Opportunity:
How many times have you gone to chipotle for dinner and said to yourself “hey you know I love waiting in hour long lines!” … that’s what I thought. Now, what if I told you that you would never need to wait in a long line again. Seems intriguing right. As humans we are extremely busy every day. Eating is a must to live, however most of us just want it to be a quick and easy activity especially during our busy weeks. Every day we walk and drive to restaurants only to find there is an hour-long wait. What now? We then either miss our plans for later that day since were waiting in line for hours or we are forced to skip a meal so we can get on with our lives. Either way doesn’t seem like a win to me. In today’s day and age, it seems that almost everyone is in a rush as all times. However, some people are busier than others. My product would relate mostly too college students, as well as the working class, mostly those who work long hours and also have families to care for. I believe this is a very large opportunity that is open here and I know there is nothing similar currently on the market, making it an even better opportunity. This window of opportunity may not be open long as hundreds of apps are added to the app store every single day!
Innovation:
Especially today when fast food is such a large aspect of life, this concept is very important. The concept of fast food literally has the word “fast” in it, so when you are going to one of those restaurants, you are not expecting to wait in 30-minute lines. With my app, you will never have to do that again. This app will tell you how long (estimated) the line is at every restaurant in town. It will be updated by restaurant workers hourly, so it stays current and up to date. With this, you will know which restaurants are super crowded and which are empty. With that, you will know exactly how long it will take you to get your food. If you are in a rush, you will go somewhere that doesn’t have a long line. If you aren’t in a rush but do not want to wait in long lines because you hate lines like me, you will just keep checking the app until the line starts to decrease, and then you will go to that restaurant to get your food. Nothing is worse than driving to a restaurant only to find the line is too long and you don’t have time to wait. With this app, that will never happen again.
This concept can be a huge money maker. To download the app will be free, and there will be a one-month free trial for everyone. After the free trial, it will charge a monthly subscription fee (I haven’t decided exactly how much yet, but probably around $4.99). Restaurants would also get a certain amount of profit for joining the app. They will either get a certain amount of the profits, or a monthly payment, I still haven’t figured out the details. The goal is that enough restaurants join the business and enough people download the app so that both me, the businesses, and the people who use the app all profit in the end.
Venture Concept:
As I previously mentioned with this app you will know which restaurants are super crowded and which are empty. With that, you will know exactly how long it will take you to get your food. If you are in a rush, you will go somewhere that doesn’t have a long line. If you aren’t in a rush but do not want to wait in long lines because you hate lines like me, you will just keep checking the app until the line starts to decrease, and then you will go to that restaurant to get your food. I am hoping this app one day turns into something as common as checking how long it takes to drive somewhere using apple/good maps/waze. Since there is no other product like this, I wouldn’t have to convince people to switch from another one to mine, which definitely gives me an advantage. I have no competitors.
For my concept, I really wouldn’t need too many employees at first. To start off, I would need one or two people to design the app. As time goes on and the app gets more popular, then maybe I would need to hire more to keep the app up to date and working well. I would need a few other people to drive around to restaurants in order to get that restaurant to join the business. I would then need someone to write out the contracts, and one person to figure out the finances of paying each business back/recording money.
The Three Minor Elements:
My most important resource is the competition. A businesses hardest task is convincing the public to switch to their business from another. Lucky for me, there is nothing currently available that is similar to this, thus I will not have other competition, making it my “unfair advantage”. I honestly do not know what is next for my venture. I am currently just focusing on making this product, taking it one day at a time. In five years, I don’t even know if this product will still exist. It would be great if it did, however I wouldn’t be surprised of it didn’t. I’m just a college freshman. In five years, I would have just barely graduated and will probably be trying to make it by myself in the real world.
Hey Aaron, I really liked how you summed up your unfair advantage. I know you said you weren't sure about your next venture. I learned the hard way in the restaurant business that going big is not always good , or more profitable. If you've got a good thing that's small, stay with it. Its easier to keep control and a lot of times its a way to keep more money in your pocket and stay profitable.
ReplyDeleteHey Aaron,
ReplyDeleteGreat job on this post. I can see how each part of your venture fits together well; you did a great job delving into detail and explaining each part of your concept. I definitely agree there is nothing like your product, so competition will most likely not be a large factor for your company to consider. Rather, you will be ale to focus on perfecting the product and making it as useful to your market as possible.
Aaron
ReplyDeleteGreat job with this post. I can see you put a lot of thought, time and effort into this product. I agree that you shouldn't have to worry about competition. I also feel like it is important to weigh the pros and cons of going big or staying small. Going big doesn't always mean bigger profits and sometimes staying small makes things easier to look over and control. Great post can't wait to read more.
Hi Aaron,
ReplyDeleteI think you clearly identified the opportunity you are trying to exploit and how your venture can successfully accomplish that. I agree that the uniqueness and lack of competition of this venture will give you a huge advantage. Great job and than you sharing.
Aaron,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your venture concept. I feel as though it is more buttoned up and polished than many of the other ones that I have read. I like that instead of just explaining your idea, you decided to do so in a charismatic and interesting way that keeps us interested and pulls us along. I think this is a great way to segment yourself from others and leaving a lasting impression over other people in the minds of people reading your pitch. Nice job!