Idea Napkin No. 1 - A11

1) Who am I?: My name is Santiago Espitia, I'm an international student here in the University of Florida, currently majoring in Business Management. I am a centered, goal-oriented and open-minded person with the capability achieving each goal I pursue with hard work and effort. Some of my talents include my ability to communicate in 2 languages (English and Spanish), I am good at writing and communicating ideas to any kind of public and I'm also really self-confident. I think that the business I'll talk about in this post could be really interesting because it is a different concept that has not been seen here in Florida or even the United States (as it comes from an idea of a foreign country). In this point in my life it will be the first business I'll be in charge of and it seems like an opportunity to learn how real entrepreneurship feels like, learn for mistakes and explore the hard work behind a product.

2) What am I offering?: In this case, the business idea I'll be talking about are the bagged iced-cocktails here in Gainesville, FL. This is a concept that I am taking for a product that is really common in my country (Colombia) and other places in Latin American, called "boli". In this case I'll be mixing it with alcohol to create a new alternative for drinking that is much more fun, different and refreshing than the traditional alternatives that we see in our environment.

3) Who am I offering this product?: It is specially targeted for college students and young adults in the Gainesville area specially how consume alcohol regularly during parties, tailgates or any other kind of reunion that can involve drinking. Off-course my product does not discriminate sex or race but it is intended for people who is over the age of 21 (legal drinking age). Potential customers here in Gainesville are a lot talking into account that a lot of people comes here to study, so the vast majority of people living here are young and interested to live college life, study, but also have fun. The product would work better during the summer and football season (they seem perfect for the tailgates).

4) Why is the product valuable to customers?: I believe that this product gives a lot of value because it is an alternative that has never seen before in the area, also it offers the plus of the ice as a refreshing product to consume during the hot season of the year (which covers a big part of it here in Florida). Also the price would be a determinant factor because its production costs are really low (as it is really straightforward and easy to manufacture) so it will have a relatively low price compared to what we find in the market.

5) What are the core competencies?: Something really valuable of the idea that I have here is that it is a foreign concept that will be introduced as something new for Americans, and something that some Latin Americans would recognize and will like to consume. Also I am Colombian so I know how to manufacture the product and everything I need for it, how to offer it correctly and who to offer it. I believe that all the elements I have described here connect in a really good way and create a business model that is not really difficult to execute because the product is not complex to produce. However, as something new it might take time for the consumers to accomplish to it and start to position it as a top choice.

I consider that this idea has a lot of potential to be a product that all college students in the area will love to consume. Besides that, also the competition in this industry is really hard, products as beer or even the now mainstream Truly and White Claw are dominating the market and are really popular across college students. The companies that produce this products spend a lot of money in marketing and sell a lot basically everywhere not just here in Gainesville but also in the United States. Even do my idea seems good, it is risky and might take some time to get popularity among the targeted segment.