1. POL Advisers 2016 Rise to the Challenge Pitch Competition Arnold Joo
Existing Business Idea Executive Summary Graduate Student
1
Who We Are and What We Do
POL Advisers provides performance, operations, and logistics solutions to strengthen the
capacity of both for- and non-profit organizations in Baltimore City. Our focus is on designing and
developing management information systems (MIS) that turn data into information, and information
into valuable knowledge. Data can provide a powerful narrative of an organization’s performance
and effectiveness – but only if that data is collected properly and analyzed thoroughly. We help
create systems that not only provide these narratives, but also provide ways to improve on those
narratives. Once these management information systems are integrated into the operations of an
organization, we can conduct analyses to monitor progress, analyze trends, and support data-driven
decision making.
How We Do It
1. We observe, listen, inquire, and examine the operations of our clients.
2. We gather an understanding of what they do, how they do it, and what they need to do in
order to function more effectively.
3. We examine how our clients collect their data and provide guidance on ways to improving
the data collection process.
4. We work with our clients to identify the key questions to address and create online platforms
for collecting the data necessary to provide insights and answers to those key questions.
5. We also evaluate our clients’ key performance indicators (KPI) and determine the best ways
to capture the necessary data.
Our Competitive Advantage
As a project and program manager for the Baltimore City School System and Baltimore City
Department of Social Services, I ran multifaceted projects that required a strong working knowledge
and understanding of operations, analysis, and information systems. This first-hand experience
allows me to make sense of complex data sets, extract meaning and understand the relationship
between each data set, and use it to improve organizational performance and program effectiveness.
I also have the skill set to act as an effective intermediary between end-users and developers,
ensuring that the goals of all parties are aligned and accomplished. Furthermore, I have three
excellent programmers/MIS specialists on my team.
We specialize in hyper-customized services, working closely with our clients to ensure that
the MIS developed is specifically tailored to their organization’s functions and constructed with the
flexibility to alter features, if necessary. Large vendors work the other way around – they sell one-
size-fits-all products that are rigid and demand organizations to work around their software. Further,
customizing the vendor’s MIS is often costly and time consuming; our clients can reach us anytime
and we work with them to debug/enhance features quickly and accurately.

2. POL Advisers 2016 Rise to the Challenge Pitch Competition Arnold Joo
Existing Business Idea Executive Summary Graduate Student
2
Our Business Model
1. We work with clients to design, develop and structure management information systems that
work for them, charging at an hourly rate. This iterative process can span anywhere from
several months to over a year – as our customers better understand their needs and as their
KPIs evolve over time.
2. Once a foundational system is developed, we charge a yearly fee for maintenance, data
auditing, and ad-hoc analyses.
3. We simultaneously seek out other clients in the same or similar fields who would appreciate
an MIS with a similar structure. If interested, clients are then charged a flat fee for the
proprietary MIS and an hourly rate for customization. Again they are later charged a yearly
fee for maintenance, data auditing and ad-hoc analyses. As these clients in a particular field
grow, our working knowledge of the field expands and our MIS becomes more sophisticated
and useful to all our clients.
4. We then plan to conduct a market analysis to determine whether a potential larger market
need exists. If the market analysis shows promise, we will pursue developing a
commercialized version of our software and sell licenses to cater to the market.
Judy Centers
POL Advisers obtained their first client, the Liberty Judy Center, in June 2015. In so doing,
we have entered a hyper niche market that we can capitalize on in the near term and a field that can
succeed in in the mass market in the longer term: Early Childhood Education and Holistic Family
Services.
Judy Centers were established to increase kindergarten readiness by providing access to early
childhood education and family support programs in impoverished communities. Through an
integrated services approach, Judy Centers collaborate with community-based agencies,
organizations and businesses to provide or arrange family assistance in services such as health care,
adult education, special needs identification and early intervention, child care, parenting classes and
family literacy.
Prior to the existence of our management information system, Judy Centers operated using
massive amounts of paper logs/forms and a variety of unlinked spreadsheets. In designing the MIS
for these Judy Centers, we created a user interface that integrates the different services that the Judy
Center provides for both the student and the family. We created comprehensive profiles for both
adults and children that capture academic information, case management, screenings and
interventions, activities and workshops attended, etc. This not only helps the Judy Center to better
understand and address the needs of the families they serve, but also facilitates the completion of
their grant reporting, provides performance measures and outcomes, and establishes accountability
measures to run a more effective Judy Center.

3. POL Advisers 2016 Rise to the Challenge Pitch Competition Arnold Joo
Existing Business Idea Executive Summary Graduate Student
3
Prospects
There are thirteen Judy Centers in Baltimore City. We are currently contracted by five of
them and another three have shown keen interest in our services; quotes have been submitted to
these schools and are pending approval from Baltimore City Schools Procurement Office. There are
68 Judy Centers in total all around the State of Maryland, all of whom have similar reporting and
data needs. Furthermore, the Baltimore Community Foundation announced in November 2015 its
commitment to Judy Centers with a $6 million contribution to the three-year expansion of nine new
Judy Centers in Baltimore City.
We have the support of the Baltimore City Schools Early Learning Office, who have been
advocating for our MI systems to be established in all Baltimore City Judy Centers. We are currently
in the process of obtaining approval from the Board of School Commissioners for POL Advisers to
be able to expend over the traditional $25,000 limit per fiscal year. When we receive board approval,
we can then establish a contract that includes annual maintenance service for each Baltimore City
Judy Center we serve. In the interim, the Early Learning Office has verbally committed to provide
us with an additional $25,000 in funds for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2016.
Once we have captured the Baltimore City Judy Center market, we plan to solicit and extend
services to Judy Centers across the State of Maryland. The long-term goal is to develop a
management information system that any organization providing holistic family support services can
use and benefit from.

4. POL Advisers 2016 Rise to the Challenge Pitch Competition Arnold Joo
Existing Business Idea Executive Summary Graduate Student
4
Appendices
I. Current Quote Cost Structure
Line Item Cost
Proprietary Relational Management Information Systems $3,000
Customization (20 hours @ $30/hour) $600
Introductory Technical Assistance Offer (25 hours @ $30/hour) $750
Additional Technical Assistance as Needed (100 hours @ $50/hour) $5,000
TOTAL $9,350
II. Future Quotes for Annual Maintenance (existing clients)
Line Item Cost
Maintenance, Data Auditing, Enhancements and Ad-Hoc Analyses $7,500
TOTAL $7,500
III. Client Acquisition History
Client Acquisition
Date
Purchase Orders
Approved
Liberty Judy Center 06/25/2015 $10,335
Arundel Judy Center 12/10/2015 $2,350
John Ruhrah Judy Center 01/20/2015 $8,650
Arlington Judy Center 02/10/2016 $3,850
Harford Heights Judy Center 02/10/2016 $8,650
TOTAL $33,835
IV. Projected Timeline for New Client Acquisition in the Near Term
School Year # of New Clients Rationale
SY 2015 – 2016 5 This is an actual number.
SY 2016 – 2017 13 We have tentative agreements with 3 other Judy Centers.
We are also confident that out of the 60 other Judy Centers
in the state, we can acquire at least 10 more, though this will
be a challenge as we move to other counties/school
districts.
SY 2017 – 2018 30 Once we have clients in other school districts, client
acquisition should increase exponentially due to word-of-
mouth and desire for consistency across Judy Centers.
SY 2018 - 2019 Develop software to license

5. POL Advisers 2016 Rise to the Challenge Pitch Competition Arnold Joo
Existing Business Idea Executive Summary Graduate Student
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V. Financial Projections
SY 2015 – 2016 SY 2016 – 2017* SY 2017 – 2018*
Revenue $33,850 $159,050 $415,500
Total Cost: $36,225 $119,250 $307,500
Arnold’s Salary $26,070 $71,535 $182,850
Partner’s Contracting Costs $10,155 $47,715 $124,650
Profit -$2,375 $39,800 $108,000
*Projected based on cost structure in I and annual maintenance in II.