Venture Concept (24A)

GATORNAV
Opportunity

You wake up and are running late for class, check the rider app and see a bus is coming in ten minutes so you have time to grab that quick breakfast and head out the door. Although, as you are walking out the door, you hear the familiar sounds of the RTS bus pulling off from the bus stop, guess you should have skipped breakfast after all. This is an oh too familiar concept, as students are tricked by the lagging app and lack of real tracking devices within the bus system, meaning the estimates are left up to just that, estimates. This unmet need is due to the lack of technology implemented within the buses they are still going off of "how long a route SHOULD take" which leaves too much room for error as it does not take into consideration crashes or general traffic. Both students and staff suffer from this problem as they are left to having to either wake up extremely early in order to have a chance to make it to their destinations, use other modes of transportations, or just rely on the current system in place that is causing all the issues which seems to be the most popular option. The market is young, students who rely on the bus in order to get to and from school, most likely the off-campus students who have their reasons for relying on the RTS system. Geographically they would have to be within twenty miles of campus as that is where most off-campus housing can be found along with the most frequent bus routes, demographically they are broke, young college students who are overworked and stressed as it is. This opportunity is huge as no one is currently doing anything to meet the need even though after doing all my research it is a huge unsatisfied opportunity. The window is pretty open as of now considering there are no current plans in motion and people are just accepting the current solution of having to move around their schedule in order to make it work with the inconvenient bus system.

Innovation

GatorNav is a business created in order to combat this opportunity, I have decided to create a navigational system that would be placed within the RTS systems, upon approval, and ultimately paired with an app designed to push bus drivers who will be criticized based on their performance and give students more control over their transportation. This will need to go through several different people and relies on their approval considering I don't plan on competing against RTS and would like to use their existing resources in order to avoid competition altogether. I would be creating the navigational systems charging roughly 50 dollars per bus, number determined based off current navigational systems used within cars so it could vary. This would then be supported through the app which would bring money back into the company as the bus drivers receive different benefits and rewards for overall cleanliness, timeliness, and safety. I will be selling the navigational systems, however, the RTS would be offering the app in order to help give students a sense of control and bring money back into their company. 

Venture

This innovation will address the current need through multiple different ways, allowing for a better experience for customers, students, staff, and locals, by giving them a more precise measurement and a overall increased sense of control while improving the RTS ratings and giving their workers a new standard for success. Customers would be willing to switch from using apps such as Rider to this new app because of the increase in efficiency without costing them any additional costs. The RTS system is already apart of tuition and would not cause the customers any additional costs. However, it might be difficult to get the RTS to switch to using my navigational system rather than the ancient paper system currently in place, yet with the promise of overall improvement and an increase in funding from UF transportations, already agreed upon after talking to the director, they would have no real reason not to switch. The competitors are not any direct bus system, however, there are lots of alternatives to riding the bus. Such as, driving your car and battling it out for a parking spot, riding a scooter, or even walking to classes. However, the people choosing these alternatives are not within my current market range as they have already determined the buses to be too unreliable and not worth the hassle my current market is all the people still choosing the bus every morning. Packaging plays a role when it comes to the navigation system which will also need to be distributed. This will all need to be manufactured in a factory in order to make sure the products are efficiently being sold. This would need to be organized in a factory type setting with few workers being used to make sure the machines are running smoothly, along with the fact that I will need suppliers in order to construct the device and a team of engineers to create the app and pair each device with the app. 

What's Next?

The most unique thing this business will have is the student support as there is a huge demand for this need and the students are willing to switch with no cost to them along with the various ties I will have to make in order to get the business up and running. With these ties and connections my business will be unmatchable as there will be a sense of customer loyalty along with the fact that no competition in currently in existence. After getting this put in place I would like to use my new connections to start making a rental car service in order to further my reach within the transportation system allowing students to use an app to exchange cars with each other and ultimately give out of state students a chance at liberty. However, this still has lots of kinks and would need to be researched further. If this was launched and successful in five years I would want to be overseeing the venture from a distance as my main goal is not within this venture but within the medical field, I would like to put in place a manager who would relay information to me. This venture would allow me to go through medical school with a sense of peace as I have something to support that goal.