29A

Opportunity

My venture concept was brought into my mind by the awful cable companies we have in Gainesville. Cox is the main telecommunications company we have in town. Despite having little competition, they still have a lot of ways to improve. The internet service they provided is not good, customer service is bad and above all, it is really expensive. They have plans of up to $40 per month for a 30 MB speed. Because of my negative experiences with cable companies, I realized that there may be an opportunity in the Gainesville area. My first thought at the beginning of this venture concept is if I’m going to have clients. Since targeting our market segment was a part of this project, I quickly scratched that up. I interviewed a good amount of people and results that came from low-income households and college students were pretty good. I decided to go by those demographics because they typically struggle with economic situations. However, the internet has become such a basic thing that everyone is in need of it. Despite that, I knew that I was not wrong choosing college students and low-income households as my targeting. At least 3 out of 5 of them had bandwidth problems at home. These bandwidth problems are caused by how expensive an internet connection can be in this country. Currently, college students and low-income households are satisfying their internet needs by getting the cheapest internet connection that they can get. Most of the time they don’t have loyalties with internet service providers. According to Forbes, the most hated industry in the nation are cable companies. Their bad customer service, prices, and quality is part of that. Customers are willing to switch if they come to see a better offer. That is why I think that this opportunity is huge. If I’m able to come up with a telecommunications company that has all that my segment wants, I think that I can have success. My segment mostly cares about having good prices and customer service. If I can focus on those 2 aspects I’m going to have a competitive advantage over my competition. I think that this opportunity is going to remain until a telecommunication company decides to do something different than Cox. Telecommunications companies like Verizon and At&t are basically doing the same in comparison with Cox. There is a clear opportunity that needs to be exploited.

Innovation

Telecommunication companies are the most hated companies because they only want to get your money. They don’t care about the customer and nor they care about there quality. Despite the fact that  I’m also offering internet services like them, I’m doing something different this time. Currently, there is no ISP that offers good customer service, quality internet, and moderate prices. Currently, in the market, some cable companies like At&t and Verizon can charge up to 40$ for a 30 MB connection. Besides being expensive, they won’t offer good customer service and quality. I will be doing some innovation in this industry by doing something different. I’m going to be charging 20$ for a 30 MB connection. I’m going to be able to do that because I don’t have the operating expenses that those companies have. I also have the key people that I need for this venture to function because of my social capital. The head departments of the company will be people that have a previous background in telecommunication companies. Besides funding, that is all I’m going to need for this venture to be a success.

Venture Concept

My telecommunications company will solve an issue that many families in America have. Bandwidth problems are a pretty common thing in some segments. By offering cheap and reliable internet, I’m going to be solving part of that problem. Because I’m going to be something different, customers will be willing to switch and stay with my company. Companies in the market don’t offer cheap and reliable internet. They offer expensive and unreliable internet. In addition, switching from the current internet service providers to me will be a very easy process. For starters, I will not be requiring my customers to sign a contract before starting using our services. I will also make it very easy for them to start using our services. They will be able to start with us via visiting our local store or by doing a survey process via our online portal. My clients will only have to complete the survey in the online survey, provide their contact information and add a preferred payment method. As soon as the survey is sent back to us we will visit the premises of our client to make a cable/internet installation if that is what our client requested. My venture concept is also a good concept because of my location and my price. First of all, Gainesville is where my target segment is. From the interviews I conducted,  it was very clear that college students and low-income families are the ones that are struggling with bandwidth problems. By establishing my headquarters in Gainesville I will be in the perfect place. Location is another advantage my venture has since costs in Gainesville are much cheaper compared to other cities. Costs like rent, utilities, and even wages will be much cheaper because of our location. Price is another key advantage in my venture concept because is the factor that will make my clients switch. To have success, my business needs some organization. I will start by hiring a head of marketing, finance, and management. I will also need at least 3 engineers and 2 technicians for troubleshooting and programming. Getting at least 5 persons for customer service purposes will also be a key thing. I will need at least 13 employees for this organization to work and the most basic level.

The three minor elements

My first important resource is price. Price is what is going to make my customers switch from their current ISP to me. Price is the main reason why I got this venture concept.

The next opportunity I would want to tackle is to see if I can target new segments. I’m pretty sure that there are more groups that will be interested in switching to me for my price. However, that will take a lot of research.

In five years I want to be the new Cox. The ISP that everyone uses in town. In the next decade, I want to be in a cart parts startup I’m planing. I come from a country that things like materials and labor are cheap. I’m also focusing on that because I have the social capital to do it. I have some friends that are mechanical engineers and are willing to venture with me on this project I have in mind.

Feedback Summary

Based on the feedback I received on the venture concept 1 assignment, I added some changes in my innovation part. I've sold my cable company as a cheap and reliable company. A company that will make a switching process very easy. Because I was suggested to include that, I decided to do it for this assignment in the innovation section. Also, I was suggested to describe a little bit more how would I handle my operating expenses which I also included in the innovation section.
How I've Changed
Taking the feedback I received into account, I changed by being more detailed. I added details on how the switching process to my cable company will work. I added how payments can be made and how the cable or installation process will be completed. I also described in depth how my location is such an advantage since it will give me the ability to control operating expenses.
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Opportunities somethings can be difficult. However, sometimes they can change our lives in a positive way my venturing into that risk.