FIN615 PCA

MBA Financial Services and course Managerial Finance base individual CA project- (term project). CA project is the business idea for the mobile platform/application, called Efficient Money, where both customers and financial advisors get connected. It’s an app for a customer, who seeks help in financial planning, budgeting, etc. But the competitive advantage of the app is that the customer can also talk to the financial advisor through the application (via video call or chat). This platform will provide an Opportunity for the financial advisors to expand their client base and also, to make more profit. At the same time, my initial goal is to make these applications affordable and trustworthy. It’s an app for people, who are willing to make their financial situations better but who cannot afford to pay for the assistance of well-established banks.

I have attached the other Word Documents for the idea and the project.

Make a financial plan for the balance sheet, financial

Performance valuation, income statements, future projections, expected returns, value of the company, etc. considering all the costs (electricity, hiring staff, the rent, taxes, etc.).

Plan of Action

Long-term goal: Efficient Money platform goal is to make financial services affordable for everyone and to promote financial security by having widespread adoption of the application.

Short-term Constructive Action Goal	Objectives	Strategies	Evaluation Plan
The short-term goal is to create an application where the services of both financial robo-advisers and human financial consultants will be combined.	The company will hire IT specialists to create the application. The company will then attract CFAs (certified financial advisors) to work for the platform, whilekeeping the price affordable for customers.	For hiring the staff: I will look for the CFAs online by posting job offers. After that I will conduct interviews with each one of them; and finally, I will offer the job positions to those who will agree with the terms of the company. For getting finance: I will go to ten different banks with my business plan to get a loan and after gathering all of the information and the rates, I will decide which bank to choose.	After creating the evaluation plan, I found out that: 1.      My plan worked when it came to getting finance for the company. There are banks that are willing to invest in the business, so there is a good potential for this idea. 2.      However, when I may have a problem when I try to hire certified financial advisors because many of them will be able to earn much more money through traditional means because my company is in the beginning stage of its existence and can’t pay as much as more established entities.

FIN 615 PCA

In the fast-moving world that we live in today, it is extremely difficult to keep track of all the important things in our professional, social and personal lives. The most stressful spheres for the majority of people to handle are financing, budgeting and investing. However, the key, in order to be successful and be able to afford the desired lifestyle, is to maintain your time and money efficiently so that they will work to your advantage. The necessary means to achieve financial prosperity and independence, and to not only live from paycheck to paycheck, will be saving some money from the source of your income and investing your money in stocks, bonds, business projects that will benefit you and bring in good returns. My intention is to create a platform, an application, which will help people who are not very familiar with financing, budgeting and investing.

    The main target group for this platform will be millennial (people reaching young adulthood in the early 21st century) and anyone, who lack time, knowledge or confidence in their skills towards financing, budgeting and investing, but is willing to improve their position and life’s conditions. The company will be mainly focused on helping people with relatively lower incomes or funds, which choose to accomplish greater eminence and to keep developing their current financial state. This application will provide the helpful information, updates on financial markets, the industry in general and the tips on budgeting, and also, it will assist its users by organizing their budget in a more resourceful way, as well as by facilitating their investments efficiently.

    The competitive advantage of the application will be the fact that this platform will be access to get the advice from the real financial advisers, through the video calls or chats. This is an opportunity not only for those who would like to explore the world of finance but for the financial advisers as well; they will gain great work experience and a chance to earn extra money.  The application will be beneficial for both sides, and it will help them obtain their short-term and long-term goals.

CA Workin progress

 Business Plan

 1 – Executive Summary

Efficient Money platform’s goal is to make financial services affordable for everyone and to promote financial security by having widespread adoption of the application.

1.1    – Problem

There are a lot of financial tools which already exist, including various mobile apps that use only robot-advisors (“Financial Advisor Evaluation. Coaching”). Robo-advisor investment fees range from free to one percent, whereas financial advisors charge anywhere from one to three percent. Traditional investment advisors usually only take on clients with a minimum portfolio balance of $200,000 (“Robo Advisors vs. Financial Advisors – Millennials Still Prefer Real-Life”). In comparison, while many robo-advisors will have no minimum balance, some may require only $5,000, which is still peanuts compared to what financial advisors require. Finally, robo-advisors are available to clients around the clock with no stressful scheduling required (“Robo Advisors vs. Financial Advisors – Millennial Still Prefer Real-Life”). These robo-advisors are the perfect option for tech-savvy millennia’s eager to grow their portfolios and their bank accounts (“Robo Advisors vs. Financial Advisors – Millennials Still Prefer Real-Life”); however, a recent survey found that, when it comes to their hard-earned money, millennials still want a human-being handling it (“Millennials’ Preferences: Robo Advisors vs. Financial Advisors”).

1.2 – Solution

Thus, I decided to develop my business plan to try to combine the affordability of a robo-adviser and the personal contact of a financial adviser to create a great application.

The brand name of my application, Efficient Money, speaks for itself. It will provide a wide range of financial tools and services, such as budgeting, financing and be investing. The competitive advantage of the application will be its ability to let clients talk to real financial advisers through internet video calls or chats live. This is a great potential not only for those who want to explore the world of finance but for financial advisers as well who will gain great work experience and a chance to earn extra money.  This platform will be beneficial for both sides, and it will help them obtain their short-term and long-term goals.

1.3 – Unique Value Proposition

After conducting careful research, analyzing the target group’s needs and considering their preferences, I came up with the solution of creating an application, which is called efficient money.

The platform will be a combination of a free directory of financial planners and registered investment advisors, as well as a tool to conduct financial activities, such as buying and selling stocks. The application will allow clients to reach financial consultants from all over the world and find the one who is willing to accept a client’s offer.

1.4 – Objectives

The company will hire IT specialists to create the application. The company will then attract CFAs (certified financial advisors) to work for the platform while keeping the price affordable for customers.

The most significant goals are: to minimize the costs of financial services and make them more accessible to the public and to provide financial advisors a possibility to shift to the modern digital world, where they will have access to more clients and vice versa.

Success Definition

The metric of success for Efficient Money Company will be gaining a regular customer base, as well as making constant revenue and profit. In this way, the company will be able to support our platform, to get the necessary means to improve our application and to attract & gain more users.

According to a new survey (by Bank rate that asked Americans about their use of finance-related apps, including those from traditional banks and Fin Tech players), Among Smartphone users in the U.S., nearly two-thirds have at least one financial app. 63% of Smartphone users have at least one financial app, and our goal is to be in this statistics and to become a “must-have” financial consulting application.

Exit Plan

IPO. As an exit plan, our company will consider an IPO Essentially an Initial Public Offering (IPO), which involves selling part of our business in the public markets. It’s the ultimate dream of many who set up new businesses, to make such a success of it that eventually, flotation on the public markets is a rational step for the next stage of growth of the business. And of course, bringing our company to an IPO will often yield a significant financial benefit to the owner the business’s sole or majority shareholder.

Acquisition. Another option that the company might consider will be though selling your company means avoiding a lot of the red tape and complex processes of using the stock market.

2    – Company

Efficient Money Co. is a platform that provides its where the services of both financial robo-advisers and human, financial consultants will be combined.

2.1    – Company Overview

Entity. Efficient Money Company will start its existence as an LLC. An LLC is owned by members and operated by either third-party managers or the members themselves. It is a very flexible form of business which accounts for why almost 75% of new businesses formed today are LLCs. The LLC Operating Agreement is the governing document to allow you to arrange the LLC’s affairs as the members choose.

However, our company aims to become a corporation. Corporations are different from LLCs in that the stockholders own them. A “general corporation” also appoints directors and officers to handle the day-to-day operations, whereas the LLC just has members. The stockholders elect the directors, who then appoint the officers (President, Treasurer, Secretary, etc.). The shareholders do not elect officers of a corporation.

Our company will start its existence in New York City, where companies usually taxed in such ways:

An S corporation is a traditional corporation with a special designation, known as S status, which allows income to pass through the company to its owners. Since the business owners then pay personal income tax on this money, many states do not tax S corporations. New York, however, is not one of these states; it requires S corporations to pay the corporation franchise tax. However, S corporations may use the gross receipt method to calculate taxes, and they are taxed at slightly lower rates than traditional corporations. The maximum effective corporation franchise tax on S corporations in New York is $4,500.

Any New York business seeking S status must file an additional form with the state in addition to filing the federal designation form. Failure to do so results in the business being taxed like a traditional corporation, which means a much higher tax bill, in all likelihood.

The net income from the S corporation passes through to the business owners, and New York also taxes this income. State tax rates on personal income range from 4 to 8.82%, as of 2015.

Like S corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs) pass through income to their owners, who then pay personal income tax on it. LLCs are unique because they can be classified in one of several ways: as a partnership, as a corporation or as the default classification, a disregarded entity. New York LLCs classified as corporations pay the corporation franchise tax under the same rules as traditional corporations. LLC of any other classification is not subject to this tax, but they must pay state filing fees. These fees are calculated based on gross income and range from a minimum of $25, which applies to LLCs with gross incomes of less than $100,000, to a maximum of $4,500, which applies to LLCs with gross incomes of greater than $25 million.

Team. Since our company for its majority part will be digital, we will have a remote team. Professionals across many disciplines can telecommute and effectively work with colleagues all over the world. Employers are also benefiting from remote teams, as they can choose from a larger pool of skilled workers and avoid the costs and complexities associated with keeping everyone on-site. According to data from ESNA, 77% of virtual companies with over 2,500 employees allow telecommuting and 20% of the global workforce is part of a remote team. Remote teams exist within multinational companies such as Dell, Apple, and Cisco, but they’re also a core part of the workforce in smaller firms such as Buffer, Basecamp, 10Up, and Articulate.

Working Space. Efficient Money company will be digital oriented, and it will be an application; however, since the platform will combine both robo-advisors and human, financial advisers, meaning that there will be a space needed for the inventory and employees (IT team, financial advisors, etc.). The company will rent out a small office for these purposes.

2.4 Advisory Team

Most successful startups have an advisory team that helps them with key decisions. People on your advisory team should have experience in the industry in which you’re competing. When describing each member include their current positions, level of involvement with your startup, and key parts of your business they’re involved in. Due to these reasons, our company might hire an advisor in order to develop our business successfully.

3    – Market

Our target market will be any person, who wants to achieve financial security and owns some kind of smartphone with the internet connection in it. In order to download the EfficientMoney application, a person will need to own any smartphone because the platform will be supported with stronger computing power (not just a regular cell phone).

3.1    – Market Size

The vast majority of Americans – 95% – now own a cell phone of some kind. The share of Americans that own smartphones are now 77%, up from just 35% in Pew Research Center’s first survey of smartphone ownership conducted in 2011. Our company aims to dominate not only the US market but also, the world market.

4    – Financial Plan

In order to support the platform, the business model that I will be using is “Paid Products and Services,” in which the app charges its users a fixed or a periodic fee for using their product or service (Sahajwani). I wanted to follow a “freemium” model, where a basic level of product or service is provided free to the user, but to use the full product they have to pay (Sahajwani). Furthermore, I want to support the free version with advertisements and offer an ad-free version with additional features at a premium (Sahajwani). There will be different pricing, depending on what package the customer decides to purchase. Also, there will be a 7 Day Free Trial, and after that, the customer can decide whether he/she wants to continue using the application. The business model will help to generate profit and in this way will support the platform at the beginning of its existence and later on.

There will be different pricing, depending on what package you decide to purchase. Also, there will be 7 Day Free Trial, and after that, the client can decide whether he/she wants to continue using the application. There will be several pricing options and categories, for example:

• 7 Day Free Trial = $0
• Basic Package per month = $29
• Premium Package per month = $79
• Premium Package per 36-months = $299
• Premium Package One-Time = $799

The basic packages will have access to almost all of the services. However, there will be limited access to some of them. The premium package will have access to everything; they will be able to get more customized services, based on their personal needs.

The customers will be able to purchases by using their debit and credit cards, as well as other payment tools (Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, E-Wallets, PayPal, etc.)

5.2 – Startup Costs

The total first round raise for 18 months he suggested is $750,000. That’s not necessarily how much an app has to cost though (although some apps do, especially over their lifetime).

The $750,000 includes $120,000 of operational dollars for legal, accounting, and comparable fees. The remaining $630,000 as follows: $35,000 per month for a team of four, which is considered a very standard team size for building an app. The timeline to build a v1.0 app is usually anywhere between 4-6 months. So taking that monthly spends and multiplying it times that timeline, we have our first answer: a v1.0 app should cost anywhere between $140,000 to $210,000.

FIN615 PCA

Strategy Implemented:

For hiring the staff:

I will look for the CFAs online by posting job offers. After that I will conduct interviews with each one of them; and finally, I will offer the job positions to those who will agree with the terms of the company.

Content text	Interpretation subtext
In order to achieve my plan, I followed my strategy; I contacted several financial advisors via the different internet platforms, and I discussed my offer with them.	The financial advisors, mostly those who work as freelancers, found my business proposal quiet interesting; however, the main issue, which bothered them, was the salary.

 

Analysis by Dimension

In what ways were the Dimensions involved/exhibited in this incident? What specific theories, readings, or activities from the seminars help you to understand what happened? Quote authors, etc.

Purpose:

The Strategic Industry Analysis (FIN615 PCA) was extremely helpful and useful course, in order to develop and implement the business plan for my idea. This class made me realize what the most important parts are for the business execution, for example:

• Determining the right objectives, strategies, actions;
• Using and correctly creating an annotated bibliography;
• Writing grammatically correct in general, etc.

Values:

All of the classes, which I am currently taking, bring the significant value for me as an individual and a business owner by disciplining and teaching the new beneficial techniques for all of the aspects, such as finances, accounting, business writing, and marketing. After taking these courses, I learned what creates the value to the business and how to develop it in the best possible way.

Self & Others:

The Marketing Modern Financial Services (FIN625) course taught me the importance of relationships with all the people involved with the business: the customers, the employees, and the suppliers. In this course I learned what marketing techniques help to keep the business successful and attractive to the customers, and that the smart decisions, made for the long-term goal rather than the short-time profit, bring much higher returns.

Systems:

The financial markets and institutions (FIN615 SYS) course provided me with the great knowledge about the financial industry overall. The class helped me understand how everything operates and works in this field, which is very important in general and especially because I’m developing my business in financial services.

Skills:

The managerial finance course (MBA735) course taught the technical part for guiding my own business, which is one of the key elements for the business success. I learned how to conduct a different kind of the calculations, evaluations, projections and planning for the business and the industry.

Assessment/Summary of New Understanding:

What do you know now that you would not have known if this incident had not taken place?

Indicate whether you thought the situation went well or badly. Did it help you to reach your goal or objective? Why or why not? (It went well because…/It would have gone better if…)

Next Steps:

In order to make my business prosperous, useful and attractive, I will promote it more, using the advertisement to gain more customers in the United States and other countries overseas. Nevertheless, knowing the very selective modern customers, I will not use the aggressive traditional advertisement techniques, instead, I will use the online and web search-based ads, as well as placing them on specific websites that will promote the services in a very natural good light (for example, the websites of some educational institutions or organizations).

I will:

I will continue delivering the best service I possibly can to my customers, by adding constant improvements, updates, and features to my digital application. Also, I will make sure that the financial advisors, who will work for the application, are the best candidacies and these professionals have the highest qualifications.

Other (co-workers, supervisor, etc.) will:

I will ensure that my customers will praise the quality of my work, by doing my best and working efficiently. I will keep improving myself (by gaining and implementing the new knowledge) and attracting the fresh, bright minds to my digital application even more helpful to people.