Locale 1

Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary
2
II. Mission Statement..
3
III. Core Values.
3
IV. Business Concept
4
A. Target
Markets. 4
B. Competitive
Edge 4
C. Operations
5
D. Location
... 5
V. Industry Analysis.....
6
VI. Management Plan.....
7
A. Positions
... 7
VII. Marketing Plan.
9
A. Product
. 9
B. Price
.... 9
C. Promotion
. 9
D. Place
. 10
VIII. Financial Plan..
10
 Locale 2

A. Cancellation
Fee.. 11
B. Consumer
Payment.. 11
C. Projected
Revenue.... 11
D. Website Startup and Maintenance
Fees... 11
E. Total Startup Cost
Estimation.. 12
IX. Conclusion....
12
X. Appendix..
14
XI. Bibliography.
16

Executive Summary

Imagine you are studying abroad in a new country, and after the initial excitement dies
down, you realize you are on your own in a place youve only read about. You will want to make
this travel experience as enriching as possible so immediately you begin to think about how you
can meet new people and explore the city. Locale is here to assist any college student who is
placed in this scenario. Locale is a website and application that assists the adventurous student
traveling abroad. Locale will be focusing its efforts on attracting students, specifically those in
the UC community and UC alumni living outside of Cincinnati. On one side, we have students
who have shown an interest in traveling and studying abroad (as seen in figure #3), and on the
other side, there are alumni who are passionate about where they live and would love to connect
with someone who is familiar because of their mutual post-secondary educations.
Locale has four features for users: connecting students who are traveling abroad,
showcasing what local events the city has going on, providing a chat forum for students to
receive travel recommendations from locals in the area, and arranging inexpensive, authentic,
and spontaneous tours, called adventures, that are completely led by the citys natives. The
travel application industry is a rapidly growing sector, but we are confident that we have
established a business that is different from the others. Locale is able to differentiate itself from
other travel applications because it is student-oriented and offers spontaneous and personalized
adventures. We are excited about this app and believe that once students and locals start using it,
they will be too.
 Locale 3

In regard to marketing strategies, we are going to rely on social media and word of mouth
to get our companys name out because it would be the most effective. Our application will also
be free on the App Store, as will many of the features. Connecting students to students and
learning about local upcoming events will be completely free to utilize on Locale. These free
services are likely to attract a large market. Locale will be a general partnership company, in
which each of the stakeholders has unlimited liability in the company. This way, we can be
confident that each member of the management team is fully committed to putting as much work
that is needed into Locale. Startup costs of $39,675 will cover website and app creation and
server maintenance until we make a profit. A small portion of these costs will also go towards the
promotion of our app, but social media and word of mouth are fairly inexpensive so we are able
to put that money towards making the app as aesthetically appealing and efficient as possible.
Like most startups, we do not anticipate receiving salaries for the next few years.

Mission Statement and Core Values

Mission Statement: We strive to enhance students travels outside of their hometowns by

immersing them in new cultures across the globe so that they can return home with more stories
to share.
One of our core beliefs at Locale is that no matter your background, socioeconomic status
or comfort zone; you can travel. Traveling authentically can broaden perspectives and enriches
the voyager and the native. At Locale, our goal is to facilitate authentic and meaningful travel
experiences through connecting students with the city, fellow students, and locals. We hope to
encourage more students to leap outside of their comfort zones and travel outside of their home
state or country. On the flipside, we want to give passionate locals a chance to show off their city
in a fresh and exciting way.
 Locale 4

Core Values:

As a travel application, our worldly core values can be summed up on a map. Our Locale
map represents an outline of ten fundamental principles that drive our company to achieve its
goals on a daily basis. The employees embrace these values in both their personal and
professional lives.

The Locale Map:

1. Traveling changes your outlook on life.
2. We have something to learn from everybody.
3. Meaningful travel experiences are not found in touristy areas.
4. Traveling doesnt require exorbitant amounts of money.
5. A city is your home for however short or long your excursion is.
6. Diversity of cultures and ideas should be celebrated.
7. Never stop learning.
8. A leader comes in many shapes and sizes.
9. No idea is too big.
10. Embrace your weirdness.

Business Concept

Locale is a technology platform that provides students with a multitude of services. First,
they can be updated on upcoming local events, including bike tours, flea markets or concerts.
Second, students can connect with other students traveling in similar areas. Third, they can ask
the natives for activity, restaurant or sightseeing recommendations through our chat forum.
Lastly, Locale provides authentic tours, called adventures, for traveling UC students by
connecting them with UC alumni across the globe. Our goal is to fully immerse students in a
diverse range of cultures.
 Locale 5

Target Market:
Although Locale could be marketed toward anyone interested in travel, the applications
main focus is on the UC community. The app will be marketed differently to each category:
those who are looking to travel and those who are looking to showcase their town as a host. Due
to this, there are two primary target markets. Included in the first primary target market are co-op
students, students studying abroad or traveling independently, international students, and any UC
affiliated groups. Based on statistics from the Fall Semester of 2016, the primary target market
was comprised of roughly 7,720 members. This includes 1,722 students who participated in
study abroad trips, 1,681 co-op students, and 4,317 international students (as seen in Figure 1,
UC Fall Factbook, UC International: Profile Report). This projection is most likely
understating the amount of members, as it is hard to pinpoint an exact number of people who are
interested in travel. The second primary target market will be UC alumni living outside of the
Cincinnati area who are eager to showcase their city as a host. This target market is comprised of
approximately 129,236 members as of 2016. Through the two separate primary markets, the goal
is to connect UC students and affiliates, both past and present, in order to become groups of well-
versed world travelers.
The secondary market will include similar groups, such as UC faculty, staff, and non-
affiliated natives that are looking to become hosts. Locales goal is to market the app towards UC
students and alumni in hopes of spreading our brand name to faculty, staff, and other unaffiliated
locals. After a successful launch, marketing will also begin at other universities across the nation.
However, the focus will be on our two primary target markets in order to build a framework for
further expansion.

Competitive Edge:
Currently, the traditional concept of utilizing a tour guide is known as structured, clich,
and overpriced. There is very little individuality and customization within existing industries. In
addition to that, most of the tour guides expert knowledge can be found on existing travel
websites. Locale is redefining the concept of traditional tour guides in order to focus on
enhancing students travels. We provide many unique and flexible benefits. Rather than solely
seeing the main tourist attractions within a city, tour guides will show travelers their favorite
local spots and activities for a very inexpensive cost. These locals are self-proclaimed experts
who have passion and knowledge for the places they live and can provide an authentic cultural
immersion. We are very dedicated to gearing our efforts toward college students, which is
different from most other travel applications. We understand that the college experience is a very
impressionable time for individuals so introducing them to new places, cultures, foods, and
people will help shape not only their few years on campus, but also life after college.

Operations:
In order to effectively enhance students study abroads, co-ops or personal travels, every
aspect of their trips and experiences with Locale must be personalized. We operate much like
Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb. When students are looking for something to do while traveling, they will
first fill out a customized profile that will ask questions about travel locations, interests, cost
limitations, and language barriers. Then, once we know about what the student is looking to see
or do during their travels, we will provide them with exactly what they want. On the other side,
from the tour guides perspective, they will also fill out a profile when they download Locale so
that we can know their goals and expectations for the adventures. The local events will be
 Locale 6

customized to their interests, students can find one another based on their chosen travel locations,
and the locals that they match with are ones who have knowledge on their specific passions or
travel plans. Another way that students can seek an adventure guide is to search the site utilizing
keywords and requesting specific tour guides after reading their profiles. The local events that
students can be notified of will be gathered by allowing organizations to add their events to our
website and application, just like how other local event applications operate. The tour guide has
the ability to accept or deny the tour based on their availability. In the genesis of the company,
Locale will start within the United Sates and, then, slowly expand throughout other countries.
Each adventure can be split up into three time increments: 1-2 hours, 2-4 hours, and 4+ hours.
These adventures have a base price of $30, $50, $70, respectively. In addition, if there are extra
costs that may occur during the adventure, this will be noted on the itinerary so that students feel
prepared. Our prices are lower compared to larger tour guide companies. The other two services
that Locale offers will be free.

Location:
The only tangible building that Locale would need to effectively operate would be an
office. However, this type of investment would be considered after a couple of years of business
because we do not need one in the beginning. It would be nice in a few years to have an office to
be more organized and collaborate easier. In the beginning though, each employee will work
remotely because everything that needs to be done for the company can be completed on a
computer. In addition, once we launch Locale and gain experience, we could have employees
live in places around the world in order to build the company in places other than Cincinnati,
Ohio.

Industry Analysis

Globalization has created a demand for a travel and leisure industry, and with the low
airline ticket prices, people want to travel. The travel and leisure sector is the seventh most
downloaded app category and 85 percent of people use smartphones to plan their travel when on
leisure tours. 72 percent of people will post photos about their travel on social platforms, such as
Facebook and Instagram. 30 percent use mobile apps to find the best hotel deals, 29 percent use
mobile apps to find the best flight deals, and 15 percent of users specifically download travel
apps to plan a trip ahead (How Mobile App Benefits Travel and Tourism Industry). The travel
application industry is rather large with many fierce competitors. AirBnb and Tripadvisor are the
biggest names in the market and they have an extensive amount of influence in the industry since
they are user-friendly and widely used. It will be increasing harder to get noticed in this rapidly
growing area since consumers are more specific with what they want out of their travels and how
hassle-free it can be.
In regard to trends in the industry, there is a push for sustainability, as declared by the
United Nations, tools that would help with taking high quality photos, and mapping out a trip
with an itinerary with the help of artificial intelligence. Our product would be more on the side of
 Locale 7

an itinerary tool. There is also a trend that high-paying customers will receive more perks if they
remain loyal and a majority of travel booking will be completed digitally. 44 percent of travelers
even plan their trip via mobile device. Todays travelers prefer multipurpose applications that
simplify their lives (Travel Apps Lead Industries in Usage Growth). New booking and photo
applications are being introduced every day and startups, like Roadtrippers, are becoming more
commonplace. The top performers in the industry have created a startup model that is being used
by these newer businesses. With a new company in the mix, competitors wont react to Locale
until it is a threat. If anything, competitors could purchase the company or Locale would be
pushed out.
Some factors that will determine the companys ability to succeed could be how receptive
consumers are to new apps and travel websites. Having a niche market, Locale can retain loyal
consumers and build a solid customer base, and, thus, this could be an advantage when trying to
become established in the industry. The industry is rapidly growing at 116 percent, which is well
above the growth in overall mobile app usage, according to a May 2012 Nielsen study, Courting
Todays Mobile Consumer (Travel Apps Lead Industries in Usage Growth). The profitability
is there, Locale just has to tap into it through loyal customers and a strong marketing plan.
Starting out, the company would compete on a local or regional basis, but as soon as it
gains popularity, the company should look into expanding into other states, and, ultimately,
Europe. In order to succeed, Locale needs to make sure that consumers know that it is different
than the top performers in the industry and are willing to try something new.

Management Plan

As a startup, Locale will function as a general partnership, in which all responsibilities

are shared between the stakeholders of the company. Each stakeholder, the members of the
executive team, has unlimited liability within the company. Since management responsibilities
are shared, more time is available to focus on expansion and growth of the company. Locales
executive team will not be given compensation until financial sustainability of the media
platform is ensured. All proceeds from Locale services will be reinvested into the company, an
aspect agreed upon by the executive team.
Most communication between Locales executive board will be conducted through online
chat platforms. Due to having no compensation that comes along with the startup, Locales
executive board will treat the app as somewhat of a side commitment. The company prides itself
in maintaining reasonable schedules for all employees, allowing them to support themselves and
their families.
Tour guides will be hired as independent contractors of Locale. Background checks will
be administered to ensure the quality of tours and safety of travelers. Tour guides will be
compensated for their performance; however, they have no liability within the company.

Positions:
 Locale 8

1. Chief Executive Officers (2)

a. Responsibilities
i. Lead development and execution of business
planning and growth
ii. Build the culture and image of Locale
iii. Oversee company performance and executive team
b. Qualifications
i. Bachelors Degree in a business related field
ii. Extensive knowledge in business management
2. Chief Information Officer (2)
a. Responsibilities
i. Manage and control the administration of the
Locale database to better understand customer preferences
ii. Oversee team of IT specialists in programming and
upkeeping the app and website
iii. Provide technical support for internal employees
iv. Report findings directly to the CEOs
b. Qualifications
i. Bachelors Degree in a technology field
ii. Experience with programming and technical
support
3. Chief Financial Officers (2)
a. Responsibilities
i. Provide timely financial projections and accounting
services to ensure company success
ii. Decide how to invest company money
iii. Act as the liaison between all company stakeholders
iv. Report findings directly to the CEOs
b. Qualifications
i. Bachelors Degree in Finance or Accounting
ii. Experience working in finance sector of business
world
iii. Report findings directly to the CEOs
4. Chief Marketing Officers (2)
a. Responsibilities
i. Oversee planning and implementation of various
marketing tactics
ii. Analyze results of market research in order to better
advertise the company
iii. Create branding materials that effectively portray
Locales goals and services to the outside community
iv. Report findings directly to the CEOs
b. Qualifications
i. Bachelors Degree in Marketing or business related
field
ii. Past experience in marketing leadership role
 Locale 9

5. Human Resources Manager (1)

a. Responsibilities
i. Act as the liaison between the management team
and Locale employees, including tour guides
ii. Respond to customer and employee complaints and
take action towards resolving any issues
iii. Recruit tour guides and oversee background checks
to ensure their qualification
iv. Ensure payment goes to tour guides within
reasonable amount of time
v. Report findings directly to the CEOs
b. Qualifications
i. Bachelors Degree in Human Resources or business
related field
ii. Past experience in Human Resources department

Marketing Plan

The way that you market a product - especially a new product - can make or break its
success. Even if we have a complete plan for the product and placement of the application,
marketing is still an integral part. The four Ps of the Marketing Mix, product, price, place, and
promotion, must be considered during the development process of Locale. We know that we
have to appeal consumers in the most efficient way possible, while still earning revenue.

Product:
Locale will offer a website and mobile application to students that will allow them to
partake in our range of services. They are able to receive notifications about the hottest local
events in their area, connect with fellow students who are traveling close to them, and, lastly,
immerse themselves in the culture of the town by either going on a spontaneous adventure that is
led by a local or chat with locals on a forum about travel recommendations.
 Locale 10

Price:
In terms of price, there are a few things that we need to consider, including how much the
app is going to cost to download and how much the various services offered in the app are going
to cost. We have decided that Locale is going to be free to download because we want users to be
able to utilize the free services within the app without having to pay for the app itself, as well as
we will be able to get more people to download our it if it is free. Once inside the app, there are
some things that will be free and some that will cost money. The services that will be free for
users are finding other UC students that are studying abroad, staying updated on local events
happening in the area, and the chat room with locals to receive travel recommendations. On the
contrary, our local tour guides will charge based on the number of hours that the adventures last.
A two-hour adventure is 30 dollars, a four-hour adventure is 50 dollars, and a six-hour tour is 70
dollars. The natives will earn a specific percentage of the price and the rest will go to Locale.

Promotion:
We will begin by marketing and promoting Locale towards the UC alumni. We need to
make sure that we have a strong base of tour guides before we start promoting to students. This
will be done through finding UC alumni on LinkedIn, Facebook, and receiving information from
the university. After we have a number of tour guides interested and signed up on the app, we
will start promoting and marketing the app towards UC college students. There are a lot of
mediums through which we will promote Locale. We will use social media because our target
market (college students) make up a large percentage of social media usage. Primarily, we will
use students at UC and alumni who are abroad to help us promote our app. They can be tour
guides if they have lived/studied in the area for a while, and they can also tell their UC friends
about the app and promote it through word of mouth. Locale will be unique in that a lot of the
promoting towards UC students will be done for us by reviews of tours and by tour guides who
sign up. After the app takes off and is on the market for a while, we would like to partner with
other travel apps such as AirBnB and others to do special promotions for people who use those
services.

Place:
We will start with creating a website (localeglobal.weebly.com) and then develop our
app. Our strategy in doing this is to create awareness and excitement for our app before we
launch it, and to be able to test the market and see if people are interested. Locale will be
available for download in the Apple app store first, because a bigger percentage of people have
iphones. We will eventually expand to Android after our app catches fire in the Apple store and
we get the funds to do so.
 Locale 11

Financial Plan

Locales adventures, which is the only component of our application that requires a
payment, will fall under three main categories with accompanying price ranges. A one to two
hour tour will have a flat fee of 30 dollars, two to four hours at 50 dollars, and an over four hour
tours starting at 70 dollars. The payment for the tour will be split between ourselves and the tour
guide. A portion of 80 percent will be given to the guide for their services, while we retain 20
percent for all two-hour tours. For four-hour tours, we will only collect 15 percent of the total
cost with a decreasing margin of 10 percent from the six hours of tour time. Additional costs for
the specific tour posting will be included in the details and description as to give the customer
advance notice of any more funds necessary for planned activities. We believe this revenue split
allows an adequate incentive for tour guides to continue working with us, collection fee for the
company, and low price for the consumer. Pricing, in comparison to other travel companies, is
extremely competitive in order to draw the consumer in and utilize our application.

1-2 hours 3-4 hours 4+ hours

$30 $50 $70+

Cancellation Fee:
Students may cancel their scheduled adventure anytime prior to twelve hours before its
start time, free of charge. Once the deadline has passed, there is a cancellation fee of 50 percent
of the tours cost. The collected fee will be split in accordance to the categorys percentage share
between the tour guides compensation, as well as a percent to the company.

Consumer Payment:
 Locale 12

Payment for Locales services will be collected when students sign up for the
adventure. Similar to platforms such as Airbnb, users will pay through the application once
they have finalized their adventure date and local. Students can also add on a tip for the local
tour guides if they feel like it is necessary. This ensures timely payment for both the consumer
and the company, as well as simplicity for the consumer.

Projected Revenue:
We are basing our revenues off of our targeted market of 7,720 students that was listed
earlier in the report. Within the first year, the company has a goal to penetrate 10 percent of this
population, increasing that to 15 percent the second year, and a year three goal of 20 percent of
the market. Estimations of the first three years of revenue are shown below. Estimations are
drawn in the low range row off of 10 percent of the 7,720 market population purchasing one
single one to two hour tour without any added fees. The medium range is based off 10% of the
market population purchasing a two to four hour tour. High estimates come from the same group
purchasing a four hour tour per person.

Locales Projected Tour Revenue

Estimation type Year 1 (10%) Year 2 (15%) Year 3 (20%)

Low range $4,632 $6,948 $9,264

Medium range $5,404 $8,106 $10,808

High range $5,790 $8,685 $11,580

Website and Application Startup and Maintenance Fees:

Currently, the cost estimation of establishing a professional web presence is $5,500
dollars, through using the service of a professional creator. For the application, it will cost us
$25,000 for its initial creation. The estimate also includes the high to low range calculations for
developing an iOS app requiring 210 hours of paid contract work costing 50 to 150 dollars an
hour (Wright). Then, service maintenance for both platforms during the first year is estimated to
be $9,175, which includes $4,375 for maintenance and $400 a month for the website (Chomko).
This poses a challenge to the company. In order to break even and begin profiting, the company
will need to capture the 15 percent and 20 percent of target market share as planned in year two
and three. However, one advantage is that our cost model is stationary and can be estimated
during each business cycle. Revenue will also be collected through advertisements on the site,
and initial startup fees should cover everything during the first year. There will not be sharp price
increases because website maintenance will be the primary expense following initial website
construction and server space. The servers would power the site and allow connections needed
for payment transactions and communication between tour guides and consumers, as well as
support a web forum that is free of charge. This forum would be monitored by our firm and
would allow for curious individuals to obtain information and have their questions answered
about local events and recommended restaurants and events.

Total Startup Cost Estimation:

 Locale 13

The capital needed for initial startup is estimated at $39,675. This would cover the cost of
website creation, a full year of server maintenance, and leave a small budget for promotional
materials and travel to the university in order to pitch Locales connecting service. The business
design allows for a relatively small staff of executive members to functionally control and run
the service. We do not intend to create a brand new market or break through large barriers to
entry. Funding sources that may be relied on are the Small Business Administration,
advertisements negotiated to be hosted on our site, as well as investing Startup accelerators.
Venture capitalists are also a source of potential funding but would come with the adverse cost of
equity changing hands. Small banks may be used in order to find the equity required to start
initial operations. Server space could be rented and hosted at another location, eliminating the
need for a physical office to be constructed as a headquarters of the firm.

Conclusion

Locale has created a new and exciting way to interact with foreign places. Through
coordinating how management, marketing, and finances will work within our company, we are
confident that we have constructed a success business plan, which will translate into a successful
business. Although our Locale team is confident that students and alumni will be eager to be a
part of what Locale is doing across the globe, there are some future obstacles that we are keeping
in mind. Our biggest challenge will be to set ourselves apart from the dozens of other innovative
travel apps that are popping up right now. Our biggest competitor being AirBnB, who has
recently unveiled experiences where you take a tour with someone who is knowledgeable of a
city. We differentiate ourselves from these experiences because of our focus on students and
because Locales adventures will be completely spontaneous. Adventures are more designed for
a carefree young person who is willing to go into an afternoon blind, ready for whatever will
happen.
Looking to the future, our primary goal after a successful launch is to bring Locale to
more universities across the US. This way, UC students going abroad will not only have the
opportunity to connect with their fellow Bearcats, but students from all over the country. We plan
to achieve this by hiring a few Locale representatives to go to college campuses; starting in the
midwest and slowly spreading out to the east and west coasts. Our reps will create interest for
Locale so students and faculty become interested in our app. Our next goal would be to take
Locale internationally, what Locale was intended to be from the beginning. Having an
international business requires a lot more resources to be successful so once we have had success
within America, we will know it is time to go global. To achieve this, we will hire a team of
people devoted to making this transition for Locale. Locale will adopt a multinational strategy
when expanding into other countries. A multinational strategy will be employed because
connecting with others is important at Locale so we want to tailor our promotion and services to
the cultures of each country. There are many other factors to consider when going global, such as
a countrys laws, economy, and political climate; which is what the global team will be in charge
of to ensure that we are choosing the best countries to expand into first.
While we are passionate about Locale, we need to be realistic. As college students, it will
be quite difficult for us to run this kind of startup from our dorms. For this reason, we are hoping
to become acquired by a more established travel app, such as Airbnb or STA Travel. Getting
acquired after a few years of developing Locale ourselves is the best case scenario for us. We
 Locale 14

also believe that we would have a strong chance of this happening because many of these apps
offer tours, but they are not spontaneous and tailored to each persons interests.
No matter what the future of Locale is, we hold true to our beliefs that everyone can
travel. By having a service like this that is available to students, we believe students will be
encouraged to study abroad more or seek a co-op outside of Cincinnati or possibly even outside
of the United States. With Locale, students are able to learn more about different cultures and
become a worldwide native.
 Locale 15

Appendix

Figure 1: A breakdown of the ages, locations, and colleges of co-op students at the University of Cincinnati.

Figures 2-4: Results from our survey that was sent out to a number of college students.
 Locale 16

Figure 2

Figure 3
 Locale 17

Figure 4
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Wright, Nicholas. "How Much Should It Cost to Hire an App Developer." Upwork Blog. Upwork

Global, 23 Feb. 2017. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.

Locale 18