Forming an Opportunity Belief

1.         I think there is an unmet need of sufficient spots in libraries at the University of Florida.

2.         There are two large libraries at UF that always seem to be extremely full. I can almost never find a spot and when I do I’m isolated from friends I wanted to study with. What bothers me a lot is that I spend a long time scooting or walking to the library, then looking on each floor for a spot, then deciding there is none, and leaving back home to study. It is a waste of time, when I could have just stayed home if I knew the library would be so packed. I think this is an unmet need for most students across campus, especially those who live far from campus and do not have enough time to keep commuting back and forth. I think this need has always existed at UF as students are always going in to study, but finding a spot is especially frustrating during exams like midterms and finals. Students now are asking others to save them a spot, which can be very problematic. There are empty seats all around the library for hours held by students waiting for their friends, when they could be used by someone that is currently there. I would say I am 75% sure this opportunity exists.

I would love to have an app that allows you to see the layout of the library with each table and seat and the seats having a sensor on them so you know if it is taken or not. This saves you a trip if you see the library is packed or you can see if there are tables available before you enter. It also would allow people to stop saving seats for long periods of time.

3.         The prototypical customer would be UF students who frequently go to the library.

4.         Customer #1- UF Junior Female

a.          This girl thinks that sometimes there are enough spots that she would want to sit it at but sometimes she can’t find one. She usually looks for a spot for about 10 minutes before deciding to stay or to go back home. She said there usually are spots but just not ones she would like to sit at. She goes to Library West five days a week and said on about three of them she feels annoyed trying to find a spot where she usually sits at. She said when she cannot find one she usually just scoots back home and it makes her not want to study. The solution I proposed to her got her thinking and she said it would probably be too expensive and that she would like a live camera more.

            Customer #2- UF Junior Male

b.         This student does not really use the UF libraries and likes to study downtown. His favorite place is Karma Cream and he likes it there because it’s less crowded and he can easily get coffee. He says Karma Cream tends to get pretty packed during exam season so he just goes home. I told him about my solution and he said he would never use the app because he never goes to the library. He also said that many of his friends study with him at Karma Cream or other coffee shops downtown when they want something new.

Customer #3- UF Sophomore Female

c.          This sophomore says that she goes to the library everyday because she lives 30 minutes from campus. She likes library west the most and spends almost three-four hours there. She says if she gets there early she can usually find the spot she likes and just stays the rest of the day. She says during exams it’s nearly impossible to find a spot and she ends up going somewhere where she does not feel comfortable and can’t concentrate enough. I told her about my idea and she said she would definitely use it to know when to go and when not to go.

5.         I think I definitely over estimated the need for a tracker for seats at the library. Some students do not even go and the only time it is actually extremely necessary is during finals and midterms. I still think it would save a lot of time and effort but the need is definitely not a need for the entire student body.

6.         I think entrepreneurs should definitely adapt their opportunities to customer feedback as it improves their product for the people that are ultimately going to be consuming it. The general idea of the product should stay the same but little tweaks should be made in response to the customers wants and needs. I think this opportunity changed in my mind after talking to the customers. I would maybe make more spaces or rooms instead of a tracker although that would be a lot more expensive.