Venture Concept No.1

The opportunity of my venture is an unmet need of many golfers or people interested in starting to play golf who seek to make the game more interesting or wish to play faster at their own pace or even the organizations that seek to preserve their grass for as long as possible.  Golf is time consuming and expensive sport for both the customers and for the owners and operators of the facilities. The golf board is a more efficient and interesting way to play that also has the potential to draw new customers to the game.

Opportunity

One of the biggest forces in creating the environment for this opportunity is the constant innovation in this sport. The technology of everything in golf is ever evolving to find more efficient ways to play the game. For example, golf clubs with new technology are introduced to the market every single year and people who play recreationally are now using range finders and course gps systems that allow them to play more accurately. This market geographically is defined by anywhere there is a golf course, which spans almost anywhere in the world. I believe that living in Florida is a great advantage though because of the extremely high concentration of golf courses from Jacksonville to Orlando to the south Florida areas. The only current way to satisfy this need is by using a golf cart or by going to the very few courses that offer what I am. The whole point of this venture is that there really is not many ways to satisfy this need already and golfers are always excited by new products and new technology to hit the market that are related to the sport. I think that this opportunity in moderately big and will take a lot of hard work but with only a few courses offering this product so far I think that I would be able to make a big presence in the market. I don’t think this opportunity will last for more than a few years because the rate of turnover for new technology in this specific corner of the market is extremely high so it’s important to strike while the iron is hot.

Innovation

What makes my venture innovative is the product itself and the fact that nobody has taken it upon themselves to distribute this great product on a large scale. The product is an electronically powered board designed to act as a way to get around the golf course at a more efficient pace that a golf cart. The board is easy to balance on and can hold your clubs for you while you steer by turning a handle or for more adventurist users, by leaning like using a skateboard or snowboard when you choose to remove the handle. This product is easier to maintain than traditional golf carts, more efficient at holding a battery charge and much less destructive to the course due to the large difference in weight. My service will be the ability to sell and distribute these on a large scale. There are already people doing this but on a small scale basis and the product has not reached a large majority of courses and is not widely known to exist yet. My customers are primarily the courses themselves but driven by the demands of their customers, the golfers. Simply put, I would be distributing an existing product for a profit to a client base that has a need for it that has not yet been met.

Venture Concept

I think that the customers of the golf courses will be intrigued by how different and new this concept is. I believe that everyone has at least one small something to gain by switching over to the golf board even if it is just occasionally for reasons that I listed in the innovative part of my venture concept. I also believe that it will not be hard at all to draw interest and get people to try the product based soley on their intrigue. The only competition that I have right now for this specific product are the distributors that are attempting what I wish to right now.  They have failed to sell this product on a large scale most likely based on the lack of knowledge around this product. I think that by showcasing the product more at trade shows and events will lead me to more success than they have had.  Considering that I am going to mainly be distributing, I would say that is the most important role in my business concept. However, I do believe that the customer experience and especially the location play a large role in my ability to showcase and sell the product. Having better logistics than the competition will allow me to make promises on price and timing that the competition is unable to match. Being in Florida will help immensely as well since I will be near my customer base. My company would have only as many employees as it needed to complete a specific role. I don’t have an exact number of employees but I would certainly like to keep it to a minimum as required. I think that efficient and proactive logistics team who consistently improve speed and price and people who are adept at selling is key. I would want a team of people who are able to ensure the quality of every product we sell.

1. The one thing that will make it hard for competitors to copy my success would be the pre-existing network of golf course professionals that I have developed over the years of working in the industry and having family work in the industry. This network is extensive and can help immensely.

2. The next thing for this venture would be to distribute this product to individuals for personal use or organizations that need to have a device that allows them to be highly mobile on an individual basis.

3. After this venture loses steam, I would like to “cash out” and pursue other interest. Golf is a quick changing market and is risky to stay in for the long run due to an ability to keep up. I think that having a wide variety of opportunities in different markets is the way to go.