Idea Napkin No. 2

Note: the first paragraph is mostly the same from "Idea Napkin No. 1" since it was just an introduction paragraph.

My name is Roy Dela Cruz and I am a rising sophomore, studying Finance and Information Systems at UF. As for talents in a “business” sense, my top 5 strengths according to Gallup’s StrengthsQuest are Focus, Ideation, Restorative, Futuristic, and Maximizer. While the majority of my interests are with finance, managerial economics, and analytics, I am also a little bit interested in things like international relations. As for non-academic interests, I’m into music and geeky things like comic books, sci-fi movies, and video games. My venture idea is derived from my experience with gardening back home. Some of my experiences include the usual volunteering for my local community back in high school as well as an interesting class project I did in senior year. It involved finding a local client, finding out how their business operations could be improved with information technology, implementing a solution, and performing a follow-up on how the solution affected their business. My aspiration is to work in financial management for a large technology or consumer goods company in a metropolitan city. Regarding my business concept, if I were to start it, the role it would play in my life would probably be a side project.

Fresh Campus offers college students a piece of their own land in which they can grow their own organic food. This will allow students who don’t have yards in Gainesville to consume fresh food at a lower cost in the long term. The venture makes money as users pay a fee to subscribe to the local community supported agriculture initiative. Basically, the venture would make use of local garden spaces near UF. The local farm is maintained by a professional. Consumers pay at the onset of the growing season for a “share” of the anticipated harvest. Once harvesting begins, they periodically receive shares of produce. They can then choose which kinds of organic, locally grown produce they want delivered to their doorstep based on quick, yet tasty curated recipes they like on the mobile app. The mobile app allows users to track their produce delivery, choose which shares of produce they want based on the curated recipes they like, and share ideas with other users. The venture integrates mobile technology with the model of community supported agriculture.

The venture is marketed towards college students who live in dorms or apartments. The 2 main elements of the venture are affordability and the ability to own a garden without owning an individual yard. Based on my interviews, the age group to market towards would be between 18 to 28 year olds. Other characteristics of my customers include the desire to consume more organic foods as opposed to conventionally processed foods as part of their diet as well as care for the environment to some extent.

Customers will actually pay money to use this service because over the long run, it could be a better alternative to buying more expensive fresh foods. Also, it could offer a sense of community between users, as they can share ideas about what recipes they tried, and the recipes would be curated towards students with busy schedules.

I do not believe there is any other similar venture like mine in Gainesville or any other college campus for that matter. By bringing the concept of community gardens to a university town, I am able to set myself apart from everyone else and hopefully help those who are starting the process of independently living away from their home town.

For the most part, I think that these elements fit together well. It brings a new perspective to a community garden, with the aim of making organic food more accessible to a new generation of household buyers on a small scale and possibly allowing for an appreciation for gardening. While the idea of pairing a Community Supported Agriculture model with a mobile app that’s just for college students or people who lack gardening space might not be a completely new idea, I think that it is a practical one.

Feedback Memo

Summary of 5 things I took away from the feedback I received from Idea Napkin No. 1

1. It would be a good idea marketing-wise to convey the venture as a low-cost DIY alternative to buying organic food elsewhere.

2. The social media aspect of the mobile app was another idea that was met with approval.

3. The best idea would be to keep the venture on a small market scale before possibly branching out to different areas. For example, trying the venture on a few college campuses before other types of markets.

4. I should take into consideration the busy schedule of college students and solve that problem.

5. Narrow the initial customer base to universities with a high number of students who like organic food.

The main feedback idea that I incorporated into this idea napkin was the consideration of the busy college student. I am not sure why I didn’t think of that in “Idea Napkin No. 1”, but now it seems obvious. It’s a fact. College students are busy people. There isn’t much incentive to cook one’s own recipes if they can easily get something quick to eat like the dining halls, restaurant, or takeout. Therefore, I decided to add a function to the mobile app. I added the “curated recipes” function (reference paragraph 2) in order to customize the product towards those with busy schedules. From that, consumers can choose which shares of organic produce they want based on simple, fast recipes.