Ahmed 0

Santa Susana High School

Uberesque
Senior Project 2015

Syed Ahmed
CP English 12
Pamela Bradley
November 20, 2015

Ahmed 1

For my senior project, I plan to construct a business plan based off a company that I myself will
create, this company is based on the Uber business plan. My reason for pursuing this specific project is
because I am passionate in becoming an entrepreneur. Also, I am intrigued by the Uber business model
as Uber is a company that has benefited the world by providing transportation for the average person. I
have limited knowledge of this project thus far. I have knowledge of what a business plan is- a document
that introduces the company to investors/entrepreneurs.
My business plan has a lot of learning stretches that I must research. It requires exploring more
in depth of what should be in a business plan. It also highlights the need for me to research about the
Uber business plan. I want to research benefits, negatives, so I can prevent those types of situations, and
how Uber changed the business industry, so that I can bring that effect into the future. I will also need to
create a business base of my research because I am still quite unsure what my business is yet. I am using
Uber as an example for my business and I plan to use my research help form my business plan.
It is important to research what I need in this business plan. That is so this information can give
me an idea on what needs to be included in the business plan. One thing that it does is document what
the company will do for the coming three to five years (Small Business Administration). It can have
information like prioritizing the business and estimations of growth, as it will help with the long terms
goals of the company. Doing this will allow it to introduce future issues that the company may come
across, thus allowing the entrepreneur to act upon to prepare for these issues (Australian Government).
One goal for this business plan is to demonstrate control. A way to make that happen is to
ask the employees their opinion on how to improve the company (Hoque). This will allow other voices
to present what they think about the plan. Another way could be by showing others who are experienced
at making these plans provide their input on it. Making a good business plan also allows other people to
look at your business plan as a reference, making other entrepreneurs use it as reference, which can
allow for a more professional feel (Hoque).
A company needs an executive plan. An executive plan is a short summary that tells the investors

Ahmed 2

what they want to know quickly (Entrepreneur). That is because the details that are needed in the
executive plan need information that can go on forever. Subjects that must be included are a business
concept, which tells the product and market, the finances of the business, the situation of the business
(personal things, owners, legality), and the companys major achievements (Entrepreneur). The
executive plan is crucial in getting investors to favor a company, like the company this senior project is
all about, as it will provide information that could prove legitimacy.
Another important part of a business plan is the description. This is something that everybody
recognizes. However, it is what is in the description that matters. That is what this part of the research is
all about. In this part of the business plan, the entrepreneur must talk about the nature of the company so
that the costumer can be satisfied and meet their needs (Small Business Association). This will show
investors that you are making your costumers happy. To go more in detail, explaining the target audience
will show the details that will show investors on how those consumers are getting satisfied (Small
Business Association). In addition, showing your investors why they should choose your company over
another that provides the same service or offers the same product is information that should be included
in the description of the companys business plan (Small Business Association).

The business

plan must include the profits of the company, if available (Entrepreneur). Why should this be a topic
when everyone knows about profits? That is because there are different ways a company can interpret
profits. One way to interpret it is through expense management (Entrepreneur). Those can include office
rent, salaries, and more things that include cost. The reason for this being a part of profits is so that the
entrepreneurs/investors know how much is being spent compared to the money being earned. Other
things needed are the product quality, so that it can be known who does and does not like the product. In
addition, advertising can indicate how it can affect profits. (Small Business Association).
Business
entrepreneurs have an option to put an appendix at the end of their business plan. The appendix can have
the following things; a credit history, resumes, product picture, reference for the product, licenses and

Ahmed 3

patents, legal docs, building permits, contracts and a list of consultants for the business, like accountants
(Small Business Association).

Other things that a business

plan can have are the companys unique culture (Hoque). It can have rules and behavioral expectations
(Hoque). The plan can include how the company is able to communicate between different business
units (Hoque). Other, more personal, information is welcome in the business plan. This could include
stuff like the target market for the business, suppliers, partners, and rivals (Hoque). Also, it can include
ways that this company differs from its competitors (Hoque).

The Uber business plan is

required for this research in that it is important to know it is good and bad. This information will help
understand what should and what should not be changed in the plan based on Ubers business. Uber is a
huge and growing business where there are private drivers who give rides to people to their destination
of interest. The people who drive are regular and not professional drivers. It has become very popular
among the public.

A companys survival depends upon

making profit. Higher the profit, higher the company valuation. Uber is one of those companies that has
exceeded all expectations in making profit. Customers use their services and pay a fee based on distance
they ask to travel. The fee is based upon mileage for the ride. (Liadre). From the fees paid by the
passenger, a small percentage of that money goes to Uber, but a higher percent of that money goes to the
driver of that customer (Liadre). The amount of money charged is managed based on the time of the day
(Liadre). During the busy hours of the day, or during weekends and nights, Uber charges more for the
rides (Liadre). This makes sense as it applies to a supply and demand type system.
Another important part of the Uber Business plan is their
proprietary company develop application. This app allows for easier access for people to call up a driver
(Liadre). It allows the customer to track the incoming rides and know who is the driver of the car they
are about to enter. The app also allows a more secure way to pay for the ride as the person pays through
the app, rather than directly (Liadre).
The Uber business plan really does change businesses in a positive way. The

Ahmed 4

company has shown how successful it is to have a great app that is well made and free from major
glitches/bugs (Liadre). Calling for an Uber ride is very easy which is beneficial for the consumers
(Liadre). Uber has shown how they have been able to succeed from competition, which is because of the
all the lawsuits. Not only did they win most of them, but they received huge free publicity that helped
them become even more popular. (Liadre).
While Uber has their positives, not every company is perfect, and Uber is
definitely flawed. Even though it was said before that they had gained publicity from all their lawsuits,
those lawsuits continue to cost a lot of money. Uber challenges and competes with the traditional
Taxicab business and it thus causes frictions with companies like the New York Taxi Cab Industry
(Liadre). Uber also has issues with governments of countries like one in France (Liadre).
Even with all of this information of the positives and the negatives,
entrepreneurs can learn a lot from the Uber business plan. Companies should continue to invent new
business ideas and not be afraid to disrupt other businesses and be able to take criticism from that
(Liadre). Entrepreneurs should be fearless and be able take advantage of the free market like Uber did
(Liadre). Companies should use the internet more aggressively in their businesses, as it can help grow
businesses faster (Liadre). The court cases Uber has been going against show that there can be such
thing as no bad publicity (Liadre). Uber takes at least 15% of the transactions made when charged
(Liadre). This makes Uber make a gross profit of at least 15% cut (Kosoff). There is no inventory
required to keep as business is primarily internet based (Liadre).
The Uber Business model is important in my business plan.
That is because the business plan that I have in mind is similar to the Uber business plan. My business
plan will challenge another industry, which has dominated its field. The Uber business model continues
to be a rapidly growing business thus it gives me even more of an interest in using that model to make
my business successful and that would be stated in the plan. My plan also require an application to be
created and be used, so knowing that how successful the app is helping Uber work and is the basis of the

Ahmed 5

business it makes me want to base my business on an app.

In my business, I plan to mock up data from similar companies. I also plan
to make up some data such as projected sales, profits, number of employees, budget, and partnerships. I
do not have the business actually running. Therefore, in order for me to make the data I am going to base
it on other companies like Ubers data.
In the appendix, I would list critical business items such as patents, professional
services, contractors, utilities, a brief product narrative, key business licenses, credit history, and rental
lease. This appendix would provide the reader of my business plan a good understanding of must needed
services, for my business. I may also include other information that I cannot include in the main section
of the actual business plan.
I am going to follow with the basics of a business plan. Like the name of the company or
the type of people I am targeting my business towards. I will include things like different way to attain
profits, the work place of the employees, and even a basic description of what the company is. I will
included the ways I am going to make profit and maybe use some of the ways that I have researched like
with partnerships and with advertisements through the app. I will also include a form of the companys
finance, even though that might be an issue since it is a brand new company.
I plan to change the way I present this project as well. Based on most of my researched
information of what business plans are used for I want to take that into effect. In my presentation for the
senior project, I plan to create a scenario similar to the TV show Shark Tank. Even though I did not
research this, since this show is known to the common person, my research has led me to think about
this show and want to use it in my presentation. This will, in my opinion, give me a better experience
with using business plans. It can also give me an opportunity to get the panelist more involved during
the presentation.
This is my senior project and I believe it will benefit my experience for becoming a
business entrepreneur in real life. My research has already helped me understand what a business plan

Ahmed 6

does and what should be included in my business plan. After doing my research I have clearly seen what
I want to accomplish with this project, along with my presentation. My research gave me an idea of what
my business should have and what I need to change. I am proud for what I have learned and am ready to
take this information and apply his my own business plan and maybe one day become an entrepreneur.

Work Cited

Ahmed 7

1. U.S. Small Business Association. Web. 16 October 2015.

2. Hoque, Faisal. Fast Company. Web. 16 October 2015.

3. Entrepreneur. Web. 16 October 2015.

4. Business. Australian Government. Web. 16 October 2015.

5. Laidre, Armin. Iplanner. Web. 16 October 2015.

6. Kosoff, Maya. Businessinsider. 29 October 2014. Web. 16 October 2015.

Annotated Bibliography
1. Business. Australian Government. Web. 16 October 2015.

Ahmed 8

2. Entrepreneur. Web. 16 October 2015.

3. Hoque, Faisal. Fast Company. Web. 16 October 2015.
4. Kosoff, Maya. Businessinsider. 29 October 2014. Web. 16 October 2015.
5. Laidre, Armin. Iplanner. Web. 16 October 2015.
6. U.S. Small Business Association. Web. 16 October 2015.
7. Devry University. 14 july 2014. web. 17 september 2015
The main purpose is to show the main tech that is our future. The article talked about
specific tech that was to big in the near future like a more connected home and self-driving cars. The aud
ience would be tech geeks who want to know the future of tech.
This is important as the future of tech is a flexible thing that is dedicated a lot. so having
insight might tell me what i can talk about in the future of tech. This has a bias towards
future tech devices instead of past or present.
8. Drexel. Web. 18 September 2015.
The main purpose is about video games getting more popular. It talks about what causes
the growth of the gaming industry. The audience are mostly gamers and people who are
learning about the growth of this industry. This is helpful as it talks about another
technological industry. This has bias towards the negative side of video gaming.

9. Globe University. 6 August 2015. Web. 17 September 2015.

This article is about how tablet change the world. The article talk about how 5 industries
are being changed by the tablet industry and making it better. This is meant for an
audience who likes to know about technology in the daily world. This is helpful as it will

Ahmed 9

help me prove how technology is helping people in other industries and overall. This
article has a bias that it does not mention smartphone or computers changing other industries.
10. Lee Hosanager Kartik, Nair Harikesh. Stanford. Stanford Business, September 2015.
Web. 17 september 2015.
The main purpose is to show the effect of ads in social media. The article talks about how ads in social
media can catch the user's attention. The audience are people who want to
learn the techniques to make a good ad. This is useful because it helps show
how companies which services are free get and money from ads and how these ads are used effectively.
11. Lenhart, Amanda. Pewinternet. PewResearchCenter, 9 April 2015. Web.
17 September 2015.
The main purpose is about the study of tech and social media in a daily life of a teenager.This article foc
uses on the polls based the teenager uses of social media, smartphones,
video games and etc. The article talk about what teens use most, what ethnic groups use tech more, how
teens use this tech, and more. The audience is for someone who wants to
know how the teenage life is evolving based on the tech industry, or parents who want to
know statistics about these subjects. This is relevant because it will give me background on how the you
ng use their tech and help me use them for the tech I can look at. This
article is bias as it only uses teens instead of adults and seniors.
12. Levorese Sean. Rochester Institute of Technology. Web. 17 September 2015.
The main purpose is to explain the wearable tech industry. This article talk about what
they are and also talk about the different wearables like smartwatches and fitness bands.
This is meant for people who are new to the wearable industry or are wanting to learn

Ahmed 10

more about it. This is helpful as it talks about another industry within the topic. This has a bias towards t
he wearable industry and leaving out other industries like smartphone or tablets.
13. Ray Amanda, The Art Institutes. Web. 18 September 2015.
This is about the history of the cell phone. It talks about how the cellphone get getting
new feature and getting more portable and the future we hold of this tech. The audience
are tech geeks who want to learn some history of the cell phone. This is relevant in that
is can give background information that I can use befor I argue in my essay. The bias is
towards every other growing tech other than smartphones as the article only talks about smartphones.
14. Shields Margie, Behrman Richard. The future of children. Princeton, 11 february 2013.
Web. 17 September 2015.
The main purpose is about children using technology. This article informs more of how
technology can be used for children educationally. The audience are teachers and
parents. This is useful because it explores the education side of tech and the child side of
it too. This article has bias of talking children over something like teens or adults.
16. Walker Brittany. University of WisconsinPlatteville. 19 September 2014.
Web. 18 September 2015.
This article is the good and bad of technology. It talks about how technology is bad for
you and good for you in our daily live. The audience are people who want to understand
the topic. This is helpful because it has a negative side to the conversation which can help with a counter
argument. This has bias towards the positive said more than a negative side.
17. Williams Amy. Family Online Safety Institution. 17 February 2015. Web.
18 September 2015.

Ahmed 11

This article is about the benefits of tech. The article focuses on daily tasks that could be
easier when technology does the work for us. The audience are people who want to find
uses of technology (smartphone, tablets, etc.). This will help me by using these as
examples of uses as our daily tech.