest on marketing research?

I will ask the author these two questions because I believe that they could help the readers and future entrepreneurs to know what to avoid when implementing a marketing research, and when it would be the best time to work on this process.

4)      Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I do not disagree with anything that the author says. However, I believe that the author could have used real life examples on how to target, segment or set a price so students have an idea of how different companies do to work on these aspects.

My Business Plan - Idea Napkin #2

You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are.

As some of you may already know, my name is Alejandro Arteaga and I was born and raised in La Paz, Bolivia. Ever since I was a kid I was surrounded by two complete opposite realities that crafted and developed the way I see the world. By one side, I was part of a private school where I met all of my best friends and where I had the opportunity of learning at a high level of education. But in our surroundings it was easy to see and perceive something completely opposite, where there is struggle and poverty and where really young kids have to start working to provide their families with some additional resources. As I continued to grow up, I became aware that there is something I could do to help the people that need our help. All in all, I developed entrepreneurial skills since high school, an know I can say that I consider myself a really organized person who is not only focused on achieving deadlines, but I also believe that it is really important to develop communication skills in order to be successful. I love soccer and my aspirations are based on contributing to the development of soccer not only as a sport, but also as an opportunity for my country. Specifically regarding my business plan, I believe that we are in the first stage of the business plan but I like to see this business concept more as a unique experience by the moment. I think that this class and the business concept that I developed would be crucial and would play an essential role in my life for future endeavors.

What are you offering to customers?

I am offering my customers the option to better manage their time. We all got the same time, but the only thing that makes us different is the way we use that time, and I believe that my business plan would help UF students to have a better and more adjustable way of managing their time when thinking about transportation. Students should be focused on developing their knowledge and skills rather than thinking when the bus would come again. But as described in the previous point, I prefer seeing my business concept as an amazing experience from which I will learn how to approach and know the unmet needs that exist all around the world.

Who are you offering it to?

My customers are all students at the University of Florida, who live off campus and who have the struggle of either arriving late to the bus stop, or seeing the bus go away just when they were going to take it. There are approximately 50 thousand students in the University of Florida, and a significant portion of this number live off-campus. But I think that this business plan could be offered especially to the RTS Corporation. I think that this could improve the type of service that they provide and it could also be seen as an example for other cities.

Why do they care? The people who care about my business plan are based on two components:

·         The students care because they want be able to manage their time in better way, and they are volatile to the use of technology and smartphones applications, so they would not find this product to be something hard to manage.

·         The RTS should also see my business plan as an opportunity because they are focused on providing the best service to the people that ride the bus in the city. If implanted in the right way, they could be an example for other cities and they would have a competitive advantage among the other competitors in other cities. 

What are your core competencies?

I believe that what sets my business plan apart from every other bus smartphone application is the fact that it is strictly focused on providing the customers with innovation that was not yet implemented anywhere around the country. The customers would feel that they are exclusive and unique, and I think that Gainesville is a place where innovations occur in a daily basis (a clear example is Gatorade), and it is our job to keep this pace as Gators. I will always strive for customer satisfaction, but I think that another attribute that makes my business plan unique is the fact that it will be based on the opinion and acceptance of students. Even though there are surveys about different events that are happening on campus, there are very few surveys and questionnaires regarding the evaluation of the transportation services in Gainesville, and this is definitely something I would implement on a daily basis for this business plan.

How would I make my customers to keep using my app?

The reason why my customer will keep using my app will be because there is no service similar to the service that I am offering. My business will always strive for innovation and ways to improve the bus transportation in Gainesville, and at the same time it will also be focused on helping students to be able to invest their time on studying and working rather than being stressed thinking about the bus and time it will arrive to the bus stop.

Feedback Memo

From the Idea Napkin #1, I was able to recognize that all of the feedback was positive, which didn’t gave me the possibility of thinking on something to improve for my business plan. There was one comment that encouraged me to think about how I would ensure my customers to come back and keep using my app. That is why I included this on the Idea Napkin #2. The five main points that I take from the feedback I received are the following:

1.       Positive Feedback: The feedback that I received was mostly positive which didn’t gave me the chance of thinking on improvements on my business plan.

2.       People related to me and my background: I was able to perceive that some of the feedback included descriptions of people that grew up in similar conditions as I did, which gives me a sense of relatedness with them, who at the end will be potential customers.

3.       I could see that not everyone takes the bus: The feedback that I received included comments saying that “they never took the bus” or “I will never take the bus again” which is critical to my business because my business plan has a complete relationship with the demand of bus transportation in Gainesville.

4.       How can I make sure that my customers will keep using my app: I included the strategy that could help me solve this issue.

5.       Think about other opportunities using my business plan: I was able to perceive that some of my feedback included suggestions that I should also focus on thinking on more than just an app.

Evaluation of my Napkin Idea

I believe that the elements that compose my business plan fit together accurately. My customers are already targeted to be a specific group of people who I believe need this product. However, I believe that I am missing a key component within the five elements. The aspect that I think I am missing is the fact that I have no knowledge about the process of making and creating a smartphone application. This is the core feature of my business plan and I need to consider for possible solutions to this critical issue. However, as stated on my Idea Napkin, I believe that my business concept would help the students and the residents in Gainesville to better manage one of the scarcest and unrenewable resource that we all have, which is time.