I think the self-driven style of learning incorporated in our class was very similar to what we can expect our pursuit of entrepreneurial endeavors to look like most days, at least in the beginning stages, but also as we grow and pivot as we’ve learned from discussions and readings. Although certain moments of the research process seemed daunting at first, we finally had to do what we’ve been taught to do up to this point and jump in and learn as best as we could. For most of us, certain assignments such as the mvp testing and the expert interviews were new experiences and I think incorporate this real-time study on an idea of our choosing gave us a realistic look at what to consider the next time we want to pursue an idea. I also appreciated the way discussion was encouraged in class and how many of us felt free to express our thoughts on each other’s progress throughout the semester. In doing so we learned many of us went through similar phases in the research process and I think this contributed to the strengthenening of our overall drive as we learned it’s okay to struggle, and even fail in some cases, so long as we learn something from it. With independence comes responsibility and I strongly believe this class reinforced that teaching.

After completing the MVP testing process (for now), I was surprised to find out that the group who found the most value in my product to be Americans aged 65 years and over, with the second largest group of those who’ve engaged with my MVP to be between the ages of 55-64. My initial target market, those within the ages of 18-24, came in third with a total of 13% engagement from its members. This can have a few implications, including my sample size was somehow skewed (I am not able to target within age or demographics for Special Ad Category ads, as it would be considered discrimination) or that many senior citizens are actually struggling financially and are looking for other methods to supplement their income. It could mean that the Social Security Administration is not doing a well enough job in allocating funds that were accrued during years of work or that this amout is simply not enough to live on after retirement. By including a section designed to make users aware of the different government and private programs they may be eligible for that they may not have even knew existed. Although I first planned on focusing one on specific market, one thing I can say I learned from the research conducted from our MVP testing process shows there is a need for assistance in the senior market and bringing helpful information to their attention is possible.

For my product idea, JobOpp, I decided to begin the early stages of validifying this concept with landing page that included a email sign up option to allow visitors to sign up to be notified when the product is available for use to download on the Apple and Android App Stores. At the moment, I don’t plan on putting a price on the use of product in terms of packages but this can be further explored when the time of determining revenue models come. I plan on using Facebook as my advertising platform because of the fact 86% of my age demographic uses Facebook (18-29) and between 85% of my target market income demographic (equal to or less than $30,000/year). Although these may not be specific classifications, Facebook was preferred for it’s familiarity amongst most age groups and ease of tracking ads. With my call-to-action I want let potential interested users know they can start a more flexible, personalized work-school schedule as soon as they receive our email saying we are active and ready for download, however, they have to be notified and download our service to start reaping those rewards quicker.

I wanted to build a themed ad and landing page outling my UVP below my call-to-action, as seen below:

You can also visit at joboppco.weeblysite.com.

As the semester has progressed, I have been able to gather information on the job search market to assess whether there may be a space for my initial idea concept – JobOpp, a streamlined, organized, user-friendly platform tailored to provide different opportunities for financial support to college students and anyone who has a rigid schedule with little flexibility. JobOpp is supposed to differ from existing mediums by being able to offer everything from local, on-demand gigs for the moment to long-term career starters, so long as it fits the needs of the user(s). At the beginning of this process, I admit I was expecting to find what I already knew existed; freelancing platforms, on-demand apps, giant recruiting agencies, etc. In assessing all of these types of platforms, I realized that they all focus on a specific type of job seeker, whatever that may be. There seems to be an app for almost any type of job seeker and at first glance it may look like a saturated market with little to no room for new entrants. The already existing companies already cater to their customers so well and it isn’t like there is only one or two doing a good job at it, either. However, as mentioned in my blog post about my secondary research, I was actually surprised to ultimately find one app that seems to do it all. Steady is designed to be a one-stop shop for all things money-earning related as it encompasses all of the benefits provided by the different types of jobs (on-demand, affiliate marketing, freelancing) available on the market. With this, it became quickly obvious that this would be my main competition going forward. 

 With that being said, some concerns I have going forward is that this app might just be able to do what I’d like, offer all types of opportunities on a single platform, while directing to other existing ones that can be helpful, as well. I am genuiniely impressed with this service, however, I’m surprised not to hear more about it in the media. Although most of us have conducted our primary research already, I think there is value in attempting to speak to a representative from my main competition for possible insights on where I may come in.

Due to the unfortunate fact that I have yet to hear back from my company experts, I had no choice but to move on to my secondary research before conducting my primary research and in doing so I was able to find many different companies that are already trying to service my target market, however, all in various different ways that ultimately provide substitutional or supplemental options for financial support. In considering the nature of my target audience, college students with busy schedules in need of flexible employment opportunities, I decided to characterize my competition into four types of jobs/gigs styles:

1. On-Demand Jobs – Services such as Uber and DoorDash are attractive to some gig workers because they can usually start working at any time they are available since there are other users requesting services during all times, for the most part. Since they can clock in whenever they have the time, they are able to earn money around there primary schedule. My biggest competitor in this group would probably be DoorDash due to the fact that those interested in applying don’t need any money or skills to start with except for a vehicle and driver’s license if said vehicle is a car. This is the case with most services like DoorDash, however, they are known for their growing popularity in fleet drivers amongst their competitors those of which include giants like UberEats.
2. Freelance Jobs- These types of jobs have become increasingly popular throughout the pandemic as companies are outsourcing many jobs in an effort to cut costs, as well as the fact that many employees are opting to working remotely if given the opportunity as opposed to physically going back to the office for work. Most users are already skilled in some department, the reason why they are able to profit off their services, however it’s important to keep in mind that not all college students enroll right after graduating high school and many are able to acquire real-world experience and accrue skills before deciding to enroll for college. Fiverr has been garnering a lot of attention in the media recently, being known for empowering the independent contractor in times when many of us are at our most vulnerable, financially speaking. Hundreds of thousands of people have been able to start their own businesses as sole proprietors with the help of Fiverr during the past year and perhaps this is the reason why LinkedIn decided to expand their market into the gig space last month, set to launch as early as September. It is clear these companies are staking out their piece of the market, however, as mentioned earlier these services are usually aimed towards skilled workers/professionals.
3. Job Recruitment Companies- Job recruitment companies such as Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Monster.com, GoDaddy, CareerBuilder, etc are designed to find a job candidate for employers (the main client) to hire as soon as possible, hence the high amount of results available on these mediums. Because this is meant to be a time-effective method in hiring candidates (as per Indeed’s business model, for example), this cycle can seem redundant and may lack personalization, thus increasing the chances of employees and employer’s becoming disatisfied with what they find over time, increasing the rate of job turnover. As mentioned in previous posts, Indeed is currently dominating the job search market in the country as a whole, thus potentially posing a threat to existing submarkets.
4. “Other” alternative gig opportunities- There are a number of apps on the market designed to help consumers not only save money but actually earn extra income via everyday activities that are being done without any extra rewards. For example, the concept behind Drum is that it allows users to make money through the recommendations, or “free advertising”, they make to those within their network and purchases made from those recommendations. This is what is known as affiliate marketing and is a type of passive income that is attractive to everyone, especially those on an already busy schedule. Many other apps providing some form of small passive income, such as Rakuten (formerly Ebates), Dosh, Drop, Swagbucks, Ibotta, etc, exist within the market, however, the earnings made from these channels are usually not enough to substitute another form of income and are primarily used for small, incremental savings over time. Although Drum has what seems to be a similar concept as far as business models go, this company differs from the rest in the category in that it is platform-based and earnings made from the service depend on the size and growth of the “advertiser’s” network as opposed to their current spending habits. In this case, the worker is making a conscious effort to persuade other’s to patronize certain establishments, much like brand influencing.

After organizing my competitive landscape according to what I found, I discovered a company that may turn out to be my biggest competitor within the gig search market, moreso than Craigslist or Indeed. Launched in 2017, Steady is an app that finds part-time and temporary that fits the seeker’s preferences in interests and schedule. I noticed that Steady also makes the user aware of the on-demand options available (DoorDash, Care.com, Postmates) as soon as they finish registering so users are able to access these others mediums directly transferreed from the platform. Althought this seemed like an organized one-stop shop at first glance, I found it to be limiting after viewing the results that were made available after selecting my preferences and then irrelevant after deselecting my filters. I think their layout is ideal in that it organizes and directs the user to what they want to ultimately do but I think including a larger amount of opportunities (somewhere inbetween Steady and Indeed) can enhance the results of the job search process. Ultimately, after conducting my secondary research I do believe there is still room for growth within this market, however, later stages will either support or disprove this theory.

This week I reached out to seven companies I think can give me valuable information on the job board industry from different perspectives, including the full-time and “gig” markets. Below are a list of the companies I reached out to and why:

Craigslist- I identified them as the first competitor simply because of the community they’ve created where members are open to finding a range of new opportunities. Although this is my first pick it is unlikely I hear back.

Indeed- Indeed has created a different type of “community” where it essentially serves as a search engine for jobs, not really focused on catering to the individual but because of the great supply of results, users are more likely to find a match, even if temporary. As the top platform for job-related searches in the country, I hope to hear back as I’m certain they have valuable insights to share, if willing.

ZipRecruiter- ZipRecruiter is currently number two on the top job search website in the country and number five in the world, making great strides especially since 2017 with the Google partnership. Although, like Indeed, they are top players, they might not be the biggest competitors to my specific idea which may be more similar to “gig” apps, although not exclusive to “gigs”.

Fiverr- Fiverr is not as new as other companies on my list so they might have more data for the gig space in the market to share, including drawbacks when entering the market and how new and older competition is handled as newer players enter the market space.

TaskRabbit- Similiar to Fiver, TaskRabbit is also an app within the gig space, coming into the market in 2008. Despite them targeting experienced professionals looking for a part-time gig, contrary to most inexperienced college students, I think a quick chat with them can be helpful to my search.

Drum- Drum is a startup company that I recently learned about, just entering in late 2019. At first it was hard to find them but when I looked on crunchbase I saw they made quite the entry with $11 million of funding during the first round of seed funding, more than double than what top players in the market have started with. They obviously know what investors are looking for right now so I’m glad I learned about them and am crossing my fingers to hear back.

Glassdoor- Last but not least, Glassdoor is another giant in the job search market, serving as a trusted tool among students and all types of users for navigating into the job search market from both ends, job seekers and employers. A company like this has an immense amount of data on what job seekers (mostly centered around students and young graduates) are looking for as a career and hopefully their end job. Although the space is somewhat different, they might be able to give a differemt perspective on current market trends.

I’m hoping to hear back from some of these companies within the next few days after sending more emails over the weekend, in the meantime I will reach out to more since it’s already been a week without hearing from anyone from my list. Come back soon for an update!

After conducting my initial competitive analysis last week I determined my main competitor of my idea to be Indeed due to the massive supply of jobs available on its platform, being the number one provider of jobs found online in the country. However, after some thought I believe the main competitor would be Craigslist for a few reasons. Although I initially believed Indeed to be the biggest competition, I realized the main reason I chose them was because they were the all- around biggest online job website company in the country and the fourth biggest in the world, thus without a doubt making them my biggest competition. But there are some differences between Indeed and Craigslist that I think are important to consider when identifying strengths and weaknesses within each other’s concepts. Though it‘s position in the market reigns superior, its brand loyalty may not be as strong compared to that of Craigslists’. Indeed is regarded as basically a search engine for jobs whereas Craigslist has evolved into a community where members trust to be able to find whatever they may be looking for, no matter how big or small. As simple as the concept itself may seem, there must be more to how the company has been able to maintain a fair share of the job boards market for decades.  

Craigslist seems to have only one direct method of contacting them via their website so in considering this I predict a longer than usual wait-time  as all inquiries are sorted from one channel. In the event that I do get through to someone who can give me some industry insights on what to expect as a new player within the similar market, I have prepared a few questions to ask below:  

1) How have you seen your demographics change throughout the years in regards to the job board activity? What do you predict caused this change, if one exists? 

2) What are some company initiatives taken to adapt to this change in target market throughout time? 

3) What are your predictions for the future, as far as target market base? How do you plan on keeping current users happy and/or attract new ones? 

 With these questions I hope to further understand how my potential initial target market may change and to what extent.  I’m looking forward to hearing from a representative from Craigslist but in the case that I do not, the next company I will be contacting will be Indeed as I believe there is still valuable wisdom to be learned from this company. 

After some research, I have found the top competitors for my idea of a streamlined platform to post and find local gigs/jobs to be Craigslist, Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor and Upshift as direct competitors and Facebook, Uber Eats, and Door Dash to be indirect competitors with Indeed taking first place, due to its growing popularity and owning the majority of the market share for job boards and listing services in the country and a very large share worldwide, and ZipRecruiter coming in at a close second. 

However, at first, I believed convenient job apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash and Postmates to be the top competitors to my idea as they target those who are either inexperienced or focused on responsibilities and looking for a side job. It’s flexibility to most schedules make these options so attractive to users, the reason why these companies have grown so much, especially during this pandemic. But in considering my idea’s other competitors, I still believe there can be room for growth in the market for different reasons.  

I think platforms like Indeed can improve on design when it comes to its organization of readability, especially when exposing users to such a large amount of content. I also think an in-app messaging feature can promote communication amongst parties with questions or concerns. Another point I touched in my assignment was that there was not much emphasis on the gigs offered on the site as opposed to its concentration on traditional, hourly, jobs/careers. In considering Indeed’s advantage, I think their pricing model would be one of its main advantages, however, can becomes a problem as employers flood the site and discourage users. It’s unclear whether I would want to pursue that similar route as far as my value proposition goes because of its unclear long-term results. Clearly this is a saturated market which can always deter future competitors from entering but as mentioned in the beginning I believe it can still be worth pursuing. 

Problem:  It’s no secret that young college students have always had a reputation for having trouble saving money. However, the reasons for this are not always tied to recklessness or any other negative trait implying lack of responsibility. Many of us work hard trying to juggle multiple obligations and we need to learn to make the most out of our time if we want to accomplish our many goals, short-term and long-term. Effective time management can make all the difference when trying to balance our school and work lives as would the opportunity to makLean Canvase money during those timeframes that are most convenient for our daily schedules. Most jobs require a time commitment from the employee consisting of an agreement of intended start/end times and number of hours worked required and this may not always be the most favorable arrangement for someone carrying the responsibility of having to make the most of their academic years to maximize the chances of future success. There is a lot of stress on prioritizing school before everything and many times we end up having to rely on others (usually parents or another source) for financial support. 

Customer Segments: Segmented- Baruch College campus is located in the heart of New York City, opening its students to a flood of nearby opportunities ranging from immediate to long-term. We have the great benefit of having access to an economic mode of transportation expanding miles of distance between cities during a reasonable amount of time, meaning we can get to most places in the city within the hour at a pretty low cost. For those of us with odd schedules, time lapses between classes offer the chance to get something done if nearby and available. 

 Value Proposition: In using this platform, the goal is for students to be able to fulfill their weekly obligations at more ease by being exposed to a variety of opportunities that may be better suited for their schedule if they are not already employed at a traditional job requiring a number of hours worked per week, or any other arrangement that asks for some sort of commitment after what feels like jumping through hoops just to be considered. This is not necessarily made to be a place to find a career (although nothing is ruled out once connections are formed) but more so a place that offers opportunities to provide support while working towards the main objective, even if the result ends up being a “regular job” so long as it provides flexibility that college students need. 

 Solution: Most jobs offered on popular platforms offer full-time employment with a fixed schedule, not to mention an ongoing interview/hiring process that in some cases may deter an applicant from applying to begin with. Whether it’s an actual job or a one-time gig, users who are looking for opportunities or posting them will understand that using this platform is intended to provide a flexible and convenient solution for both parties involved. The main goal is to remove the perceived negative timewasters that come with job searching (long response times, cover letters, unsuccessful interviews, etc) and ease and regulate the flow of communication. The possibilities of what one can find are endless, but always safe and legal. 

 Channels: Website/app – The main method of delivery would be via a smartphone based mobile application and/or our user-friendly website with the option to sign up for an account for access to more convenience in the future. Email can also facilitate as an additional form of communication as it can serve as a second form of being notified when a response is received if the user opts to create an account, if not having already enabled push notifications. A strong online presence is essential, therefore also heavily focusing on SEO to ensure visibility amongst potential users who are already searching for what we want to provide. 

Key Metrics/Key Activities: The overall final metric to be used in measuring the performance of this product and whether we are doing what we intend to do would be the number of successful experiences, or matches, made from our product. A successful experience is one where the seeker finds a job that they have either profited from or has made plans to benefit from in the future. Initially, we’d want to know how many people are visiting the page to begin with and afterwards how many from this group have proceeded to create accounts for future convenience. 

 High Level Concept– Although Craigslist may still exist, more and more spam ads have taken over the site with time along with a growing negative reputation that has stigmatized its very name to the point where legitimate posts can be overlooked due to lack of trust and even some of the company’s veteran customers have stopped using the service altogether. With the right management, users would be willing to accept opportunities (jobs, gigs, etc) located nearby ranging from anything, so long as legal. The purpose is to either find someone who can accomplish what you want done or earn extra money on the side, depending on which side of the agreement you’re on. 

 Unfair Advantage: I believe my prior experience with one of my favorite websites, Craigslist, and the main inspiration for my idea is helpful in creating what an ideal experience for a potential user would look like from a user’s perspective. From selling to buying on both sides of the price spectrum I’ve grown to become very familiar and comfortable with opening myself up to a multitude of possibilities and opportunities that have benefited my life in ways that would not have happened had there not been an open medium for this easy interaction. Now that it’s been experienced I know it can be recreated with proper oversight. 

Early Adopters- We hope to target young adults based in New York City (including the boroughs and Long Island) who are just beginning their college years. Most people in this group don’t have steady jobs yet and are focused mainly on school while any possibility of working would have to work around the primary school schedule so much so that some parents offer to provide for all financial needs and wants so long as the focus remains on school and the future. For those who wish to support themselves while pursuing other endeavors and want to explore unconventional routes that may be more favorable and convenient.  

However, for this idea to be successful at least two assumptions must be correct: 

1– Many young college students struggle with balancing school and work life. 

2- Many young adults have to choose between pursuing school and related obligations full-time or starting work and consuming time and energy otherwise gone towards long-term goals. 

I think a problem many young people can relate to, including myself, is the dilemma of wanting to make/save money while also having to take time to focus on developing themselves as a future professional, especially during their college years and even more so if they are trying to establish independence early on or just simply don’t have the luxury of choosing not to work. In other words, I see many college students forgoing any type of employment during their early college years in order to dedicate all their time and energy in school and everything that comes with that is supposed to prepare you for your future career such as extracurricular activities, looking for later opportunities that center around their area of study, landing the right internship, working on a potential business idea, etc. However, as mentioned many young people do not have the luxury of only focusing on the latter as much as they’d like to. We incur expenses even while passing up on leisure activities in the process of molding ourselves for the future. 

I remember when I was first introduced to Craigslist, watching family members use it to buy and sell random household items when I was younger. Nowadays though, you mention Craigslist and it usually comes with a negative connotation, being known for scams and other sketchy purposes. This is unfortunate since in my experience, Craigslist has helped me obtain a number of great opportunities in the past ranging from many job opportunities including my last one and helping me find the elusive, affordable apartment in a neighborhood I love. The main reason why Craigslist was so attractive to me because it was simple and intuitive; you enter a text-based website and search whatever you’re looking for and you hope to find someone or something who has that. But lack of regulation has stifled the company’s growth. Why won’t they fix this?

It could be because Craigslist is currently valued at $3 billion regardless of these issues, so there really isn’t much of a reason for managers or Craig to take action. But if a platform existed where someone who was strapped for cash at the moment can pop into a cleaner, more streamlined app/website and search for local opportunities to make quick cash without the commitment of an hourly or weekly schedule, this can give young people the chance to be able to get by without losing sight on what they are really working towards for the greater part of their week. Of course, safety measures must be taken at all times and much more concept development is needed to determine how this can be made possible to ensure a better user experience.