24 Putting It All Together

Assignment 24A – Venture Concept No. 1

• Opportunity:
• Pretty much every student at University of Florida can agree that traveling to, within, or even through our expansive campus can be a bit of a hassle. From the low speed limit of twenty miles per hour to the sheer capacity of automobiles such as busses, bikes, scooters, cars, and ‘cross walkers’ is just too much for the small two lane roads that make up the campuses roadways.
When compared to similar campuses, such as Florida State University (477 acres), University of Florida towers over the competitor school at 2,000 acres. This demonstrates the need for extra transportation because walking from one end to the other of Florida State’s campus is not nearly as daunting as the track across over a thousand acres of land that makes up University of Florida’s campus
• On that note University of Florida has an abundant scooter population with infrastructure better suited for scooter commuters than commuters with cars.

• Innovation and Venture Concept:

o   Scoober is an on demand transportation startup service which will bring a revolution in the transportation industry surrounding college populations. This business model will make it possible for people to simply tap their smartphone and have a scooter arrive at their location in the minimum possible time.

o   For individuals using the service (riders), will be able to call for an individual ride within a certain radius of their campus.

o   On the other end, it will also alert people (drivers) who are already registered as owning a scooter and are classified as ‘on duty.’ Once they receive a notification they will have the opportunity to see if that person is on the way or traveling to the same destination such as a certain class, or the library, etc. Then they will have the option to accept their ride and travel to the desired destination to either drop their rider off or park at the same destination and carry on with their day.

o   This service concept will not only minimize travel times but also connect college students personally, as well as slightly benefit the environment by creating a ‘car pool’ type of effect by reducing the number of vehicles on the road.

o   Initial profits may not be seen right out of the gate, like most startups but in time after generating some popularity and quality of service the business model should bring in revenue.

o   Besides Lyft's new scooter option, there are no major competitors. I do not regard this as a major competitor because it is new and we have not seen much success or spread. I've not seen any advertisement, and it offers a different experience because its more similar to an electric "razor" scooter than the motorized moped type scooters that would be used for this service.

o   Price points: This is very important. If I am too expensive, the incentive for safety is outweighed for the incentive to be financially responsible! I cannot charge too much more than the normal, so this number will fluctuate based on supply, demand, and time restraints of both participants. As well as accounting for gas, an app fee to actually generate revenue and so forth.

• Distribution: Will depend on supply and demand of needed rides, drivers, scooters, etc.
• Customer Service: Since the company relies on college students it will be dependent on how they choose to conduct themselves, but through offering a tip feature, an incentive may produce an urge to perform well.
• Location: Close to college towns, campuses, libraries, neighboring apartment complexes/ dormitories. People can order their rides from wherever they are within a certain radius of the campus through the app and the closest scooter driver heading in the same or similar direction can accept their ride, pick them up, and drop them off.
• Packaging:  App development and safe up to date scooters.
• Employees:  I’m estimating a bunch of college students that already own scooters will be eager to join the app as drivers to earn some easy money when they are already en route.

·       App developer to create the app itself

·       Insurance Associate to ensure safe practices and avoid possible lawsuits

·       Distributers – Perhaps a campus ambassador; a student that people relate with and can attest to the easy benefits of being both a rider and a driver.

·       Marketers – They must make how to use it, what it does, and the cause very clear. The brand and image in consumer’s minds is vital to the success of Scoober, as it deals with safety and transportation.

I am a student at a heavily populated university that fosters a culture for connivence and fast action, this service will meet both of those desires because not only is it easier to hop right off of a scooter at the door steps than waiting for your driver to find a place to park so you can safely exit.

·       Unfair advantage: Cannot come up with any, this service idea is easy to implement and simple enough to run its own course

·       What’s next: I want to spearhead a simple solution to an expansive problem that touches nearly everyone trying to maneuver the hustle and bustle that is our large campus, make money, and make people realize that safety and ease of Scoober transportation.

·       For Me: I’d love to tackle more social issues in an innovative way, pertaining to mental health specifically (but that is very difficult to tackle for the purpose of these assignments in ENT3003). Like most millennials, I will make the world a better place. In five years, I hope to have made enough money from Scoober and BeeSafe to lay off of entrepreneurial ventures for a little while so I can put all my time and energy into improving this world for everyone from a socioeconomic, environmental, and equality standpoint. However, I am already generating new ideas for my next move, and constantly learning about the brain. In 10 years, I would like to cohesively combine the two opposing topics and have a good reputation concerning positive change for the greater good.