19A: Idea Napkin 2

1. My name is Federico Psevoznik. I'm a third-year telecommunication student at the University of Florida. I have experience in graphic design, PR, social media, music production, and management. I aspire to work in the music industry, as an A&R, or as a manager.  Through my experience in management, social media, and marketing, I feel like I can build this idea to a point where I can sell it to Universities looking to offer the same thing to their students.

2. I am offering a book subscription service for students at the University of Florida. Students would opt in at the beginning of the semester, after Add/Drop closes, and are able to access their books digitally, all for one low price a semester.

3. For now, I am only offering it to students at the University of Florida. More specifically, it would be targeted towards students who would otherwise be unable to afford their books every semester.

4. The ability to easily opt in to a service that gives you your textbooks in one website would be very attractive to potential customers.

5. No other service is out there for college students looking to save money. Amazon and other rental services can offer cheaper prices for books, but the process is time-consuming and can be costly.

I know this idea can work, but only if the publishers who provide the University with the books agree to comply. This will be a tough process, as this would limit the exorbitant prices they charge students for their books.

Comments

  1. ChrisMarch 24, 2019 at 7:49 AM

    I know I have said this before, but I really like your idea. Recently, Follet, the company the I believe runs the campus bookstore, send me a survey. Some of the questions led me to believe that they are considering a service similar to the one you are pitching. If Follet is considering a similar service, this means there is a demand for your idea.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

8A: Solving The Problem

Opportunity: University of Florida teachers often cast an enormous burden on students by requiring expensive textbooks distributed by massive book publishing corporations. I want to create an annual subscription service for textbooks. The service would be created and subsidized by the University of Florida, that allows students to view and read the required textbooks for their courses. The University has an endowment of over $1.2 billion, so this would be a drop in the bucket. The University already has an “opt-in” system for specific textbooks, but students are still required to pay the full price of the book. If the University offered an optional flat price for all students, let’s say $250 for the year added to cost of tuition, I’m sure many students would opt in to this option for the ability to read digital copies of required textbooks. If students want hard copies of the book, they can buy it at full price, but if they want to save money, they can use this book subscription servic...
Read more

28A: Exit Strategy

1) Identify the exit strategy you plan to make. Do you intend to sell your business in the next 5 years for a large return? Do you intend to stay with the business for several decades and retire? Do you intend to protect the venture as a family business, and pass it down to your children? To be honest, as this is not the field that I want to spend my career in, I would be completely open to selling the company for a return. If I can find a buyer that I know will take care of its clients and employees, I will gladly sell it. 2) Why have you selected this particular exit strategy? Book publishing software is simply not the world I want to live in for the rest of my life. I found a solution to a problem that affects thousands of college students around the country, and I've done my job. I would rather spend my time doing something else that interests me. I would sell the company to someone who I know cares about the company. 3) How do you think your exit strategy has influen...
Read more

7A: Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Opportunity: The high costs of required textbooks for UF courses University of Florida teachers often cast an enormous burden on students by requiring expensive textbooks distributed by massive book publishing corporations. The who: Students suffer from having to pay for these expensive books on top of tuition. The what: Teachers require expensive, unaffordable textbooks in order for students to complete assignments in the course. The why: Universities usually have contracts with book publishers, and require the newest edition of the book instead of previous versions. Testing the who: Every student I have met has had at least a semester’s worth of classes requiring $100+ books. Testing the what: Many teachers force students to buy the newest edition of the book directly from the publisher, instead of renting or buying a used, previous edition of the book. Testing the why: Publishers benefit directly from students buying the newest edition of the book, as universities sign exclusivity ...
Read more