01. TREND FORECASTING
Working title for the product is Trend
forecasting. The name of the product is
defined later according to the market
situation of launching the product.
Product trademark is applied to KBA design.
http://www.kbadesign.com/ (site under
construction).
02. PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
The outcome of this business plan is a service
product marketed for companies.
This service is targeted for companies that
produce objects and/or services that compete
within fashion – objects (such as clothes,
kitchenware, mobile phones) and services
(such as www, restaurants, public space).
These companies need on demand -forecasts
on fashion trends for their product
development and marketing. We offer an
interface to database, which is created and
profiled, updated with parameters that collect
data from indicators, which are selected from
the pacesetters of the fashion industry.
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03. NEED, THE BACKGROUND OF
THE PRODUCT
Our product is about creating fashion, not
following it. Fashion is communication. This
product is build on the background that
nobody knows what the future is going to be
like and forecasting is therefore creating - if
You do it with allies strong enough.
Together the key actors of the fashion
industries (the leading car/textile/shoe/coffee
cooker/computer/et cetera manufacturers) are
creating new forms and color ranges that go
through the whole range of new products and
ways to use old ones.
Crucial to our concept is that fashion is
understood in a wide perspective so that the
parameters what we build our analysis on are
wide enough to guarantee reliability.
When the product character is not primarily
function but also a lifestyle, a company’s view
of end-users is rarely based on direct and
systematic communication with "real" endusers. This is partly because the
infrastructure for direct communication
between a company and potential user groups
is expensive and slow. For this reason we
offer a service to build product development
and marketing on vast, yet carefully selected
and analyzed, information.
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04. COMPETITORS: THE CURRENT MARKET ANALYSIS
Main competitors for the service product described here, are trend forecasting agencies such as
Premierevision. However, compared to the related business and sites, our product is a strongly profiled
business-to-business service to those entrepreneurs who need a specialized and professional analysis of
trends in fashion, not for example just another magazine published on the Internet.
Related business e.g:
http://www.premierevision.fr/
- a French company promoting European clothing fabric industry. Holds it Salon twice a year in Paris. The site
is information about the salon and ordering color catalogue and cd-rom.
http://www.skglobal.com/fabric/Efaa99/Efaa_m2.htm
- fabrics/yarn producer’s site with trend forecasting
Our clients need selected reports that they can rely on. What they buy from our company is safety and time.
- Safety in the sense that knowledge we build is gathered from a vast range of relevant qualified sources and
analyzed to fit the client’s needs, and
- Time to concentrate on what is the key know-how in the business.
The product itself is a profiled interface together with consultation. First we meet the client and then the
special needs of the client are profiled on the basis of client’s description and current marked analysis done
by our company. We create interface for the client to be used to get up to date information of market changes
from one interface instead of loosing time for following different sources. We gather and analyze information
for the client’s personal database. The database is updated depending on the character of the clients
business as often as agreed. In addition to the database and analysis up dating after the first meeting and
defining client’s special needs the client can buy continuing personal consultancy from our specialized
fashion analyzers.
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05. PRODUCT PACKAGING
The client gets a highly designed package of
material: agreements and the interface
packaged on a cd-rom, instructions for the
use of the interface followed by visit of
consultant from our office to train the
client’s personnel.
The client is automatically invited twice a
year to a special Salon event for the
customers only to see, hear, touch and taste
what is in the air at the moment. We invite
the leading lecturers: fashion stylists and
economists, to give their insight to the
current trends. We offer an extraordinary
possibility to meet the world leading fashion
specialists with their visions and to spend an
unforgettable evening together with the
great artists and visionaries.
The client pays for the use of the interface
per visit or per year according to frequency
of the use. Fee is progressive, time and
service based.
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06. FINANCING AND
BUDGETING
The financing of the project is realized in
three stages:
1. Start up
First, we aim to get TEKES funding for
market analysis, technological research
and developing final product ideas. This
preliminary stage can receive up to 60 %
TEKES funding. 40 % will be covered by
our company, ie. us.
2. Product Research
After having finished the preliminary
analysis, we plan to apply for a product
development loan from TEKES. The loan
will cover up to 70 % of the costs. In this
stage, we must carry out quite a
thorough plan for the product and and a
very good demo.
3. Venture Capital Investors
When we have defined the final product,
we try to find venture capital investors.
Possibilities in Finland include Eqvitec
Partners (www.eqvitec.fi), Capman
(www.capman.fi), R. Linturi Oy and PCA
Finance Oy and internationally Nexit
Ventures (www.nexitventures.com). Of
course, the third stage is crucial, as the
choice of the investor(s) can affect the
direction of our company and our
product.
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BUDGET
Budget overview
1. Start up
2. Product Research
3. Venture Capital Investors
4. Update, monthly
80 000 FIM
280 000 FIM
1 200 000 FIM
1. Start up
- preparing the first business plan
- preparing the TEKES application I
- market analysis
- technical research
- licensing negotiations
- developing final product ideas
- preparing TEKES application II
- lawyers
- other
80 000 FIM
12 000 FIM
20 000 FIM
8 000 FIM
20 000 FIM
8 000 FIM
6 000 FIM
6 000 FIM
2. Product Research
- negotiations with future clients
- producing the demo
- design
- technical specs
- parameters
- interactivity design
- security design
- designing the payment system
- venture capital investors analysis
- venture capital investors negotiations
- lawyers
- other
280 000 FIM
20 000 FIM
110 000mk
3. Venture Capital Investors
- investment agreement(s)
- lawyers
- producing the final product
- building databases
- input
- SOM licenses
- security licenses/production
- payment system licenses/production
- web production (flash)
- planning the marketing
- market launch
- other
4. Update
The database must be updated
continuously. An estimate for
finding the input is 200 000 FIM
monthly. Other continuous costs are
the tech, sales marketing and
managerial staff, also estimated
200 000 FIM monthly.
The product should be profitable by
Dec 2002.
(The basic principle of the budget it
to pay for all the work done. In the
beginning some things have to be
done for free, but by stage 3 all the
employees should be paid
correctly.)
In every stage, some 10 % of the
total budget is reserved for
unforeseeable costs.
2
20 000 FIM
0 000 FIM
35 000 FIM
35 000 FIM
20 000 FIM
20 000 FIM
1 200 000 FIM
50 000 FIM
40 000 FIM
750 000 FIM
150 000 FIM
100 000 FIM
110 000 FIM
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07. TECHNICAL REALIZATION
The service product is realized through secured www-pages. The database uses self-organizing maps
(http://www.mlab.uiah.fi/~timo/som/index.html) which increases the amount of included parameters and enhances pace.
What we use for the analysis and presentation of data is basically a secure web plus database -system, which feeds into the
software apparatus generating the self organizing map (SOM). This apparatus must be licensed and adapted, probably from
financial , military, or research applications. The SOM and its fluid integration with the database system is the technical core
issue.
DATA GATHERED/INPUTTED -> DATABASE -> SOM -> DATABASE -> WEB/NETWORK INTERFACE
The database has an important role in structuring the SOM based information mining into a format easily updated through
current web platforms. Technologies to use: relational sql-databases, active server pages, possibly flash at web interface, PGP
encryption-depending on each geographical area in question.
Secure page delivery can present the customer with a variety of SOM based analysis services of which the customer has
access to according to the contract made. The acquisition of additional services is to be made as easy as possible, and the site
should inform (and market) about the possibilities of these. The database information structure is therefore to be designed so
that it has a "whole" state breakable down into service modules. The service modules must be able to function independently
but have as much interoperability as possible. To simplify: WE HAVE A TOTAL SERVICE PACKAGE, from which you can choose
to leave out things according to the value wanted from the product.
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08. TRADEMARK AND LAW
As this product relies on branding, it is important to
begin the trademark procedure as early as possible.
Also, we will have to apply for an international
trademark at the same time. The member countries
of Madrid minutes include most European countries
and others, altogether 43 countries. The
international trademark can be applied for all this
countries at once. For the United States we will
have to make another application. That can be done
online in http://www.uspto.gov/teas/index.html. The
total time for an application to be processed may be
anywhere from almost a year to several years.
Naturally it will be shorter, if we have researched
the matter thoroughly and designed the trademark
correctly. We can begin our business in the midst ot
the trademark procedure.
Relevant law issues include copyright (of the
product and of the input
materials (pictures, sounds, etc), issues related to
payments (on the web,
otherwise) and identification of customers, licenses
and data security. We
may have to negotiate also on patents.
Signed papers will be applications: TEKES I, TEKES
II, Patentti- ja rekisterihallitus, United States Patent
and Trademark Office.
Agreements: between members of the team, with
Self Organizing Maps developers, Venture Capital
company/ies, parameter source companies,
consultants, clients.
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09. TIMETABLE
1. Start up
- preparing the first business plan
- preparing the TEKES application
- market analysis
- technical research
- licensing negotiations
- developing final product ideas
- preparing TEKES application II
Oct 2000 - Mar 2001
Oct 2000-Nov 2000
Dec 2000
Dec 2000 - Jan 2001
Oct 2000 - Mar 2001
Dec 2000 - Mar 2001
Jan 2001 - Feb 2001
Mar 2001
2. Product Research
- negotiations with future clients
- trademark application
- possible patent applications
- producing the demo Jun 2001 - Sep 2001
- design
- technical specs
- parameters, fashion specs
- interactivity design
- security design
- building/buying the payment system J
- venture capital investors analysis
- venture capital investors negotiations
Apr
Apr
Apr
Apr
Jul 2001 - Sep 2001
ul 2001 - Sep 2001
Apr 2001 - Jul 2001
Jun 2001 - Sep 2001
(T)
(S)
(V)
(all)
(V)
(V)
(VT)
(V)
(V)
(S)
(all)
(all)
3. Venture Capital Investors
- investment agreement(s)
- producing the final product
- databases
- security
- payment system
- planning the marketing
- market launch
Oct 2001 - Dec 2001
Oct 2001
Oct 2001- Dec 2001
(S)
(V)
Jul 2001Jan 2002
(T)
(all)
2001 - Sep 2001
2001 2001
2001
(all)
(S)
(T)
(V)
(V)
(all)
(S)
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10. TEAM AND PARTNERS
The team personnel is in the first stage, the start up,
limited to 3.
Procedures covered are:
1. Fashion analyzing and parameter definition.
2. Data and technical research and development.
3. Project Management, communication and marketing.
4. Financing specialist and law.
For data security and specialized business development
we use consultants specialized in each area and local
law.
Partners are:
Research and development – Self-organizing map creators,
Mlab, Helsinki University of Technology (HUT)
Textile and fashion department, University of Art and
Design
Business – Venture capital investors (defined above).
kbadesign 10