24 A- Venture Concept No. 1

College students are always on the move. Whether it’s walking to and from class four times a day or visiting their friends across campus, there is no denying they bounce around on a daily basis. On another note, college students tend to be some of the most outspoken members of society when it comes to environment conservation. All this being said, college students wish to come and go as they please while also supporting the environment. 

Most students at the University of Florida right now travel to and from campus every day via a traditional gas powered method of transportation like a car, the RTS bus, or a gas powered scooter. With the University of Florida becoming more and more cramped, finding a place to park your car or scooter when trying to go to class is becoming a time-consuming hassle. Additionally these traditional gas powered methods of transportation are not environmentally friendly. While a scooter only takes a gallon or two of gas per week (depending on use) biking takes zero, and bike maintenance is minuscule when compared to scooters. 

On the other hand there are those with no personal method of transportation or those who already have bikes. 

This market segment consists of college students that live near campus and are looking for a way to bypass traffic on the main roads and cut directly through campus. I also believe that college students are looking to save money and this idea is a low cost alternative to traditional gas powered methods of transportation. This opportunity is not necessarily the biggest opportunity, however, since college students are always on the move and fans of green products I do believe this has the potential to be very lucrative. 

In my plan there would be bike racks scattered throughout campus approximately every three-quarters of a mile or so. Ideally students would be able to approach the bike rack, select their rack location and bike number, and the bike would unlock from the rack and students would be able to use the bike to travel to the next bike rack nearest to their destination. After arriving at the final bike rack, the student would simply deposit their bike into an open slot, enter the new bike rack and slot number, lock it up, and be on their way. I would make the money similarly to how Uber makes their money. It would be based on distance traveled and how many people are currently using bikes. For example, much like how Uber has surges at times when no drivers are available, there would be a small increase in price when bikes are limited. I imagine that the average trip would be somewhere between $5-10 due to the fact that most of campus is central. Obviously, however, prices would increase for students traveling from Lakeside to The Plaza of the Americas, for example. I believe that students will not have a hard time transitioning to this product due to the fact that college students are usually open-minded and willing to try new products before the average person. 

The main competition for this proposal includes gas powered cars, gas powered scooters, and the RTS bus. All three are not environmentally conscious, and that is a shared weakness. Additionally, parking spaces for scooters and cars are becoming more and more limited as the student population for University of Florida increases. This proposal has a high starting price point in just materials. Bikes, racks, technology, and human labor are all factors to think about when trying to determine a price point. This being said it would take significant starting capital in order to get this off the ground and most likely this would not be profitable for many months. 

All of this being said, my proposal would allow college students the opportunity to navigate around traffic on the main roads by using the bikes to cut directly through campus. Additionally, it would save them money on scooter repairs, parking decals, and the headache of trying to find a parking space next to where they live. Students will also be able to go straight to their destination on their own time rather than have to wait for the RTS bus. I believe that customers will buy my innovation due to the fact that it is green, it will save them time and stress, and it will be conveniently located throughout the campus. I would organize this business much like a regular business with some people in charge of finances, marketing, and day to day operations. At first I imagine the only employee would be me and a few others, and if it began to be profitable I would bring on others to handle individual tasks and assign heads of finances, operations, etc. 

I believe my most important resource when it comes to this venture is my own personal financial and sales experience coupled with my networking skills and personality. I would like to tackle the challenge of simply getting this off of the ground and making it profitable. In the next ten years as an entrepreneur I would love to simply become profitable and enjoy my work. I love the thrill of sales and fulfilling a void for the customer that they did not even realize they had.