Pen shaped mouse - 'teach pen' - an instructor's aid

Abstract

In the ever-shrinking global economy, the advent of whiteboards has created a revolution. Whiteboards enable ‘interaction’ per se, that too even across geographies which are separated by oceans. However, whiteboards are costly and are still not in the consideration of many business houses, educational institutions etc, purely based on the price point. TEACH PEN, a ‘pen shaped mouse’ (patentable device) is a very cheap alternative that could simulate a whiteboard environment and hence could give the ‘interaction capability’ for companies or other institutions. It is important to note that white-board simulation is just one of the several functionalities of the ‘pen shaped mouse’, but in itself can prove profitable to the inventor and the investor. The market for TEACH PEN is mainly derived from two bases viz – 1. The whiteboard market which could be converted into TEACH PEN market 2. The ‘front projector’ market which, at a marginal cost, could acquire ‘interactive illustration capabilities’ at their premises Arising out of the two bases mentioned above, the market for TEACH PEN is expected to be around 2,695,432 units in 2007, growing up to 138,721,759 units within 2016 (CAGR of 48%). If sold at a rate of USD 10 per unit, TEACH PEN will give a net profit of USD 5.635 (excluding marketing expenses). Seven main categories of customers have been chosen, viz – Fortune 1000 companies, corporates with 500+ employees, corporates with 100-499 employees, corporates with 1- 99 employees, educational institutions, government institutions and rentals (board rooms, conference halls, tradeshows, staging events and conferences). The value propositions (marketing theme) for these customers are given below – 1. For corporates which have already adopted whiteboard technology, complete to their requirements viz. Fortune 1000 companies – 2. For corporates which have realized the value of whiteboards but haven’t made use of the technology, complete to their requirements – i.e. corporates with 500+ employees and 100-499 employees – ‘empowering employees through interactive meetings’ 3. For corporates which are small and upcoming – ‘technology for growth’ 4. For educational institutions – ‘Teaching to ASK and LISTEN’ 5. For government institutions – theme tailored to individual countries and 6. For rental shops – ‘Know to attract your customers’ The design completion will consume a USD 3,000,000 (including legal proceedings, if any) investment. Capital expenditure will be another USD 3,500,000. The total of USD 6,500,000 has to be funded by external sources, possibly venture capitalists. Further expansion of operations will be funded by the business-generated surplus. The capacity roll out will follow the schedule, as given below. YEAR 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 CAPACITY (UNITS) 3,000,000 7,000,000 12,000,000 16,000,000 25,000,000 COST (USD) 900,000 2,100,000 3,600,000 4,800,000 7,500,000‘cheaper alternative to The ROIC will be a very high 250% and above. Also the PAT margin will be 32%. Venture capitalists, with an investment of USD 6,500,000 and 50% stake in the company, can exit after the initial 5 years of operation, with a return of 60% YoY. The NPV is awhiteboards’ high – USD 129, 675, 837.