29A – Venture Concept No. 2

Business name: Easy Park App

Opportunity: I saw the opportunity where I live, in Gainesville. Parking is so horrible here, and my friends and I are always driving around for so long looking for a place to park. All of us have city parking decals, but they over-sell them so much that there aren't enough spaces for everyone that bought a decal. I also noticed this opportunity because when my parents come to visit me in Gainesville, they have trouble with finding parking, too. They end up having to pay so much money just to park on game day. People who have this need can include people who live in high-volume areas, people who attend big events such as sports games or concerts, and people who work in downtown areas with few areas to park. These people are forced to drive around for longer than they want to, they have to pay parking tickets, or they have to pay to be able to park. This opportunity is pretty big in my opinion because so many people have this need, especially where I live. I think this window of opportunity will be open for a long time, especially if no one else comes out with a similar idea.

Innovation: My idea to solve the problem of not being able to find places to park is to create an app that can assist with this. The app will have a map of all parking areas in the area, along with plenty of other information. Information attached to each area of parking will include the laws and restrictions on the parking spaces, such as whether you need a decal or a permit to park there. Another thing that will be included in each listing of parking spaces is whether or not the parking is free, and if it isn't, it will include the price. How the app will get updated is through its users. Users will be able to add to the listings and will be able to report any inaccurate information. They will also be able to comment on each listing with any additional information that might be beneficial for other users to know. Through this app, users will be able to find parking that they might not have thought of/known existed. They will also be able to find the cheapest areas to park, and they'll be able to figure out which spots they are not allowed to park in before they even get there. The app will sell for a small one-time fee of $3.99. There will also be ad banners in the app to generate more revenue. The $3.99 price tag is a small price to pay considering how much money the user could save by using the app.

Venture Concept: This app would help users find cheaper parking that is as close as possible to where they need to be. Users might discover new lots and spaces that they didn't know of or know existed. I think customers would use my app because it can save them money and time. I think my low price point is important because if it were too expensive people wouldn't be able to justify spending that much on an app. I think it's also important that my app is well-designed so that it is easy to use. I would hire an app developer because I wouldn't know how to make an app. I would also have a business partner to help with obtaining resources and money to start up the business. I recognize that this would mean splitting the profits, but I think that this is worth it because of how much I would get out of having a business parter. It would provide double the resources and new ideas necessary to starting the business. I might also employ someone to help me with the financial aspects of running this app because I don't know much about business finance.

Three minor elements:

- I think the most important resource would be a business partner. I think this is the most important because they're bringing several resources to the table that I otherwise wouldn't have. It would pretty much mean that my business would have double the resources contributed towards it. I would be splitting the profit, but I would be putting forth less of my own money towards the business. They would also contribute financially to help start up the business and help run the business. They could have connections that I might not have that could help grow our business. They could also provide ideas for the app that I might not have though of, and had experiences with the need that I might not have had.

- I think that what's next for the venture would be to partner with companies with unused parking spaces and offer premium subscriptions through my app to be able to park there. This would be a recurring fee, most likely a monthly fee. The companies offering up these spots would have a new source of income that they probably wouldn't have gotten without our customers. It's pretty much like renting out an unused spot. It would be easier for them to let our app do the work and have the subscription go through our app. They wouldn't have to go through the trouble of finding someone to rent it out to. It would be much easier for the renter and the subscriber to find each other through my app, and it would also include contracts so the business doesn't have to worry about anything but making money from it. My business would take a small percentage of the recurring fee.

- In five years, I would want my app to be used nation wide in bigger cities. I would want to be partnered with many businesses in offering subscriptions to my customers for premium parking spots. My first venture would help me achieve my vision because it would teach me so much about running a business and it would open doors to knew business ventures, like the premium subscription idea I discussed previously, to exploit even more opportunities.

2. Someone mentioned to remember that if I have a business partner, I have to remember that I'll be splitting the overall profit. It was also said a couple times that a business partner sounds like it would be very beneficial to my business. Someone also expressed some confusion about the premium subscription idea.

3. I provided more explanation on the business partner portion of this post. I added that having a business partner is worth splitting the profits, because in return my business will have more resources, financial support, and connections that it wouldn't otherwise have. I also mentioned that having a business partner would also relieve some of the financial strain off of me, because while I'd be making less money, I'd also be spending less money. I also added more detail to the premium subscription description to clear up confusion about profits and logistics. 

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