Assignment 29A - Venture Concept No. 2
1. Venture Concept Description
Opportunity
The potential customers for the app would be people that go to the gym or people that want to start going to the gym. They would use the app to check how crowded the gym is. This would benefit them because they would be able to find a time when it isn't too crowded to maximize their efficiency in the gym. This opportunity was created by overcrowded gyms. This app would target mostly college students who use their college gym, but could extend to anyone who uses a popular gym. Customers now just hope the gym isn't crowded when they go or try to find a time when it's not usually crowded, but you're never certain. I think this opportunity has potential. I don't think it will be huge, but there is definitely money to be made. The window of opportunity will be open for a long time. College gyms will most likely always be crowded.
Innovation
The way the app will work is the user will open the app on their phone and it will automatically search gyms near their location. The user will then tap the gym they are planning on going to and it will provide them with how many people are currently in the gym, along with statistics such as is that considered crowded, how that number has changed each hour, which hour is the most/least crowded, and recommend a time to go. The app can also send the user a reminder to go to the gym based off of when the gym gets less crowded. The app would have instructional videos on how to do certain workouts or use certain machines to help people feel more confident in the gym. This can be monetized primarily through the use of ads. The app could also use affiliate marketing to recommend health/fitness products to users and receive a percentage of the profits.
Venture Concept
Customers would switch to using this app because it would motivate them to go to the gym more often. Those who are shy would want to go during less crowded times. It wouldn't be hard to get them to switch because it would be free to download. There aren't any direct competitors with this app, other than Google giving an estimate of how busy the place would be. Since this is a free app, there is no packaging, price points, distribution, or location. The customer support/experience would be a part, however. I have handled customer support with my own business before so I have experience with dealing with customers and resolving issues. I could manage this app by myself with no employees, but if this were to explode, I could make different positions such as a marketing team, developer team, and customer support team.
Three Minor Elements
My most important resource will be my prior experience with owning my own business. The next step for my venture would be to draw out how I would want the app to work exactly, such as what it would say, what happens when you tap what, etc. If I were to launch this, I would like to outsource the work assuming it is profitable so that this could be passive income.
2. Feedback
The majority of the feedback I received was positive, with students telling me that they would definitely use the app. I was told that it would be a good idea to keep it simple and user friendly. People seemed to like the idea of giving people the ability to choose a less crowded time to go to the gym, especially for people who are shy.
3. What changed?
I expanded my audience to not only people that currently use the gym, but people that are interested in getting a routine who do not normally go. I added a feature that has instructional videos on how to use certain machines or perform certain workouts so people feel more comfortable in the gym.
4.
Opportunity
The potential customers for the app would be people that go to the gym or people that want to start going to the gym. They would use the app to check how crowded the gym is. This would benefit them because they would be able to find a time when it isn't too crowded to maximize their efficiency in the gym. This opportunity was created by overcrowded gyms. This app would target mostly college students who use their college gym, but could extend to anyone who uses a popular gym. Customers now just hope the gym isn't crowded when they go or try to find a time when it's not usually crowded, but you're never certain. I think this opportunity has potential. I don't think it will be huge, but there is definitely money to be made. The window of opportunity will be open for a long time. College gyms will most likely always be crowded.
Innovation
The way the app will work is the user will open the app on their phone and it will automatically search gyms near their location. The user will then tap the gym they are planning on going to and it will provide them with how many people are currently in the gym, along with statistics such as is that considered crowded, how that number has changed each hour, which hour is the most/least crowded, and recommend a time to go. The app can also send the user a reminder to go to the gym based off of when the gym gets less crowded. The app would have instructional videos on how to do certain workouts or use certain machines to help people feel more confident in the gym. This can be monetized primarily through the use of ads. The app could also use affiliate marketing to recommend health/fitness products to users and receive a percentage of the profits.
Venture Concept
Customers would switch to using this app because it would motivate them to go to the gym more often. Those who are shy would want to go during less crowded times. It wouldn't be hard to get them to switch because it would be free to download. There aren't any direct competitors with this app, other than Google giving an estimate of how busy the place would be. Since this is a free app, there is no packaging, price points, distribution, or location. The customer support/experience would be a part, however. I have handled customer support with my own business before so I have experience with dealing with customers and resolving issues. I could manage this app by myself with no employees, but if this were to explode, I could make different positions such as a marketing team, developer team, and customer support team.
Three Minor Elements
My most important resource will be my prior experience with owning my own business. The next step for my venture would be to draw out how I would want the app to work exactly, such as what it would say, what happens when you tap what, etc. If I were to launch this, I would like to outsource the work assuming it is profitable so that this could be passive income.
2. Feedback
The majority of the feedback I received was positive, with students telling me that they would definitely use the app. I was told that it would be a good idea to keep it simple and user friendly. People seemed to like the idea of giving people the ability to choose a less crowded time to go to the gym, especially for people who are shy.
3. What changed?
I expanded my audience to not only people that currently use the gym, but people that are interested in getting a routine who do not normally go. I added a feature that has instructional videos on how to use certain machines or perform certain workouts so people feel more comfortable in the gym.
4.
Hey Jacob,
ReplyDeleteAs you probably know, I have been a fan of this product idea for the majority of the semester and after reading your two venture concepts, I still am behind it. I do like the idea of you expanding your audience to those who are a little more casual lifters. In fact, I think this group would be more interested in your product, because many people who are new to going to the gym want to know that they will have the freedom to do what they want and not have to worry about a crowd. Great work!
Jacob,
ReplyDeleteThis app would be very helpful for people that are wanting to start going to the gym. It is a big problem for new beginners that get scared away by the big crowds that often happen at the gym. There are often too many people at the gym and all of the equipment is taken and people feel self-conscious about taking up the equipment that other people are waiting for.
Hi Jacob, I think you did an excellent job summing up your venture concept in this assignment. I enjoyed reading your descriptions and appreciated how thorough you were. I would personally definitely appreciate an app that allowed me to see how crowded it is before arriving, so I can avoid wasting time waiting for machines to be free and just have a more relaxed, better experience overall. I also like the fact that you thought of creating a "reminder" feature, as that would be way easier and involve less effort than having to check back in with the app every hour or so. I think you went above and beyond by adding the instructional videos, as those would definitely help expand your market to other potential customers besides those who already have a routine workout schedule.
ReplyDelete