Venture Concept 2

Opportunity-
Marijuana is a huge deal in the United States of America right now.  Individual states across the country are legalizing it left and right.  Canada in its entirety just legalized it.  Currently, the state of Florida is making progressions towards its legalization.  It’s already legal for medical use as long as someone has a medical card and the possession of marijuana has already been decriminalized.  Soon, the recreational use of it will be legal and the market will open.  I’m defining my main market as any college-aged Florida resident.  Marijuana is already very popular amongst college students and it isn’t even legal yet.  Imagine the business it’ll bring in when it’s legal!  Currently, customers are satisfying this need illegally.  I won’t name any names, of course.  However, customers are likely going through the process of contacting a dealer, setting up meetings with said dealer, and going to that dealer to purchase marijuana from them whenever they are in need.  They won’t have to be loyal to this method once marijuana is legalized.  This is mainly because there will be legal options while unlicensed dealers will still be illegal.  This opportunity is massive!  It has seen huge success in other states that have already legalized it.  Once it’s legal in Florida, the result won’t be any different.  The window of opportunity is tiny, though.  I’m sure that I’m not the only one with this idea.  I just have to be the first to act. 

Innovation-
This isn’t exactly a new idea, but it is one that will greatly benefit this market.  Delivery services are definitely the new wave.  If you have been watching my elevator pitches, you know that they have the potential to be a huge success.  My business would take advantage of this opportunity and a major trend in the tech world.  I would set up individual, licensed stores that serve as physical points of sale.  At these stores, customers can browse a carefully-chosen selection of strains and purchase them for roughly ten-to-fifteen dollars per gram.  On top of that, I would have a delivery service under the same brand that will deliver the marijuana to the customers for roughly $5 (not including a tip), depending on where the customer lives and current events in the area.  This will not only benefit a customer who is too lazy, likes doing everything through a mobile device, or is too high to make it to the store, but it will benefit my business.  This will allow my business to attract more customers and add value for customers who already shop at my store.  To give a more concise description, I will utilize a mobile app and a website where customers can place their orders.  I want a very large selection, so it will almost be like reading a take-out menu for weed.  With a sleek enough design, good photos, and a user-friendly interface, I think that this modernization will greatly benefit my business.

Venture Concept-
Customers would switch to this new product in a heartbeat.  It’s legal marijuana!  We don’t even have it here yet!  As soon as it’s legalized, if I am able to get into the market quickly enough, it will be extremely easy to get customers to switch from dealers to my business.  There are likely thousands of potential competitors, but very few will be real competitors.  These competitors include dealers and other entrepreneurs in the field.  Their weaknesses will be a lack of innovative ideas and being too slow to capitalize on the legalization.  Packaging and my price points will likely be up to the market and what the norm is for these things.  Marijuana is heavily regulated in states that it is legal, so I’m expecting similar regulations.  However, distribution, customer experience, and business location are going to be crucial to my differentiation from the competition.  Because I will have a delivery service, my customers’ experiences, the distribution process, and the location of the business will have to be taken into account when making every single sale.  I would hire two or three main teams of employees.  There would be a regular sales staff that works in the store, a delivery staff, and an optional third staff that actually produces my product.  Of course, I would need managers at the head of each of those teams.

3 Minor Elements-
1) My most important resource is my social capital.  I have connections with very successful businesspeople that can assist me as mentors and potentially connect me with strong clients
2) I’m not too sure what the next opportunity in the venture would be other than expanding across the country
3) I definitely want to be extremely successful in whatever I do.  So, my goal would be to become one of the top, if not the top, marijuana brands in the country.

I didn't really get any suggestions on anything I should change.  My comments were mostly just supporting my answers for what my advantages are and could be.  However, one commenter gave me an idea on how to keep up with the quickly modernizing world.  He mentioned that I should use apps, which I was already planning on using, but didn't mention it.

Based on this feedback, I gave a better description of the technology side of my innovation.