Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity
The opportunity I am being presented with is the lack of parking infrastructure available to accommodate the exponentially growing segment of college/university attendance. This is a substantial problem for universities across the country which effects millions of students, faculty, alumni, fans, and guests every year. This problem continues to gain steam and urgency as personal vehicle usage continues to increase throughout the United States as the primary method of transportation for individuals. According to the United States Bureau of Transportation Statistics, there are 212 million licensed drivers in the US, with 270 million registered vehicles according to Statista, both of these figures increase steadily annually. Demographically the target market is defined as 18-25 year olds who attend a college/university whereas geographically the opportunity is not bounded but focused on college tows (examples: Gainesville & Tallahassee). My idea presents those affected with the ability to travel worry free due the access they will have to view available parking on their smartphone across numerous large parking structures. Currently, my target market is not satisfying their needs, they are adapting their transportation needs to accommodate for the lack of parking available by utilizing public transportation, bikes, and walking, none of which are ideal in a Florida summer. This opportunity presents a massive growth opportunity as it can be implemented at universities across the country with potential to expand into urban centers (examples: New York City & Atlanta).

Innovation 
My innovation is Parking Pal, a company that will engage in B2B selling of parking infrastructure such as parking garages or parking lots equipped with smart technology. Parking Pal is presenting two components to solve the parking crisis. 1) Parking Pal is going to provide large physical parking structures to accommodate the growing population and traffic at universities. 2) Parking Pal is going to provide smart technology. This smart technology consists of a sensor at the front of every parking space which will detect if a parking space is available of occupied, along with a light fixture which will hang above every parking space and light up green when the spot is available and red when the spot is occupied. This technology with connect to  mobile application which will simultaneously update with the most current information being recorded from the sensors in the parking structure. This will give consumers the ability to pin point convenient parking wherever their travels take them. The selling of the product will take place in a B2B setting, for example, Parking Pal will advertise and sell our product to an organization such as UF. This sale could take place in two separate ways, 1) the organization could pay Parking Pal to build parking structures equipped with the smart technology. This would allow an organization such as UF to upgrade their current infrastructure which would increase campus appeal, ease of navigation, and decrease in traffic, all resulting in the increased satisfaction of students, faculty, and visitors such as alumni or gameday fans. 2) The organization could purchase the technology which Parking Pal would install into already existing infrastructure. This option would benefit organizations that already have suitable and efficient parking infrastructure, but want to further upgrade, providing their customers, such as students, faculty, and guests an increased ease of access and transportation. The mobile application will be available to everyone on numerous stores including the app store and google play.

Venture Concept 
My innovation will solve the needs of consumers by giving them the freedom and ability to pin point parking within their destination before departing. This provides consumers with increased, accurate, and regularly updated information pertaining to the parking availability providing them with peace of mind and ease of access. Customers will buy into my innovation because it provides a substantial benefit to their customers. For example, University of Florida purchases Parking Pal's products, this will increase their revenues and customers satisfaction. With upgraded facilities and more accommodations available, more people will be able to park on campus. This will generate increased revenue through the increased issuance of parking passes to students and faculty, along with the increased purchases of one day parking passes that get purchased by visitors, alumni, and fans. This also increases customer satisfaction because it provides a more convenient way to travel, giving customers the freedom to travel on their own time without hassle. This will increase positive perception of the UF campus which will increase overall university satisfaction drawing more students to apply and attend, generating more revenue. At this point I have not identified national scale competitors, I will have to conduct further research as the company advances and grows. The biggest aspect of my business idea would be location. My business concept is targeted at high traffic, urban areas such as large cities and college towns. To further expand and advance the organization forward I am going to need a highly skilled, dedicated workforce including software engineers, construction managers, construction engineers, civil engineers, and highly skilled technical workers to develop and implement the product.


Three Minor Elements
I believe at this moment my most valuable resource would be me being a college student. I am constantly surrounded by very intelligent, determined, and enthusiastic individuals that I could form a relationship with to move my agenda forward. Me being a business major, I am learning the necessary and critical skills needed to understand how businesses operate and achieve success. I am also very highly motivated and eager to learn giving me an advantage over many people. My current strategy is to target college towns with the desire to expand to urban centers. My desire as an entrepreneur is create a product that benefits consumers but also a product that I am proud of. In 5 years I wish to be successful and profitable with eyes on the future to innovate.