11A Idea Napkin No.1

1.     Hello! My name is Gracie Margolles and I am currently a sophomore here at the University of Florida. I am currently a political science major with a minor in innovation as well as Russian. Working in sales and marketing has been something that has grabbed my interest, more so recently because of everything that I am learning in this class, as well as some other business classes I am taking; due to that I am thinking of switching my major to something more business-oriented. I think one big attribute when trying to get a product to sell is communicating the need and idea well enough, as well as being able to communicate it to a wide variety of people. I think this is a great skill that I acquire. I consider myself a people person, and I love talking to people and finding out what needs they have or what bugs them (with respect to creating a business model of course). Not to mention, I am fluent in four languages, so it is great to talk to people of different cultures and backgrounds, and see if those needs and wants differ or not.

2.     The product I will be providing is a unit of small compact lockers with a simple code. This is for places like local nightclubs in suburban areas, or relatively smaller venues where performers have concerts. This is for people to be able to keep their essential items safe during a night out, as well as for them to have a more enjoyable experience without having to hold anything in their hand or worrying about something being lost or stolen.

3.     I am mostly offering this product to the establishment itself, rather than straight to the consumer. The establishment would buy a unit, and they can also choose which size they would like. There are 3 options, 50, 75, and 100 small compact lockers. Each establishment may choose which size they would like depending on the square footage and maximum capacity of their establishment. They then can choose how they would like to profit off my product. Like I said, my target is not huge arenas or concert areas or massive nightclubs. Mostly local places like the clubs here in Gainesville or in any other small suburb or college town.

4.     I think customers will benefit and care about this idea because likes to lose things. Especially important things like a wallet (with cards and ID and cash) or a phone, or keys, or even just some cash. This will also I think uphold repuatations for certain establishments, because when consumers look back and reflect on a night out for example, they wont be thinking about how they lost something or how something of their got stolen. But instead they’ll be thinking about how enjoyable their night was. This again also looks good for those places who do in fact have the units installed.

5.     I personally like that my product itself is very simple and it has a pretty simple concept. I sell it to the establishment, they install it and they then choose how to make money off of it. Not to mention the lockers themselves are easy to use; being compact and only having a 4 digit code (similar to the lockers at Soutwest Recreation center for example).

I think these elements blend pretty well together. I do like to travel a lot (particularly to the Ukraine) and I think with the night club scene out there, this idea would be perfect. So this could possibly be an idea that I could pitch overseas which would be great! This is where knowing four languages really plays in well. There are of course loopholes with this idea in terms of what happens if a code doesn’t work, the user forgets the code, or the spaces fill up fast. But there are of course master keys given to each establishment, as well as them having the option to chose what size they may want. I would say those are probably the weaker aspects of my business. But on the flipside, my product is mostly centered around convenience for the consumer.