Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity
The opportunity for my product comes solely from the off-campus students at the University of Florida. Specifically, the ones that do not have a car or a scooter. Roughly 78% of students at UF live in off-campus housing. Many of those students most likely leave campus late at night after studying or a late exam. When they are ready to head home late at night, they either must catch a Later Gator bus, Uber, walk or carpool with a friend. Walking home is not very safe, especially at night, and the other three options are not very reliable and uber is not free. This creates a need for safe, reliable, and free transportation so UF off-campus students can get home without worry. I believe the forces creating this opportunity is that some parents either do not have the money to buy students a car or scooter or that they do not think students will need one. The area surrounding UF is walk-friendly, however, that does not mean it is safe at night. Demographically, the opportunity would come from undergraduate UF students who are mostly in their first and second years. This is because more upperclassmen already have cars compared to first-year students. Currently, customers will take Uber or carpool with a friend. Most of the boy customers will just walk home alone. Other customers will catch the Later Gator bus. I do not believe they are very loyal to this option. Of the people I interviewed, when I asked if they would use SNAP if they could they all answered yes. I think they use the method they are using now because they do not have any other choice. I think this opportunity is very big because there are so many off-campus students at UF that would love the opportunity for a free and safe mode of transportation that would be applicable to them as well. This window of opportunity will be open as long as UF keeps accepting students that must live off campus without providing a program like the idea I am proposing.

InnovationMy innovation is a new SNAP program called SNAPX. SNAP is a free driving service offered to students on campus to take them to their housing or another building during the late hours of the night. My idea, SNAPX would offer the same ride benefits, however, it would be used to take off-campus students to their apartment complexes or housing. SNAPX would provide a van used specifically for off-campus stops and would travel to apartments 1-2 miles off campus. It would run from 6:30 pm to 3:00 am and would be completely free to the students. It would only pick students up at the main areas on campus such as the Reitz Union and the Hub in order to be efficient with gas and time due to the extra mileage of traveling off campus. Students would request a ride through the TapRide app using the option to choose SNAPX.

Venture ConceptMy innovation will solve the opportunity because it will provide off-campus students with a safe option for traveling home at night. Off-campus students may feel left out because they do not have the same resource available to them. There seems to be a fair amount of crimes that happen around UF and as an off-campus student, sometimes I feel very scared walking home late at night. It will not be difficult for customers to switch to SNAPX at all because it is a program that would be in their best interest. It would be created specifically for them. The competitors against SNAPX would be the Later Gator bus, Uber, or Lyft. The Later Gator is a free option however it only goes to certain stops, not all. Also, it can be unreliable and run late, causing students to wait at the bus stop alone outside at night, leaving them vulnerable. Uber and Lyft are safer options, however, they not free. Depending on how far you must travel and the time you are requesting one the price can be expensive. Also, there is the risk of getting into an Uber of Lyft and the driver having more dangerous intentions that do not include dropping you off at your housing. I would have two to three drivers per night so that there would always be drivers that are refreshed and aware. There would be a hiring manager to hire new drivers and the main SNAPX director that would oversee to make sure everything is running smoothly. There would be Student Government liaison or representative that would communicate with Student Government and keep them up to date with how SNAPX is running.

Three Minor ElementsI think the most important resource I have is the connections that I have with UF faculty. Networking is a major part or starting a new business. These connections I have can help me with figuring out the administrative side with starting this idea. They can also introduce me directly to the administration that would help me get the program completely started. The next opportunity I would want to tackle with my innovation is to expand the route even further off campus. This way I could cater to even more off-campus students who live 3 or even 4 miles off campus. Also, I would want to get 1 or 2 more vans for off-campus stops. In five years, I would want to have even more program implemented for students on campus. I would want to be making progress with another idea I have for Transfer students at UF. Hopefully, I would have my own startup as my full-time job. This venture would be a confidence builder and help me gain experience with creating and implementing a new product It would give me a look into how entrepreneurship is so I would feel more comfortable with it in the future.