uni-notesprosposaldraftyellow (2)
TRANSCRIPT
Uni-NotesBusiness Plan
Statement of Confidentiality
This proposal and supporting materials contain confidential and proprietary
business information of Uni-Notes. These materials may be printed or
photocopied for use in evaluating the proposed project, but are not to be shared
with other parties.
Proposal Issued;
30.05.2015
Proposal Valid to
01.12.2016
Objective: Online marketplace for university revision notes.
Uni-Notes
ProPosal
Summary
By digitalizing note-sharing, revision notes are transformed from a
personal asset with little financial value to a tradable commodity
– one which is highly demanded by both poorly performing and
ambitious students.
Up until now, creators of study guides have acted mainly out of
self-interest, lacking the incentive to share their work with the
wider student body. We strongly believe that the establishment
of monetary rewards for this pre-existing resource will rapidly
become popular amongst financially strained students.
Background
The idea behind Uni-Notes emerged in the spring of 2014 when
its founders realized an absence of an online service dedicated
to the trading of module- and university- specific revision notes.
In an attempt to find Economics notes made by other St Andrews
students, Christian Hauggaard, co-founder, resorted to a Google
search. But the keywords “St Andrews Economics Revision Notes”
did not lead anywhere. He was forced to turn to other online
alternatives such as Khan Academy and One Class. However, this
method was time consuming, as he had to search for individual
topics within modules, instead of the modules themselves.
Furthermore, the notes were written by an unknown author, who
most probably never studied in St Andrews.
Meeting students’ pragmatic needs through innovative solutions.
Uni-Notes’ objective is to become the first and most reliable online marketplace for university revision notes and study guides in the UK.
This meant that certain topics were covered in different ways
than in class; some in too little detail, others in too much
detail. Separating relevant from irrelevant material proved
difficult. It quickly became clear to the founders that current
e-learning tools were inconvenient and failed to properly
accommodate the needs of university students. Furthermore,
these Ed Tech content providers are primarily used as a
complementary service, rather than a substitute, for textbooks,
which in our opinion naturally restricts the amount students
are willing to spend on such websites.
Specificationswww.Uni-Notes.org is an online marketplace for university
revision notes. University students can now scan and sell
their notes anonymously for a price of their choosing and be
reimbursed for each sale they make. Uni-Notes removes the
current restriction on students, allowing them to share their
notes not just physically amongst their friends but digitally
with their entire class as well as future classes.
To login please use the following details:
Username: [email protected]
Password: example123
Brief
Christian haugga ard & K ajetan MalaChowsKiCo-founders
liaM MCMeneMie Web Developer
dan sargentHead of Finance
tanner treMaine & yugi taK ahashiSt Andrews Campus
Meet our teaM —
Part of our UK-wide expansion will revolve around recruiting campus ambassadors form a range of universities. Uni-Notes plans to give these campus ambassadors a monetary incentive to attract new uploaders. We hope to
build content on the site by offering a reward of 5 GBP each time a campus ambassador manages to successfully attract new users to upload notes (*cap of 200 GBP per ambassador).
Christian and Kajetan quickly developed a strong friendship in their first couple of weeks at the University of St Andrews, and since then they have decided to combine their minds to pursue a collective entrepreneurial ambition, namely revolutionizing the field of education technology.
As a newly appointed member of the team, Dan is eager to apply his passion for tech start-ups and his experience in finance to raise the funds Uni-Notes needs for its planned UK expansion.
Liam is not only a talented front- and back-end web developers but he is also a great communicator. He is attentive, and acts quickly on my proposed changes for the site. At the same time, he also strives to take initiative. He goes above and beyond his duties, offering advice and alternatives on certain issues, which is something I admire and actively encourage. His current priority is integrating module information from a long list of universities as part of our UK expansion. He is also working on the “Cash Out” page where uploaders will be able to see the number of notes they have sold and instantly collect their reimbursement via Paypal.
Tanner and Yuji are two extremely social campus ambassadors dedicated to building Uni-Notes’ reputation, not just amongst friend circles but also the wider student body. They are currently distributing flyers and pinning up posters in St Andrews halls of residence in an attempt to target younger students.
comes from Content Providers at 42%.
• Uni-NotesclassifiesasaDigital
ContentProvidersinceitisessentially
arepositoryofelectroniclearning
materials.
The Ed Tech Market
According to Forbes “the educational
technology (edtech) industry is booming.
Specifications
• In 2013, investors staked $1.25 billion on the future of such companies”.
• Inc Magazine also foresees the
expansion of the industry, arguing
that “Ed tech funding jumped 55
percent in 2014 with no signs of
slowing down, according to CB
Insights.”
Strategic Drivers of Success
Uni-Notes seeks to fill the missing
revenue in tech education. Despite
the success of Ed Tech giants such
as Khan Academy and One Class, we
believe that they have only managed
to tap a small portion of the market.
The majority of students are deterred
from using such e-learning tools
because they fear absorbing irrelevant
information. When they do use such
tools, it is merely to enhance their
understanding of a concept they are
struggling with rather than a means of
replacing their textbooks.
Uni-Notes, on the other hand, offers
complete study guides that are highly
relevant since they have been created
• A report from Global Industry
Analysts (GIA) predicts that the global
e- learning market will reach $107
billion in 2015.
• While North America is currently the
largest EdTech market, representing
around 60% of total revenues, Datafox
projects EMEA to grow faster between
2012 and 2017 at a CAGR of 24.3% to
reach $55.5bn, compared to a growth
rate of only 15.2% in North America.
• Within the market for Educational
Software, which was worth $7.97bn in
2012, the largest segment of revenues
for that particular module by students
attending the same university.
Furthermore, it is clear to us that
students dislike setting up monthly
direct debits. This is why we decided
to move away from time-based
membership fees, charged by companies
such as One Class, in favour of a
marketplace model based on one-time
transactions. Sellers can charge however
much they want for a set of notes and
are reimbursed for the number of units
they sell. We believe that Uni-Notes’
transparency in terms of reimbursement
will incentivise uploaders, causing
rapid expansion in our bank of crowd-
sourced notes. Buyers decide whether
or not they think the price the seller
Business Drivers and Model Proposal.
EdTech Software Sub-sector Market Shares 2011-2012
InstructionalSupport
Content
Platforms
is asking for is fair. However, how do
buyers make this decision and how do
they know what they are paying for?
Consumer confidence and satisfaction
are areas Uni-Notes has focused on
intently, and by which it plans to surpass
closer competitors such as flashnotes.
com (please note Flashnotes is strictly
dedicated US colleges and is therefore
considered a geographically-distant
competitor). The solution we devised
revolves around a 30% random preview
mechanism. This means that buyers can
view 30 randomly selected pages out of
a 100-page document; thereby attaining
an accurate perception of the quality of
the notes on offer and building up the
confidence to commit to the purchase.
Brief
The marketplace note sharing idea has been pursued in the US (www.flashnotes.com), Australia (www.nexusnotes.com) and in Sweden (www.anteckningsbanken.se, www.kursanteckningar.se). Flashnotes is by far the most successful and well- established competitors, claiming to have individual users that have made over 15,000 USD.
Competitor Analysis.
University Specific
Digital content providers within Ed Tech Market
oneclass.com
khanacademy.com
kursanteckningar.se anteckingsbanken.se
Preview Mechanism
flashnotes.com
nexusnotes.com
Uni-Notes.org
Random 30% Preview
sweden sweden
us
australia
uk
MARKET
Uni-Notes, however, is superior and unique to the competition in 4 main ways:
The Proposition.
1
3
2
4
Uni-Notes offers a 30% RANDOM preview, which allows users to accurately assess the quality of the notes and feel confident before committing to the purchase. The other services only display the first 3 pages out of a 100-page document, making it very difficult for potential buyers to gauge the quality of the remaining 97 pages.
Unlike the other competitors, Uni-Notes offers a complementary tutoring platform, where users can search for tutors and view their grades, which we verify by checking their transcripts.
Uni-Notes is module specific. Users know that the uploader of the notes has created them for that exact module at a particular university, further strengthening consumer confidence.
Our full screen feature and zoom features provide users with a clear and complete viewing experience.
MARKET
University-SpecificUni-Notes is superior to competitors in terms of simple, intuitive and visually appealing user interface. During registration, users choose which university they belong to and enter the modules they are currently enrolled in.
This way, Uni-Notes automatically displays the relevant notes, which spares users the inconvenience of trying to find them.
The user can also view all notes, sorted according to upload date, starting with the most recent upload.
Preview FunctionThe preview page states exactly how many pages are visible in the random preview and how much a user must oay in order to gain access to the remaining pages of the document.
We are in the process of integrating model/subject information for universities across the UK, which can be publicly accessed and gathered from individual university websites.
H O w I T w O R K S
U P L O A D PA G EAllows users to upload a set of revision notes for a particular module and choose whether or not they will be charging others for a full preview (and if so,
how much they will be charging).
T U T O R S PA G EAllows users to search for tutors in certain
modules. If a user is unable to find any tutors for a specific module, he/she can request a tutor in the
hope that another student will see the request and register as a tutor for that module.
S E T T I N G SStudents can sign up as tutor either when first
registering to the site or using the account settings page. Tutors have the option to publish the grade
they received for the module that they wish to teach, in order to increase the chances of being
contacted by students. To further strengthen their profile, tutors can get Uni-Notes to verify these
self-declared grades by uploading their transcript (which can only be viewed by administrators).
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Strengths
First Mover Advantage:
Since Uni-Notes is
the first note-sharing
platform within the UK;
we see no reason why
Uni-Notes will not be
able to mimic Flashnotes’
success in the US.
Multipurpose platform:
By integrating tutoring as
a service alongside note-
sharing, there is another
reason for students to use
the site.
weaknesses
No Note-taking Feature:
Sites like Flashnotes and
Study Blue allows users
to make flashcards and
quiz themselves using the
site, Uni-Notes does not
yet have this feature.
Opportunities
The used textbook
market: The site can
become even more useful
by providing a space
where students can
buy, sell and trade their
second-hand textbooks.
Video Feature: Uni-
Notes eventually hopes
to provide students the
option of uploading
and selling tutorials in
video format, based on
the same 30% random
preview mechanism.
Strategic Analysis.
Threats
Possibility of Mimicry:
Uni-Notes is unable
to patent its product
and therefore it could
hypothetically be copied
by other entrepreneurs
within the UK. However,
as stated before, we have
been working on this
project for over a year
whereas new entrants
would have to start from
scratch.
Exit Strategy.
Although Uni-Notes is committed to becoming the market leader within note sharing, there is the possibility that the company will be offered to exit the market through an acquisition. After all, Flashnotes acquired Noteutopia in 2013 for 1.5 million USD in an attempt to protect its US market share. Barnes & Noble, in turn, acquired Flashnotes for an unreported (but probably much larger) sum. Please see the news articles below.
http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/07/24/class-notes-marketplace-flashnotes-raises- 1-5-million-and-acquires-competitor-noteutopia/
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/barnes-noble-invests-in-study-material-site- flashnotescom-2015-03-09-91033523
sWoT
1C O M M I S S I O N R E v E N U E
There are ultimately two sources by which the site would generate revenue:
University of Cambridge : 12,000/124,000 = 9.7%
University of Oxford: 12,000/150,000 = 8%
Durham University: 13,000/43,000 = 30%
Currently Uni-Notes is only available for St Andrews students, however we are in the process of making Uni-Notes accessible to university students across the UK. we intend on launching a thorough marketing campaign in the following 5 university cities/towns, which have been selected based on their academic reputation and high student densities (undergraduate students/total population):
How we plan to grow and generate revenue.
University of warwick : 13,000/136,000 = 9.6%
University of Exeter: 15,000/120,000 = 12.5%
With a commission of 15% on each sale and assuming an average price of 15.83 GBP per set of notes, (which we settled on after a combination of gut feel and student surveys) Uni-Notes receives 2.37 GBP in commission per sale. By successfully installing and promoting Uni-Notes services in 6 different universities (including St Andrews), and reaching 150 sales per exam period for each university (15 revision notes for 10 different subjects) we estimate a 17% market penetration and therefore expect to make 29,467.55 GBP in commission per exam period. Over the course of a year, with two exam periods, we would therefore reach 58,935.09 GBP. We would like to stress that this is a short-term goal and that we believe that Uni-Notes holds much greater potential than this in the long-term.
oBJeCTiVes
FINANCIAl REvENUE STREAMS
2A D v E R T I S I N G R E v E N U E
The following calculations are based on the following formula: Traffic Needed per day = Revenue Goal per day ÷ CPC ÷ CTR ÷ IPv Where CPC stands for Cost Per Click from the advertiser, CTR stands for Click Through Rate (the average number of visitors that click on an advert per 100 visitors) and IPV stands for the Impressions Per Visit (the average number of times a page is loaded per visit).
CPC estiMation
CPC is propor tional to the price of the products being adver tised, which are usually related to the site content . Since our target user group will primarily consist of tech- savvy university students , we hope to at tract adver tisers l ike:
• Elec tronichighlightermanufacturerssuchasC-Pen
• AudiorecordingequipmentsuchastheEchoSmar tPenbyLiveScribe
• Providersofonlinelanguagecoursese.g.Roset taStonelanguagelearning
• Providersofonlineprogrammingcoursese.g.GeneralAssembly
• EducationalAppse.g.Smar tBooks(marketplaceforcoursel i terature)
• LocalAdver tisers:sinceadver tsdisplayedcanbecustomizedaccordingtotheuniversit ytheuserbelongsto ,localrestaurants ,fast
foodchains ,cafésmightwishtoadver tisethemselves .
We therefore estimate a CPC of 20 pence.
C tr estiMation
We predic t that the CTR will be relatively high, since users are unable to download or print f ree or purchased notes . This means that they must view the note online and will therefore constantly be exposed to the adver t .
We therefore estimate a CTR of 2%.
iPV estiMation
We estimate that the IPv will be quite high because users will be browsing in between dif ferent notes to view the 30% random preview and compare their quality prior to making a purchase. Fur thermore, many students will be enrolled in several dif ferent modules and depar tments , which we believe will lead to more browsing and searching for content on the site. Finally, the tutor service (the abil ity to sign up and promote yourself as a tutor for a par ticular class , as well as the abil ity to f ind tutors for modules currently being taken) will al so incentivize students to stay on the site for longer time period.
30 GBP a day would require a daily traf f ic of :
Traf f ic Needed per day = 30 GBP / 0.2 GBP / 0.02 / 3 = 2,500
With a student population of 1.8 mill ion, only 0.1% of UK students would have to be active per day to reach the target outlined above.
Initially, it is l ikely that the major source of traf f ic will come from the universities where we have a physical marketing presence. Therefore, if we make the (over-exaggerated) assumption that traf f ic only came from the universities outlined in the table below then 3.4% of their combined student bodies would have to be active for Uni-Notes to reach a daily revenue of 30 GBP .
UNIvERSITY # OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
University of Cambridge 12,000
University of Oxford 12,000
Durham University 13,000
University of Warwick 13,000
University of Exeter 15,000
University of St Andrews
(Headquarters)8,000
TOTAL 73,000
tr affiC Per day
With a shor t-term goal of 30 GBP per day, during the 4 months of high activity (during the two annual exam periods) , we would generate 30 GBP x 30 days x 12 months = 10,800 GBP per year from adver tising.
TRAFFIC NEEDED PER DAY
BREAKDOwN
The table below breaks down each expenditure category and comes to a total of 10,612.50 GBP for a thorough marketing campaign in St Andrews, Cambridge, Oxford, Durham, warwick, and Exeter.
Predicted Expenses.
web Developer wages
Although Uni-Notes’ Web Developer,
Liam, has so far been working for free, he
is understandably expecting payment for
his hard work. With a minimum wage of
5.13 GBP per hour, he would be earning
approximately 155 GBP a month for
an estimated monthly average of 30
working hours.
ExPENDITURE CATEGORYAvG. ExPENSE PER
UNIvERISTY
TOTAl ExPENSE FOR
6 UNIvERSITIES
1 » Social Media (per university) » 760.42 » 4,562.50
3 » Campus Ambassadors ((including commission and materials) per university)
» 400 » 2400
» ToTal » 10,612.50
2. Marketing Expenses
Social Media
Facebook provides a convenient way
of targeting university students. We
managed to reach 4600 St Andrews
students on a budget of only 20 GBP,
which has resulted in 500 views of our
new video on YouTube.
Posters
For a price of 150 GBP, http://www.
vistaprint.co.uk/ produced posters for the
purpose of attracting brand ambassadors.
1. Product Development Expenses
Banners
For a price of 45 GBP, http://www.
event-print.co.uk/ produced a 3x8 ft
PvC banner now on display in the town
centre of St Andrews.
Flyers
Distribution has occurred both outside
the library but also by placing the flyers
in goody bags for student-run events,
such as the fashion shows.
Campus Ambassadors
In order to encourage uploading and
raise awareness, Uni-Notes plans to
offer a reward to campus ambassadors
by offering a reward of 5 GBP each
time a campus ambassador manages
to successfully convince a new user to
upload notes (with a cap of 200 GBP for
each campus ambassador). Each campus
ambassador will be given a unique
reference code, which new users can
enter during the registration stage.
2 » Search Engine Optimisation (per university)
» 608.33 » 3650
CosTs
Questions? We’re here to help.
Works Cited
Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2014/06/11/what-the-growth-of-ed-tech- means-for-your-business/
http://www.inc.com/aaron-skonnard/5-top-trends-in-education-technology-2015.html
http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21580136-new-technology-poised-disrupt- americas-schools-and-then-worlds-catching-last
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2805767/Universities-packing-students- Academics-say-standards-slipping-institutions-admitting-undergraduates-cope- with.html
Contact us
Email [email protected].
website
www.uni-notes.org
FYI