Idea Napkin No. 2

1. Me: Like my first idea napkin discussed, I'm still a student who gets easily aggravated about transportation issues I face while attending the University of Florida. These aggravations, along with seeing the huge number of people at midtown while driving back to my dorm, led to my idea of Mid-Assist. As far as skills and experiences go, I have worked in customer service for the past 5 years, so I am familiar with helping customers and handling customer  complaints/problems. If this idea were to become a reality, I imagine that I would be happy that I could leave a small legacy behind that would be able to help future Gators.

2. The service I'm offering is a set of school-sponsored vehicles that would take off-campus students from midtown to their respective dorm/apartment, which would operate Wednesday to Saturday from 10 pm to 3 am. The first 3 rides would already be paid for within each student's tuition, but the cost of rides after that will be based on the distance traveled. MA cars will be able to be booked for a specific time in advance, offering the customer a more convenient and worry-free travel experience. I think there's always a need for safe transportation, especially in a college town at night. By offering people an alternative method of getting home safely, MA cars could prevent attacks and drunk driving, making Gainesville a safer place for all.

3. All of my customers will attend UF, as MA cars will only be able to be booked through a student's Gatorlink account. They will also all be coming from the same area, live off campus, and (with some exceptions) be within a few years of age. I would expect that women would be more likely to use this service over men, but can definitely benefit everyone.

4. My customers would pay money to use my service because MA offers students a safe and affordable way of getting home from midtown late at night. By being school-sponsored, students can be assured that they will arrive safely to their destination, as well as not need to worry about less desirable drivers they may encounter. Since the driver will be paid hourly, they may also save money by not needing to tip their driver.

5. I think that MA is unique because it caters to those directly in the midtown area. By only taking students from one location, the MA cars should be able to make their drives shorter and more efficient, allowing other students to then book the car. This is different than SNAP vans, which pick up from multiple locations and caters only on-campus students. SNAP vans also cannot be requested for a certain time. By adding a specific time to be picked up, students will not have to wait in the dark for a ride home.

I think these elements mesh together quite nicely. I was able to make some changes from my original idea based on the feedback I received, and I'm now happier with my concept. I think there are enough unique aspects to interest customers, and that my business idea makes sense for the area that I plan to pursue it in.

Feedback Memo

One of the main comments I received was the question of where the revenue would come from. In my original idea, the rides would be paid for by the school. However, after thinking more about it, I decided that the first 3 rides will be free, and any subsequent rides will be charged based on the distance traveled. The initial 3 rides cost would be added to the tuition (another point addressed in feedback), but would only cost roughly $15 (more research into what percentage of our tuition is going towards SNAP would be helpful). Feedback also helped me to decide that the MA cars would have to be able to be requested for a specific time, otherwise it may be considered too similar to the Later Gator buses (a tough competitor in the sense that the bus is free). One comment asked how many cars there would be. I believe it would be best to start with 2 cars, maybe test out their popularity in a summer semester, and if successful be able to add more cars to the operation for the busier fall and spring semesters. Finally, I received feedback that suggested partnering up with SNAP as they already have a large user base. This is an interesting idea, but may go against MA's idea, since we would want to portray that taking a MA car is better than taking a SNAP van.