Category: MGT 5985— Reflections

Over the semester, we have learned a lot about our business idea. Since many students struggle with financial issues, mental health issues, and additional responsibilities, we decided to  make a virtual resource center that conglomerates all available resources in one place. Through MVP testing, we learned that there is value in our idea. We reached many people, got a few email submissions, and received over 120 page likes. We were surprised to learn that men were more likely to engage with our ads, and this will help us in the advertising process. Next, we plan to test our idea on a larger scale and start to refine our landing page in efforts to receive more email submissions. It seems like the landing page needs to go straight to the point without giving excessive information as per visitors’ feedback. From there, we will start to build our resource database, create our final website, and partner with other colleges and businesses. 

Asking competitors for advice can be incredibly helpful when trying to get your idea off the ground. In my case, I will be asking an expert from OpenTable, a competing app that lets users make reservations, order online, and see other restaurant features. 

The Questions I Plan to Ask: 

1. What is the biggest hurdle that your company has had to overcome? 
2. As a company that was created before the digital age, how did you have to adapt in order to keep up with consumer trends? 
3. What was the most important change that OpenTable implemented that really helped the company succeed? Was this change difficult to acclimate to? 
4. If you could do one thing differently, what would that be? 

From these questions, I hope to learn more about why OpenTable decided to adapt in the way that it did. Since it was created in 1998, it didn’t originally start as an app but instead as a website that showed real-time reservations. Over the years, it has adapted and added countless features to both its website and app. I would love to learn what changes helped the company succeed and how difficult it was to implement these changes. I would also want to learn more about the struggles that OpenTable has had to overcome. This would be helpful for me to know so I can be prepared to navigate any difficulties that come my way. Learning about how OpenTable responded to consumer trends can also give me insight into how quickly a company should be able to adapt.

After having completed an in-depth analysis for one of my potential competitors, I see that it may be harder for my idea to achieve success than I initially thought. Although I am not completely discouraged, this assignment definitely put things into perspective. OpenTable is perhaps my biggest competitor as it offers the ability to make reservations, see which restaurants have no wait times, and even order for takeout or delivery. Additional features of OpenTable include the ability to see parking options, dress code, and Covid safety precautions. This app is not specifically geared towards college students, so I believe that this is where my idea can stand out. 

I would like to integrate all of these features into my app, but I believe there are ways to improve it. For example, I would make the app itself a lot more intuitive to use. OpenTable has been around for over 20 years, but their app isn’t the most user-friendly. I believe that a better and more eye-catching design would help my idea stand out. Also, an app geared towards city students would give my idea a unique value. The only way that OpenTable targets students is by allowing them to reserve tables in campus dining halls. In addition, there is no way to see if there is a current line outside the restaurant. Although there are ways to see how long a takeout/delivery order would take, there is no way to see the wait time if one were just to walk in. OpenTable has a competitive advantage because of the wide array of features they have. Another advantage is that many restaurants already use it to manage their reservations and they may be hesitant to switch. By offering a cheaper price, my idea may stand out, and perhaps I could convince restaurants would switch. 

I will pursue a similar value proposition, but I will target my idea specifically towards city students. This is an area where OpenTable falls short and it is an area where my idea can shine. I would include all of these features but also include additional ones like “end-of-the-day” deals. This would limit food waste, give students cheaper options, and also let restaurants make some money on food that would have been thrown out. Because there are so many features, making an easy-to-use solution is key. OpenTable struggles in this area as well, so I will need to find a way to make the solution intuitive and simple. 

It may not be a good idea to move forward with my idea because OpenTable is already a very established and popular solution used by both restaurants and diners alike. Many people use it to reserve a table and they get all of the restaurant’s information in one place. It will be hard to convince the public to switch to a less-known solution.

TikTok and I have somewhat of an unusual relationship. To this day, I still refuse to make my own TikTok account, however, I really respect how quickly the app has been able to make a name for itself. I know that if I download it, I will get hooked on it and waste multiple hours of my day. This is exactly the reason why TikTok was the most profitable app in 2020. The “advanced AI algorithm” is what allows users to gravitate to the exact kind of content they like to see, enabling them to spend hours on the app. For some, it might be cooking videos, while for others it may be painting videos. TikTok has refocused social media in the way that it has allowed content creators to create content that they enjoy, not just content that will gain “likes” on Instagram. 

Before the app really blew up, I remember seeing extensive ads related to TikTok on all of my other social media platforms. The ads were so excessive that I remember wondering where they were getting all this marketing money from. Musical.ly, another app, paved the way for TikTok. In 2016, Musical.ly was worth around $533.5 million before being bought by the Chinese company ByteDance. This merger resulted in TikTok, the internationally popular app as we know it today. Part of its popularity is related to its business model. The founder of ByteDance decided to create two versions of the app; one for China (with censored internet content) and one for the rest of the world. This idea of running a “borderless” company really helped TikTok reach users all around the world. In this way, TikTok has achieved its original goal and has stayed loyal to its original idea. I wasn’t able to find a slide/pitch deck from its early days, (the websites require a premium membership to see this) however, I did find a slide deck that teaches creators how to get more views. This, in turn, results in more advertising, and more money for TikTok.