Assignment 24A - Venture Concept No. 1

Assignment 24A – Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity:

·       Throughout the U.S., there are few schools that offer home economics and personal finance classes to students. The great majority of Americans are worried about their financial situation, whether or not they live above the poverty line. This worry extends beyond adults to college and even high school students who are struggling to simply find means to pay their tuition and also worry about whether or not they’re going to get a stable job in the future.

·       The need is for people who don’t have any education in handling personal finances and are worried about where their money is going and how much they have and are saving.

·       The forces that allow this to occur are the lack of classes offered for personal finances and a home economics class in general, where personal finances and budgeting are part of the curriculum. Therefore, a great majority of the population has to rely on finding their own resources in order to learn how to handle their money

·       This market isn’t defined geographically; however, I believe that demographically, adults and people with jobs and families would be more likely to use the app

·       Customers are currently satisfying this need by using other budgeting apps, going to financial consultants, relying on their parents or other friends who know how to handle money for advice, and reading articles and watching videos online. They’re pretty loyal to whatever they use now because these resources are the only resources they know of and have access to.

·       This opportunity is really big since most Americans are worried about their financial standing. The worry isn’t limited to people who earn less than others. It’s a worry that is common on every financial level.

·       I believe the window of opportunity will be open for a very long time since the home economics class and personal finance classes are uncommonly offered and knowledge on how to handle money largely depends on the individual.

Innovation:

·       The app will be free to download on the app store, and once individuals create their accounts on their phones, they will be able to also access the website with those same accounts. Individuals can also choose to create their accounts on the website and download the app later or not download it at all. For people who want more than just budgeting tips and finance tracking, for a small subscription fee of $5 a month, they will have access to additional articles if they ever want to read more on how to handle money for certain things or make their financial situation better. In addition, for people who want to consult an actual professional on the phone for advice on their own financial situation, they will pay a bigger price for that one call.

·       The app itself will be user-friendly so that people who are not tech-savvy will be able to easily navigate it and its features. It will also have a simple, yet aesthetic setup to decrease confusion in case there is a problem of navigation for users.

Venture Concept:

·        Individuals will download and use my product if they have trouble keeping track of their finances and also want an easy way of how to budget and save their money better. In addition, for individuals who want more than just tips and want advice tailored specifically to their need, they will either pay the subscription fee for the articles or make the one-time payment if they want to contact a professional for insight about their financial situation.

·        It will be difficult to get people to switch because there are a number of budgeting and finance apps that already exist and already have a great number of people who use them and give them good reviews that attract other people to use them. I think the only weakness these competing apps have is the lack of giving real advice for budgeting.

·        My product can’t be packaged or distributed in any way since it is an online and mobile service; however, the design of the icon for the app and the layout of the actual app and website when in use is important since it has to cater to both people who know a lot about technology and people who don’t know as much. The only location that would be relevant to my product, it would be where the customer service base would be.

·        The price is important because if the subscription price of the price to call a professional for advice is too low, people may think that it isn’t worth the time or money to invest in them, and if it’s too high, people won’t bother thinking twice about subscribing or calling a professional.

·        Since the product is based solely on mobile devices and computers, having a really good customer support service is crucial since there is no way to personally connect to users of the app and website. My employees will be trained to be friendly, honest, and polite towards all customers if they have problems with the app or website, and they will be required to memorize key points and details about the product the customers are using.

·        I would estimate twenty employees to begin with, mainly for providing customer support for people who have problems with the app or website, and the number will grow as the number of people who use the app grow. A few of them would be marketers, people who will help advertise the app, as well as the designers of the app and website, to make sure they are user friendly and the layout isn’t cluttered.

Three Minor Elements

·        My unfair advantage would be the ability to build rapport. While there is little personal contact with potential customers, being able to establish trust with a customer that my product will work and help them budget their money and become a better budgeter is crucial. Building rapport helps in bringing out and establishing a need for potential customers, and that is the beginning of attracting them.

·        My initial venture will not include the consultant portion of the product until later, when the app and website is already established and has a big customer base. I believe this will help jumpstart the addition of being able to call a professional for financial advice.

·        In the next five years of this venture, I would love to see people have a better generalized idea of how to handle their money better and be less stressed and worried about their financial situation. I want more people to have more confidence in their personal finance skills.