existence before essence' economic and social research

2014

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London UK | 07936883652 | [email protected] | existence-before-essence.com

Table of contents

1 Executive Statement ............................................................................................................................................................................ 2

1.1 Business Overview ............................................................................................................................................................................ 2

1.2 Financial Overview ........................................................................................................................................................................... 2

1.3 Opportunities and Threats ................................................................................................................................................................ 3

1.4 Business Objectives ........................................................................................................................................................................... 3

1.5 Exit Strategy ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

1.6 Vision Statement ............................................................................................................................................................................... 5

2 Business Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................... 5

2.1 Business Details ................................................................................................................................................................................ 5

2.2 Bank Details ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

2.3 Key People ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 6

2.4 Development of Management Team ................................................................................................................................................. 7

2.5 Advisors ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 7

3 Market Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

3.1 Market Research ............................................................................................................................................................................... 7

3.2 Types of Customer ............................................................................................................................................................................ 9

3.3 Types of Service ................................................................................................................................................................................ 9

3.4 Marketing and Promotion ................................................................................................................................................................. 9

3.5 Main Competitors ........................................................................................................................................................................... 10

3.6 Key Tender/Proposal Suppliers ....................................................................................................................................................... 10

4 Financial Projections ................................................................................................................................................................................. 11

4.1 Sales Forecast ................................................................................................................................................................................. 11

4.2 Investments .................................................................................................................................................................................... 12

4.3 Loans/Grants ................................................................................................................................................................................... 12

5 Reports .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 13

5.1 Start-up Costs and Funding ............................................................................................................................................................. 13

5.2 Projected Profit and Loss ................................................................................................................................................................ 14

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1. Executive Summary

1.1 Business overview

We are forming a Multimedia Production Company to be based initially in the UK then expand into France and

Africa. This company has several aspects to it, ‘existence before essence’ Research Team, Online Magazine,

Short Film and Documentary Production. The funding is to be used solely on the ‘existence before essence’

research team which lies within the Economic and Social Research field and we will be applying for instigation of

the Investigator, Responsive Mode, as well as instigation from various businesses and funding organisations

through calls for Proposals, Tenders or Managed Mode and creates the foundation for the entire business from

which profits are fed back into the business to start developing other aspects of the organisation. The funds will

be used to protect a full time employee experienced in securing Tenders and help develop the Management and

Research Team.

We shall have highly qualified and diverse researchers, skills ranging from Marine Biologist to Agricultural

Economist, the research team will be addressing European, National, Regional and Local objectives such as;

Addressing inequalities, Infrastructure support, Advice and guidance services, Promoting education and learning,

Training and skills building, Promoting human rights, Protecting the environment and animals, Supporting

international aid and overseas development, Tackling crime and victimisation, and various socio-economic and

environmental issues. (See Appendix 1, 2, 3 and 5). We shall also be using applied and adventurous (innovative

and challenging convention) research to develop a trade patent that we hope will create an accessible trade

model for rural farmers within the Sahel.

1.2 Financial Overview

We are constantly putting our own limited funds into the development of en-soi pour-soi arts but would like an

investment/loan of £50,000 min to £100,000 to drive our ‘existence before essence’ Economic and Social

Research Team forward. Our company, looking at a five year projection, will have a minimum market value that

ranges from £900,000 to £5M in year five; this figure can be greatly increased depending on the value of the

tender and also the volume of work we are able to take on board. The ROI over the term of three to five years

will be 20% approximately but this is always negotiable. Taxpayers who invest up to £150,000 in a qualifying

new start-up business will be eligible for income tax relief and we qualify under the Seed Enterprise Investment

Scheme (SEIS) and the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). (UK)

‘existence before essence’ economic and

social research

07936883652

[email protected]

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/seedeis/index.htm

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/eis/

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1.3 Opportunities and threats

The market is already established for the Research team and comes in the form of Tenders or Proposals from

the public sector, private organisations and individuals who use that service. We sell our service by bidding, or

writing a Proposal for the work offered and hope to collaborate on varying funded research. As we will be made

up of a multi academically diverse research team, we will be flexible in the work we can take on and not be

limited by one discipline. Initially we will start with government low-value contracts and as a new Small and

medium-sized enterprise (SME), there is currently a Government white paper in our favour influencing Public

Sectors to award low value contracts to new business and this usually shows up in their audits so they have to

be actively participating in the new scheme, which gives us a foot in the door. Small companies are often

successful in public sector contracting because they can offer:

Expertise unavailable in larger companies

A better understanding of their products

A better understanding of client requirements

A willingness to work closely with clients in partnership

This will quickly lead into applying for research through the European Union which presently has a research

policy incentive of a €10.8 billion budget for research and innovation agreed for 2014, they have also

acknowledged the value in SMEs (see Appendix 6), recognising us as vital for innovation and giving us special

incentives to participate with a total package of €1.2 billion. This EU Seventh Framework Programme (or FP7) for

research, will boost the creation of jobs and growth in our field allowing us to be able to sustain our growth into

Europe long-term. There will also be the second edition EU Prize for Women Innovators whose work has been

funded by the EU initiative FP7, which is something we would like to be a part of in 2014; a top three position

brings an award of up to €100,000 which is incentive enough and would be great for our CV. We will also be

seeking eligibility as an independent Research Organisation (IRO) so we can avoid external bureaucratic conflicts

remaining nonpartisan, secular and therefore just concentrating on getting the work done.

Threats would be the other hundred research organisations within the UK and the high competition to receive

funds from the Economic and Social Research Council but only a few organisations specialise in Economic and

Social Research and we would like to eventually steer our research into specialising in poverty reduction and

food security. In the meantime there are plenty of Public and Private Tendering opportunities offered to keep

us ticking over on a National level.

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1.4 Business Objectives

We feel we have a sustainable business model for the research team as it has been tried and tested and the

market continues to exist as a constant and now with new EU initiatives, begin to grow. Preparing now as a

multidiscipline organisation will put us in a prime position as the economy begins to recover and more

organisations begin to seek research, we shall be in a strong position to secure a higher volume of contracts as

we will be prepared to react to new trends as they happen, we also have the adage of offering a documentary

service as part of our package borrowed from the media element of our company and would in year two be

adding consultancy to our services. Whilst we are growing as an IRO we would like to concentrate on a patent -

which will have protection- for an Economic trade model for initially the Sahel and then adapting it to other

areas of rural development in other countries. With this growing knowledge we want to build superior

processes and capabilities that our competitors can’t match when it comes to Economic and Social Research.

One of the biggest problems for start-up businesses is establishing a line of revenue early on, with this initial

input of seed funding , we can start to generate and yield an income in line with our first year projections early

on, allowing us time to grow with contingency therefore reducing risk. ‘existence before essence’ will be located

in the UK, France and within five years in the Sahel Africa, this location will be centred on the Doctorate work

and aid the development of the patent, so the exact country where we will find a base will be confirmed when

the proposal is finalised.

1.5 Exit Strategy

We will not be thinking about becoming a public company within the next five years and we would like the

investor to retire within three-five years which we feel will be more than long enough to receive a satisfactory

return, so the most appropriate exit would be to buy back their shares. Considering the nature of our research

we would want to continue developing the business and depending on our successes - especially with the trade

patent - we can establish ourselves as a continuing IRO.

If we go via the SEIS route then you have two options: “If you realised capital gains during the 2013-14 tax year,

SEIS and related reliefs allow you to claim up to 78% of your investment back if the startup succeeds - and you

pay no CGT when you sell your shares, you get 100.5% of your investment back if the startup fails - allowing you

to invest in startups with the potential of full downside protection” Or “If you didn't realise gains last year and

make an investment during the 2014-15 tax year, SEIS and related reliefs allow you to claim up to 64% of your

investment back if the startup succeeds - and you pay no CGT when you sell your shares and get 86.5% of your

investment back if the startup fails - significantly reducing any losses you incur when investing in startups.”

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/seedeis/index.htm

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1.6 Vision Statement

We want to eradicate the continuing poverty that occurs in the Sahel. The issue of drought, poverty and

starvation has haunted our lifetimes; we want to be an independent unaligned body of researchers and

reporters that concentrate solely on finding a long lasting solution through means of access to trade markets for

rural farmers and rural people. We want to continue to raise our own capital and be as self-sufficient as we can

in order to achieve this goal. We branched our thinking out through other media channels so support and

capital will be predominantly through our services and products. No one should die of starvation or

malnutrition in the 21st Century. (See Appendix 7)

1 Business Summary 2.1 Business Details We haven’t yet secured the business offices - this will be what some of the funding will be used for £3,009.60 for the year – but we have spoken to Regus which deal in office space, virtual offices and serviced offices to rent and as we want to keep costs low and have the advantage that research work is desktop and onsite, we won’t be needing masses of office space daily and will encourage remote working primarily, although within the Regus deal we can have 5 days a month to use the offices for meetings and information exchange. Potential Business Address: MWB Business Exchange, 18 Soho Square, London, W1D 3QL Business Registration Address: 145-157 St John Street London EC1V 4PW England Telephone: 07936883652 Email: mailto:[email protected] Website: http://existence-before-essence.com VAT Details: Not VAT Registered Legal Status: Private Limited Company Company registration number: 081344084

2.2 Bank Details Business Bank Account Santander 9 St Kildas Rd Harrow, Middlesex HA1 1AS Business Account Manager Paul Kelly Business Bank Account Barclays Bank 16 Murray Pl, Stirling FK8 2DD Business Account Manager Stewart Brand

http://blog.regus.co.uk/latest-news/managing-a-remote-workforce/

mailto:[email protected]

http://existence-before-essence.com/

http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/wcframe?name=accessCompanyInfo

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2.3 Key People Oleuanna Twig Job Title: Owner Skills/Responsibilities Seventeen years’ experience of working within local government, Charities and NGO’s working in roles ranging from Homeless frontline worker to Commissioning Officer. Over the past seventeen years, have worked projects that have been part of the procurement process, looking after service providers such as ; Barony, Places for People, SAMH, The Action Group, Ark, Choices, CIC, Enable, PSS, The Richmond Fellowship and Women’s Aid; also Local Council’s in-house Services. Undertook Service reviews of providers of housing-related support, who were in receipt of the supporting People Grant, which has now been dissolved, this includes desktop reviews as well as visiting providers. Took service review findings collated them in reports, which then an Action Plan could be negotiated between the service provider and the Local authority, which was updated over a period of time until a signing off date was agreed. Prepared and Conducted Annual Financial Meetings, which included the breakdown and analysis of Housing Providers’ expenditure, reporting the results of which are then subsequently benchmarked for cost analysis, using tools adapted by the team. Writing a report and setting up an action plan populated by the findings in the Annual Financial Meeting, this would then lead to setting their budgets for the new financial year and helping them to manage their budgets by developing the weaker aspects of the service delivery. Negotiate and monitor contracts between the council and supporting people service providers being sure to be aware of any legislative changes, which may affect contracting and ensure these are incorporated in documentation. Developed policies and procedures across the range of contractual issues and assisted in the development and commissioning of new services to ensure that they meet the needs of the authority in terms of service levels and cost effectiveness, liaised with operational staff and the Commission for the Regulation of Care to ensure compliance by providers with contract conditions and Service Agreement. Advised and assisted service providers attain quality standards, including the housing support standards. This experience gave rise to the idea of developing an organisation that would be Tender based. An activist involved with organisations such as Chatham House, International Federation of journalists, Reporters without borders, International Food Policy, Global Witness, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty, International Institute for Environment and Development, All Out, Irin/Humanitarian news and analysis service from the UN and Reprieve to name but a few. I also write for Blottr and The Global Panorama. Training in Education for Sustainability, Journalism, and going on to do a MSc in Agricultural Economics with SOAS/University of London, which is in preparation to do a PhD within Cirad Montpellier, this deals with the agrifood systems across the Sahel as well as studying markets, organisations, institutions and operators' strategies, the plan is to gather as much knowledge on an accessible trade model for rural farmers and rural people in least developed countries and expand the organisation from the UK into Europe and then onto the Sahel.

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2.4 Development of Management Team We are more than aware that most investors prefer to see a Management Team already in place but we need working capital in order to employ key qualified and experienced management to the team in the form of a Research Tender Manager with experience leading or co-leading innovative research projects in the previous five years, including directing other researchers. After they are secured we can then employ the twenty five skilled freelance researchers with at least publications in top quality journals and or monographs with key academic publishers and or other outputs that have been subject to the highest standards of peer review, as this will help strengthen our bid applications, these appointments need a specialist employment agency. Once on board we can then begin to join the networks of Tenders and Proposal and Research associations and Chatham House being our most exciting prospect for corporate membership.

2.5 Advisors Santander 9 St Kildas Rd Harrow, Middlesex HA1 1AS Business Account Manager Paul Kelly Barclays Bank 16 Murray Pl, Stirling FK8 2DD Business Account Manager Stewart Brand South East Euston Fitzrovia, 85 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4TQ Bid Manager Bruce Macfarlane Training and Development Manager Bill Watson Fisher Enterprises LLC The Rodin Studios 200 West 57th Street, Suite 602 New York, New York 10019 Business Development Officer Kenne Dinham Jr

3 Market Analysis 3.1 Market Research Conducting the following research has allowed us to corroborate our business idea and method and help inform our Strategy. Economic and Social Research within the UK, EU and globally is becoming a high value growth industry where SMEs within this field have become recognised as valuable for the economic recovery. This became apparent as we looked at Tenders around the Globe and how - even during the recession - the work never died down. This is one of the reasons why the research team was formed, as it seemed it would be an excellent way to bring steady money into the business as well as try to become a leader within the industry worldwide.

http://www.chathamhouse.org/

http://www.chathamhouse.org/

http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp7/index_en.cfm?pg=press

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We have selected a key location in London so we can be accessed easily for meetings and for us to attend seminars and lectures, which are always held largely in the London area especially by Chatham House, London School of Economics and the Economic and Social Research Council and this will help us to develop stronger relationships with these already outstanding research institutions because even though research is competitive, collaboration is paramount. We have a training Bid Manager who will be in charge of our initial training course with after care on-call assistance when needed, which ensures we remain competitive and up-to-date on new practices, legislations and industry standards but with the adage of learning how to turn a good profit with a specialised training and development manager who understands broader academia. Learning outcomes include

Reviewing the ITT/RFP document to understand the needs of the buyer

Breaking down a question to ensure compliance

Researching the buyer and developing a win strategy using the ‘grid’ approach

Structuring a compelling answer by weaving in that strategy

Objective content evaluation to drive up the final score

This will make sure as a team that we all understand the Tendering/Calls for Proposals process including all those already experienced in the procedure being in congruency with the rest of the team. The top IROs at present in the UK are listed in Appendix 4, organisations outside of this fall into the Higher Education category. As there are varying criterions, the customer will be looking for an organisation to excel in value on application, e.g.

Fitness for purpose Warranty Quality, Environmental and safety considerations Energy conservation Disposal Value Capacity of the supplier Wider benefits to the customer Creating strategic partnerships Payments terms The relative risk of the proposal The performance history of the supplier All direct and indirect financial costs and benefits over the life of the procurement The flexibility of the proposal to adapt to possible change The anticipated price that could be obtained, or cost incurred, at the time of disposal

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Our main hurdle as a startup is not having a history as a team. All the team we want to employ will have extensive understanding and a history of research and we would want at least half of those people to have experience of the Research Tender process. We would also reap the benefit of the incentives that are in SME’s favour at the moment, especially within the EU and the UK.

3.2 Types of Customer Development agencies, World Bank, EU Development and Cooperation, Millennium Challenge Account, Agence Française de Développement, African Development Bank, The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, European Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and The European Investment Fund are amongst some of the customers at a global level. On the Local Regional and National level we want to be working with Local Governments initially by accessing Government Open Tenders, our business has the opportunity to gain vast and considerable amounts of work from this reliable source, offering not only contracts for work being tendered, but also an opportunity to obtain on-going work through building relationships and establishing our business as a reputable and trustworthy supplier to government, this will lead the way to applying to private sector companies eventually allowing us to move into Europe with a proven track record.

3.3 Types of Service We will be undertaking

adventurous research or disruptive innovation, in relation to the trade patent

collaboration and the exchange of ideas across and within disciplines and institutional boundaries

collaboration with international and non-academic partners

3.4 Marketing and Promotion en-soi pour-soi has the ubiquitous website as well as social network presence on over 100 websites. As we are a Multimedia Production Company as well as a IRO it is vitally important that we start developing a following for the work that we want to produce especially for our online philosophical magazine and our short films and documentaries, at the moment across the networks we have a round 50,000 viewers this will greatly increase once we get the magazine up and running and concentrate on the media aspect of the company. As for the research team they will have a separate website which will and already has a social network presence. But we will mostly promote ourselves through work carried out, collaborations and memberships with already established Research Institutes, our eventual consultancy and becoming an active member within the research field.

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3.5 Main Competitors It was a lot easier to find a list of competitors that are eligible for the Research Council Funding which you can find in Appendix 4. What will give us our eventual edge, once established, is the trade patent we want to develop and then begin to specialise in. As demonstrated under section 3.1, each application has its own criterion and eligibility, it is usually from that point down to who can cost the contract to the customers liking, on this premise it leaves the competition wide open.

3.6 Key Tender/Proposal Suppliers There are many Tender providers as well as organisations sending out calls for Proposals but the ones we shall be using initially Tenders Direct UK http://www.tendersdirect.co.uk/ Tracker Intelligence Europe http://www.trackerintelligence.com/app/tenders/europe/ Africa Tenders Global http://www.africatenders.com/ National SME Engagement Programme http://www.supplycontracts.co.uk/ Market Monitor UK news & intelligence http://www.bipsolutions.com/BusinessIntelligence/MarketIntelligence/MarketMonitor.html Global Tenders http://www.globaltenders.com/ Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs https://defra.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml B2B Quote http://www.b2bquote.co.uk/ Tenders Electronic Daily http://ted.europa.eu/TED/main/HomePage.do Tenders http://www.tenders.co.uk/?SessionID=1026427134&Unique=1380121216697 European Commission > Research & Innovation http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm The Joseph Rowntree Foundation http://www.jrf.org.uk/funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation http://www.gatesfoundation.org/How-We-Work/General-Information/Grant-Opportunities ESRC-DFID Joint fund for poverty alleviation research http://tinyurl.com/olqsoxt The Joint Electronic Submissions https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/JeS2WebLoginSite/Login.aspx I also expect to pick up contacts through the development of an already experienced team as well as from the preliminary training we receive.

http://www.tendersdirect.co.uk/

http://www.trackerintelligence.com/app/tenders/europe/

http://www.africatenders.com/

http://www.supplycontracts.co.uk/

http://www.bipsolutions.com/BusinessIntelligence/MarketIntelligence/MarketMonitor.html

http://www.globaltenders.com/

https://defra.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.shtml

http://www.b2bquote.co.uk/

http://ted.europa.eu/TED/main/HomePage.do

http://www.tenders.co.uk/?SessionID=1026427134&Unique=1380121216697

http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm

http://www.jrf.org.uk/funding

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/How-We-Work/General-Information/Grant-Opportunities

http://www.gatesfoundation.org/How-We-Work/General-Information/Grant-Opportunities

http://tinyurl.com/olqsoxt

https://je-s.rcuk.ac.uk/JeS2WebLoginSite/Login.aspx

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4 Financial Projections 4.1 Sales Forecast Projected profit forecast under Reports 5.2 may seem unduly expedient if you only take into account low value tenders (£5000 to £100,000) which is the level we will probably be starting from but we want to be able to take on several contracts at a time, below is a table giving an overview of what most councils in the UK value their Tenders and Contracts at;

Risk Value Range Typical Procedure

LOW RISK Under £0 - £5,000 1 Quote Must be written and must represent Value for Money

LOW RISK £5,000 - £25,000 3 Quotes Must be written quotes, one from a local supplier if possible.

MEDIUM RISK £25,000 - £100,000 OJEU threshold

Formal Tendering They normally use their Approved Supplier Database or may advertise, depending on the market

MEDIUM - HIGH RISK

Over £100,000 OJEU Tendering

Formal Tendering Contracts will be advertised to supplement the Approved Supplier Database depending on the market.

HIGH RISK >OJEU threshold - £10 million OJEU Details of all published OJEU notices may be obtained from the Official Journal of the European Union

VERY HIGH RISK >£10 million OJEU “

Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) Tenders/Calls for proposals for research can start at £300,000 for as little a duration as 6 -13 months (see Appendix 3). With High Value Public Tenders the EU regulations stipulate that higher value (above £100,000) tenders have to be published across Europe and the European Economic area. However, contracts which are advertised in the OJEU as high-value can still be viable options for a lot of SMEs.

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We estimate to start securing Tenders by June 2014 depending on how quickly we can get the funds to get the team in place. We will try to expand the business each year by about 5% depending on the amount of Tenders we can win. By year three, we are aiming to possibly increase the team and have a fully operating consultancy but this is also dependent on how well we can do in Europe, Appendix 5 shows what we will be working towards and hopefully sustaining. For the Tender projections, we have simply costed up an average Tender in the UK for the first year and then took the average European Tender for the following years. Due to the nature of the Tendering process it may take a few months for the bidding evaluations to be made and then confirmed, a contingency of a Bank loan could then be put in place in order to cover our overheads if needed but this will be more achievable if we can raise our initial round of funding.

4.2 Investments We have made personal investments into the business of £5,000, which went towards startup costs, pitching events, online pitching platforms, crowd funding and online presence. The Media side of en-soi pour-soi arts will also be looking to make additional investments to assist in maintaining the company’s growth through executive production.

4.3 Loans/Grants We are starting out with no deficits, though we are considering once we have the seed fund in place and we start to turn a profit, a few funding organisations that will help with the Multimedia side of the business, enabling the development of a studio and filming/editing equipment. Possibly a Bank loan for overheads whilst the initial Tenders have been won as most financial institutions seem to want to see security before they are happy to commit to a loan.

Grants are not easy to acquire as a start-up and are usually - especially within this discipline - favour organisations that have been trading for some time or will have to follow certain criteria in order to be considered. This can be very limiting and change the very ethos of what we are trying to accomplish but as time moves on and our work begins to yield results we shall readdress this if we find ourselves needing a financial boost to expand further and are eligible for appropriate grants for our field. Have attempted crowd funding platforms but most of them charge a fee and generating an audience beyond the social media networks means spending more money. Major lessons learnt was to start earlier and develop an awaiting audience and employ a fund raiser to manage the campaign on a commission basis.

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5 Reports

5.1 Start-up Costs and Funding

Expenditure Cost

Office Rental per year £3009.60

Tender Memberships per year

Tenders Direct UK £1074

Tracker Intelligence Europe £2376

Africa Tenders Global £1306.68

National SME Engagement Programme £765

Market Monitor UK news & intelligence £265

Bid writing and bid management training courses for the team

£3312

Chatham House Major Corporate membership £13000

Team Membership for the Social Research Association

£504

Full time 1 year contracted employee £30000

4 Entry level Freelance Researchers £40,000/4 for the initial 5 months

£40000

Computer Equipment for the initial Team £4000

The remaining funds will be left for employment agency fees and contingency.

£99612.28

5.2 Please ask for cash flow sheet.

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Thank you for reading

FIN