Primary Research Takeaways
- There is no one place where students can gain access to all of the resources that are available to them
- There are plenty of resources available for students
- Many businesses want to gain access to students so they can expand their target market
Secondary Research Takeaways
- Many people actively search for resources that they need
- Anxiety surrounding access to food, rent payments, and more has increased during the pandemic
- Students are unaware of what resources are available to them
For our idea, Elina and I did extensive research to find out who our competitors are, and who our target customer is. We came to the realization that we do not have one direct competitor that collects all available student resources in one area. We did, however, realize that we have multiple secondary competitors. One competitor is a student’s academic advisor, who should have some knowledge about resources available to students. However, it is impossible for just one advisor to know about every single resource out there, so we know that our idea has value. Another indirect competitor is the Baruch Advisement page, and other pages similar to it. The Baruch Advisement page posts helpful information that is solely relevant to Baruch students. Although this page does post relevant information, most of the information revolves around Baruch administrative tasks, such as registering for classes. For our business, we would incorporate resources that relate to the daily life of a Baruch student. For example, we would include financial, legal, and mental health resources, among others.
For our target customers, we assume that the early adopters will be college students. Specifically, college students who come from households with an income that falls below the poverty line. From our research, we also found that students of color are more likely to be plagued with responsibilities outside of school that add to anxiety and depression. Because of this, we speculate that our early adopters will be students of color who come from households with incomes below the poverty line.
From our research, we also know that there is value in our idea. There are hundreds of resources available to students, however, many students are unaware of what is offered to them. We also know that thousands of people look up resources on Google. Phrases such as “food banks near me” are extremely common in the search engine. If Elina and I made a website where all of these student resources were listed, with guides on how to take advantage of them, we really think we could create value for our customers.
Lastly, we plan to pursue the hidden revenue business model. Students have enough on their plate as is, so we want to make sure that our service is free. Since we need funds to maintain the website, we plan to partner with companies who are looking to tap into the student market. For example, we can partner with a bank that offers resources to students. Since we have the most direct access to the undergraduate population, we can help the bank tap into the student market.
