Isā
Funding Plan
Many people have speech disabilities and are unable to feel comfortable going out
in public. This affects their social well being and may contribute to feelings of loneliness
or isolation. A solution to this problem relies on the hardware and software created by
this organization which is the intelligent speech assistant.
We have six group members that are concerned with the health and happiness of
those with special needs as one of our group members has a speech disorder himself. We
have experts on our side that desire to use their expertise to benefit society. Together as a
team, we can fulfill our goal of reducing the struggles of people with this debilitating
disorder.
There are a few ways to approach this problem that can be done without the help
of technology. One option is to ignore the problem and let people with a speech disorder
not benefit from enjoyable social interactions. However, we will not ignore the problem
and we will focus our efforts to solving the problems through our innovative product.
The prototype will need to be constructed. Then it needs to be tested and
advertised. We will deploy our product and sell it to the mass market. We will continue to
update and support it past the two years and for a long time forward. It will cost $100,000
for Phase 1 and $401,000 for Phase 2.
Financing
To finance all phases of the iSā project from conception through production, we submit a
grant proposal for Phase 1 and Phase 2. Phase 3 will be funded through venture capital
investment.
Funding Agency
A grant proposal will be sent to the Department of Health and Human Services.
They offer up to $325,000. The purpose of the HHS research program is to develop,
implement, and measure the effectiveness of interventions that promote the health and
wellness of people with disabilities and prevent secondary conditions across the lifespan.
The goals are to define the precise targeted populations for the intervention program,
convey the capacity to identify, reach, enroll, and follow this population; and measure
and evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.
Phase 1
Requires $100,000 for the development of the iSā prototype. This development work
will include planning, identification of requirements, hardware setup, design, coding and
testing.
Phase 2
Requires $225,000 for ongoing development from Phase 1, additional hard resources,
technical documentation and actual beta testing of the product with users.
Phase 3
Having acquired the necessary funding in Phases 1 and 2 to complete the prototype, iSā
will be in a position to enter production and commercialization.
Funding will provide for the production and commercialization of our product and will be
provided through investment by venture capital firms.
Additional Funding
Additional funding sources available outside of the grant include a Proposal Assistance
Award and Growth Acceleration Program (GAP) from the CIT. The Proposal Assistance
Award can be used to pay for Phase I and II proposal preparation and review costs.
Amounts available under this program include $1,000 for Phase I and $2,000 for Phase
II. The CIT’s GAP Investment program provides up to $100,000 and will be available as
an additional funding option for Phase III and in the Out Years.
Additional funding will also come from KPCB’s iFund™. It is a $100,000,000
investment initiative that funds products and ideas that extend the iPod Touch. It invests
in companies that build applications, services, and components. It focuses on areas that
include communication and entertainment. It also backs innovators with transformative
and high-impact ideas.
Budget Summary
Phase 1
Hardware Costs
Personnel Costs
Total
$752
$100,688
$101,440
Phase 2
Hardware Costs
Personnel Costs
Total
$26,705
$225,086
$251,791
Phase 3
Hardware Costs
Personnel Costs
Total
$5,068
$387,010
$392,078