29A - Venture Concept No. 2

Opportunity: Underprivileged communities suffering from food insecurity often turn to charitable resources in their areas, such as soup kitchens and other nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing consistent and nutritious meals. These nonprofit organizations usually need help finding more food sources so that they can serve the greatest number of people in need. Seasonal food drives put on by local high schools and/or companies are undoubtedly helpful, but they do not provide enough for these nonprofits to feed people all year long. The final consumer market is defined demographically as a low-income population. However, my market is actually targeted at the businesses providing food to these populations and the restaurants and grocers willing to donate or sell goods at a lower price. The charitable organizations providing food currently utilize food drives and existing business partnerships to meet their needs. I am sure that there is some loyalty there as they are grateful for the outside support. This opportunity is relatively large in the sense that there are underserved communities all over the country but it is probably not so large in terms of profitability. Even though my business idea is not a charity, it is difficult and morally questionable to get into the business of helping others with profit being the number one priority. The “window of opportunity” is open indefinitely in the foreseeable future as I don’t anticipate there being an overnight solution to such a complex problem.

Innovation: My innovation offers a middleman service that connects restaurants, grocers, etc. to soup kitchens and nonprofit organizations that serve underprivileged communities. My business venture links two businesses who can both contribute immensely to easing the burden of food insecurity if they cooperate with each other. It would work by essentially streamlining the process of finding a working match or pair (of restaurant and nonprofit organization). Once I develop a large enough network, it will be easy to match food donors with organizations in need. Although I am not sure about exact pricing, I would essentially be charging a fee to find the organizations a willing business partner. If a donor is the one reaching out for my business’ assistance, I would set up a way to take a cut of whatever they are being paid for the food. One  important thing to keep in mind is that businesses will get tax deductions for donating to a non-profit organization, so that may incentivize them to want to donate consistently in order to get a larger write-off.

Venture: As described above, my innovation would solve nonprofit organizations’ continuing need to find new sources of food so that they are able to serve as many people as possible. These organizations already have existing business partnerships, so it would be difficult to get them to make the initial switch to using my business model instead. However, I am confident that the convenience of the streamlined process would lure more and more people in as my network of partners grows. At this point, my main competitors would be in-house employees whose jobs are finding new business partners, but they do not have the same network that I want to build. I anticipate that packing, distribution, and customer service will most likely have the greatest financial impact on the success of my venture. Since its purpose is to help charities, I could have a handful of employees assisting with the business operations side of things and then rely on volunteers to distribute the food in the area.

Minor Elements: 

1.    Most important resource: I think my most important resource is the social responsibility that would be demonstrated by working with a company like mine. In recent years, there has been greater emphasis placed on corporations to show customers that they are socially responsible and give back to the community. Being partnered with an organization that works directly with charities would certainly reflect well on the companies that choose to participate. 

2.    What’s next for the venture?: I see the most logical next move as expanding the geographic area that my business serves. If it were to start in Gainesville, it could slowly expand to serve Alachua County, then the greater North Central Florida region, then the whole state and so on. I anticipate that this growth would occur naturally.

3.    What’s next for you?: In five years, I plan on having completed law school and being a practicing attorney. With a JD, I would be able to contribute so much more to nonprofit organizations and provide them services that go beyond connecting them with other businesses. I have always wanted a purposeful career, and this venture would certainly put me on the right path.

Summary of feedback: The feedback I received on my first venture concept was positive. One thing that was mentioned that I had not thought of was that the donating business partners would get substantial tax deductions for giving to a nonprofit organization. I also got a few different recommendations for how to grow my business in the future.

Changes: I changed my venture concept by including tax deductions as a part of my innovation. It is a huge incentive that encourages businesses to donate more food more frequently.