Unpredictable, stressful, and time-consuming. These are just a few of the characterizing emotions that can be felt when planning and booking a trip. However, it doesn’t have to be this way!
William Manning, a double major in Business Entrepreneurship and Supply Chain Management at the W. P. Carey School of Business and Barrett, The Honors College, has set out to change that narrative. As a part of ENT 360, Entrepreneurship + Value Creation, he has created Oyster Voyages, an online travel service combining the elements of blogging, consultancy, and rental properties in the pursuit of an easier booking experience.
Early in the process, Oyster was only going to tackle the consultancy realm within the travel industry; there must be enough people out there just looking for help right? But one of the beauties of ENT 360 is the ability to get raw, constant feedback throughout the product development process. Through marketplace conversations with students, friends, faculty, and more, Oyster began to see pitfalls. With an assortment of single-pillared consultancy services already out there, William had to pivot. So, through additional trial and error and experimentation, Oyster grew into a more all-encompassing, one-stop shop destination, adding the elements of personal and consumer blogging and rental properties.
For William, ENT 360 was able to shine a lot of light on just how detailed the entrepreneurship process can be. In a world where few start-ups make it to fruition, it was very insightful to dive into many of the elements behind successful start-up ventures. By learning to Care for a cause that means something to you, getting Creative over your idea’s differentiation strategy at each step, and Creating Value in the eyes of your users, one can look to cultivate change, the right way. Innovation also takes time and is a fragile and patient process. Rather than jumping right off the deep end, it’s important to wade into the shallows, access your plan with those around you, and then slowly submerge.
“This class was incredibly invaluable,” William says. “As someone majoring in entrepreneurship, I find it so impactful to work through the entrepreneurial process at a young
age. Getting the opportunity to develop an idea of our own while working alongside other students in the same boat, is an experience I won’t take for granted. The intricate ideas I’ve learned over the semester are certainly some that I’ll look to translate and implement into more entrepreneurial ventures to come.”
Click here to watch the pitch: Pitch
Click here to visit William’s profile: LinkedIn