4A - Forming an Opportunity Belief

Over the years, I have had several different ideas that I believe could potentially be very successful. If I am being honest with myself, most of them are extremely unrealistic and probably not good ideas at all but there are a couple that I still stand by and believe could be hits. The specific idea I am about to discuss is one that stems from a “bug” that I mentioned in assignment 2A. Bug #9 on my list is “Not being able to find a seat at campus libraries.” Through my experiences over the last 3 years at school I have noticed that this is an issue that many students around UF and other schools across the country are plagued by. Dozens of times I have found myself wandering aimlessly around Library West looking for a seat to get my work done.

This issue I believe is an unmet market need, especially at the University of Florida. My idea to solve the problem is an app based software that uses UF library layouts and allows students to input where/when seats or tables are vacated in the library. Once people that are situated in the library input the updated information, students that are looking for study space are then able to open the app and view where there is open study space. As of right now, the easiest way to find open study space at UF is to use the DIBS website that is already operational. The issue with this is that this website only allows reservations for study rooms and is not helpful for cubbies, tables, and other seating. This issue has always existed but becomes more important as more young adults begin to go to college. I am nearly certain, almost 100%, that this need exists and with a well-designed solution platform would be very successful.  The prototypical customer would be college students, specifically UF students for the purposes of this class.

Iteration No. 1: Identified Prototypical Customer: AJ Kerwin

§  Fourth year Applied Physiology and Kinesiology major (pre-med track)

I identified AJ Kerwin as a great candidate to discuss my idea and whether he believed that it was an unmet need on campus. I started the interview by asking him what is his opinion on library seating at UF. He proceeded to tell me that the campus libraries are often too packed to find seating most the time and that he struggles to find an area of the library that he can get his work done. He said that since his freshman year he has always ran into this issue and at this point “I’ve just accepted that this is the way the library seating in college will always work” when I asked when he became aware of the issue.

“How are you addressing this need at the current moment? And are you satisfied with this solution you are using?” I asked AJ. “The best way for me to find open seating at any of the main libraries on campus is to 1) either get there early or 2) hope that somebody I text is there and that they have an open seat around them. Often, I end up leaving the library because I don’t want to waste my time looking for a seat. I would say that I am not nearly satisfied with either of these solutions,” AJ responded.

*Reflection on iterations will be completed at the end of all 3 interviews*

  

Iteration No. 2: Identified Prototypical Customer: Brandon Furry

§  Fourth year Mechanical Engineering Major

Brandon Furry was the second prototypical customer that I identified as someone who may sympathize with the unmet need that I have identified. I started the interview with the same question that I asked AJ. “What is your opinion on the seating at campus libraries through your experiences at UF over the last 3 years?” I asked him. Brandon responded by saying he is the type of student that likes to do his work at his home and at his personal desk. “On a personal level, I don’t identify with this issue to an extreme extent, but I have a lot of friends that I have heard say that they hate going to libraries because they are always too crowded.” Brandon continued to answer my questions and told me that he first noticed people around him having these issues when he was a sophomore and that this need is real and exists among the UF student population. Brandon said that he is extremely satisfied with his solution of doing work at home but did say that he would be much more inclined to go to the library if he knew that there was a platform that would assist him in finding available seating.

*Reflection on iterations will be completed at the end of all 3 interviews*

Iteration No. 2: Identified Prototypical Customer: DJ Kerwin

§  Fourth year Finance Major

Similar to the previous two iterations, I spoke to DJ and asked him his perspective on the seating situations of campus libraries. Throughout the interview, DJ had a similar perspective to his brother AJ. He told me that this has been something that he has noticed for a few years and that there is not an easy/quick fix solution to the problem that he has been able to think of. Most of the time he wanders the libraries until he finds an open seat and this takes up to 30 minutes at some occurrences. He agrees with the statement that this is unmet need at UF and that my app based solution could potentially be extremely helpful to the future generations of University of Florida students.

Reflection on all iterations:

            Upon completion of my iterations, I realized that this idea may be worth more than I imagined. Having all three interviewees tell me that this is an unmet need across the campus was very encouraging and got me excited. The most surprising aspect of the iterations was when Brandon told me that he does not go to the libraries often. I had not thought about the sub-group of students that stay away from the libraries because of how packed they can be. This solution could potentially draw in a crowd of students that have always enjoyed studying at home more than at the library because of seating issues.

Summarize

            In summary, I believe it is very important for entrepreneurs to adapt their product in accordance with customer feedback. For me personally and for this idea, I believe my original concept of the app based solution still seems like a great idea. I believe it is an accurate solution to an unmet market need. I definitely need to still expand upon the idea and get much more detailed with the planning, but for right now I am at a great starting point.