Idea Napkin No. 2

Idea Napkin No. 2

1)      My name is Jake Piotrowski. I am a fourth year Biochemistry student with a minor in Business Administration. I have always been drawn to science and chemistry, the study basically tells us how the world around us works, and thus I’ve always found myself coming back to it. I have always found myself engulfed in academia, and for this reason I have been able to maintain a 4.0 GPA throughout college so far and I plan on graduating with it. However, the whole medical school vibe and high stress life has never been something I could see myself doing, so instead I am pursuing a Masters in Biomedical Engineering, which will hopefully provide me with enough disposable income to make some smart investments and avoid working till I am 65 and retire. Since Idea Napkin No.1, I have learned a lot more about myself. I have been battling an existential crisis for much of the semester as to what I plan on doing with myself come graduation in Spring 2020, and what my girlfriend and I will be doing considering she is graduating in December. For the first time, I have decided I want to take a gap year, and in addition to this I want to begin starting my life with someone I have truly fallen in love with. Many people say that falling in love in college is dumb and not to date but I can’t find this to be any more false. I have created some of the fondest memories I have in college with this girl and for the first time since we’ve started dating I believe we both know that the next step, should be together. This has brought me great relief and solace, I have figured my plan out with the person who understands me best, and it is the most comforting feeling I have ever had. These are my goals and my aspirations, and for this reason I think the idea of starting my own restaurant catered to those who want to be healthy and take care of themselves a good addition to the spice of life. I have always been serious about being healthy and staying fit and active, and this idea really took hold once I got to college and was able to live life and do things at my own pace. For this reason, I see this business venture as a true bonus in my life, not only would it be able to provide me additional income and wealth, but I was also have the opportunity to meet new people who advocate being healthy and taking care of themselves, a group of people I would have no problem serving on a daily basis if I were to open this restaurant.

2)      In my restaurant, I will be offering delicious, high quality foods for about the same price as a Chipotle Burrito Bowl so that I may stay competitive. However, the distinction between my restaurants and the others will not only be quality, but preparation revolving around macro-nutrient calculations and using SCIENCE to allow people to meet their goals. My restaurant would offer meals in which customers could  choose from one protein, one carbohydrate base, and one vegetable for $5.50, and then allow customization options in which they can add more of any of the three categories in addition to extra toppings such as avocado for additional charge. By allowing the customers to choose the exact healthy meal they want to eat, while also keeping the macronutrients below fast food competitors and staying true to taste, I believe this restaurant could be a true success. In addition to this, and thanks to a very helpful comment by a member of my group, I will also offer delicious fruit medley and acai bowls for dessert, both with a price of about 6 dollars. This will also bring a lot of profits because customers that don’t want a full meal and want to just stop in for something quick now have the option to stop in and grab a sweet, healthy treat.

3)      Although I would like my restaurant to cater specifically to those who value health and being fit and active as a lifestyle, the one true underlying commonality between my clientele would be rather simple: They all enjoy a healthy meal that tastes great and doesn’t break the bank. This is the beauty in this restaurant idea. Whether my clients are eating at my restaurant because they didn’t have time to meal prep, and need a meal that fits their macros, or simply are eating there because they are sick of the greasy Chick-Fil-a scattered across UF like its our job, all my customers will be eating there simply because they want a healthy meal that they can enjoy. In addition to this, since I will be located on campus, I will also hire two nutritionists to table in Reitz Lawn or Turlington to educate the student body about the why it is important to eat healthy and stay active. In addition to education, they will also give out free gear and samples to promote word of mouth for my restaurant. Not only will the students gain education and be more inclined to come to my restaurant, but everyone loves free stuff, so I would benefit from the word of mouth too.

4)      Customers will pay me money for the same reason you are willing to spend $13 dollars for a burger and fries at Relish, because you enjoy the meal and found it worthy of the money. However, unlike the over-priced garbage Relish offers, I would be offering high quality meals for about half the price, and my meals wouldn’t make your body think you hate it two hours after eating it.

5)      What would set my restaurant different than the rest of the restaurants on campus? Three things: Location, Price, and Health. Don’t get me wrong, there are a ton of good restaurants on UF campus, some have great locations on campus, others you can get a ton of food for not that much money. However, there is NO WHERE on campus in which you can walk to the restaurant from class, pay less than ten dollars for the meal, AND be able to say that you ate a delicious meal that was ACTUALLY healthy for you. These are my restaurants core competencies; these are the reasons people would eat here. UF has no reliable restaurant for people that want a clean-eat meal without leaving campus, and speaking as a college student I know health is something us millennials value these days. So, by combining these three aspects I truly believe this restaurant could be a success.

Summary: I do honestly feel these five aspects work well together and work better as a whole rather than evaluating each of these individually. The fact that I value health and fitness myself, in addition to wanting to be able to deliver a product in which I know is lacking throughout UF campus to other prototypical customers who feel the same, I think this venture could be successful. Although I believe my own aspirations are slightly out of line with running and operating my own restaurant, the fact that my hobbies include working out and staying fit, realigns my business model with the other categories, and thus believe all aspects work well together.

Feedback Memo:

I had two very helpful tips in my comments of my first idea napkin. The first was that I should offer some kind of healthy dessert for customers. This was a fantastic idea because not only would it boost revenue as a dessert, but those that aren’t very hungry or don’t have much time could pop in for a quick fruit medley or acai bowl and then be on their way. This was incorporated in my idea napkin under number 2. The other comment that I found to be very helpful mentioned needing to educate some college kids about why eating healthy and staying active is good for them in the long run. This gave me the idea to table somewhere on campus once a week, not only to educate students on why eating healthy is important, but also to give out free samples and gear, in which my business would benefit from word of mouth as a result. I incorporated this into my idea napkin under number 3.