Entrepreneurship in I.T
Background
Mobile phones have certainty revolutionized the ways we communicate. There were times when mobile phones were out of financial reach of most people and only found in the hands on high powered business executives and seen as a status symbol. That’s said, nowadays, the average person owns 1.1 mobile phones and the widely accepted average upgrade cycle is 12 to 18 months. This rapid reduction in the cost of new phones is because mobile phone manufacturers and carriers have invested time as well as resources into finding ways to give the phone systems higher capacity and therefore lower the cost. This sudden (seems to most people) and rapid increase has also contributed in the E-waste increase. Some of the components of the phone such as the battery are very harmful to the environment and need to be discarded carefully. Most people nowadays are worried about global warming and concerned about the environment and so they should be. For example, In 2007 the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that 82% of Australian adults concerned about the impact of human waste on the environment.
So XPhone Company was born. XPhone Company has recognized that there is a great opportunity here to embark on a venture. The opportunity is that the E-waste is predicted to increase year by year and so the number of people becoming concerned about many environmental issues.
Mission
Our mission, to simply put it, is to be the world leader in providing eco mobile phones. 80-90% of the phones we produce will be made from old phones materials. We will have recycle bins around Melbourne, Australia (the state we will start operating in first) wherein people can place their old phones. Once the old phones are collected, they will be shipped to China where they will be sorted and remanufactured/recycled; our dedicated staffs, who are expert in information systems, have forged strong relationship with a Chinese manufacturer and will be able to meet customer demands. This venture is not solely driven by profit but also to help the environment and provide people with a product that will enhance their lives.
Objectives
Our primary target audience (3/5) is young professionals who we believe will give us the greatest market penetration. Our second target market (1/5) is students and outside of that (1/5) are organizations and the general public. Our pricing strategy is skimming; our research demonstrated to us that pricing niche products such as our products are appropriate for each of our target market. Our first store will be placed in the heart of Melbourne city around where the most big mobile phone brands are sold. Below are bullet points of other objectives.
- Main focus is to become established as the number one leading manufacturer of eco mobile phones
- Growth – once established in Australia, move on to other countries starting with Europe
- Open more stores – only if the first one shows that there is a need for more
- Increase revenue and profit
- Offer small equity to continue financing the business
- Expand the market area
- Spread the word to increase brand awareness and recognition
- Increase online marketing campaign
- Exit strategy will be to either sell it or go publish
Company Summary
XPhone Company will offer its customers mobile phones that are 80-90% made from old phones materials and allow them to customise them to meet their need. XPhone recognizes and knows mobile phones in nowadays are an important part of people’s lives. They are used to communicate, surf the net, share photos/videos and other contents and of course as an entertainment device. The phones we produce must be seen to be moving with time. We offer the same features and functions that can be found in the other big brand phones such as Apple, Samsung and Nokia. We believe this business will succeed because of the co-founders’ extensive knowledge and experience in information systems and in information technology generally.
XPhone was found and funded initially by four university students: Sepideh, Mahdi, Adam and Navid. Our initial investment will be $1,000,000. The first two years, we will be collecting the old phones and get the brand out there; we will market the product and aim to secure around 2,500 units. Our estimated expenses for the initial two years will be around $160,000. Third year when we start operating, our expenses will increase by 60% as we will be remanufacturing/recycling (including new materials) the old phones and turning them into new phones. The first chart below shows our first year costs and the second chart shows first year of operation.
Initial Requirement and Expenses
- Legal and insurance
- Rent (office, shop, warehouse, track and bins)
- Shop and warehouse fitting
- Other Equipment
- Total
- Assets
Marketing
Marketing Research
The following sources were used to present our business plan:
- WEEE Waste Electrical and Electric Equipment
- 2014 Mobile Behavior Report
- Euro Monitor International: Has world’s most comprehensive research on mobile phones
- acma Australia Communications and Media Authority
- Telsty: Australian Smartphone Market Study 2011-2015
- Greenbook
- AMTA Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association
- Interactions
- GSM World: Mobile Phone Lifecycles
- Australian Bureau of Statistics: Attitudes and Actions – People’s attitude about the environment
- KPCB Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers
Market Analysis
Industry Analysis
There are more mobile phones on this Earth than there are customers. In 2010 1.6 billion mobile phones were produced and that number is on the rise. In markets such as Australia, the average customer owns 1.1 mobile phones and discards them for a new handset in less than 2.5 years. Telstra’s current (2014) promotion is offering their customers new phones every year. That’s said, people’s attitude towards the environment is changing. The Australian Government’s Intergenerational Report identified one of the biggest challenge is facing Australia is global warming. In 2007 the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that 82% of Australian adults (12.8 million) concerned about environmental problems and that is 14% increase than 10 years ago. Thus being green is more mainstream than it used to be and has less of a stigma tied to it. So the market potential is huge for our products evidenced by not only the unstoppable growth of the mobile phone industry but also the increase of E-waste.
For example, if we manage to collect 50% of all the mobile phones that are thrown away each year and of those 60% reused (10-12 major components of standard mobile phone such as the camera and battery can easily be disassembled), 30% remanufactured and 10% recycled, then we would save 30% on manufacturing material costs, 16% on energy input costs and CO2 saving of around 55% than if we manufactured new phones. And of course the most important profit: profit margin is between… The global future growth of mobile phone devices is projected in the following areas:
- Socializing: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Tinder etc.
- Entertainment: YouTube, music, Google Play etc.
- Surf the net
- Share: photos, music, files etc.
- Play games
- Messaging/Communications
- Learning
- Phone
Market Segmentation
Our company will focus on primarily on young professionals whilst we recognise that e-waste increase year by year and it has become customary in today’s average family to own more than one mobile phone:
- Young professionals: 60%
- Students: 20%
- General public: 10%
- Organizations: 10%
Evaluation of Marketing
Once we launch the marketing strategy we would allow it to run for three months before we evaluate its effectiveness and we will continue assessing it every three months thereafter. We would analyse sales data as to see the revenue drivers. For instance, if majority of the revenue was coming from the internet rival promotion strategy (video clips, interactive flash games and image), then of course this source of promotion would be seen to be effective strategy.
SWOT
Strengths
- Dedicated staff
- Technical competence
- Financial resources
- Good network of contacts for potential experts, suppliers and investors
- Ability to respond rapidly to the needs of the market
- Location: business is located within then targeted market
Weaknesses
- Lack of management skills
- One small size retail shop
- No track record in the mobile phone manufacturing
- Some of the equipment are inefficient
- Business heavily dependent on the cofounders at the initial stage
Opportunities
- E-waste on the rise
- Unstoppable growth on mobile phones
- More and more people use mobile phones more than desktop
- 82% of Australian adults are conscious about the environment
- Global warming issue is having an effect on the way new mobile devices are developed
Threat
- Poor reputation in the industry in the areas of quality and reliability
- Unknown brand
- Increasing cost of materials, consultants, expenses as we grow bigger
- Government regulations
- Difficulties of acquiring and retaining suitable staff
- Customers may not buy new products in the market
Competitors
Currently there are 19,260 mobile phone producers in the world. That’s said, the number of big companies competing at the world market is way less: 15. These are the likes of Apple, Nokia and Samsung. These three large mobile phone manufacturers are well recognized anywhere. It is due to having very visible marketing strategies to market them as the following table demonstrates.
Our biggest competitor is Samsung. Samsung in the past has produced two recycled mobile phones: Blue Earth and Reclaim. Both phones are made from old materials such as plastic bottles, bio-plastic like corn and mobile devices. In Canada, Samsung provides commercial bins to businesses to encourage them to recycle old phones along with old electronic equipment.
Product
Recycled mobile phones with the choice to customize and personalize to fit the customer’s need.
- Differentiate the phone from other phones on the market
- Primary target customers are initially in Australian market in particular young professionals who are environmentally conscious
- Secondary target customers are students who wants personalized and differentiated phones and like to be seen as eco-friendly
- Market segment for the primary target will consist of professionals with above $70k in annual income
- Using product that differentiate from other phones, positioning the mobile phone as the value added device for personal and professional use
- Phones will come with full one year warranty and optional to extent
- Many pf our customers buying motives of such products like fair-trade labelled products is ethical reason and are more eco-conscious
- Three different sizes of XPhone (large, medium, small)
Price
- Price is set between $100 to $2400 depends on the customization and this option is the outright buy; unlocked phone
Place
At the beginning of the venture, it will be internet-based business selling directly online. Therefore no particular distribution arrangements are required at this stage of the business. However, we will also have one retail shop in Melbourne to begin for people to visit which will allow some demonstration of the phones.
Promotion
- Website links to other links and this will take sometime
- Youtube channel will show video clips such as viral videos as well as testimonies from customers who have used the phones
- Google AdWords
- Bing Ads
- Facebook Ads, Twitter account, Instagram, LinkedIn
- Our product promotion goes something like this: “Are you tired of what the market is offering you? Do you think they don’t understand what you need? Well you’ve come to the right place. We don’t just sale any old phones to you, we sell a phone that you’ve customized to fit your needs. Give yourself an XPhone, you deserve it!”
Seasonality
The mobile phone seasonality is short compared to other businesses. Straight after Christmas and New Year holiday break the sales and TV advertisements of mobile phones slowdown in the month of February and the first half of March.
Sales forecast
The charts below show our sales forecast for monthly as well as yearly. Our first two years while we are collecting old phones, we will be marketing the products and aim to secure roughly 2,500 units; our first year of operation we expect to sales all the pre-ordered phones and more. That justifies the very high in sales in our first year of operation. In the monthly, the first year operation the months where the bars are almost close to zero is general period of mobile phones and smart devices seasonality.
Operations
Legal Requirements
The business is called XPhone Company Pty Ltd and the Australian Business Number (ABN) is 78545554 and it is registered under the recycling category. The name is trademarked in Australia and in Europe and America; those are the next destinations that we expect to expand once we are established in Australia. The four registered names are:
- CEO: Sepideh (25%)
- Financial manager: Mahdi (25%)
- Product strategy developer: Adam (25%)
- Marketing manager: Navid (25%)
Operating Laws
There are two legal issues with which we found ourselves wrestling, one is the legal and guidelines of remanufacturing and recycling of old mobile phones. Because are business model is not based on reusing the parts of the old phones we collect, we found that we do not need to worry about legal issues and guidelines. The only guide line we need to follow is the handling of the most hazardous materials that are found in especially batteries and in phones generally: polyvinyl and fire retardants. As we are completely remanufacturing and recycling the old phones we are following the guidelines provided by the Sustainability Victoria.
The other legal issue is the Intellectual Property Law. In this area the basic law says that if you resell, redesign, repair any parts of an old phone that is patented, then you are infringing. The infringement is not just reusing the tangible parts but also the functions and the designs. Our business model will not be infringing any Intellectual Property because we are completely remanufacturing and recycling end-of-life (EOL) mobile phones. One of the other things we will make sure we avoid is the design and function infringements as they are easy to emulate unintentionally. We do have Intellectual Property lawyer who will not just be assisting us the star-up phase, our Intellectual Properties but will also ensure that we do not run into expensive trouble that will put us out of business.
Management Summary
Our head office will be based in Melbourne, Australia: 1254 Victoria St, Melbourne, 3000. Tel: 03 5456 4556
The management of XPhone is made up of four equally co-founders:
- CEO: Sepideh
- Financial manager: Mahdi
- Product strategy developer: Adam
- Marketing manager: Navid
We will also hire from year three (first year of operation) four full-time staff that will help us manage the collection of the old phones, the management of the inventory and the general selling of the products. We will manage and control other aspect of the business the e-commerce website monitoring, the control of the inventory and the quality control.
The following table shows the breakdown of the staff plan from year 3 to year 5, our first three years of operation:
| Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
| CEO | $60,000 | $60,000 | $60,000 |
| Financial manager | $60,000 | $60,000 | $60,000 |
| Product strategy developer | $60,000 | $60,000 | $60,000 |
| Marketing manager | $60,000 | $60,000 | $60,000 |
| Other | $128,480 | $128,480 | $128,480 |
| Total People | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Total Payroll | $368,480 | $368,480 | $368,480 |
Professional Advice
We will be acquiring several professional advices:
- Lawyer – Davies Collison Cave in Melbourne specialize in the area of Intellectual Property
- Insurance – recycling bins, public liability, compensation for employees, manufacturing abroad and warehouse, shop and office security required from year 3
- Accountant – required from year 3
Equipment needed
- Office – telephone line, computer, printer, scanner and internet connection
- Warehouse
- One shop
- Desks and chairs
- Kitchen utensils
Production processes
Once the old mobile phones are collected, they will then be shipped to China, sorted and manufactured. The new parts will be shipped back to Melbourne and kept in the warehouse. When customers place their orders online, then the parts will be assembled by the staff to the exact design the customer has ordered.
Financial Projections
The following financial statements have been calculating using the data from the market research and the knowledge of the co-founders. The business will start operating from year 3. The first two years are for collecting the old mobile phones. This is because 80-90% of the materials we will be using to make the new phone parts will be from the end-of-life phones and that needs time to collect. The initial investment we have made is the warehouse
and shop fitting. The following tables and charts are for the first year of operation. If you would like to see the other years financial statements please see the appendixes.
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|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Income statement | |
| Revenue | $ 2,410,000 |
| COGS | $ 710,500 |
| Gross Profit | $ 1,699,500 |
| Expenses | $ 1,196,180 |
| Net Profit | $ 503,320 |
| Tax | $ 55,919 |
| Net Earnings | $ 447,401 |
| Cash flow | ||
| Net Earning | $ 447,401 | |
| Operation | ||
| Acc Receivables | $ (241,000) | |
| Invetory | $ (112,900) | |
| Investment | ||
| Finance | ||
| Cash at the beginning of period | $ 417,300 | |
| Total | $ 510,801 | |
Financial Forecast Analysis
The charts below show the gross margin, revenue and net earnings. Looking at that one wonders how a company can be making profit in their first year of operations especially a business as asset intense as this one. Prior to the first year of operation, XPhone will be busy not only with the collection of end-of-life phones but also marketing. The team will be very busy promoting the product and getting the brand name out there. Our aim is to also secure preorder of about 2,500 units. The first year shows that are margins are high but decrease by about 21% on year 4 and 54% by year three. We forecast that this decrease is due to not being enough time to collect enough old phones that will reduce the need for new materials. We also forecast that the margins will go as low as 54% and not decrease. One year will allow us to collect enough end-of-life phones to give us just over 50% of gross margin and this will be the case until we expand and place more bins and employ extra hands.
Appendix One
| Year 1 | ||||||||
| Balance sheet | Income statement | Cash flow | ||||||
| Assets | Revenue | $ – | ||||||
| Cash | $ 820,400 | COGS | $ – | Net Income/Loss | $ (161,600) | |||
| Shop/warehouse Fiting | $ 13,000 | Gross Profit | $ – | Operation | ||||
| Equipments | $ 5,000 | Expenses | Investing | |||||
| accumulated depreciation | $ (1,800) | Rent office | $ 36,000 | Shop/warehouse Fiting | $ (13,000) | |||
| Total | $ 836,600 | Warehouse | $ 20,400 | Equipments | $ (5,000) | |||
| Utility bills | $ 33,600 | Financing | ||||||
| Marketing/Ads | $ 48,000 | Personal Investment | $ 1,000,000 | |||||
| Rent transportation | $ 7,200 | Total | $ 820,400 | |||||
| Other bills | $ 3,600 | |||||||
| Technical Expense | $ 1,000 | |||||||
| depreciation | $ 1,800 | |||||||
| Travel | $ 10,000 | |||||||
| Earnings before tax | $ 161,600 | |||||||
| Net Profit | $ (161,600) | |||||||
| Tax | ||||||||
| Net Income/Loss | $ (161,600) | |||||||
Appendix Two
| Year 2 | ||||||||
| Balance Sheet | Cash flow | Income statement | ||||||
| Cash | $ 417,300 | Net earning | $ (403,100) | Revenue | ||||
| Equipments shop/warehouse | $ 18,000 | Operation | COGS | |||||
| accumulated depreciation | $ (3,600) | Investment | Gross Profit | |||||
| Total | $ 431,700 | Finance | Expenses | |||||
| Cash at the beginning of period | $ 820,400 | Raw Material | $ 137,700 | |||||
| Total | $ 417,300 | Rent office | $ 36,000 | |||||
| Warehouse | $ 20,400 | |||||||
| Utility bills | $ 33,600 | |||||||
| Shipment | $ 10,000 | |||||||
| Marketing/Ads | $ 60,000 | |||||||
| Rent transportation | $ 7,200 | |||||||
| Other bills | $ 3,600 | |||||||
| Technical Expense | $ 1,000 | |||||||
| Staff Wage | $ 57,600 | |||||||
| Prototyping | $ 22,400 | |||||||
| depreciation | $ 3,600 | |||||||
| Travel | $ 10,000 | |||||||
| Total | $ 403,100 | |||||||
| Net Profit | $ (403,100) | |||||||
| Net Income/Loss | $ (403,100) | |||||||
Appendix Three
| Year 4 | ||||||||
| Balance Sheet | Cash flow | Income statement | ||||||
| Cash | $ 2,188,496 | Net Earning | $ 1,076,760 | Revenue | $ 3,494,500 | |||
| product A | $ 17,500 | Operation | COGS | $ 1,030,225 | ||||
| product B | $ 23,400 | Acc Receivables | $ (349,450) | Gross Profit | $ 2,464,275 | |||
| product C | $ 72,000 | Invetory | $ (112,900) | Expenses | $ 1,252,935 | |||
| Total Current Assets | $ 2,301,396 | Investment | Raw Material | $ 332,775 | ||||
| Finance | Rent office | $ 36,000 | ||||||
| Account Receivables | $ 349,450 | Cash at the beginning of period | $ 1,574,086 | Warehouse | $ 20,400 | |||
| Shop/warehouse Fiting | $ 13,000 | Total | $ 2,188,496 | Utility bills | $ 33,600 | |||
| Equipments | $ 5,000 | Shipment | $ 10,000 | |||||
| accumulated depreciation | $ (7,200) | Marketing/Ads | $ 75,000 | |||||
| Total Asset | $ 2,661,646 | 4 Co-founders | $ 240,000 | |||||
| Manufacturing in China | $ 216,000 | |||||||
| Balance Sheet-Liabilities | Rent transportation | $ 7,200 | ||||||
| Account Payable | $ 103,023 | Other bills | $ 3,600 | |||||
| Total Liabilities | $ 103,023 | Shop Rent | $ 120,000 | |||||
| Staff wages | $ 140,160 | |||||||
| Technical Expense | $ 1,000 | |||||||
| depreciation | $ 7,200 | |||||||
| Travel | $ 10,000 | |||||||
| Total | $ 1,252,935 | |||||||
| Net Profit | $ 1,211,340 | |||||||
| Tax | $ 134,580 | |||||||
| Net Earnings | $ 1,076,760 | |||||||
Appendix Four
| Year 5 | ||||||||
| Balance Sheet | Cash flow | Income statement | ||||||
| Cash | $ 3,583,883 | Net Earning | $ 2,014,990 | Revenue | $ 5,067,025 | |||
| product A | $ 17,500 | Operation | COGS | $ 1,493,826 | ||||
| product B | $ 23,400 | Acc Receivables | $ (506,703) | Gross Profit | $ 3,573,199 | |||
| product C | $ 72,000 | Invetory | $ (112,900) | Expenses | $ 1,306,364 | |||
| Total Current Assets | $ 3,696,783 | Investment | Net Profit | $ 2,266,835 | ||||
| Finance | Tax | $ 251,845 | ||||||
| Account Receivables | $ 506,703 | Cash at the beginning of period | $ 2,188,496 | Net Earnings | $ 2,014,990 | |||
| Shop/warehouse Fiting | $ 13,000 | Total | $ 3,583,883 | |||||
| Equipments | $ 5,000 | |||||||
| accumulated depreciation | $ (9,000) | |||||||
| Total | $ 4,212,485 | |||||||
| Balance Sheet-Liabilities | ||||||||
| Account Payable | $ 149,383 | |||||||
| Total | $ 149,383 | |||||||
Appendix Five
| Year 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Products | Price | Units | Gross margin | Revenue per product | COGS | |||||||||
| Product A S | $ 700 | 700 | 75% | $ 490,000 | $ 122,500 | |||||||||
| Product B M | $ 900 | 1000 | 80% | $ 900,000 | $ 180,000 | |||||||||
| Product C L | $ 1,200 | 850 | 60% | $ 1,020,000 | $ 408,000 | |||||||||
| Total | $ 2,410,000 | $ 710,500 | ||||||||||||
| Year 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Products | Price | Units | Gross margin | Revenue per product | COGS | |||||||||
| Product A S | $ 700 | 1015 | 75% | $ 710,500 | $ 177,625 | |||||||||
| Product B M | $ 900 | 1450 | 80% | $ 1,305,000 | $ 261,000 | |||||||||
| Product C L | $ 1,200 | 1232.5 | 60% | $ 1,479,000 | $ 591,600 | |||||||||
| Total | $ 3,494,500 | $ 1,030,225 | ||||||||||||
| Year 5 | ||||||||||||||
| Products | Price | Units | Gross margin | Revenue per product | COGS | |||||||||
| Product A S | $ 700 | 1471.75 | 75% | $ 1,030,225 | $ 257,556 | |||||||||
| Product B M | $ 900 | 2102.5 | 80% | $ 1,892,250 | $ 378,450 | |||||||||
| Product C L | $ 1,200 | 1787.125 | 60% | $ 2,144,550 | $ 857,820 | |||||||||
| Total | $ 5,067,025 | $ 1,493,826 | ||||||||||||
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