Rethink | Rebel | Redo = Innovation Economics

After the summer of 2008, we began brainstorming for new ideas.  Our focus remained on using technology to solve everyday problems faced by students and educators.  We wanted to stick to this market since we understood it very well as students ourselves.

It was time for school again, and going through the painful process of buying books.  The bookstore was unaffordable, so I ordered most of my books from online marketplaces.  But, it was always a hassle ordering online since the delivery date was at least 14 days after the order date.  We talked to other students, and they faced the same dilemma.

After much brainstorming, we decided to start a local book exchange website.  Initially we were very excited, but after a few hours of research; tons of such websites already existed.   But, surprisingly, not many people used these websites.  After much debate and research, we realized that the websites did not focus in on specific geographic area or school.  And adding to that, most of the websites had poor user interface (UI).   Still exploring the idea, we spoke to friends that could possibly help us.  A good friend of mine recommended developing a Facebook Application.  Most students were on Facebook, and if properly marketed, the application can go viral.

With that in mind, we built our strategy around developing a Facebook Application.  While we had found a better medium, the monetization strategy was still is in question.  We really had no home run strategy.  Most of our ideas of money making ideas already existed (affiliate programs, banner ads etc).  For the application to hit its potential, we really need to find a new type of “secret sauce.”

(Written in 01/10, hence the past tense)

As a freshman at DePaul, I just wanted to get out in the real world and start something of my own.  I had the naïve perception that every and any business would be successful.  My brother, Ankeet and I would always talk about starting ventures.  We found an opportunity to test our idea at the DePaul Business Plan Competition 2007.  We made it through the preliminary – submit your exec. summary round.  With a lot of excitement, we started to right our business plan.

The 20 to 30 page document did not seem to be an insurmountable challenge.  After all, the money, fame and glory was all going to roll in as soon as we typed our vision onto paper.  (All that did not exactly pan out as we expected J)

Writing the plan proved to be tougher than imagined, especially the marketing and competitive advantage parts of the business.  We patched up a document of 20 pages or so 5 minutes before the deadline and submitted it. Excited to finish, we waited for the feedback from the judges.

When we received our responses, the judges crushed our idea, and rightfully so.  They pointed to the (many) holes in business plan.  Starting from the executive summary to the exit strategy, our business plan was as good as trash.  We even had typos – a big no no for any formal document!

(Written in 01/10, hence the past tense)