Venture Concept No. 2

Icebreakers

Opportunity

There are nearly eight billion people in the world today which leaves us with the lifetime opportunity of meeting new people. Despite there being so many people in this world to meet, we still tend to only talk to the people we already know when we go out to a bar or a social setting. This is mostly due to our natural instinct of doing what is comfortable and fearing the uncomfortable. With that being said, I am creating an app that has the ability to make socializing in a social setting a little bit easier. After being in Gainesville for nearly 2 years and spending almost every weekend going out to social events, I found the need for a solution to a problem. When I first walk into a bar, the first thing I do is look for people I know if I haven’t already come with anybody I know. Every time that I have gone out, I have been with a group of people. We usually see people in the bar that we already know, and we go and talk to them. This is not a problem, but I believe that it should be easier to meet new people and there has to be a way to promote social networking in a bar setting. I then realized that there is a need for a social networking app that is specific to each social setting. Personally, I think this need can apply to all age range’s, but my app is built specifically for college students that are 18 to 22 years old. The introduction of this app would make a bar setting more social and promote social networking. This app would also target people outside of college that are in a social city bar setting. This would be a great market for the app because most people go to new cities after college for work and they usually don't know many people when they walk into a new bar. 

There is already an extremely successful app known as tinder that has the similar function but the app, they use does not have the functionality to be specific to each bar. Tinder is known for being more of a stay at home hookup app instead of a social networking app like Facebook. With that being said, this is a he opportunity because a platform with the functionality oi just described does not exist.

Innovation

The name of my app is Icebreakers. The icebreakers app is a free social networking platform that helps people network with the other people in the same social setting as them. When you walk into a bar you open your Icebreakers app and check into that bar. After checking into that bar you will be able to see who is in that bar through the app. You will only be able to see the people that have the app and have checking into the bar. Next, a notification will be sent out to everyone using the app that you entered the bar. You can then filter out who you want to see in that bar and you now have the opportunity to view who is in the bar. After viewing who Is in the bar, you find someone that is in the same club as you at UF that you haven’t yet met. You then send this person a request to meet up. The other person can view your request and see if they are interested in meeting you. After they accept the meetup request, you will be given a meetup location in the bar and you will be placed in a direct message to communicate. In terms of security, this app does a background check before anyone joins the app. After completing the background check anybody can report suspicious behavior and those people will be removed from the app. Also, let’s say someone requests to meet you and you don’t want to meet them because they seem sketchy, then you simply just decline their request and the person cant request you again that night.

Venture Concept

My innovation will address this opportunity because it will give people a new alternative for networking that may be easier and more enjoyable for some people. If this app is used in full effect, then it will allow people to network and make new friends when out in a crowded social setting. Obviously, the hardest part about creating this app is getting people to use it. My competitors are tinder and Facebook but at the end of the day this app’s one of a kind, so it doesn’t really compare to Facebook or tinder due to its distinct functionality. This product would require a tech team to fix any problems that the users may have. It would also require a research and development team to further advance the software.

The three minor elements

I think my most important resource will be the ability for this app to be a fully integrated platform. This means that every step of the networking experience is done through the app all the way up until you meet the person face to face. Also, I think the experience that people receive when using this app is an exhilarating experience that will differentiate us from the competition. The next steps for this venture are to meet with a app developer ad work on creating the app that will perform everything I described above. Also, I need to develop a cost breakdown of the expenses that will go into getting this app up and running. After launching this app, my main focus will be on spreading the word and getting people to try out this platform. Five years from now, I could see this app being a global leader in social networking platforms. I want to see this app develop and improve based on user feedback. This will give the user the best experience possible and it will allow this app to spread a good word. I believe this app will change the world for the better. This app will allow people to go out in a social setting and comfortable and safely build their social network and advertise their personal brands

2&3) Provide a summary of the feedback you received from your previous venture concept description. You certainly want to include the student feedback, but you may also include the feedback you received from others during the "What's Next" exercise. You want to summarize all of the feedback, but be sure to place an emphasis on what people recommended you change about your idea. (In other words, don't just describe the positive feedback.) Describe how you changed your venture concept, based on what you learned from the feedback.

In this assignment I included some of the feedback that I received from my first venture concept assignment. One of my classmates expressed his concern for me strictly targeting college students so I expanded my audience where I am also pursuing college graduates who just moved to a new city and don't know anyone at the bars. I found this advice extremely helpful because I was too focused on college students when my app is very applicable to many different crowds. 

4)