Assignment 29A - Venture Concept No. 2: Louis' Sponsor Center

OPPORTUNITY

Note: Soccer clubs are run just like any other business and have contracts with certain companies (Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, etc.) to sponsor them financially or by providing equipment. Smaller clubs, especially those in lower-income neighborhoods, often struggle to find sponsorship because their names/brand are not recognizable and there is not much of an audience for their games and tournaments.

·       Who has the need: My need exists in those smaller soccer clubs whom are mostly situated in lower-income neighborhoods but can be in middle-income neighborhoods. These clubs’ primary customer base does not have a large purchasing power, so they have to modify their product to fit that. This leads to them providing an inferior good that is overall, detrimental to the development of their players.

·       Nature of the need: The nature of the need is that while these clubs could continue providing the same quality of product which they have done before, there exists the possibility that they can elevate the product without losing their customer base. This means that prices while prices are maintained, the service itself must improve. This is where their need of additional sponsorship comes in. The sponsorship could be in the form of sponsored tournaments or even the donation of equipment and material for the players.

·       Forces/changes creating the opportunity: The movement of migrant families from South America and the Caribbean Islands into the South Florida region is creating this need. These families are recently established and are more likely to reside in lower-income neighborhoods, so they do not have high paying jobs and thus cannot afford to send their children to soccer academies or other expensive clubs.

·       Geography and demographics of the market: When I first try to establish the business, the market will be situated in the South Florida region. As it expands, it will hopefully start to cover other lower-income regions.

·       Current customer satisfaction/loyalty: The small clubs usually ask for donations and volunteering from the parents. This has worked to some degree of success because the clubs themselves remain sustainable. Although this system is flawed because the parents have other obligations so their help is inconsistent at best. If the opportunity for more direct sponsorship comes in, they would jump at the chance.

·       Size of the opportunity: I would say this is a big opportunity considering the sheer number of smaller clubs that are organized in the South Florida region; as well as the large population of migrant families whose children are primarily accustomed to playing soccer. I myself have lived in the region and I know of several of my friends who have played for these smaller clubs.

·       Time length of “window of opportunity”: This opportunity will be open until someone is able to successfully fill the need. So far, the solutions which the clubs use to sustain themselves can be considered temporary. This also places some pressure on me to exploit the market as soon as possible.

INNOVATION

·       What it is: A service that matches up soccer clubs with additional sponsors who donate equipment and organize/sponsor tournaments with other similar clubs in the area. That way, the management and coaches of the teams will not have to worry about providing these services for the player but will instead be more invested in their development. This also removes the element of having parents being overly involved and thinking they can influence the direction of the club.

·       What it does: This model will ensure that prices at those clubs remain the same while the quality of services and development which they provide to the players will increase. It will also increase the competitiveness of those clubs because the frequency and level of tournaments which they participate in will increase. Players will also be more motivated and dedicated to the sport and their develop when they are finally in an environment where playing soccer and developing their skills is their main concern.

·       How it works: My business will first get into contact with sponsors and gauge their interest in our proposed business model. After establishing connections with a suitable amount of businesses, we will then move towards working with the clubs to work on establishing a necessary contract with the sponsors. As part of introducing the clubs with the sponsors, my business will require a fee from the clubs. My business will essentially be an agency that matches up clubs with sponsors. They will then be priced on the size of the sponsor which they request, the amount of equipment they will need from the sponsors, and the number of tournaments that are to be organized in the names of those sponsors.

VENTURE CONCEPT

·       Reasoning and difficulty: Customers will switch to my product because their current model is aimed towards sustainability and not growth. This means that neither the players nor the players themselves are content with their development, but they settle for it because that is all they can afford. If I have a stable base of sponsors, I do not foresee that I will have too much difficulty getting the clubs to buy into my business.

·       Competitors and weaknesses/vulnerabilities: The idea itself has no competitors besides the sponsors themselves going out and finding the clubs to then establish a sort of conglomerate or coalition with them. I still need to gage the possibility that they will undertake that idea. The current vulnerability is that every moment that I spend not implementing my idea is time for someone else to come in and establish it themselves.

·       Roles of price packaging, price points, etc.: Much in the same way that different customers can get charge different prices for the same product, my business will provide sponsorship to clubs at varying prices. The business itself will be in South Florida and there will be sponsor bundles offered in terms of club size and location because of the relation to how these clubs will probably be playing in tournaments versus one another.

·       Organization and employees: My business will be organized as me being the manager and overseer of the distribution of sponsors to the clubs. I must first start out by gathering the interests of sponsors myself because I do not have any capital to invest in employees to do that for me and it would be a waste of money. My subsequent employees should preferably be those with at least a low-level law background because of the use of contracts in establishing relationships between the clubs and sponsors.

THREE MINOR ELEMENTS

·       My venture’s secret sauce will be the genuine concern that we have for the clubs and their players and the relationship that we establish with the sponsors. This might not seem like much of a secret sauce but I grew up in the area and I know of so many people who had to give up on their dreams because they did not have the resources to pursue them and that is something I am aiming to correct.

·       The next problem to address will be a managed route from those smaller clubs to the bigger academies. In a sense, my business will next establish connections with those academies. This will aid in making sure the players successfully transition into the bigger and more competitive clubs/academies.

·       I hope that my next venture will be something to tackle the economic development issues that plague Black neighborhoods. It is something which I constantly think about.

 

Feedback

·       The feedback which I received centered on the focus of my business and how I wanted to change the direction of the clubs by elevating their situation, in order to bring a greater benefit to the players. I received positive feedback on the three elements because those really explained the reasoning behind my idea and the next step for my business. However, there were some concerns regarding the distinction between sponsors and clubs, and how exactly they are related. Therefore, I included the note at the top to ensure that people understood my idea as best as possible.

·       A lot of the revisions which I made to the idea centered on being more descriptive with who or what clubs exactly fit into the market. I wanted to be as detailed and specific as possible to minimize confusion. Therefore, if there were any criticisms then I would know exactly what portion of my concept it was addressed to; and then I could take the necessary measures to modify it. I also changed the name of the business to clarify its purpose.