Assignment 4A - Forming an Opportunity Belief

I believe there is an unmet need regarding parking at the University of Florida. Anyone who has a car or scooter has this need and it arises from students and the employees of the University who must commute to campus. It could be beneficial to fund some parking garages and charge more money for parking decals or having parking meters in the garage. I do not believe this opportunity has always existed, but think it is a growing opportunity because the University’s population increases every year. Some ways that UF is trying to deal with this unmet need is by making buses free for anyone with a Gator ID and by providing SNAP drivers to get from one part of the University to another at night. Given the number of students and employees at UF, and the current mediocre solutions in place to accommodate for the lack of parking, I would say that I am 60% sure this opportunity exists.

1) University students who commute via car or scooter to campus

• Q: Have you ever had a problem finding a parking spot on campus? If so, how often?
• A: I usually have a problem finding parking during business hours every day.
• Q: What do you do when you can’t find a parking spot? Are you happy with this solution?
• A: I try to get to campus early so that I can find a place to park. If I can’t get to campus early, then I end up taking the bus or walking to campus. I am not happy with this solution because the buses take anywhere from 20-40 minutes to get somewhere depending on the crowed.
• Q: Have you ever been towed?
• A: I have been towed twice in the past year.
• Q: Has your vehicle ever been damaged as a result of tight parking spots?
• A: I have had people hit my car with their scooter on 13th street.
• Q: Parking garages are more expensive than parking lots to build. Would you pay more money for a decal if it meant UF would build more parking garages?
• A: Yes, I would. The added convenience would be worth the extra money.

Reflection: Prototypical customers definitely include students who rely on their car or scooter to get to campus. I was surprised to learn about the high frequency of towing and getting into collisions among UF students.

2) Freshmen who bring their car to campus

• Q: Have you ever had a problem finding a parking spot on campus? If so, how often?
• A: I almost always have trouble finding a spot if I use my car, unless it’s the weekend.
• Q: What do you do when you can’t find a parking spot? Are you happy with this solution?
• A: I try not to move my car so that this isn’t an issue.
• Q: Have you ever been towed?
• A: No.
• Q: Has your vehicle ever been damaged as a result of tight parking spots?
• A: No, thankfully.
• Q: Parking garages are more expensive than parking lots to build. Would you pay more money for a decal if it meant UF would build more parking garages?
• A: No. Since I live in a dorm, I can easily walk to most of my classes without a car. But if I knew how bad parking was going to be, I wouldn’t have brought my car and paid for a decal.

Reflection: Prototypical customers probably do not include freshmen who bring their car to campus because they live close enough to classes where they could walk. So, for the large part, their cars end up remaining unused.

3) Anyone who works on campus

• Q: Have you ever had a problem finding a parking spot on campus? If so, how often?
• A: During early shifts, I usually do not have a problem. If my shifts are in the afternoon or night, I have trouble finding a spot.
• Q: What do you do when you can’t find a parking spot? Are you happy with this solution?
• A: I try to take the bus when I think that I won’t find a spot. It’s not a great solution because if I miss the bus, I have to wait for the next one and end up being late.
• Q: Have you ever been towed?
• A: Yes.
• Q: Has your vehicle ever been damaged as a result of tight parking spots?
• A: No.
• Q: Parking garages are more expensive than parking lots to build. Would you pay more money for a decal if it meant UF would build more parking garages?
• : I might occasionally, in emergencies.

Reflection: Employees of the University may be prototypical customers. They definitely have the need for more parking but have found acceptable solutions such as taking the bus or getting to campus early.

Summary 

After talking to some possible customers, I believe that the need is still there, but it is smaller than I have imagined. For the most part, prototypical customers have found acceptable solutions such as taking public transportation even if these solutions are not ideal. I think that my new opportunity is more accurate than before because the interviews shed light on what the actual opportunity might be. All in all, I firmly believe that entrepreneurs must ‘adapt’ their opportunities based on customer needs. For example, if UF administration started to build parking garages without realizing that people are making do with how things are right now, they would be wasting resources.