Venture Concept No. 1

"Remember, don't let your stomach roar, just Growl." 

Growl is the interactive community that can provide the type of food support our college student needs, especially at a time when they cannot grab a quick bite. Imagine it. You’re in Marston, dying from studying for that test, when suddenly *rumbleeee* (your stomach roars). What do you do? You face two options. One, you could leave to grab food but possibly destroy any further progress you may have (study-wise), or two, you stay and you endure the hunger. If only there were a way for someone to help you out—well, there is. Growl is the interactive geo-locating app that lets you find willing deliverers who can grab the food you want so you can study comfortably. In addition to providing a good deed, the deliverer is rewarded in monetary value or points, which they can redeem for prizes or save up for points. The environment is changing now. More than ever, more restaurants are popping up in Gainesville, and more students are coming in as well. Our focus is the student population, and we need to target the demographic with this opportunity and to let them know that their needs are our first priority. Customers are currently seeking out convenient options via delivery services, but when night approaches, it is rare to find establishments that are still open. This window of opportunity is definitely open to the specific market of students that need it. It isn’t for everyone, but for anyone that does use it, we can guarantee that they’ll love it, and feedback is valued and recommended.

Growl is a student-friendly, student-targeted-but-not-exclusive-to-just-students interactive food delivering app community. It allows the user to set up an account to engage in ordering food at a convenient time and having another community member deliver said food. The app also allows individuals to set up friends list so that they can challenge their friends to “food runs,” where they can set up a timed challenge and request a friend to grab their meal in the allotted time. Once the friend accepts or declines the challenge and successfully completes the food request, he/she is rewarded by one of two options: via monetary payment or points that could be redeemed for prizes. In addition, friends can also update their location. For instance, let’s say: “Joe is…enjoying a spicy cream chicken dish at Bento.” Friends can see each other’s check-in, and restaurants can team up with the app to let the “punch-card” process be a little bit easier. So whether Joe eats at Bento or eats at Bento and accepts a food delivery for a friend, he can be checked off for two punches for the Bento punch card, making it easier to possibly attain free food in the future. Also, after every delivery, the person ordering the food can provide ratings for their deliverer based on the following points: how was the delivery, was the food in proper shape, was the order correct, etc. Revenue could possibly come in through advertisements from local businesses. For instance, while on the app, users can see specials and food deals posted by local businesses.  Plus, with the development of the app, its services will be refined so that friends can deliver alcohol to one another, for parties and such and keep each other accountable—but users with such accounts would have to go through a process to provide proof of being 21.

There are no certainties that students would switch to this product. There will be difficulty trying to make them switch, but if the reliability of the app is seen and customer feedback is acquired, the app is willing to make modifications to provide a user friendly and fun experience. The competitors are other delivery apps that provide services focused on just one location’s business. Their weaknesses are that they just focus on their own services and not the general area’s, which is where we will dominate. We want to provide a route for students/like-minded individuals to attain food but not be limited in their options. The app would need a team of programmers and developers to maintain the app’s network, it would need an account executive to seek out more businesses to include into the app’s database, it would need a marketing director to refine the brand image and attitude of the app to make it aesthetically appealing to its consumers.

OVERALL (in a nutshell):

Opportunity:

·      Growl is the interactive community that can provide the type of food support our college student needs, especially at a time when they cannot grab a quick bite.

·      Growl is the interactive geo-locating app that lets you find willing deliverers who can grab the food you want so you can study comfortably.

·      In addition to providing a good deed, the deliverer is rewarded in monetary value or points, which they can redeem for prizes or save up for points.

·      Our focus is the student population, and we need to target the demographic with this opportunity and to let them know that their needs are our first priority.

·      Customers are currently seeking out convenient options via delivery services, but when night approaches, it is rare to find establishments that are still open.

·      This window of opportunity is definitely open to the specific market of students that need it. It isn’t for everyone, but for anyone that does use it, we can guarantee that they’ll love it, and feedback is valued and recommended.

Innovation:

·      Growl is a student-friendly, student-targeted-but-not-exclusive-to-just-students interactive food delivering app community.

·      It allows the user to set up an account to engage in ordering food at a convenient time and having another community member deliver said food.

·      The app also allows individuals to set up friends list so that they can challenge their friends to “food runs,” where they can set up a timed challenge and request a friend to grab their meal in the allotted time.

·      Once the friend accepts or declines the challenge and successfully completes the food request, he/she is rewarded by one of two options: via monetary payment or points that could be redeemed for prizes. In addition, friends can also update their location.

·      Friends can see each other’s check-in, and restaurants can team up with the app to let the “punch-card” process be a little bit easier.

·      Also, after every delivery, the person ordering the food can provide ratings for their deliverer based on the following points: how was the delivery, was the food in proper shape, was the order correct, etc.

·      . Revenue could possibly come in through advertisements from local businesses. For instance, while on the app, users can see specials and food deals posted by local businesses. 

·      Plus, with the development of the app, its services will be refined so that friends can deliver alcohol to one another, for parties and such and keep each other accountable—but users with such accounts would have to go through a process to provide proof of being 21.

Venture Concept:

·      There are no certainties that students would switch to this product.

·      Their weaknesses are that they just focus on their own services and not the general area’s, which is where we will dominate.

·      We want to provide a route for students/like-minded individuals to attain food but not be limited in their options.

·      The app would need a team of programmers and developers to maintain the app’s network, it would need an account executive to seek out more businesses to include into the app’s database, it would need a marketing director to refine the brand image and attitude of the app to make it aesthetically appealing to its consumers.