29A - Venture Concept 2

1.

Muslu Soccer Academy

Opportunity:

We started off this class by trying to identify unmet needs. One of the unmet needs I found was a need for a different system of youth soccer development and system. I found that the United States is severely behind the rest of the world when it comes to soccer development. This is one of the biggest nations in the world and also has people from all over the world living in it. Why is it that we cannot even compete against some of the smallest countries in the world like Morocco or Panama? I am looking to create an academy that is done in a European style and also offers scouting opportunities to send these kids to Europe at an earlier age rather than going in to college to play soccer. The need is for people who want to see their nation succeed in the world's biggest sport and to see that the youth get the proper training to bring them there. The nature of this need comes from the current youth development system and the fact that there is intercollegiate soccer, which hinders the development or players who can become professionals at age 16. The forces that are causing this opportunity to come in to fruition are that more and more American players are leaving the United States to join the youth clubs in Europe and are achieving success. Geographically, this market is for literally for anyone who want to come to Miami to develop there skills. Miami was chosen as a destination because of its international diversity and already established soccer culture. Demographically, this market serves males 8 to 18. By 13 you can have an idea if one has talent or not and by 18 if they are not a professional already they should look elsewhere. This is a huge opportunity that can change the sporting landscape of this nation. My window of opportunity is until 2024. That is when the United States are hosting the World Cup and it is a chance for hopefully my players and the American population to succeed and show that we can be a soccer power as well.

Innovation:

I would argue that my service is quite innovative. I am a person who has played for DC United's academy at a younger age and later on played for Besiktas' academy in Istanbul. I have a feeling for both the European style of soccer development and scouting as well as the American style. I do not think many people in the world have this experience. There are many Europeans who have brought their system here and failed just like the current American system. I am one of the first to have both experiences and as a result I can combine the two to hopefully get the best result. On top of the actual academy I am providing scouting opportunities for European clubs to see this kids due to my network. Because it is a startup, I cannot charge to high right off the bat. I would charge $40 a session to start of with. That will be one resource of income. Should I succeed in sending a kid overseas to a European team then I would charge 4% of the contract. I am not an agent but at the end of the day I did provide them with the scouts and awareness so I should get some money from their first contract. I kept it at 2% because at the end of the day I succeed if they succeed and if they succeed America succeeds.

Venture Concept:

My innovation would serve my opportunity very well. Who is good at soccer? European countries. Who is bad at soccer? The Unites States of America. European countries succeed in soccer because of their strong youth academies. They also have players becoming professionals at the age of 16-17. In the states people do not typically becomes professionals until they are 22-23 unless they move abroad. I will provide a European based system suited for Americans that will improve and develop their soccer skills at a much accelerated pace. I will also provide scouting opportunities so Americans can become professionals at a much younger age. This way Americans will have a chance to play and develop against the best except 5 years earlier than they normally would. So by the time they would have graduated college they will already be close to their peak and have much more experience. I bring a huge network of European and American coaches who are credible and will attract many clients. It is also not at an expensive rate, which widens the audience significantly. Soccer is the biggest sport in the world and it is time the most powerful nation in the world to compete with the rest of the world.

Three Minor Elements:

1. My unfair advantage would be my diverse expertise in the area. I played in both systems at high levels and as a result know what works and what does not. I can find the perfect combination to deliver a great product.
2. My next venture would hopefully to become an actual youth club. Currently it is an academy only. Once I have enough clients and talent I would like to turn it in to an actual competitive youth soccer club.
3. In 5 years I hope to see some of my players wearing the red, white, and blue for the 2024 World Cup. That would be a huge crowning achievement for my business. Hopefully around this time the world would have started taking notice of my development skills and maybe a professional team and national team would want to take me on in some sort of position.

2. Throughout this process I actually did not receive any negative or critical feedback on my venture concept. Only one student posted on my venture concept post and he only wrote about how he agreed with me on certain aspects. In terms of my whats next post, I received two comments which also were just agreeing with my ideas. I really did not have to change anything as a result.

3. I know this assignment wanted me to change something in my venture concept, but there really was no reason to. I did not receive any negative feedback on my ideas and so far have only heard positives. As a result, I did not actually learn anything from my feedback. Why should I change something that apparently has no problems? The only things I did change were some logistics with my concept. I now decided to bring the age down to 8, since that is the age most kids start youth sports. I also decided to take  4% of the youth players contract rather than 2 since it would allow me to become more profitable.