Week 12 Reading Reflection

I liked this week's reading as it related to a lot of the material I've discussed in my management course here at UF. I agree with the author that strategic planning is more essential for a larger business to grow and expand than for a smaller operation (with much less people). By having a plan for the future, business are better able to prepare themselves for any issues that may be down the road. I was surprised to learn that in a study of 220 companies, 39.9% of companies had no written plan at all. As a person on a team, I would feel extremely uncomfortable if I knew my company was not following any sort of guide, because it ends up appearing as though the company is "winging it". As I was already familiar with the material in the book, I agree with what the author says, and don't think I would ask him anything about this section.

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity:

The opportunity of my venture concept, “Mid-Assist” (aka MA), lies within the under-met needs of my customers. The potential customers for MA are the students currently attending the University of Florida (if this idea were to take place on other campuses, customers would be the attending students of the university in question). Their under-met need? Transportation. In today’s day and age, people want things to be fast, efficient and effective. Our cellphones need LTE data, we need to be able to watch TV with no commercials, and we wonder if our computers are broken when they take longer than 10 seconds to load a document. My point is that people don’t want to wait anymore. They want what they want at the moment they decide they want it. Now of course, transportation is a bit different. It can’t happen immediately, but we do want to know that it’s on its way, or it’ll be here at a certain time. I believe the school’s current offered form of transportation not only doesn’t meet these needs, but also doesn’t fully reach the entire student body.

                I think the “window of opportunity” for my venture is substantial. As long as the University of Florida remains in this area (which is very likely) and the midtown area remains popular (also likely) than MA will have a strong customer base. Customers are currently satisfying their need through taking Ubers, taxis, or simply walking home. I would say their loyalty level is moderate at best. Many students choose to walk, which can potentially be a dangerous situation, and Ubers can only be booked on-demand, so there’s no real guarantee of when they will come. My market is defined geographically as being within 3 miles of the university, and demographically as a UF student (so most likely between the ages of 18-22).

Innovation:

The actual idea. Mid-Assist, or MA, will be a set of school-sponsored vehicles that will transport students from the Midtown area to their off-campus dorm, apartment, or house. I’ve designed this service so that it is primarily for off-campus students, as they currently have no alternative school-sponsored option, while on-campus UF students may use SNAP. MA will operate from 10 pm to 3 am on Wednesday through Saturday nights. Students would be able to book the ride through a mobile app, and it will be prepaid within a student’s tuition. Note: this is technically a luxury service. At the time of registering for classes, students will have the option of pre-paying for the service through their Gatorlink accounts. If students sign up at the beginning of the semester, they will have the reduced fee of $12, while students signing up later in the semester will be charged $15. The mobile app will request their UFID number, ensuring that the student taking MA has already paid for the service. The MA cars can be requested for a certain timeframe if booked at least 3 hours in advance. Otherwise, the cars will help customers in the order the requests are received.

Venture Concept:

                My innovation will help to solve the problem I’ve identified by providing students with an alternative option for getting home safely at night. As a student who has been out late at night before, I have felt uncomfortable getting into a taxi or uber alone . We all hear the horror stories in the media and on TV (I’m a big fan of Law and Order: SVU, which doesn’t help the whole being scared in the taxi situation). Our parents call all the time telling us to be careful, don’t drink anything you didn’t see made, and to be alert when walking anywhere at night. We get the UF alerts saying shots have been fired somewhere, or someone attacked someone walking home. And then, after all those things, the main ways of getting home are by waiting for an uber, getting into a taxi, or waiting for SNAP, which doesn’t even help the 90% of UF students who live off campus. I think by offering a school-sponsored method of transportation to off-campus UF students, the university sends a clear message to its students, faculty, parents, and benefactors that they care about student safety, and will do everything in their power to keep our student body safe.

Three Minor Elements

• I think the most important resource will be the students of UF and UF itself. I think that the venture will be made more credible if UF shows its full support for the venture. The students are important because they would be providing the funds for the venture! As MA would have student drivers, their knowledge of the Gainesville area would also help MA to run more efficiently.
• What's next for MA is still to be determined. I think that the most important thing is to get it off the ground, and start getting students to see that this may be a more convenient and safe option for them when in need of transportation. Afterwards, once the idea has proof of concept, it can be taken to other universities , either in Florida or across the U.S.
• What's next for me is still to be determined as well. Assuming MA became a real thing, I'd probably want to check up on it every once in a while to see the impact it's having on student's lives. As an entrepreneur, I hope to own my own business one day. This venture would help give me good business experience that I could use in the future to start my own company.