Venture Concept No.1

Hello again!I hope you guys enjoy this Venture Concept!

Opportunity:

One of the most remarkable skills of/as an entrepreneur is the ability to identify opportunities and beyond that a “group of customers with un-met needs”. As a college sophomore, I have identified a group that is seriously underappreciated and underrepresented in a college town being that of make-up lovers/artists. As a new member of the Sabor Latino dance team and the cousin of an AOII sorority member, I recognized that make-up needed for both dance and theater productions or for the sake of special occasions wasn’t an easy thing to find here in Gainesville, Florida. Beyond that, I also recognized that free-lance make-up artists have very minimal opportunities in a college town being that there is only 1 mall with MAC, Sephora and an Ulta nearby. I could only imagine how difficult it might be to build a strong portfolio with such little opportunity given that the financial stance of the general population (college students) is not willing to pay for expensive make-up in order to get a make-over by a professional.

Dance teams, theaters and sorority girls currently satisfy those needs on their own by being loyal customers to certain make-up brands and getting ready on their own. There is nothing wrong with this alternative but a group that is constantly surrounded by this kind of art would definitely appreciate more professional help in getting made-up for those special occasions/ projects that are representative of their group. To help connect the underappreciated free-lance make-up artist and the clients that are part of the aforementioned groups creating a networking platform that connects both of these groups would be a major opportunity. This service would attend to the needs of both the artist and the client in the form of providing an opportunity to build portfolios and a network of clients as well as simply help the client to achieve that desired look for that special event/occasion.

 

Innovation:

           

 The service conceptualized as an innovative solution would be the creation of an application that works as a networking platform to connect a freelance make-up artist nearby to a client in need. The application will work similar to the booming company now known as Uber. The application will connect the nearest freelance make-up artist available to the client in need in order to allow them to meet up. The name of the service would be “Make-up-Meet-up”. The innovation to this service is the combination of a network platform and a transportation system that essentially delivers a much-needed service to a customer group that values the service at their very doorstep in the comfort of their home. The price for this service begins at $20 and can go up to $30 maximum where the network itself would only get 20% of what the make-up artist makes.

Venture Concept:

            Make-up-Meet-Up is an application for any Iphone and smartphone that essentially works as a networking platform to connect freelance make-up artist near any client in need. The service functions similar to Uber that will allow the client and make-up artist to meet in the comfort of the clients home or wherever they desire. It’s a makeover delivered to your very own doorstep! I am well aware that the most difficult part about this venture is getting customers to give it a chance. The way in which this risk would be taken care of is by partnering up with Sephora and Ulta’s make-up artists and hopefully build relationships with the companies themselves as prospective future suppliers. The make-up artists before the app opens will go on to promote the application themselves with clients that walk into the stores for the day of the opening of the application once it is launched and accessible.

            Another strength of this company is the fact that absolutely nothing like this has ever been done before and there is nothing like it. A weakness recognized is the fact that most of the times these services come in as too expensive to afford but being that the geographical setting of the use of this app would be in a college town the service and the expense would be as cheap as $20-30. The factors that play a major role in my service include the distribution, business location and the overall customer experience being that it is the distribution and offering of a complete make-over, the location is flexible and transported to comfort of a clients home or whichever destination desired which is the key to the overall customer experience as it is safe and comfortable. This service would provide a win-win for both the client in the form of looking exactly the way they would want for that special occasion and helping freelance makeup artists build strong professional networks to build their portfolios and get their work recognized.

The Three Minor Elements

·      My unfair advantage and secret sauce is the originality of this venture concept and the customer group that has no other service offered in the form of a delivery service that meets such a specific need.

·      What’s next for the venture is expanding on the demographic and geographic location of this application/networking platforms accessibility and move it into cities like Miami, New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Chicago.

·      What’s next for me as an entrepreneur and hopefully in the next five years is giving myself a chance to become a fashion designer and build a brand for myself. In the next decade I also want to write a book on my experiences as a third culture child and adjusting to new changes so much in my personal life as in my professional life.