7. Support, maintenance and adding of new features to the core system: continious process, time is not specified.
8.
9. Posters: Impossible to reach breakeven point with any number of sales, because our direct costs are too high (due to inexperienced employees and unstandardized implementation process) and prices are too low (due to little user base).
10. Shops: In this case it is possible to reach the breakeven point, but the sales have to be extraordinary high. The reasons is the same as in the case of posters.
12. Posters: We will probably not reach break-even point; even though our margin is much higher because of higher price and experience of our implementation team.
13. Shops maintenance: We reach break-even point. Here we do not have a lot of direct costs.
14. Shops: We will probably not reach break-even point due to still quite high direct and general costs. On the other hand we are expanding our consumer base and also benefiting from shop maintenance in future years.
16. Posters: We will most probably reach break-even point; our prices will be higher and our sales will be growing because of reaching the critical mass of end-users.
17. Shops maintenance: We are going to make even more revenue, because of high sales of shop system in previous two years and low costs.
18. Shops: We are not planning to reach break-even point – we are expecting to reach it in fourth year, but will probably be very close to it
![Business plan 1914525387985(Venture Cup 2009) Table of Contents TOC
1-2
Executive summary PAGEREF _Toc229243663 3 Problem, idea & product PAGEREF _Toc229243664 3 The market PAGEREF _Toc229243665 3 Financial projections & exit possibilities PAGEREF _Toc229243666 3 Product PAGEREF _Toc229243667 4 Sample user interaction & data flow (InfoClickPoster) PAGEREF _Toc229243668 4 Current products PAGEREF _Toc229243669 5 Planned developments of product or service in the future PAGEREF _Toc229243670 5 Idea protection PAGEREF _Toc229243671 5 Customers and market PAGEREF _Toc229243672 6 Benefits offered to target customers according to their needs PAGEREF _Toc229243673 6 People and organization PAGEREF _Toc229243674 7 Existing management PAGEREF _Toc229243675 7 Our knowledge PAGEREF _Toc229243676 7 Employment practices PAGEREF _Toc229243677 7 Recruitment PAGEREF _Toc229243678 8 Retention and motivation PAGEREF _Toc229243679 8 Payroll and personnel system PAGEREF _Toc229243680 8 Team management PAGEREF _Toc229243681 8 Industry and competition PAGEREF _Toc229243682 9 Strengths and weaknesses of the major competitors PAGEREF _Toc229243683 9 Possible strategic partners PAGEREF _Toc229243684 9 Action plan PAGEREF _Toc229243685 10 Marketing plan PAGEREF _Toc229243686 10 Definition of target market PAGEREF _Toc229243687 10 Competitive edge PAGEREF _Toc229243688 10 Unique selling point of business PAGEREF _Toc229243689 11 Innovation PAGEREF _Toc229243690 11 Main features and benefits PAGEREF _Toc229243691 11 Product mix PAGEREF _Toc229243692 11 Incentives PAGEREF _Toc229243693 11 Promotion PAGEREF _Toc229243694 12 Distribution PAGEREF _Toc229243695 12 Research PAGEREF _Toc229243696 13 Confirmation of demand PAGEREF _Toc229243697 13 Money: financial analysis PAGEREF _Toc229243698 14 Business model PAGEREF _Toc229243699 14 Start-up capital PAGEREF _Toc229243700 14 Risk and reward PAGEREF _Toc229243701 14 Profit and loss PAGEREF _Toc229243702 14 Cash flow PAGEREF _Toc229243703 15 What-ifs PAGEREF _Toc229243704 15 Summary PAGEREF _Toc229243705 15 References PAGEREF _Toc229243706 17 Appendix PAGEREF _Toc229243707 18 Executive summary Problem, idea & product Nowadays we obtain too much information to contemplate them and decide which are important for us and which are not (i.e. you always see all the discounts in the shop, although you are interested in just those you are planning to buy today – information that depends on the user). Also people tend to quickly forget things in this information overflow. And what about relevancy? Nowadays, customers desire time- and location-relevant information, which traditional information channels (leaflets, promotional panels, posters, etc.) are not able to provide. Our invention is focusing on all these aspects of modern every-day life. Idea is quite simple – mobile phone application that enables user, through the simplest possible interface, to grab a snapshot of our barcode, automatically sends an MMS to our servers, that recognize the barcode on the taken photo and provide user with personalized, location and time relevant information via SMS feedback. Even though our base idea could be used in numerous use-cases (as mentioned later), we have decided to focus on two of them in the beginning – InfoClickPoster and InfoClickShop. The first one will enable users to take a photo of barcode placed on usual event poster and provide them with useful information and booking possibilities regarding the event. Moreover, by using this system user is also able to buy the ticket. On the other hand the second one will be positioned at shop entrances and provide users with useful, relevant and personalized information about special discounts and offers at the particular shop. The market End-users differentiate for our selected use-cases; InfoClickPoster primarily targets younger audience and active, modern people, InfoClickShop is more focused on regular grocery shop customers and “discount hunters”. Our revenues however, are not based on end-users. We will sell our services to event organizers and shop owners; organizers will be interested in attracting even more potential visitors and enabling them to book or buy tickets via additional on-spot service, shop owners or big supermarket chains will spot added value in better stock management (they will be able to advertise and discount products that are nearing expiry dates) and new product placement distribution channel. We think that with such diversity of user segments we will be able to attract enough people to reach the critical mass of regular end-users to start and implement new use-cases in our future development. Financial projections & exit possibilities We thought over several different scenarios and finally chose to start our business with two previously mentioned use-cases. From financial point of view, our estimations showed, that we will reach financial balance low-point (about million €) at the end of the third year and from then on, we should start making day to day profit. We have produced detailed three-year estimations, a cash flow based on our predictions and a small market research. Our calculations were mostly based on worst-case or at least pessimistic scenarios. We have specified several possibilities in case of good or bad scenarios. As our solution will be a mobile one, we predict that if our concept really hits the spotlight and reaches broader acceptance there will be a huge interest for our technology from different mobile carriers consequently meaning that our initial investors and also we as part owners will be able to sell the company at a good valuation or engage in worldwide partnerships. On the other hand if our demand estimations would be proven wrong, we would be able to quickly spot the critical signs (because of our detailed financial plan) and thus switch to another use-case, partly sell the company or find possible partnerships with mobile carriers. Product Sample user interaction & data flow (InfoClickPoster) Event poster with our barcode system (1). User chooses type of action (Check available tickets, book a ticket, book a ticket and pay -2). The second click (3) is needed for taking a photo of a barcode. The picture is automatically transmitted via MMS or WLAN (if a network is available) to our system (4). This is a computer server which provides barcode pattern recognition (4). System is thus able to identify the barcode. This is how the system recognizes location of the user (each barcode is different) and identity (using mobile-phone number). (Note: the server will only be mentioned ones, even though all traffic in next steps is made via the server.) Our server exchanges data with a event organizer (5) or a special ticket booking service (via our API and XML data). Available booking information is transferred (via SMS) to the end-user and he/she then selects (6) the category and number of seats he/she would like to book (information is sent back to the server via SMS). The server (4) informs the external ticket service (5) about a new booking and also sends the payment details to the end-user (7). The end-user is able to pay via internet (e.g. at home, office,… - 8), by the reference number or by the mobile carrier monthly receipt (only if we will be able to negotiate this option with mobile carriers) 12345678 Scheme of InfoClickPoster use-case Current products right412115left397510As mentioned before, we are currently focusing on two products, or, as we call them, use-cases: Planned developments of product or service in the future Very important and valuable aspect of our business is also development of new use-cases, which are unfortunately not feasible at the moment due to the financial issues. Moreover, we would also like to consider present customer needs and feedback and then properly react on them. We have three different ideas for future use-cases: InfoClickTuristGuide: in this case, the barcode would take place near interesting spots in museum. By taking a photo user would be provided with spoken description of the sight. It is a cheaper alternative to audio guides, because special hardware (i.e. headphones) is not required. InfoClickPathFinder: in this case, the barcode would take place somewhere in the city. By taking a photo and entering a key-word (what are you looking for? i.e. food shop, toilet) user would receive a SMS with description of the path (or MMS with the map) to the nearest required object (i.e. food shop, toilet). It is an alternative to static maps or signs in the cities. Moreover, it can also avoid obnoxious asking people for directions. InfoClickFoodOrder: In this case, the barcode would take place adjacent to the food menus in restaurants or at home for food delivery companies. By taking a photo, the end-user order (i.e. big-sized vegetarian pizza) would be transferred directly to the kitchen, and the staff would be able to start cooking immediately. The first benefit from this use-case is reduced lead time. End-user don’t have to spend time waiting for the waiter or calling food delivery company. The second benefit is the reduced number of staff required. No waiters or employees for receiving orders would be needed. Idea protection As this idea mostly consists of programs and applications, which, considering laws, cannot be protected, we have decided only to protect the main principle, which could be effectively patented. The most important claims are listed below. Before actually announcing the patent, we have to contemplate this very important issue with some lawyers to find possible disadvantages. Claims (for better understanding see picture Scheme of InfoClickPoster use-case above): The composition consists of barcode (1), mobile phone with pre-installed software (3), and two computer servers (4,5). Composition from claim 1 utilizes SMS, MMS and XML technology to communicate. One computer server (4) from claim 1 has installed software for barcode recognition. One computer server (5) from claim 1 has installed the database with customer information. End users are able to pay the new ticket, using internet and a reference number, which they receive on the mobile phone (3) at the end of transaction. End customers are also able to pay new ticket together with the mobile phone bill provided by their mobile carrier (8). Instead of barcode (1) in composition from claim 1, the RFID could be utilized. We have also decided to get a trademark and reserve a brand name in cooperation with DPTO. Customers and market InfoClickShop target customer Shop customers (B2C) – customers of next generation, who want relevant information whenever possible and do not have time to check promotional leaflets Shops (B2B) – supermarkets that would like to bring their customers some additional added value InfoClickPoster target customers By-passers in the street (B2C) that get interested in the offer on the poster and would like to have more detailed information about advertisement immediately on the spot. It would be just required that they have mobile phones with our application at hand, which enables them to take a snap-shot and get the instant feedback from our system. The organization advertising on the posters (B2B) – Organizers of the event / Service providers Benefits offered to target customers according to their needs right122555InfoClickShop System allows shop owners (probably big supermarket chains) to set-up special hot-spots at the entrance of supermarkets. A user uses our application when he/she enters a specific supermarket and by doing that obtains some specific, relevant information about current special offers and other discounts of products that are actually on stock. System would use time and location feature of our system and collect information about stock and offers from supermarket`s internal ERP system. There is also a possibility to include identity specific information – information and offers about products that customer is most interested in (information about costumer`s interest could be provided through our internet service). This information would give equipped supermarkets added value for the customers and consequently attract more of them. right118745InfoClickPoster Additionally provided information can be specific to the location of the poster, identity of the inquirer (e.g. booking seats available) or/and time of the inquiry. Our system would also enable combining of those three aspects. In that way the linkage of both our customers (i.e. the advertiser to their potential customer) is established with easy and fast communication and highly increased possibility of desired outcome for the advertiser. As we have shown in the Confirmation of demand section, InfoClickPoster solution should generate enough transaction to satisfy customer needs even in our first year of running. People and organization Existing management Name/nationality Study course Dominika Bezdziel / Poland Business and engineering Torben Borgmann / Germany Business and engineering Tadeja Kadunc / Slovenia Computer and Information Science Andrzej Leoniuk / Poland Business and engineering Jakob Marovt / Slovenia Computer and Information Science Miha Troha / Slovenia Computer and Information Science Our knowledge Math and Statistics Hypothesis forming & testing Statistical calculations Game theory IT AI (expert systems, pattern recognition, machine learning ... ) Databases System architecture Web development Programming languages (Java, C, C++, C#, bash, Prolog, SQL, PHP, assembler ... ) IS (ERP, CRM ...) Economics Accounting Management Organizational theory Project management Managerial Accounting Managing intercultural Teams Different kinds of knowledge which are available in this group are essential for such a complex project we are focusing on. The only disadvantage is the lack of management experiences and therefore we will try to compensate that with hiring professional CEO and CTO. Employment practices We would like to hire motivated skilled people with minimally two-years working experiences. We will of course obey employment regulations and try to provide our staff with best possible working environment and benefits. Recruitment We will need 10 employees with computer science bachelor degree, 2 marketing specialists, 1 accounting specialist, 1 project manager (CTO) and a professional CEO. Retention and motivation We are going to offer our permanent staff (2 years) a possibility to buy a small share of company and consequently connect them even more with the mission of our company. We will organize team-building meetings outside our premises monthly to bond our team. Payroll and personnel system Payroll system (gross figures): development team - 3500€/month implementation team - 20€/hour marketing, accountant, CTO, CEO - 3500€/month Personnel system will be based upon our company`s growth; staff will be able to buy shares, they will be provided with more and more education, be able to attend seminars, conferences, etc. Team management As we will start as a small company we will need a limited number of managers - CEO and CTO. They will be externally advised by business angels and venture capitalist that will provide our start-up capital. We will try to establish horizontal team organization and use progressive agile methods (e.g. SCRUM) for our product development. Industry and competition Base of our business is within Information technology industry sector, where dynamism is very high. Therefore quick breakthroughs of new concepts and also new companies are very likely. But at the same time the competition is really strong and it is difficult to prevail or to predict the outcome. Already at the starting point we come in touch with the retail and the entertainment industry in terms of providing connecting services to players in those two sectors and helping them reach their customers. Advertisers on LCD panels with possibility to change information of an advertisement and thus enabling its continuous update. Online event management and ticketing service (e.g. HYPERLINK
http://www.eventbrite.com/
Eventbrite) Repetitive print of shopping leaflets Strengths and weaknesses of the major competitors LCD panels screening various information might indeed provide updating or changing possibilities and depicting in a visible, flashy manner, catching enough attention even just if driving by. But they certainly cannot offer selling point service as in our case. It could be more secure/predictable for the event organizer to choose this known way but besides lacking the distinctive spark (too short screening time, too many similar ads, usually boring) it also lacks additional custom-tailored value. In a case of RFID technology there is no really equivalent solution on the market. But we surely can expect more development in that category including increases of the storage size of RFID chips and different, improved ways of using them. Although RFID might not replace barcodes entirely it has a potential in location-based services in combination with mobile network. However, RFID equipped mobile phones end-user base will not be big enough (even in a few years time frame) to compete with our basic and already wide-spread solution. Possible strategic partners The only senseful possibility for a partnership for our business would be a partnership with big mobile phone carriers like TDC, VODAFONE, TELIA or SONOFON because we would use their network and increase their SMS and MMS traffic trough that. On the other hand we would benefit from that as well because we could use their invoices services as a way for payment for the ticket service and all mobile phones would have our software preinstalled. From here on, there are two main different approaches to the question of partnership: ,[object Object]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/businessplanventurecupeditionfinal-090701152030-phpapp02/85/InfoClick-Business-Plan-1-320.jpg)
![Partnership with many big mogile phone carriers: In case that we obtain enough money from other funds, and therefore don't have to establish financial based partnerships, this is the best solution. We can sign contracts with many different mobile carriers, and thus get access to huge end-customer base without any future limitations. Action plan We plan to start up our venture according to this rough plan: ,[object Object]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)