Idea Napkin No. 1 - Assignment 11A

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

My name is Bradley Begnoche and I am a third year finance major at the University of Florida. I have been gifted with leadership and communication skills which help me lead other people in the right direction and relay information to group members in an efficient manner. I've interned for a local wealth management firm for the past six months and I have registered for graduate level coursework through the Master of Science in Finance Program. If I were to start this business, it would play a major role in my life. I am a hard working individual and I love the idea of creating a business idea and running with it; therefore, I'd dedicate a lot of time and effort toward developing my business plan.

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

I am offering customers the opportunity to download my app for free and connect with other students at the University of Florida that are enrolled in the same classes. The product would serve as a social media app where UF students would be able to communicate with and contact one another by utilizing users' contact information provided on the social media platform. Students will be able to reach out to one another for help in the classes they are taking. As of now, it is difficult for students to get help from other students when they have no idea who else is enrolled in the class with them.

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

I am offering this app to all students at the University of Florida, but my target customer is a unique group of individuals. More specifically, I will be marketing this app to students who care about their grades in school, but can't necessarily afford tutoring services for additional help. Many college students are on a budget and many people who enroll at UF care about their grades so this will be a large target audience.

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe it's valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

Customers will actually go out of their way to download my app because most individuals are enrolled in classes where they know very few (if any) people. There is less of a need for such an app for students enrolled in core classes that everyone has to take for their major. However, many of the electives or less popular classes at UF don't have so many friendly faces enrolled in the classes. Often, the people these students may know in their classes aren't willing to help or aren't able to help. People on this app will be a group of like-minded people looking to receive and provide help to others which will prove to be invaluable.

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

My core competencies include leadership and communication. I am able to lead others which is important because people tend to gravitate toward me and follow my drive to success. Also, persuasive communication will enable me to inform people of my business idea and help them understand how it will benefit them. Communication will also be very important on the app; therefore, I will make the app as user-friendly as possible because I've spent years developing better communication techniques. I also have a drive that is unmatched and I'm the highest achieving person that I know. Nothing will keep me from seeing this business idea through to the end.

In addition to these five elements, please spend a paragraph evaluating whether you believe these elements fit together or whether there are aspects of your business concept that are weaker / out-of-joint with the others. 

I believe that these elements fit together in perfect harmony because the leadership and communication skills I was born with will prove to be vital as I turn my idea into a business. I spent years networking with faculty members and professionals to get my internship and get accepted into the Master of Science in Finance Program. Throughout this entire process in college, I've refined my communication skills and learned how to work better with people. I am now able to connect with others better which has enhanced my leadership skills. It will take great leadership to start this business and great communication skills to build a social media platform centered around people communicating with one another.