Application Workshop December 3, 2010

1. Sabin Environmental Prize Application Workshop December 3, 2010

2. Sabin Application Info Letter of Intent due Jan 14 Full Application due March 4 • Today: Researching your idea • Jan 21st – Financial issues • Feb 11th – Writing & Presentations

3. Sabin Questions • Idea (what is it – what is appealing) • What is original (unique advantage) • What have you done so far (stage) • Next steps – what do you need to do? • What is the environmental benefit? • Who is on your team? • How much $ do you need? Use of prize?

4. Judges in 2010 • Andrew Sabin, prize funder & investor • Rosemary Ripley – NGEN – investor • Konstantine Drakonakis – Launch Capital - investor • Sally Fan, Deutsche Bank - investor • Ralph Earle, Assabet, consultant to investors, investor

5. Judges are Investors by Day They want to: • Hit a homerun (big financial upside) • Avoid known losers (high failure rates) • Minimize risks (pick the surest thing) • Back winners (proven track records)

6. Ideal Investor Characteristics Exciting company • Unique Product / Service • Large potential market • Rapid growth prospects

7. Unattractive Sectors • Restaurants -- one location > Too many cooks > 80% bankruptcy rate • Retailing -- one location > Too easy to enter > 80% bankruptcy rate

8. More Unattractive Choices • Consulting > Not scalable > No need to raise $ from others • Some International Businesses > Depends on your access > Also, perspective of the judges

9. Avoid Ideas with Large Capital Requirements Need to buy an island?

10. If not, your application is just creative writing Consider... Do you have: • The skills to make the venture happen? • Or, an “in” to acquire those skills?

11. Most Important Question • If the idea is so great... • Why hasn’t anyone done it before? • Might be – Technology didn’t exist before • Might be – it just won’t work!

12. The Best Ideas Come from your own experiences • School, jobs • Hobbies, family • A problem you’ve faced

13. Themes of the Day To Win Contests (or Raise $) You want to communicate an idea that: • Addresses a big,exciting opportunity • In a new, unique, innovative way • That is feasible and believable • With great people on your team

14. Idea: Big, Exciting Opportunity

15. The Need or Opportunity What is it? How large is it ? Is it growing ? By how much ? 15

16. Caution: Use Data, Sources! Your opinion about a need has little value You want to win contests…. Do research! Industry reports, articles, interviews, etc. 16

17. Caution: Look at the Right Market! GreenCleaning.com will sell all brands of environmentally friendly cleaning products – on one website. Cleaning product sales in the US were $28 billion in 2009.

18. GreenCleaning’s Market • Green cleaning products • Say, 5% of all cleaning products • $1.4 billion • Sell them (not make them) • Say, for a 10% commission $140 million - not $28 billion!

19. Research the Interest • Who are the customers? • How many are there? • What do they want? • What can you do for them?

20. Caution: Don’t Assume! Your ideas about customer have little value You want to win contests…. Do research! Do interviews & surveys! Get someone to sign up! 20

21. Caution: Get the Customer Right! GreenCleaning will sell its own brand of environmentally friendly cleaning products – in retail stores. • Who is the customer?

22. Caution: Get the Customer Right! • The customer = stores • Stores’ customers = consumer • You must appeal to the consumers • But you also must understand customer needs – and meet them

23. Caution: Get the Customer Right GreenCleaning.com will sell all brands of environmentally friendly cleaning products – on one website – for a commission. • Who is the customer? • Cleaning product companies

24. Testing Customer Interest Develop a one page product description • What does it do ? • How does it work ? • List the main features • List main benefits -- to customers

25. Use the Product Description to: • Conduct interviews • Do surveys • Ask customers if they want your product !

26. Find Out: > Do they like your product ? > Will they buy/use it when it is ready ? > Will they pay the price you’re asking? > Do they have any issues / concerns ?

27. Surveys • Survey Monkey = online survey product • Easy, nice looking • Includes analysis tools • Free for short, simple surveys • Keep your survey short, simple • Test your survey before sending!

28. For Your Application • Describe your venture (what will it do) • Also, the need / opportunity • And the customer (who will pay for it) • Include secondary research data • Quote yourinterviews • Present your survey data

29. Unique: Innovative, Competitive Advantage

30. What is Innovative? How is your idea – unique? Different from the competition? Different – from alternatives? 30

31. The Competition Who are the competitors ? How do they compete ? How are you different ? 31

32. What is Innovative? Always more competition - than you think Compare major features of your product > To all competitors’ products > To doing things “the old way” 32

33. Construct a Competitor Grid

34. Caution: Be Objective! • You saying you are better = little value • You want to win contests...! • Why, objectively, are you better? • Did customers say you were better? • Admit where you are not better

35. If your Grid Looks like this…. X X X X X X X X Buyer has no reason to switch -- probably won’t 35

36. Beware the Status Quo People hate to change Or to pay -- for what was free 36

37. Key Avenues For Investigation • Why has no one done this before ? • Technology didn’t exist? • New regulations or incentives? • It won’t work for some reason….?

38. Unique, Big Idea: Example

40. Fresh farmed tilapia fillets • Purified and filtered re-circulated water • “Seafood Safe” and Organic • 100% organic feed

41. Evidence of Opportunity - over 3 years: • US seafood consumption up 12% - $12 billion • US tilapia consumption up 110% - $400 million • Demand for organic meat & fish up 120% Over 70% of Americans would by organic seafood if available; 60% ‘strongly prefer’ domestic

42. Customers • Suppliers of restaurants, grocery & fish stores • Also, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods

43. Talking to customers: • 450 chefs and 150 retailers • Most prefer environmentally friendly fish • Local restaurant owner: “customers care” • Wholesaler: “Not enough good farms” • EcoFish: I will buy all you have to sell

44. Competition • 96% of tilapia – imported, mostly frozen, not organic • Most US farm-raised – small, not organic The Good Fish tilapia will be more expensive vs. competitors

45. Feasibility: Making it Happen

46. Demonstrate: • You have a detailed strategy • You’ve made some moves • You know what the next ones are

47. Issues to Cover • How will you make your product? • How will you get customers to buy it? • How will you start – and expand? • Who will run your business?

48. Make a List Research the answers! • What are your product “inputs”? • What kind of facilities do you need? • What is your production plan? • How will you deliver to customers? • How will you provide ongoing service? • How will you handle HR, finance, legal?

49. People might be your main “input” • Skilled managers • Customer service • Engineers, scientists, IT • Support functions

50. People Issues • What skills should they have? • How many people will you need – to start? • How many – as you grow? • Where will you find them?