29A- My Venture Concept #2

Here is my revised venture concept:

Student Parking Solutions will dynamically change the parking situation at UF. It will revolutionize how students access their education and overall experience at UF. Struggling to commute to campus will be a thing of the past, and parking will no longer be a worry for the undergraduate off campus student body.

This opportunity arose from the inefficiency of the UF parking system. Currently, UF only offers one option for undergraduate students living off campus. This is called Park and Ride, and it consists of a lot/garage in the southwest corner of campus. Students park their cars then must take the city bus to the center of campus, which is a hassle and often discourages students from using the system. 

As stated above, this is the only option for undergraduate students who live off campus. The bus system that transports students is often unreliable and results in many students being late for class or other activities. As a result, there is a huge demand for parking in close proximity to the center of campus, which is the location of many undergraduate classes. Even if UF decided to offer a better solution, the university does not have the space to build a parking facility to accommodate the demand, so thus the opportunity will continue to exist. 

The solution I developed will repurpose land behind midtown, which is only a five minute walk from the center of campus. The revenue will be high, because there is such a large undergraduate population that lives off campus. In fact, a majority of students move off campus after their freshman year. I plan to offer different rates based on weekly, monthly, and semester long plans, with the longer plans offering a discounted rate to students. Additionally, my customer service will be unrivaled in comparisons to the bureaucratic processes of the UF transportation department.  

It is certain that my services will be popular with UF students. Based on the interviews I conducted, many students are unhappy with UF parking, and in almost every interview I conducted, students claimed they would use my parking.  Currently, there is no competition in the market. Private parking near campus consists of apartment complexes, which either don’t offer public access, or charge extremely high rates. Once I enter the market, it would be tough for competitors to create a similar product, as a lack of real estate and decreased demand. 

I have experience with student parking, which will allow me to correctly price my product to offer students fair pricing.  The pricing will be strategic based on availability, competition, and changes in demand for parking. My team will have both industry experts working full time, and student employees who assist with daily operations. We will have teams handling maintenance, sales, and marketing, which are overseen by full time experts. 

UF students are used to having a difficult time with parking, but my service will be unmatched, and is my secret sauce. Every student I know has had an issue with parking at some point in their college careers, I plan to fix that. In the future, I could expand around the state or even the country, where parking is also a problem. I am an ambitious person, and will seize any opportunity that presents itself to me. 

Overall, I received positive feedback on my idea. People who gave me advice didn’t suggest that I change my idea. However, one person recommended that I could use several smaller empty lots, which is a great idea that I will definitely take in to consideration.

As stated above, I didn’t receive any negative feedback on my idea. As a result, I sharpened the idea I currently have and tried to make the concept more clear and concise. 

Here is an idea of what my garages will look like.