Venture Idea Name:
Rent N Relax (also called Nourish Naps)
Group Members:
Stephanie Magoon, Jennifer Hillman, Taylor Williams, Elliot D’Antin, Chandni Aghera
(Val Sandoval, Karina Gonzalez, Annie Finley, Vinai Oddiraju, Akram Jabeer)
Description:
Ever had an awkward 30 minute or hour long break between classes? Can’t go home because you’d have to turn around and come right back to campus and don’t really have enough time to get any work done? The Rent N Relax (or Nourish Naps) is the answer. Chapter members purchase blankets and purchase or rent hammocks (ideally from a partner community, there is currently a connection to a Guatemalan partner who makes/sells hammocks, ask Jenn Hillman of Indiana University) and sets them up in a quiet and/or central location on campus. The Chapter rents the hammocks to students, charging by the minute or the hour and ensures the student’s belongings are safe using some sort of lock system or collateral system so the student knows that Chapter members or other students won’t steal anything.
Marketing Ideas:
Target Market:
College students with time to kill on campus
School newspapers, word of mouth, relaxing music, Chapter members dressed in a fun theme (island/beach theme, luau theme, etc..) to draw attention, flyers, radio ads, etc…
Revenue and Expenses:
Probable Expenses (as estimated by Rent N Relax):
Blankets ~ $50, Advertisements (fliers, campus radio ad) ~ $30, 5 hammocks @ $10 each ~ $50, shipping ~ $100. Total start-up costs ~ $230
Sources of Revenue (price, bundles, diverse markets, etc…):
Optional donations, pricing model varies ($1/minute, $3/30 minutes, $5/hour, etc…)
Profits and Other benefits of Venture (Marketing for an upcoming event, advance ticket sales, social value created, etc.):
At this estimate, it would take 46 students renting a hammock or blanket for an hour to break even.
This Venture could be an opportunity to promote your partner organization’s hammocks or fair trade goods. You could even sell the hammocks if students were interested.
Challenges:
Making sure the renter’s belonging are safe. Finding cheaper ways to start the Venture, researching a good pricing model.
Would you recommend to other chapters?
Untested Idea. If the Chapter has access to hammocks made by a partner organization, and the start-up costs aren’t too high, this could be a profitable Venture.
Contact info:
Jennifer HIllman (IU) – jelohill@indiana.edu
Akram Jabeer (OSU) – jabeer.2@osu.edu
