Idea Napkin No. 1

1)      You:

I am a college student who is looking to break into the sports management field. I was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I lived in New Jersey for many years and moved to Miami for high school. Then I moved to Pembroke Pines soon after graduating. I transferred to the University of Florida from Broward College last fall with my Associate in Arts degree. I love sports, music, and learning. I have a few talents, one being that I play hockey. I am a forward on the club ice hockey here at the University of Florida. Another talent of mine is my ability to play drums. I have been in a few bands over the years. I have a high tolerance for ambiguity. I learned how to adapt and make sense of new surroundings and situations from moving around and playing sports.

My aspirations are to create the ALike phone and tablet application for people to use to make a change, just a little easier. In school finding like-minded individuals and others who share your passions is easier than those outside of school like environments. I have many interests and skills so I want to find people to jam with one weekend and then others to go kayaking with the next weekend. After I start my business concept and it takes off that I would sell. Even though I sell-out so to speak I would still have an emotional connection with the app, because of what it stands for. Which is to bring people together.

2)      What are you offering to customers?

I am offering users a service to find people with similar interests based on their location. Users will be able to log in and create a personal profile. After that process the user will be able to view other profiles in the category they chose, depending on the user’s membership. Overall my application is an easier way for people to find each one another. And to make a connection even before they meet. The connection will be easier, because the people will the same hobby, lifestyle, and skill.

3)      Who are you offering it to?

My user base will consist of a few demographic and psychographic characteristics. I imagine my customers to be mainly young, recently graduated college students or people who move for job opportunities. My application will be for all ages, but I would find the (21-35) to be the majority of my users. I also imagine the majority of the users to come from neighborhoods outside of main cities. The majority of the users will likely span the entire middle-class population.

The psychographics of my users would be different, based on the category one is searching. Musicians may act and feel differently than hang gliders or bowlers. Most users will be new to their area or new to an experience, but they are all open-minded and looking for adventure.

4)      Why do they care?

The application is generally free to download, but to get the most out of the app one will purchase a membership. People are finding themselves in different places every day and with no outside connection, they can feel alone and even lost. People want to feel connected with others, to share ideas and engage in life with others. That is why people will care, use, and become a member.

5)      What are your core competencies?

My core competencies will be that a drummer will be able to find a band or single guitar player who shares the same style, skill level, and desire easier than before. My users will be able to upload YouTube videos or personal videos from their phones to attach to their profiles. I want to update the standard picture and written description profile with a more authentic and genuine video of the user. This way the viewer will get a better idea of who they are making a connection with.

I believe all five elements work together on paper and should be successful. One element I find maybe the weakest is number element number four. This may be the most important element overall, but I am not sure if implementing a membership is necessary. Maybe the application will be free all around and I only have revenue streams from advertising and sponsorships. I do believe people will find my application useful, because I know what it is like to bounce around and it is not easy. If this application can make the transition easier on people, then I would consider the ALike application as a success.