Venture Concept No. 2

Venture Concept Write Up Guide: Amico

Opportunity

The people who have the need for my app are mainly college students or young professionals in new cities who are looking to make new friends. However, this app could be used by literally anyone who is looking to make new connections with others in their area. Some of the forces in the environment creating this opportunity are that people are busier than ever, and also more reliant on technology. It seems harder than ever to meet new people in-person in daily life. Amico allows them to meet new people, and due to profiles, they know can tell if they have things in common or not. Currently, customers are satisfying this need by going to bars or large event and trying to strike up conversations with those around them. Some also use apps like Tinder to try to find friends instead of merely hookups. Some also use the BumbleBFF app, but it has yet to gain widespread popularity. This window of opportunity will not last much longer, as more apps like this are created. Eventually, one of them will gain enough momentum to dominate the market.

Innovation

            The app I am creating is called Amico, the Italian word for friend. It will allow users to find other people with similar interests in their area with the goal of creating new friendships. Users will create a simple profile that lists a few of their interests and a small paragraph about themselves with a picture. Users can view each other’s profiles, and if they mutually agree they’d like to meet, users can message back and forth. The app will make money through targeted advertisements. For instance, if both users list sports as an interest, a local sports bar ad could show. Not only does this ad provide a talking point for users, but it also allows advertisers to very specifically target their market. Advertisers will pay to advertise in the app, but the app would be free for users to download.

Venture Concept

            This app will solve the problem of trying to meet people in a fast-paced and technologically reliant world because users will be able to use the app on the go. The app will be designed with an easy to use interface. Customers will download the app because it will be free, and will enjoy it enough to keep using it or pay to download an ad-free version. Advertisers will want to buy ad space because of how well if will allow them to target their markets. It won’t be hard to get customers to switch because the app will be quite different than anything that is popular or prominent in the market. Competitors include Tinder and BubmbleBFF. The weakness of Tinder is that it is mainly used for hookups instead of making new friends. BumbleBFF has a similar weakness in that it is a subset of Bumble, a dating app. The interface and design of the logo will be very important. It needs to be appealing and easy to use so that customers will want to take the time to download and use it. The business would initially start out small with about 10-20 people to maintain the app and place advertisements in it.

Minor Elements

            My most important resource will be my connections to college campuses. Once something becomes popular and successful on one campus, it becomes easy to transfer the same model to other campuses and eventually larger cities. Something I would like to do that has been successful with other companies is hire campus representatives to promote the app. They would be paid to promote the app on social media and in different locations around the campus.

            The next part of this venture will be expanding to large cities and focusing beyond the initial target groups of college students and young professionals.

            Within five years, I’d like for the app to be a household name. Additionally, I’d like to figure out a way to make the app as safe as possible for users, so that users can feel comfortable with any of the people they meet on the app. 

Summary of Feedback and Changes

             Most of the feedback I got was positive, with several people saying they would use the app if it really did exist. One person mentioned that it may not be a great idea to have my sole source of revenue be advertisements, so I've decided to also include a version of the app where users would pay a small fee, such as $4 or $5, to download an ad-free version of the app. Many users also mentioned it would be very popular on college campuses, so I added a campus representative portion because I have seen that concept work very well with other companies, especially ones trying to break into the market.