GREEN DOT TECHNOLOGIES
Our Team
Thea Zimnicki, co-Chief Executive and Financial Officer
Hoda Rifai, co-Chief Executive and Financial Officer
Roman Stolper, Chief Technical Officer
Victor Mateas, Chief Regulatory Officer
Elijah Li, Chief Marketing Officer
Sam Sia, Faculty Advisor
I. Executive Summary
Vaccination spoilage at the provider site is a major problem throughout the world. In the
developing world, this is due to unreliable power grids, untrained and overworked personnel, and
lack of resources for vaccine purchase. With the limited resources of NGOs in the developing
world, vaccine spoilage reduces the ability to vaccinate against easily preventable and sometimes
deadly diseases. In many cases, this leads to the administration of spoiled vaccines, which gives
the illusion of protection or, worse yet, can be toxic to the patient. We have designed a
refrigerator accessory that will prevent this by minimizing power consumption and cold loss
during regular refrigerator use as well as informing against the administration of spoiled vaccines
and maintaining a simple inventory system. This will be a cost effective solution because even a
reasonable reduction of 10-30% in energy consumption would allow the user to make up the cost
of the product in energy savings within 1-3 years. The potential for our product to save both
energy and lives is great motivator for our team.
Green Dot Technologies is made up of five biomedical engineering students from Columbia
University. We have acquired the tools to build a company from the ground up and have a wide
variety of programming, modeling, biomedical, and legal backgrounds from which to contribute.
Our sensitivity to the needs of the developing world make us particularly capable of tackling
these difficult problems.
We intend to market this product to Non-Governmental Organizations, Governments, and other
relief agencies in the developing world. We would like to partner with these groups to give them
a reliable method by which to maintain and dispense vaccinations. In the developed world, we
hope to market versions of our product to healthcare facilities including pharmacies and hospitals
and in the future to refrigeration companies who will market it to individuals for home use.
While we expect to break even in our second year of sales in the developing world, our sales in
the developed world have enormous potential for profit with our first year of sales projected at
above $2.5 million. The potential is even greater with proper regulation of energy consumption
and a refrigeration market currently valued at $6.3 billion.
With regulation focused on reducing energy consumption, we will be at the forefront of the
reduction and thus have a competitive advantage. Furthermore, our product pays for itself in
savings and environmental benefit. The few energy efficient refrigerators that would compete
against us are potential partners rather than competitors. This puts our product in a particularly
favorable position to profit from the movement toward reducing our reliance on energy while
also providing reliable vaccinations in the developing world and alleviating a portion of the
global health crisis.
II. Company Overview
Our product will have the dual purpose of reducing the energy dependence of the developing
world and increasing the viability of the available vaccines. To do this, we propose an energy
saving accessory for refrigerators used to store temperature sensitive pharmaceuticals, namely
vaccines. This product will fit into a refrigerator and incorporate a dispensing mechanism
through which there will be minimal exposure to atmospheric conditions. This dispensing device
will be such that the inner contents of the fridge can be easily accessed without opening the
insulated front of the product, thus reducing the cool air escape. The escape of cool air is the
principle cause of 10-30% of the energy wasted during refrigeration. By reducing the cool air
loss we will simultaneously reduce the energy necessary to power refrigerators on a normal basis
and increase the time span the refrigerator will be able to maintain cold enough temperatures
during power failure.
Furthermore, we will reduce the human error in the storage and administration of vaccines by
incorporating a user friendly interface for the dispensing, inventorying, and monitoring of
vaccines. In addition to compensating for users who forget to close the door quickly after
vaccine retrieval, our product will allow them to keep track of all the vaccines available to their
patients without leaving the refrigerator open to atmospheric conditions. This inventory system
also facilitates the awareness of the user with respect to the amount of vaccine necessary to order
at any given point since the inventory will be readily accessible.
Moreover, our monitoring system will give them a simple output by which to judge the condition
of the vaccines which will be based on the temperature within the refrigeration unit. Since the
administration of spoiled pharmaceuticals is a significant problem, our device will be equipped
with a method by which the user will be alerted once the substance has become unsafe. In the
future, we hope to incorporate a locking or discarding mechanism if the temperature has been
determined to be at unsafe levels for the vaccine.
In order to develop this product, we will be testing the theory in SolidWorks, an engineering
software that will allow us to estimate the best materials and geometries for our device while
considering cost. This will be especially effective in reducing our research and development
costs. Still, once the prototype has been built from this initial estimate, we will test it as
compared to a control refrigerator. This will give us our initial data regarding the period by
which we can extend the cold temperature and the energy efficiency of the system. We expect
this initial period to be complete within 6 months.
We will also run a pilot study in Uganda in order to obtain more information about the real world
application and data so that we may refine our design based on the needs of healthcare workers
in the field. This is especially important with the lack of statistical data available for the
developing world. We expect usable data in the first 6 months of the pilot.
In order to get a leg up on the competition and also improve the quality of the environment, we
will lobby congress for stricter regulations on energy consumption. Current regulations are lax
and Energy Star, which has 20% lower energy requirements than is federally required, holds
considerable influence with their certified products. By reducing this further, we will be one of
few with this added advantage and hold a considerable position with environmental
organizations that will appreciate the push our company has made for stricter regulations.
III. The Market
Customers
Developing World
There are millions of non-governmental organizations worldwide, many of which sponsor public
health initiatives. In developing countries, a large proportion of hospitals and health clinics are
usually run by NGOs. In Uganda alone, where we plan to run our pilot study, NGOs manage
48% of 3000 hospitals and health clinics in the country1, and similar statistics exist in other
developing countries2. These NGOs, relief organizations, and governments will make up our
primary customer base.
Developed World Health Clinics and Pharmacies
An additional market for our device is in the United States and other first-world countries.
Pharmacies would undoubtedly benefit from an energy-saving refrigeration device, and the
inventory tracker would assist the pharmacist in quickly and accurately identifying the supply
needs of the pharmacy.
Home Users
Since our product can be made to fit several different kinds of products and refrigerators, homeusers represent a third market. The home refrigeration market is a $6.3 billion industry in the
United States and is growing. Our product will be marketed on the basis of energy efficiency and
eventual cost savings to everyday refrigerator users, and can be outfitted for certain commonlyused products.
We will reach these customers through strategic partnerships with refrigeration companies who
will either include this product in their newest models or will market it as an accessory to their
existing refrigerators. We will also expand this market by lobbying policy makers to reduce
energy consumption via tax deductions or reduction in energy allowances.
1
2
http://74.125.45.132/search?q=cache:TWjjFxqmWvUJ:www.health.go.ug/docs/abstract2001.pdf
http://www.ethioembassy.org.uk/fact%20file/a-z/health.htm
Competition and Risks
Major risks to our company include cost of raw materials and production. The customer’s basic
need is something relatively inexpensive and reliable. We believe a customer would be willing
to pay for a highly reliable product that would not result in the cost of spoiled pharmaceuticals
and ensure greater effectiveness of expensive public health programs. However, NGOs tend to
be stretched thin in terms of budget and resources so every attempt should be made to reduce the
cost.
No other company fulfills all of these needs in a simple cost-effective manner. Our product,
though not free, would pay for itself in energy savings within a year in most instances with an
estimated savings of $90 to $270 per year at current energy costs. Still, we do have competition
for elements of our product, such as the energy efficiency. However, because our product can be
used as an accessory, we can partner with these competitors to create an even more energy
efficient system for their existing refrigerators. Our product also has the added advantage of
making alternative energies more feasible for use in the developing world.
IV. Business Model
The developing world market is challenging to break into. In order to overcome this hurdle, we
will create strategic partnerships with refrigerator manufacturers that already provide
refrigerators to the developing world. Through this partnership we will outsource manufacture
of our product. Furthermore, we will tap into their existing clientele in order to form our own
customer base. In return, we will offer exclusivity of our initial model to be made specifically to
the dimensions of their refrigerators. Also, our initial model will be sold with their refrigerator
or as an added accessory for existing clients. We are also willing to offer a share of the profits
from the future sales in the developed world market. These profits are expected to be much
higher than that of the developing world and as such would be a great motivator.
Our product will be sufficiently easy to use that we will not require training centers, which
reduces the time and expense required to train personnel. We will, however, set up a pilot study
that will effectively serve as a marketing center in the developing world. Though our prototype
will cost close to $400 to develop, our accessory would cost $80 alone or $300-400 with a fridge
included. In the US, we will find an inexpensive facility to house our research and development
until we have exacerbated the utility of this type of research at which point we will outsource
research to our associates at Columbia University.
Until we have successfully launched our developing world market, the size of the company will
be small, with the owners making time investments for a future return on a company we greatly
believe in. Instead, the majority of our profits will be reinvested into research and product
development. During this time, we will also maintain interns rather than employees. This is due
in part to the fact that much of the research will be associated with the pilot study which will be
conducted on a short term basis in the developing world and requires minimal technical skills
that could be easily found in the less expensive labor of interns.
The funds allocated for research and development will be directed toward using superior
materials and designs for use in our product as well as refining our design based on user
feedback. This will also include developing technologies for the developed world markets.
Market expansion is of utmost concern to us because our future products are likely to yield a
much greater return than our developing world model.
Our preliminary future market is healthcare providers in the developed world. While this may
require expanding our partnerships, we are flexible to the idea of staying with our initial partner
if they can support such a large expansion with the equal hopes of large returns. Since the
problems of vaccine spoilage we have outlined for the developing world have been noted
throughout the world, it would be useful to provide these solutions to wealthier markets. At that
time, our focus will shift to developing a more technological interface that will allow the user to
monitor the temperature and inventory remotely. This would allow pharmacies to monitor their
pharmacies more closely for sales and spoilage or hospital administrators to ensure adequate
supply of necessary pharmaceuticals. These high tech versions would cost much more to
develop and manufacture, but would also bring with it corresponding high profits.
Our last and largest expansion will be to all refrigerator users as models marketed as green
technology. This redesign is expected to go through multiple iterations and will have many
different models to ensure optimal conditions for the user. These home users would be targeted
through the companies they purchase their refrigerators from rather than through the user
themselves. While we will continue to manufacture the accessory separately, we expect that the
majority of sales will be done through bulk orders from refrigerator manufacturers. This wide
market will have a lower per purchase profit, but the larger market would make up for it. We
expect that by our launch of this product in 2013 that the demand for energy efficient technology
will be so great that we will have both pricing power and a large market share.
At that point, we will operate as a made-to-order company, but with a bulk requirement for
special designs or dimensions. By doing this, we will function as a contractor for the refrigerator
companies, NGOs, pharmacy chains, etc., effectively reducing the overhead of running our
company by lowering the marketing costs. Though advertising and marketing costs tend to be
exorbitant for most companies, our business model would allow us to maintain minimal costs.
We will thus market by networks and word of mouth in order to conduct company presentations
for potential bulk buyers. In the future, we may direct advertise as a way of encouraging these
partners to purchase our products.
With regard to the NGOs, we hope to further expand our social value by partnering with NGOs
to start programs were minimally trained healthcare workers could dispense vaccines and other
pharmaceuticals based on an image or color scheme as has been proposed by some NGOs in
India. This will expand the reach of our product as well as its usefulness to the user.
V. Design and Development
Short-Term Timeline
BUSINESS
TECHNICAL
December 2008
 Complete design idea and prototype
plans
 Purchase parts
 Continue to gather demographic
information from NGO surveys and
interviews
January 2009
Submit GSVC Executive Summary
 Purchase prototype parts
(Jan21)
 Proof of principle tests
 SolidWorks modeling of thermal
efficiency
 Continue to gather demographic
information from NGO surveys and
interviews
February 2009
GSVC Regional Semifinals
 Proof of principle tests, SolidWorks
modeling
 Begin first prototype build
 Continue to gather demographic
information from NGO surveys and
interviews
March 2009
GSVC Regional Semifinals
 Complete Prototype I
 Evaluative prototype experiments
 Continue to gather demographic
information from NGO surveys and
interviews
April 2009
Submit business plan for GSVC finals
 Refine product design
(April 7)
 Begin functional prototype build
Network with NGOs to investigate
 Continue to gather demographic
future expansion of pilot study
information from NGO surveys and
interviews
May 2009
Continue to expand NGO network
 Complete functional prototype
 Prototype presentation
 Complete business plan (Dec 10)
 Find MBA student partner






Green Dot Technologies is currently involved in the research and development of our product
prototype. In the next few months, we will purchase parts for our initial prototype and use
SolidWorks to model the thermal efficiency of our device. Proof of principle tests will be
performed before the building of Prototype I in early 2009. Prototype testing will include door
sizes, drawer spacing, and vial packing to evaluate the ideal configuration to allow for maximal
cold air circulation and energy efficiency. Several materials will also be tested to determine the
best for insulation. Additionally, the individual components such as the temperature monitor and
vial weighting mechanism will be tested and their design revised. Ultimately, the prototype will
compared to a control refrigerator without our add-on in order to test for energy efficiency and
cold maintenance when disconnected from a power source. We will continue to test and redesign
components of our first prototype in order to build a second prototype. This technical timeline
will allow for the completion of a functional prototype in May, 2009.
Much of the short-term business timeline is dictated by the Global Social Ventures Competition
(GSVC) timeline. By the end of 2008 we will have found an MBA student to partner with our
design team to enter the GSVC. In addition to the GSVC deadlines, Green Dot Technologies will
continually network with NGOs in order to establish a future customer base, investigate
possibilities for our pilot study, and gather demographic information. Further interviews will be
conducted with Shira Rhode (Pfizer, FlipFlop Foundation) and Jeffrey D. Levell (Pilgrim,
Uganda). This information will help in the technical development of our prototype, in order to
refine our product for the needs of the NGO-run health centers and their clients.
Long-Term Timeline
BUSINESS
 Partner with NGO for pilot study
 Find refrigeration company partner
 Continue pilot study
 Expand NGO network
 Seek policy reform
 Begin sales to developing world
 Expand NGO network
 Seek policy reform
 Begin sales to developed world
healthcare market
 Seek policy reform
 Begin sales to home users
 Continue to expand customer base
TECHNICAL
2009
 Begin pilot study in developing world:
Uganda
 Develop locking mechanism
 Continuous quality assurance and
development
2010
 Continue pilot study
 Make refinements for saleable model
2011
 Develop product for healthcare market
2012
 Develop product for home users
2013
 Develop custom order manufacture
2014
 Continue to refine design and
components
Long-term technical development will be focused on redesigning our product to meet the needs
of our expanded markets. Other features, such as a safety lock mechanism to prevent the use of
spoiled pharmaceuticals will also be incorporated in future models. Eventually, we also hope to
establish a custom order manufacture process. Quality assurance is of paramount importance and
will be an ongoing element of technical development.
Once Green Dot Technologies has completed a functional prototype, we will be ready to partner
with a refrigeration company to manufacture our product. An initial pilot study will be
performed from mid-2009 through mid-2010 at which point we expect to make our product
available for sale in all of the developing world. Over the six years following the completion of
our functional prototype, we will continue our company’s expansion phases into developed
world health care markets and the home user market. We will continually develop our NGO
network and customer base. Green Dot Technologies will additionally seek energy policy reform
to promote more stringent governmental standards to lower energy expenditure. This will result
in improved energy efficiency, decreased environmental damage, and promote the use of our
energy-saving product.
VI. Financial Projections
Prototype Costs
ITEM
Haier 1.7 cu. ft. ThermoElectric Cooler
VENDOR
Walmart
Color LEDs
Wires
Temperature Sensor
Aluminum Sheet 2024 T3,
24”x36”
Rubber Gaskets
1/16”x24”x24”
Foam Border ½”x36”x24”
Plastic Polycarbonate
Sheet, 12”x24”
Springs
Drawer Rollers
Batteries
Contingencies
UG Lab
UG Lab
UG Lab
Onlinemetals.com
PRICE (USD) QUANTITY TOTAL
62.62
1
62.62
Borrow
Borrow
Borrow
29.51
12
<20 feet
1
1
29.51
www.mcmaster.com
53.00
1
53.00
www.mcmaster.com
Onlinemetals.com
18.00
47.80
1
1
18.00
47.80
5.25
8.59
5.00
4
4
4
-
21.00
34.36
20.00
213.71
Smart-parts Inc.
Rockler
Globalsources
-
-
TOTAL
286.29
Projected assets and liabilities of Green Dot Technologies for the six years after completion of
the functional prototype are shown below. Initial sources of funding will come from grants to
cover start-up costs, and potentially from the Global Social Ventures Competition. We expect to
break even by 2011 after selling approximately 2000 units. The projected balance sheet is based
on the following numbers of units sold in each market.
Production Costs and Sales
Customer
Developing
world NGOs
Developed
world health
centers
Home users
Material
Sale Price
Costs (USD)
(USD)
60
80
Units Sold Per Year
2011
2012
2013
750
4000
15,000
2014
20,000
200
600
0
200
2,000
5,000
100
300
0
0
1,000
10,000
2011
2012
Projected Balance Sheet
2008
ASSETS
Grants
Sales
NGOs
Pharmacies
Home Users
Total Assets
LIABILITIES
Research and
Development
Raw
Materials
Marketing
Partner’s
Profit Share
Total
Liabilities
NET PROFIT
2009
2010
2013
2014
500
0
0
0
0
0
25,000
0
0
0
0
25,000
50,000
0
0
0
0
50,000
500,000
60,000
60,000
0
0
560,000
0
440,000
320,000
120,000
0
440,000
0
2,700,000
1,200,000
1,200,000
300,000
2,700,000
0
7,600,000
1,600,000
3,000,000
3,000,000
7,600,000
0
22,000
43,000
70,000
70,000
70,000
30,000
0
0
0
45,000
280,000
1,310,000
2,300,000
0
0
3,000
0
7,000
0
10,000
10,500
30,000
112,000
50,000
973,000
50,000
3,710,000
0
25,000
50,000
135,500
492,000
2,403,000
6,090,000
500
0
0
424,500
-52,000
297,000
1,510,000
Assets in 2009 will come primarily from the $25,000 GSVC grant, if we win the competition.
Research and development costs will include costs incurred from the launch of our pilot study,
which includes the construction and shipping of 10 refrigerators, as well as some compensation
for our interns. Once our pilot study is completed in 2010, we will be able to apply for
substantial grant funding from environmental agencies for late 2010, and particularly in 2011
since the results from the pilot study will provide further support for the use and development of
our product. We plan to make our first sales in 2011, most likely to NGOs operating in areas
near the pilot study locations. We expect to keep 30% of sales profits, with the other 70% going
to our refrigeration partner. Research and development costs will continue to rise in 2010
through 2013 as we continue our pilot study and then develop the two subsequent product
models for the developed world. These costs will flatten out in 2014, after the release of these
new models, and will be used to improve components of existing models.
Break Even Analysis
Developing world product, first two years of
sales. Break even at 1,000 units.
Home user product, first year of sales. Break
even at 100 units.3
3
http://connection.cwru.edu/mbac424/breakeven/BreakEven.html
Developed world healthcare product, first year of
sales. Break even at 50 units.