Forming An Opportunity Belief

1) Your beginning point. I believe UF and the surrounding campus areas are in dire need of a parking revamping. 

2) Describe your belief. The unmet need is sufficient parking due to how many apartment complexes are within such a small vicinity. Almost every student living East of UF campus has this need. This need came from sudden influx of new apartment buildings without the parking to match. It's hard to tell how far back this issue goes but it is definitely progressively getting worse with all the new apartment buildings. People with this need are resorting to either taking the parking tickets, or endlessly driving around looking for street parking. I am 100% sure that there is an opportunity for improvement for this issue. 

3a) Identify the prototypical customer. The prototypical customer is a college student living East of the University of Florida in an apartment complex called Savion Park. Savion Park is approximately 4 blocks from campus. 

4a) Iteration No. 1: My first prototypical customer said the exact nature of her need is to be able to park safely and close to her apartment building. She becomes aware of the need multiple times every day as she drives to and from class and running errands. She has had this need since she began at the university approximately a year and a half ago. This issue became even more urgent when she recently tore her ACL and was required to walk extremely long distances to get home. Along the way she has received various parking tickets, which created a sense of urgency to fix this issue. She is currently addressing this issue by applying for a handicap decal in which she can park right outside of her apartment building. She is extremely satisfied; however, this is only a temporary fix for this issue. She is not satisfied with the handicap decal situation because its longevity is at question. She feels that there needs to be serious changes made to the parking situation on this part of campus. 

5a) Reflect. I was very surprised that her response to this issue was to resort to a handicap decal. I am also surprised that for such a large apartment complex they only have about 25 parking spots for over 200 residents. In addition to the extremely limited parking, the fee to park is over 300$ a month. This interview confirmed the fact that not only is there a dire need for more parking, but that every student is being ripped off by paying these absurd amounts of money on top of tuition and dues. 

3b) Identify the prototypical customer. The prototypical customer lives on the corner of 5th Street and 5th Avenue in a house which is approximately 6 blocks away from campus. This customer does not have a scooter, only a car to get to and from campus. 

4b) Iteration No. 1: Since this customer lives in a house the need does not include parking by her home, but rather being able to park closer to campus to get to her classes. She became aware of this need when she moved to this new house and had to sell her scooter for financial reasons. She experiences the need to park closer to campus almost everyday, as she has class 4 times a week. She's only had this need since the beginning of Fall 2018 semester, but has been aware of the need for parking since she signed her lease over a year ago. Once she realized that she was selling her scooter she realized she would have to drive to and from campus or leave substantially earlier to walk to campus, which is not ideal on the very many rainy days in Gainesville. She is currently addressing the issue by either leaving substantially earlier or having her roommate drive her to class, which is an inconvenience on both their parts. She is not satisfied with this solution as she has to rely on her roommate in order to get to all her classes. 

5b) Reflect. I learned that students, are substantially inconvenienced in order to by pass the impossible parking dilemma. I was surprised to learn that neither of these customers brought up the use of the bus. When I realized this I further questioned why the bus is not an option. She explained that the bus is not ideal because due to how far her home is the bus can take anywhere from 20-40 minutes in order for her to reach her destination. 

3c) Identify the prototypical customer. This prototypical customer lives on the Northeastern side of campus in an apartment complex called St. Charles, 3 blocks from campus. This customer has a car and is forced to walk to campus every day due to parking. 

4c) Iteration No. 1: The exact nature of the need is to have a safe place to park his car. He relies on his car for weekly errands rather than daily use, but finds that parking is always an issue even if he only confronts it once a week. He has been aware of this need since he moved in 3 years ago, he is now a senior and has had a car all 4 years. He only experiences his need a few times a week, but finds it annoying enough to see the need. Although his roommate has a scooter, in which there is sufficient parking for near them, the car parking issue has become even more annoying as more and more apartments have been built around him. He has been addressing his need by running errands at absurd times of day such as very early or very late in which parking seems to be more abundant. He has not been satisfied with his solution because it has been progressively becoming less efficient as more apartments have been built. 

5c) Reflect. I learned that the parking issue goes even further than just the East of campus and even extends to the Northern area. I also was surprised at how different all three solutions from the customers have been, but how similar the overall solution would be. I was surprised to hear that he also relies on his roommate and his scooter to help him with his parking situation. 

7) Summarize. I believe the full opportunity is still there for a change in the parking schematics in Gainesville. I also believe that this opportunity is even more accurate because I realized how many people this issue affects. The parking issue goes even further than directly affecting car owners, but in most cases also includes the roommates and close friends of those with cars. I think entrepreneurs would thrive and be solving a huge issue by finding a way to fix this need. Due to the fact that parking is so expensive and limited, I truly believe an entrepreneur building a parking garage instead of an apartment complex would profit more. Parking garages have far less utilities and wear-and-tear than an apartment complex, and would most definitely fill up.