Fanvation Final Feasibility Study

7/29/2019 Fanvation Final Feasibility Study

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Feasibility Study

Perry Dube

ENT 4014

November 4, 2012


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Fanvation

Feasibility Study

Perry Dube


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Table of Contents

Executive Summary _____________4 Feasibility Decision____________6 Business Concept______________6 Industry/Market Analysis_______10 Founding Team______________17 Product Development Plan____18 Financial Plan_____________20 Timeline to Launch_________21 Sources__________________22 Feasibility Study Assesment__23


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Fanvation is a revolutionary piece of technology that will change the way fans connect with one

another at live events forever. Utilizing mobile application technology, Fanvation will make it

easy for avid fans to find one another in the time leading up to a live event which they are

attending. The Fanvation application will have three original features. The first, Stay With,allows users to track what hotels fans of their team are staying at, and, if they wish, book those

hotels themselves. The second, Party With, allows users to track what bars fans of their team

plan on visiting in the time leading up to a live event. The final feature is Tailgate With, and

will allow users to track where the fans of certain teams have set up tailgates around the stadium

or venue. Fanvation users will also have the ability to make friends within the application. Once

a user has made a friend, they will be able to track the actions of that friend within the

application. Although Fanvation will begin by focusing only on college and pro football, it will

seek to rapidly progress in the time following its launch. Fanvation will look to add a website,

more sports, a Fly With feature that allows users to track which flights fans of their team are

taking, and even the ability to use Fanvation for musical artists and live entertainers. Fanvation

will be distributed through the Android and Apple mobile application marketplaces, and will

available for download on Android and I-Phone mobile devices free of charge. There is currently

nothing like Fanvation on the market. The unique approach that Fanvation will take in

connecting fans will differentiate it completely from any and all indirect competition that

currently exists and will allow for it to make a name for itself in the realm of mobile application

technology.

Fanvation would be classified as part of the Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web

Search Portals Industry, under the NAICS Code 519130. This is an industry that is made up of

consumers that are, on an overall level, wealthier than the average population. The Internet

Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals Industry is squarely in the growth stage. In

the coming 5 or 6 years, this industry is expected to show extremely promising expansion

statistics, and is one of the most encouraging industries that experts can point to today.

The target market for Fanvation will not be bound by any one concrete statistic, such as age or

gender. Rather, the target market will be bound by the lifestyle choices of the consumer base.


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Moreover, Fanvation will look to target those consumers who are passionate about attending live

events of a certain team, while also being technologically savvy enough to rely on mobile

application technology to aid them in completing day to day tasks. This is a very specific niche,

but a large number of consumers fit perfectly into it, making Fanvation a much more

encouraging venture. While there is no direct competitor for Fanvation at the current time, there

is a good amount of indirect competition, which ranges from business review mobile

applications, to broad travel sites, to social media.

The founding team of Foundation will consist of a founder and CEO, Perry Dube, and a software

developer who has yet to be chosen. The CEO will be responsible for all decisions on the

business side of things, while the software developer will be responsible for the development and

maintenance of the application.

While no current progress has been made in the development of the Fanvation mobile

application, it will begin in the summer of 2013, when the search for an ideal software developer

for the application will begin. Once a software developer has been hired and given a share of thecompany, it will then be the goal to develop of the application, source leads to fill the

applications database, obtain patent protection, and place the application on the Android and

Apple marketplace. This will all lead up to the scheduled launch of Fanvation in the Fall of 2014.

Fanvation will require estimated startup capital of $33,997.90. Given an estimated monthly

income of $8,329, and factoring in the three months of intense marketing that would be required

to get Fanvation performing at an average level, it is estimated that it will take Fanvation 8.9

months to breakeven.

Given all of these factors, it is clear that Fanvation is an extremely feasible venture. Theencouraging statistics found in the research throughout the study suggest nothing but success,

and point towards nothing but good things in moving forward with this business.


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FEASIBILITY DECISION

Fanvation is a completely feasible entity under the current market conditions and projected

future conditions. Although startup costs are higher than originally anticipated, expected profitmargins are also higher than anticipated, allowing the company to continue to be feasible. The

projected future state of the industry is extremely positive as well, only making the outlook for

Fanvation more encouraging.

BUSINESS CONCEPT

Fanvation is the ultimate mobile application for avid fans that enjoy attending live events. This

application will be all about progression over time. It is the goal to launch the application with

several key features, and eventually develop it in to a multifunctional application in addition to a

website.

At its onset the Fanvation will function as follows. When a consumer downloads the application,

they will be given an account based on their I-Tunes or Android account. The first time they

open the application, they will be able to choose the teams which they are fans of. In the early

stages of the Fanvations release, the application will focus on only college football and pro

football. Within the college football category, only teams from the six major conferences (SEC,

ACC, Big East, Big 12, PAC 12, Big Ten) will be available for selection in the early stages of

the release. All 32 NFL teams will be available for selection.

Once a consumer has selected a team, they will be able to pull up that teams schedule and select

one of the games on that teams schedule. This will lead them to the original three features of theapplication. The first feature is the Stay With feature. For example, if I was a Seminoles fan

this feature would read as Stay With Seminoles. Within this feature, the consumer will be able

to see a list of hotels within the city or town that the Seminoles are playing in that week, whether

it is a home or away game. Under each hotel, the consumer will be able to see how many fans of

their team are staying at that hotel that specific weekend (all account holders within the

application will have the option to check in as staying at that hotel). Consumers will also be


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able to see whether any of their friends within the application (account holders will be able to

add friends within the application much like they would with Facebook) are staying at that

specific hotel. If a consumer is interested in staying at a hotel based on the amount of fans and

friends staying there, they can select an option to be forwarded to the reservation page for that

hotel. Each time a consumer books a hotel through our app, we will receive a commission from

that hotel.

The next feature of the application is the Party With feature. In the same manner as the Stay

With feature, this will read as Party With Seminoles. Within this feature will be a list of bars

in the town or city in which the Seminoles playing. In much the same way as the Stay With

feature, account holders will be able to see how many fans of their team and how many of their

friends within the application plan on visiting that establishment on a given weekend. It will be

the goal to obtain revenue from this feature a certain amount of time after the release in a simple

subscription manner. Bars will have to pay a listing fee in order to be featured on Fanvation. If

they do not pay this fee, they will not be featured.

The final of the three original features is Tailgate With feature. This is expected to be the most

popular and highly utilized feature of the app. Within this feature consumers will be able to pull

up a map of the tailgating area (usually around the stadium). On this map you will be able to see

where fans of certain teams have checked in as tailgating. Account holders will be able to create

a tailgate by selecting an individual point on the map. At this point, users of Fanvation will be

able to see, for example, that there is a Seminole tailgate on Stadium Dr. Users of the application

will be able to select this tailgate, or any other on the map, and see how many fans of which

teams have checked in at that tailgate. Users will also be able to filter tailgates as they please. For

example, they could set their map so that they only see tailgates created by fans of their team.

They could also set it to see only tailgates created by fans of the opposing team, or only tailgates

where their friends within the app have checked in. This app will come especially in handy for

fans traveling to their teams away games, but will also be extremely useful for home games.

As mentioned earlier, account holders will be able to add friends within Fanvation. Account

holders will be able to see a list of their friends. They will also be able to select a certain friend

and see their History. This will allow users to see what hotels their friends have stayed at, what

bars they have visited, and where they have tailgated.

The first customer of Fanvation is a 26 year old single male. He is a graduate of the University of

Tennessee, and currently lives in Atlanta, GA. He is employed, and makes an average income of$50,000 a year. He rents a condo, which he lives in alone. He also owns an I-Phone, and uses the

device very actively. He utilizes mobile applications on his I-Phone very frequently, and they

have become one of the first tools he turns to when gathering information to make a decision. He

is very passionate about Tennessee Volunteer football, watching each and every game on

television, and making it a point to return to University of Tennessee campus at least once a year


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to see a live game. He and his friends from college also reunite and travel to one University of

Tennessee football away game each year.

Fanvation makes it possible for avid fans to connect with one another in the time leading up to a

live event, and at the event itself, like they never have been able to before. Using mobile

application technology and web based features; customers will be able to track the trends offellow fans in a way that currently does not exist. Fanvation will provide information to

customers that will allow them to discover things such as what hotels their fellow fans are

staying at, what bars and restaurants their fellow fans are planning on visiting, and where their

fellow fans are tailgating. Fanvation will also allow customers to make friends within the

application and track the check-ins of their friends over a given period of time. Fanvation will

provide all of these services free of charge, and will allow avid fans to connect with one another

no matter whether they are at home or on the road.

Seeing as both mobile applications and the internet are fairly new forms of technology

(especially mobile applications), there are not a great deal of distribution channel alternativesavailable for Fanvation. In the mobile application category, there are two distribution channels:

the Apple App Store marketplace and the Android marketplace. Both the Apple App Store and

Android marketplaces make it possible to download applications to your mobile smart phone

device, either by paying to download a product or downloading a product for free. The Apple

App Store market is dedicated to Apple products, and is the exclusive application marketplace

for all I-Phones. The Android market is the application marketplace for all other smart phones,

which are all classified as Android smart phones. The Fanvation application will only be

available for download through these two systems, and therefore will only be available to those

customers who own an I-Phone or Android smart phone. Since the Fanvation application has

several features, the application itself will be developed on several platforms. Most of the

features will be developed on a standard platform that functions much like any user review

application, such as Yelp. In essence, the majority of the features will be developed in a catalog

format that allows users to select from a list of options, whether that list contains hotels, bars, or

otherwise. The Fanvation application will also have features that require development using GPS

technology so that users are able to locate certain points on a map using their mobile device.

Finally, the Fanvation application will also require access to mobile internet by connecting users

to sites using links that will be opened in their phones default web browser. Further down the

product development cycle of Fanvation, it will be the goal to develop a Fanvation website to go

along with the mobile application. The website will have a standard .com domain name formatand will be able to be accessed by all web browsers. The website will not be subscriber based, so

anyone with an internet connection and a browser will be able to gain full access to all of the

websites features. Users will not be required to make an account on the site in order to see

information about specific teams, entertainers, or artists, but syncing their account on the

Fanvation mobile application with the Fanvation website will make for a more personalized and

customizable experience.


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Although mobile application marketplaces and the internet do not allow for the highest amount

of innovation within the distribution channel because there is not a great deal of variation in the

methods of accessing each, there are several fairly simple ways to be innovative within each

channel. As far as the mobile application marketplaces go, the way to innovate when distributing

a free application is simply to perform well and be well reviewed. Within both the Apple App

Store and Android marketplaces, those applications that are the most widely downloaded are the

ones that have the most optimal search positions. Applications that are downloaded in the largest

volumes are also featured in sections of the marketplace such as Top 25 and Most Popular.

Achieving high user ratings is also a way to innovate within the mobile application marketplace

channel. Although the schemes are different, both the Apple App store and the Android market

allow users to rate each and every application in the marketplace. These ratings play a large

factor in whether a consumer will decide to download an application or not, so clearly a good

rating serves an application better than a poor one. Also, the more ratings an application has, the

more likely it will be to have an optimal search position and to be featured of the aforementioned

Top 25 and Most Popular sections. In the end, it all comes down to how well developed anapplication is, and how essential it is to the target market. If an application is rated highly by

initial consumers, it will be more widely downloaded, leading to more ratings. This will push the

application further and further up the search lists, eventually making it a widely known

commodity.

When considering the internet, the most effective way to innovate within the channel is through

SEO (search engine optimization). SEO basically deals with how to make your site appear as one

of the first page, top listed options on search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. There

are many different techniques and methods to achieve optimal search positions on these engines.

In addition, there are specialists who deal solely with helping companies with SEO. There arealso ways to use paid service to boost your site into an optimal position. By using a combination

of techniques, expert advice, and paid service, it is possible to innovate within the internet

distribution channel by placing your site in a prime position within the most popular search

engines.

Fanvation seeks to be all about progression over time. The first development to be added to the

application would be more teams within the college football category. This would mean adding

the rest of the 124 upper division college football teams that are not a member of one of the big

six conferences. It would also be a goal to begin adding sports other than football once the

remainder of the college football teams have been added. It would be ideal to add one sport at atime until the application covers all the major sports in the USA, and eventually even major

sports overseas. Way down the line it would also be a goal to add musical artists concerts and

entertainers live shows to the application so that fans of certain artists and performers could also

benefit from the application. Eventually, it would be a definite goal to add another feature to the

app. This feature would be Fly With. It would function similar to the Stay With feature and


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would allow the account holder to see how many fans of their team are planning on taking a

certain flights to the game.

Adding a website to go along with the application would also be a goal of the development. This

would be something that would be targeted to happen within a year of the launch of the

application. While the Tailgate With feature would clearly not be placed on the site, all theother features would be available for use.

INDUSTRY/MARKET ANALYSIS

Fanvation would be classified as part of the Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and WebSearch Portals Industry, under the NAICS Code 519130. According to the IBISWorld IndustryReport on Internet Publishing and Broadcasting in the US, written by Casey Thormahlen inFebruary of 2011, the income demographic of this industry is skewed towards the wealthy moreso than the overall population. The market segmentation of the industry is reported byIBISWorld as follows:

According to the IBISWorld report, this skew is primarily due to the fact that wealthier

consumers are more likely to have internet access at home and work. The report also goes on to

say that Low income internet users are more likely than average to visit social networking sites

but are less likely to visit special interest and informational sites. However lower income

individuals are more likely to access the internet via mobile phones. According to the report, this

could be due to the fact that The major social networking websites are optimized for mobile

internet access. Middle income consumers, on the other hand, are more likely to visit special

interest and informational sites. In addition, the report states that high income consumers are

more likely than average to visit news websites as well as forums and discussion boards but

are slightly less likely to visit video streaming and special interest websites.

It is clear that the Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals Industry is in the

growth phase. According to the IBISWorld report, there are three clear indicators that the

industry is in this stage. The first of these is that market potential is expanding rapidly. Next is

that technological innovations favor industry growth. Finally, revenue is expected to grow


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dramatically over the next three years. The report also includes this figure, further explaining the

current state of the industry in terms of life cycle:

There are also several trends within the industry. The first of these, according to the Hoovers

database, is that the growth of the industry is beginning to moderate. Hoovers furthers this idea

by stating that After years of rapid expansion, companies are increasingly warning that they will

have to work harder to keep growth strong as the industry matures. Hoovers also lists open

source development as a trend in the industry, stating that Large companies are increasingly

making their source codes for software and search algorithms available for free so that other

companies can create applications for use with specific types of software. The Hoovers database

also lists that there is a trend of brands rising importance within the industry. Hoovers furthers

this by stating that Due to an ever expanding industry and the near continual introduction of

new technology, brand development will become increasingly important in coming years.

Hoovers also cites an increasing trend of completion from other industries and The largest Web

search portal companies increasingly control advertising networks by aligning themselves with

networks of smaller Internet publishing sites. The following figures from the IBISWorld report

demonstrate the current state of the Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search

Portals Industry:


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The foremost barrier to entry within both the mobile application and internet markets is the fact

that the knowledge required to develop either a mobile application or a website is neither

common nor easy to obtain. The extensive knowledge required to develop both of the

aforementioned is a commodity and takes a great deal of learning to be substantial. It is therefore

a barrier to entry. Another barrier to entry exists within the Apple App Store. Within this

application marketplace, there are a great deal of restrictions placed on what developers can and

cannot include in their applications. In fact, with the release of the new iOS App Store, these

restrictions have become even more stringent and are causing some applications not to be

developed or to disappear entirely. Notable developer Marco Arment had this to say about the

restrictions that Apple has increasingly installed: there arent huge classes of [iOS] apps that

people have grown accustomed to using that are suddenly not available anymore. He also


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questioned How many good apps will be pulled from the App Store before Apple cares? and

made it clear what effects this has had on his customer satisfaction, stating My confidence in

the App Store, as a customer, has evaporated. This obviously also effects developers and makes

it much more difficult to create applications to be distributed to the Apple network.

Within the Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals Industry bothtechnology and R&D have one thing in common: there are constantly changing and progressing.

As far as technology is concerned, the Hoovers Database addresses the constant reliance this

industry has on technology in quite the comprehensive manner: The industry depends upon

technology for nearly every aspect of its operations. Most companies use a combination of

readily available ("off-the-shelf") software products and proprietary search algorithms to find

and deliver content to users. Additionally, companies must rely on multiple third party

technologies, such as Internet access providers and routers, in order to be successful. As a result,

technology is a primary expense of Internet companies, and it requires continual updating in

order to remain competitive. Considering the ever changing status of technology within this

industry, it is clear the R&D is also continually adapting in an effort to keep up. It is an

extremely common occurrence to see applications and websites having to be constantly updated

to take the advancements in technology into effect. Advancements in technology also lead to

new applications and websites being developed at an extremely high and consistent rate.

According to the data gathered by MicroBilt Corporation and distributed by the Hoovers

Database as of August 2012, there are 17,351 companies within the Internet Publishing and

Broadcasting and Web Search Portals Industry. Among these companies, 35 have revenues

greater than $50 million, while 346 companies are between $5 million and $50 million in

revenue, and 16,970 companies have revenues less than $5 million. The Hoovers Database also

notes the top heavy nature of this industry by stating that The Internet publishing, broadcasting

and search portal industry includes about 3,200 companies with combined annual revenue of

about $40 billion The industry is highly concentrated: the top 50 companies account for about

80 percent of revenue. The Hoovers Database also provides a great deal of telling stats: Among

those large companies whose revenues are greater than $50 million, the average profit margin is

55.2% of revenue. Among those medium companies whose revenues are between $5 million and

$50 million, the average profit margin is 52.3% of revenue. Among those small companies

whose revenues are less than $5 million, the average profit margin is 51.4% of revenue. When

considering the industry as a whole, profit margin is an average of 53.9% of company revenue.

More so than maybe any other industry, the opinion leaders within the Internet Publishing and

Broadcasting and Web Search Portals Industry are the consumers within the industry. Those

persons who make their opinions known throughout the web are the leaders within the industry.

Whether it is bloggers, social networkers, or discussion board contributors, it is those authors

who publish their content on the web that are considered the opinion leaders. In the past it has

been thought that blessings of these opinion leaders were the key to make a company within this

industry successful. Janet Edan-Harris, who is the CEO of Umbria, a company that monitors


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internet buzz, summed up this sentiment in stating Companies are incredibly eager to get to

those people. Do that -- or so the conventional wisdom says -- and you'll be in marketing

heaven. However, as Alice LePlante of InformationWeek points out, new research, as well as

growing business experience, suggests that such thinking may be overly simplistic. While it has

become clear that word of mouth campaigns are extremely effective within this industry, new

revelations point to the fact that the opinion leaders may not have as much of a marked impact as

was originally thought. David Balter, CEO of BzzAgent, found exactly this to be the case: We

actually believed in the idea that influentials drove market trends at that point, but upon closer

look, we found out it didn't add up. The sales data of our campaigns didn't match the profiles of

the opinion leaders we had targeted, and it really caused us to re-evaluate some of our core

assumptions. We tell them that's fools' gold. It sounds really great, it sounds really sexy, but the

results simply don't fly.

The target market for Fanvation is not bounded demographically by age, rather it is defined by

lifestyle. Fanvation will first and foremost target smart phone owners within the US. We will

also focus on targeting those consumers who are passionate about attending live sporting and

entertainment events. The target will also be willing to travel to get to these live events. These

consumers will be technology savvy and will have the ability to make and carry out their own

travel plans, which will cause most the target to fall between the ages of 18-50. There will be,

however, consumers above this age range that become part of the target because they are more

technology savvy than the average member of their age range. The target will also not be

bounded by gender. While there will most likely be more males within the target than females

because of the tendency of males to be more passionate about live sports, both genders will be

targeted equally. There will not be a great deal of limitation based on geographic location of the

consumer as long as there are within the US. In terms of income, the target of Fanvation will bedefined. Fanvation will target those consumers who are members of a household with an income

greater than $50,000 a year, as those consumers will be the ones who have the ability to own

smart phones, purchase tickets to live events, travel to live events, and in some cases make

arrangements for accommodations and dining when traveling to these events.

The customer is first and foremost an avid fan. At first we will be targeting avid football fans,

but it is our hope to expand to encompass avid sports fans of all kinds, and eventually even avid

fans of live entertainers. Our customers will be extremely passionate about a certain team, artist,

or entertainer, to the point that the aforementioned object of adoration plays a role in how our

customer lives there life. To our customer, a favorite team, artist or entertainer goes as far as toplay a role in determining who they consider their peers, what they will do with their free time,

and what travel plans they will make. Our customer is also technology savvy. They own a smart

phone and spend a great deal of time on the internet, either on their mobile device or a computer.

Our customer is a frequent user of mobile apps, and sees them as a reliable way to achieve many

ends. They are also familiar with mobile commerce, and will not shy away from making a


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purchase with their mobile device. Finally, and possibly most importantly, our customer

regularly attends, and thoroughly enjoys, live sporting events or live entertainment events.

Fanvation will, at its onset, be targeting a very specific niche: passionate football fans that attend

live events and are technologically capable and savvy. Even as Fanvation grows, and the target

market does with it, the niche will remain relatively specific. Fanvation will always beentrenched in a niche of avid fans that attend live events, no matter what that event may be,

while also being dependent on mobile and internet technology. Although this niche is specific in

scope, there is still an ample sample size of customers who fit into the niche, which is exactly

what an entrepreneur searches for when starting a company.

The competitive landscape for Fanvation is as follows:

Mobile Applications:

o FanFinder: Mobile application that allows users to locate sports bars in a specific area.

The app filters sports bars based on where fans of individual teams are watching the

game, effectively allowing a user to find a bar where fellow alumni and fans of the same

team are watching. The app is based around a GPS location mechanism, and also allows

users to interact with one another via email communication.

o Yelp: Mobile application that allows users to locate businesses of all kinds and read

user reviews and ratings of that business. The app also offers navigation to that business,

special deals for that business, and user recommendations for once you get there.

o TripAdvisor: Mobile travel application that provides users with rankings, ratings and

reviews of attractions and accommodations within a city. Allows users to plan out and

select locations they would like to visit when traveling to a certain destination.o UrbanSpoon: Mobile application that informs users of restaurants that surround the

area they are currently in. Also provides users with ratings, rankings, reviews, and the

ability to make reservations at any of the restaurants listed on the app.

oZagat To Go: Mobile version of the renowned Zagat restaurant guide. Gives users

access to more than 30,000 expert reviews of dining spots throughout the US.

o Google Latitude: Mobile app that allows users to locate friends. Users are able to share

their location with friends, as well as view other users shared location. Allows for users

to effectively pull up and map and see where their friends are currently positioned on that

map.

Travel Sites:

All of these sites serve quite the similar competitive function. Each site allows users to

book hotels, flights, rental cars and travel packages online. Each one of them is, in

essence, an online travel agent. The site also provides user reviews on all the hotels


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available for booking. All of these sites would compete with Fanvation mainly in the

hotel booking category.

oExpedia

o Travelocity

o Priceline

o Kyak

oHotels.com

oHotwire

o Orbitz

Sports Fan Travel:

oMaximum Sports Connection: Travel site that provides travel packages to fans of the

Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. Is a quite limited site and would only competewith Fanvation among fans of those two teams.

o Champion Sports Tours: Travel sites that provide travel packages to fans. Mainly

targeted at the fans of Louisville, University of Kentucky, and University of Pittsburg.

Would compete with Fanvation mainly among fans of those 3 teams.

o Primesport: Online sports ticket vendor that also offers a limited amount of sports

travel packages to the largest of events, such as the Super Bowl.

o Premiere Sports Travel: The most comprehensive of the sports travel sites, offers many

packages to sporting events across several categories. Only offers packages to major

events, such as BCS bowl games, so would only compete with Fanvation in that category.

Other:

Rivals.com (Specific team pages): Catalog of sites for each of the major college footballand basketball programs that provides subscribers with access to articles written by

experts devoted to their team as well as forums for discussion. Would compete with

Fanvation based on their forums, where there is often discussion among fans on

where they will visit on a given trip to a game, as well as where they will tailgate at

and where they will stay.

Facebook: Social media site and application that allows users to create events, check inat location, and discuss endless amounts of topics. Would compete with Fanvation as

a forum for discussion as to where fans plan to be on a given weekend and through

the check-in feature that is offered.


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One of the great things about Fanvation is that there is currently nothing else like it on the

market. Fanvation would provide consumers with a comprehensive service that is not currently

available anywhere. While there are features of Fanvation that are included in other apps on the

market (as is discussed in analyzing Fanvations competition earlier in the study), there is no one

app or website that brings all of these feature together. There is also nothing on the market that is

directed towards connecting avid fans with one another at live events. Fanvation would provide

all of the information a user needs to find their fellow fans and create experiences with one

another. The innovative approach Fanvation takes towards making this happen is unique, and

reaches an untapped segment of the market.

FOUNDING TEAM

The founding team would include two members. The first member would be Perry Dube as the

founder and CEO of Fanvation. The next member of the team would be the software developer.The software developer would be paid for his services of development and maintenance and

would be given a share of ownership in the company as a way of ensuring continued

commitment to the product.

As the CEO of Fanvation, Perry Dube will be handling all of the decisions on the business side

of the company. This would include all of the sales, marketing, funding, and product life cycle

decisions for the business. Perrys extensive background in sales, along with his experience in

marketing, and his expansive education relating to advertising and entrepreneurship would

prepare him to handle this role. The software developer would be responsible for all processes

related to the programming and readying of the technology in the time leading up to the launch.This person would also be responsible for the maintenance of the mobile application after the

product has been launch, as well as the technological processes that are deemed necessary to

progress the product as it moves through its life cycle.

The biggest risk involved with Fanvation are the gaps that could appear in the time period from

the development to the launch and afterwards. The main gap would be related to the software

developer, and how to keep him or her as a reliable resource for development and progress

throughout the life cycle. The best way to handle this gap would be to give the software

developer a share of ownership in the company. By doing so, in addition to paying this person a

service to service basis, we would be giving the developer an interest the company. The harderthe developer works, and the better work he or she does, the more revenue the company will

receive and the more earnings the developer would obtain. This clear connection between quality

of work and motivation of the developer would do a great deal to lessen the width of the initial

gap.


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PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The Fanvation application will have three initial features. The first is the Stay With feature,

which allows users to see what hotels the fans of their favorite team, artist, or entertainer are

staying in the time leading up to an event. The second feature is the Party With feature that

allows users to see what bars the fans of their favorite teams plan on visiting on a given weekendor the time leading up to an event. The third of the initial features is the Tailgate With feature,

which allows users to see where fans of teams are tailgating in the area surrounding the stadium.

Fanvation users will also be able to make friends within the application, and track which

locations these friends have stayed at, visited, and tailgated. These features will come together to

provide consumers with an experience they have not been able to access up to this point. Never

before have avid fans had access to a system such as Fanvation that will provide them with the

ability to connect with their fellow fans and be able to share experiences with these fellow fans

with such ease. This comprehensive benefit does not currently exist in the market, and will be an

extremely useful tool for fans of all kinds.

Fanvation is currently in the idea generation stage. At the present time, no actions have been

taken towards the actual development of the company. There is still a great deal of idea

generation and fine tuning that still needs to occur before the development of Fanvation can even

begin to be pursued.

The first task in the product development cycle is to find an ideal software developer that could

complete the tasks of programming a mobile application, designing a website, and maintaining

both of the aforementioned. Once a developer has been chosen, their first task would be to begin

the development of the mobile application. The first of the two features (Stay With and Party

With) will be built on a standard catalog type format. Since almost all mobile applicationsfeature a format similar to this one, it should not be a challenge for the developer to create these

two features and link them to a mobile browser. The third feature will require a bit more in depth

programming, as GPS technology will need to be utilized. However, as is stated above, there is a

great deal of technology sharing occurring in the industry Fanvation will be placed. This trend

will hopefully allow the software developer to utilize some technology that has already been

developed to complete this feature. Once the developer has completed the three features, the next

task will be to add the ability to male friends within the application. This should not be an

extremely difficult task, as it will function much like many social media applications that will

allow users to access other users profiles. Once the software developer has completed all of

these tasks, the initial application development will be completed and it will be prepared for

launch. The next step would be to place the mobile application on the Andriod and Apple

markets, thereby allowing consumers to download the Fanvation application and automatically

create an account within the application. At this time, the next step would be to purchase the

Fanvation domain name so that it is reserved for the company once the development of the

website occurs down the line at some point. The next task would be filling catalog features with

hotels and bars. This will be achieved by doing an extensive amount of research and dealings


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with these businesses so that they agree to be featured on the application and to pay the

subscription fees/commissions that may come along with doing so. This will be an extremely

labor heavy task and will take a great deal of time to complete, but once it is done, the

application will be ready for launch. The final step would be to file for a patent, protecting

Fanvation as intellectual property. The timeline for completion of all these tasks, and therefore

the time at which the mobile application could be launched, will be pretty far into the future, as

Fanvation does not want to rush the application to the market before it is ready. The projected

time of launch is nearly one and a half years from now in the Fall of 2014.

There is huge potential for intellectual property rights for Fanvation. First and foremost would be

to trademark the name Fanvation, effectively preventing others from using the Fanvation name

on their business. It is also extremely important to patent a mobile application. In fact, obtaining

a patent can be one of the most important steps in become a successful entity. Mark P. Kesslen

and Brian W. Weber make several insightful points in their article Developers: How To Protect

Your Intellectual Property During The iPhone and iPad App Development Gold Rush in a 2010

edition of IT World. One of the most resounding points they make is as follows: In the infancy

of an app, developers often rely on trade secrets to protect critical information without

implementing the necessary companywide procedures to insure such protections. A company-

wide strategy and policy should be implemented to prevent loss of trade secret rights through

public disclosure, which does not handcuff the company's promotional efforts. Furthermore, a

decision must be made early on whether to obtain trade secret protection or patent protection,

because use of a trade secret as a competitive advantage may void the ability to later obtain

patent protection for the same idea. Kesslen and Weber also suggest six guideposts for app

developers as it relates to intellectual property rights:

1. File First, Launch Second2. Stay Covered3. Choose Your Name Wisely4. Open Source - You May Get What You Pay For5. Know What You Own6. Secrets Are UsefulProvided They Remain Secret

Seeing as Fanvation is a product that will be based so heavily on advance technology, it is more

than fair to say that it can be considered a living prototype throughout the development process.

As Fanvation continues to be developed, it will continuously be tested. In this manner, the kinks

and roadblocks will be worked out as they arise, rather than at the end of the process during a

final testing. This will make the entire development cycle much less stressful, and will lead to the

development of a much more reliable product.


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FINANCIAL PLAN

According to Carter Thomas of BlueCloud Solutions, the average cost of developing (paying a

developer) a basic table based application is between $1,000 and $4,000, while the cost of

developing a database application is between $8,000 and $50,000. Fanvation will require a large

amount data to be housed within the application itself, so it will be a database app. Although itwill have to house a large amount of data, it will be on the lower end as far as database app

development goes, probably closest to $10,000. In order to add GPS capability to the application,

additional fees will be required. These will most likely be nearly $2,000. Carter Thomas also

goes on to say that adding web based services so that the application can be updated remotely

through XML rather than raw code can cost up to nearly $5,000. This will be a necessary

expenditure, as Fanvation will constantly need to be updated. In order to add share capabilities to

the application (so that it can be marketed by the users themselves on social media sites) will be

as much as $1,500. To place an app on the Android market costs $25. According to Gene Quinn,

a leading patent attorney, obtaining a patent for relatively complex technology, such as a mobile

application can cost up to $15,000. The application to obtain a trademark on the Fanvation name

is $325 when filed electronically. Reserving the domain name Fanvation.com for 10 years will

be an additional $147.90.

$10,000

+2,000

+5,000

+1,500

+25

+15,000

+325

+147.90

$33,997.90

Estimated Capital Requirement

In order to feature an app on the I-Tunes market, one must become a member of I-Tunes

Connect. This fee is $99 per year. Also, in order to maintain a patent $1,150 is due after 3.5

years, $2,900 after 7.5 years, and $4,810 after 11.5 years.

Almost all of the working capital required upon launch will be on a service to service basis. Forexample, paying the software developer to add a new improvement to the application or paying

the founding teams accountant for his or her services (this fee can range from $150-$450 an

hour). Since all of the working capital will be on a demand basis, it is impossible to estimate

accurately at this point in the cycle. The only working capital that would be possible to estimate

would be marketing costs, which would initially be about $5,000 per month.


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According to the Vision Mobile study on Developer Economics in 2012, the average application

on the I-Phone platform gains $3,693 in revenue per month, while the average application of the

Android platform gains $2,735 in revenue per month. As far as hotel booking commissions go, if

we were to charge $2 for every click through from our application to an individual hotels

reservation page and averaged 1,000 click throughs per month in the initial stage, that would

amount to an additional $2,000 a month. Finally, if we were to charge a $5 per month

subscription fee to all bars featured on the app and had 1000 subscribers in the initial stage, that

would amount to an additional $5,000 per month. Assuming average performance by the

Fanvation application in the early stages of its life cycle, the breakeven point would be calculated

as follows:

$3,693

+2,735

+2,000

+5,000

-$99 (I-Tunes Connect fee)

-$5,000 (Marketing costs)

$8,329 per month

Considering the application would probably take at least 3 months to achieve average

performance:

3($5,000 +$99) = $15,297

$15,297 + $33,997.90 = $49,294.90

$49,294.90 / $8,329

= 5.9 months

5.9 months + 3 months = 8.9 months to breakeven

TIMELINE TO LAUNCH

1. Target and Hire a Software Developer2. Begin Development of Fanvation Application3. Begin Lead Sourcing and Sales Process4. Purchase Domain Name5. Begin Process of Obtaining Intellectual Property Rights6. Place Fanvation on Android and Apple Marketplaces Upon Completion of Final Version7. Launch Fanvation in Fall 2014


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Sources:

http://www.slideshare.net/VladyslavSolodovnyk/internet-publishing-and-broadcasting-in-the-us-industry-report

http://subscriber.hoovers.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/H/industry360/overview.html?industryId=1904 http://www.informationweek.com/online-influencers-how-the-new-opinion-l/199203642 http://www.mspmentor.net/2012/10/18/idc-huge-growth-ahead-for-mobile-enterprise-

management/

http://www.macworld.com/article/1167941/why_developers_customers_should_be_wary_of_the_mac_app_store.html

http://www.lowenstein.com/files/Publication/49090bf8-f5d0-4575-8be4-cfa192b54b83/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/d18ecf57-42e1-4f9c-b8a0-

db23d32b83e5/IPad.pdf

http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2011/01/28/the-cost-of-obtaining-patent/id=14668/ http://www.bluecloudsolutions.com/blog/cost-develop-app/

http://developer.att.com/home/develop/referencesandtutorials/whitepapers/Best_Practices_Mobile_Application_Development.pdf
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After conducting all the research that went into this feasibility study and putting the study itself

together, I have been nothing but encouraged by the outlook for Fanvation. Everything I found

throughout the study makes me believe that Fanvation has the potential to be an extremely

successful venture, and one that I should seriously consider pursuing in the near future. While

the startup capital required for Fanvation is higher than I originally anticipated, the exciting state

of the industry in which Fanvation belongs, along with the promising projected monthly profit

margins, make this venture an overwhelmingly encouraging one. I have found this study to be

extremely helpful. Although the results of the study have not been surprising, they are certainly

nothing but positive and have made me extremely excited to pursue the startup of Fanvation in

the near future.

Documents

Fanvation Final Feasibility Study