Idea Napkin No. 2

You.

My name is Jared Vanegas, and I’m a Sport Management graduate student from Fort Myers, FL. My background is in marketing and radio broadcasting, but I decided to pursue my Master’s degree from the University of Florida in Sport Management because the sports industry is where my passion is. My skills are in marketing, building relationships, and sales. I also have some experience in banking, as well. My aspirations are to work in corporate sales for a sports team, and to oversee the business development of sponsorships and major gifts for an athletic program or professional sports organization. I see this business impacting my life in a way that will make me happy to have met the needs of customers in the City of Gainesville, and will also make me an entrepreneur.

What are you offering to customers?

Metropolis, which will be the name of Gainesville’s newest mall, will offer customers a new avenue to shopping, dining, and entertainment. It will be furnished with high-end restaurants, designer-brand stores, and an array of leisure and entertainment options that will include a movie theater, nightclubs, and bars and a brewery.

Who are you offering it to?

I’m offering this to clients that feel the need to travel long distances to get their shopping done, to go on date nights, and for a general good time. After many interviews, I found that customers’ biggest needs and complaints were regarding a lack of adequate nightlife and shopping options in Gainesville. Many of them are willing to drive out of the city limits (Jacksonville, mostly) for a good time. Metropolis is seeking to meet those needs.

Why do they care?

Customers care because they want to see their local economy flourish, and also want the convenience of having Metropolis in town, rather than having to drive out of their way for adequate entertainment and shopping options. Someone had recommended to me that if we start building now, it would be finished around the time a lot of other projects were set to open in and around Gainesville. I agree with them.

What are your core competencies?

What sets Metropolis apart from everyone else is that there’s virtually no competition for it in the city of Gainesville. Oaks Mall does not even compare to what Metropolis will offer, and that is the only official mall here in Gainesville. This will be an option for people of all ages, as there will be something for everyone in Metropolis. Gainesville is growing, and it's because of this that timing for the opening of it will be critical. While there isn't a saturated market for malls in the area, there is competition for the consumer with new shops popping up all over town. 

I believe that these five elements fit nicely together to make a successful new mall in Gainesville. Malls today shouldn’t only be for shopping, in my opinion. They should be for entertainment and leisure, and I feel that Metropolis accomplishes that. I believe that the only weakness that this business concept has is getting investors to buy in to the program. Gainesville is not a large city by any means, and it will require a bit of a leap of faith from investors to devote the resources to making this happen. However, the new Butler development should give any new investor confidence in making decisions for new projects, as clearly Gainesville is growing at a rapid pace.

In terms of five key points that I received in the feedback from my first Idea Napkin, this was a difficult task, as I only had one member from our class actually give me feedback (big shout out to Jordan for that. Thanks, bud!) Jordan’s biggest pro was that Gainesville is developing at a rapid pace, which is why I included getting the project started quickly in my post this time around. He did have concerns about Gainesville not being developed enough for a project of this magnitude, which is why I pointed to the Butler plaza development as a reason to be confident in Metropolis for investors. I think the biggest takeaway from Jordan’s feedback is the timing of the opening. I did not really think that part through when planning this out. He’s right – Gainesville isn’t large, which is why timing will be everything to launch Metropolis. I included the latter in my post, as well. He did think it is a great idea, which is why I think it will ultimately be successful. He’s not the only one that I’ve spoken to that thinks so.