Week 12 Reading Reflection

I am repeatedly surprised with how much this class coincides with the rest of my schedule. A few weeks ago, in the week 10 reflection, I mentioned how most of the information was review from my financial accounting class. In this case, this week’s section on strategic planning was also review from my management class. Therefore, there were no surprises to me in the reading. One thing that confused me was how most entrepreneurs’ planning for their ventures is informal and unsystematic. Obviously, I knew this was a trend but sometimes I’m just baffled on how incomprehensive and careful some companies can be when it comes to planning. Kodak and Blockbuster come to mind. Anyways, if I could ask the author two questions it would be how to minimize uncertainty in early stages of a business and how to make up for lack of experience. These questions have perplexed me all semester as I look forward in my entrepreneurial journey. I did not think the author was wrong about anything but I do think hierarchy is of some importance when establishing a new business.

Venture Concept No. 1

Venture Concept No. 1


Opportunity

I completed my first ENT3003 blog post pack in January, nearly 3 months ago. However, the seeds of my entrepreneurial journey, so to speak, were planted back in June when I noticed some flaws in the University of Florida’s SNAP (Student Nighttime Auxiliary Patrol) system. This is a application linked to a van service that all UF students can use to get around at night for free. The problems I noted can be separated into two main categories:

The Incomplete Application (TapRide)

*Across multiple devices and Apple/Android operating systems

-       Slow or nonresponsive loading screen

-       Inability to see the van on the map

-       Inaccurate ride ETAs

-       Unexpected ride cancellation glitch

Unreliable Vans

-       Students being driven ‘in circles’ at the convenience of the driver

-       Disregard for the individual student wait times (as a result)

-       Drivers cruising past stops and ignoring the one minute grace period

As I mentioned before, all students who leave their dorms (particularly at night when buses are scarce) have access to the SNAP service. The user demographic spans across all ethnic, gender, and national identities. As long as they pay tuition here, the service is available from 6:30pm-3am. Their desire for safe, reliable, free transportation is not being fulfilled properly. Students are not necessarily ‘loyal’ to SNAP, but its established campus presence leads me to believe that rebranding the system would be foolish.

Innovation

Although my adjustments to the SNAP system are relatively easy to implement, the innovations I proposed are definitely huge improvements. Currently, UF Student Government, UF Police Department, and Student Traffic court fund SNAP. More specifically, from “the transportation fee generated from student tuition fees and the University of Florida Police Department through contributions from their own annual departmental budget.”

Venture concept.

To solve TapRide issues, the application update would include

-       Ability to see all vans on the map at all times

-       More accurate ride ETAs based on location

-       Revitalized coding in order to eliminate loading and canceled request glitches

To solve van issues, the improved SNAP system would include

-       Automatic ride prioritization based on time of request, not driver discretion

-       Enforced grace periods with GPS based timing and proper driver training

-       Encouraged user and driver review/feedback loop

It would take no effort for consumers to switch over to the improved version of SNAP, the update would require a push of a button on their smartphone. Uber and Gotcha might seem like competing services but that would be a false comparison since both of those services require a fee and/or a tip. These changes might incur a one time nominal fee for the sponsors of SNAP, but wouldn’t require an increase in employee numbers or affect the budget otherwise. There are no drawbacks or negative aspects to my idea because there is no tradeoff involved.

Final Notes

1.  My most important resource, which is practically impossible for competitors to replicate, is my pre-existing marketplace presence. The fact that almost every student at UF already knows what SNAP is gives my business idea a huge advantage. The name is engrained into the brains of anyone who has ever needed a ride at night. SNAP’s existing niche is therefore extremely valuable and will give my idea an advantage over start-ups. My idea would be tough to articulate and work out the details if I didn’t at least have a present benchmark (today’s SNAP) to compare it to. Not only that, but the demand already exists for the service and will only grow with improvements.

2.  The next logical step in implementing these changes would be to get the written support from a few hundred students or so and schedule a meeting with administration and/or Student Government to discuss them.

3.  In five years, it would be cool if my improvements became a reality. Hopefully students and drivers would use the feedback system and come up with new ideas I didn’t even think of. In the next decade, I would like to be a successful entrepreneur or intrepreneur in a business or law firm. My experience in pitching this idea to strangers and friends alike has given me increased confidence to pursue further venture concepts for opportunities that arise later in life.

Week 11 Reading Reflection

I was surprised to hear about Steve Job’s opinion that working too closely with customers will blind you to certain types of innovation. It makes sense, though: because customers have limited information (among their willingness to take risks), they often don’t even know what innovation they’d most prefer next.

I was confused why companies would pursue a supply-push approach because it seems too risky. I guess that this strategy makes more sense in a rapidly evolving technological society using proper marketing.

I would ask the author the following questions. If creating an innovation strategy and implementing it through an innovation system is so individualized and particular to a company, what is the best way to identify a direction? Also, how can one differentiate between a value creating innovation and a useless idea? I’d like to know the answer to these questions because the author’s explanation of these concepts was thorough but vague enough to leave some unclear parameters open to interpretation for evaluating strategy.

I disagree with the notion that only senior leaders should set innovation strategy. Yes, it is important for them to clarify company objectives and make sure individual departments are pursuing compatible goals. However, lower level managers should be able to set mini goals in the grand scheme of things as well.

Amazon Whisperer

My revenue drivers are hard to quantify considering that my service is an upgraded and revitalized version of the UF SNAP (Student Nighttime Auxiliary Patrol). UF Student Government, Student Traffic Court, and the University of Florida Police Department sponsor the current system. More specifically, its funding comes from “the transportation fee generated from student tuition fees and the University of Florida Police Department through contributions from their own annual departmental budget.” With proper presentation and advertising, alumni can additionally fund my business.

My customers want reliable, free on campus transportation. The main issue with SNAP right now is that it is slow and frustrating due to driver discretion and technological difficulties. My improvements will most definitely improve user experience.

The product I decided to explore was the SYMA X5C Explorers Axis Gyro RC Quadcopter With HD Camera. Reviews average 4.1/5 stars and most people agree that it is easy to fly and is durable. They don’t like how little the batteries last or the quality of the camera. I would make a change to the aesthetics of the drone since I think it is visually unappealing with the white, blue, and red.

Although this product can’t relate to my service, I thought it would be a cool one to check out. Drones, especially Quadcopters with cameras, are becoming increasingly popular. In fact, I am considering purchasing one in the near future for my entertainment.

My Unfair Advantage

Here are 10 resources my business idea has:

1. Established marketplace presence

The fact that almost every student at UF already knows what SNAP is gives my business idea a huge advantage. The name is engrained into the brains of anyone who has ever needed a ride at night. SNAP’s existing niche is therefore extremely valuable and will give my idea an advantage over start-ups. The existing system is rare due to its widespread outreach. It could be imitated or substituted but only with time for students to learn what the new service entails.

2. Pre-existing funding from UF

Considering that the SNAP service costs nothing extra to tuition-paying students, its funding resource is also extremely valuable. I doubt that UF would ever experiment with two different student transportation options simultaneously because that over complicated funding allocation. Therefore, the fact that UF already funds the SNAP program is also un-imitable, rare, and unable to be substituted without sufficient lobbying or advertising from ‘competing’ services.

3. Pre-existing physical assets

My business idea can be implemented fairly easily due to the fact that there are pre-existing physical assets. The multiple vans, drivers, radios, tablets, etc. that are used by SNAP drivers regularly wouldn’t have to be replaced, upgraded, or otherwise changed. Such a low implementation cost is the definition of a valuable, un-imitable, rare, and unable to be substituted idea.

4. Established application and functionality

Though my idea will require that the SNAP application (TapRide) be updated and polished, the disturbance to customers and effort required is minimal. The application is already downloaded by all of SNAP’s users, so it would only take a short update for my interface changes to occur. This idea of offering customers a product and continuously upgrading it isn’t particularly un-imitable, rare, or un-substitutable. Every application on mobile devices is able to completely re-haul their layout. However, since the application is already downloaded and used by so many students, this resource is still valuable.

5. Programmers

I have multiple close friends and one family member that are experienced in programming and coding mobile applications. These include Adam Tache at Duke, Kevin Cai at Boston College, and numerous UF students/fraternity brothers. They would be able to make the perfect SNAP application due to their amassed technological knowledge. Their guidance and skills are valuable, fairly rare, moderately tough to imitate (without years of experience), and substitutable only in the right places (such as other strong academic campuses).

6. Marketers

In addition, I have multiple connections with experienced, young marketers. Examples include Zack Kampf and Phil Barofsky, marketing directors for EnvoyNow and BoxJunkie respectively. These marketing geniuses know how to reach my target audience (students!) and enhance brand image. Similar to the programmers, their guidance and skills are valuable, fairly rare, tough to imitate without experience, and substitutable only in the right type of environment.

7. Student feedback loop

The student feedback I have gotten in regards to my idea has been helpful in guiding its maturity. My idea is all about fulfilling the needs of my fellow Gators for reliable, free transportation. For that reason, the application will include a feature in which users will be able to submit feedback about their ride experiences. This raw, direct feedback will continue to be valuable, un-imitable, rare, and un-substitutable.

8. Driver testimony

SNAP drivers and dispatchers are all UF students as well that quite literally keep the system moving. In addition to the user feedback system, drivers will also be able to input information about their experiences on the clock. This feature will ensure that the core working element of SNAP (the drivers) aren’t ignored. This direct feedback will be valuable, un-imitable, rare, and un-substitutable once received.

9. More satisfied students

Once the student feedback loop and driver testimonials accumulate, I will be able to make proper decisions regarding the future of the SNAP system. Students will respond positively to the reliability enhancements and achieve peace of mind when going out for the night. This increased confidence in the system will keep funding and demand high. There is nothing more valuable than happy customers and achieving this is tough to imitate, rare, and un-substitutable.

10. Motivated agents of change

None of these resources could be utilized and improved upon without motivated agents to influence change. There are numerous students such as myself and students I interviewed who actively avoid SNAP because they know they will be disappointed with the service. However, we acknowledge how awesome it would be if it was functional. As a result, there is a passionate group of people (probably larger than you might think) that would really push for my idea. This 20%, you might call it, is invaluable, un-imitable, rare, and un-substitutable.

It was tough to choose what resource was most valuable to my business but in the end I settled on number one, established marketplace presence. My idea would be tough to articulate and work out the details if I didn’t at least have a present benchmark (today’s SNAP) to compare it to. Not only that, but the demand already exists for the service and will only grow with improvements.