[TYPE THE

COMPANY EN105 A - BUSINESS PLAN

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Prepared by | Ritesh Kalra

Charlie Tong
Rohit Jha
Veerappa Rajan
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

RVCR is a company selling portable stainless steel cutlery set in Singapore.

We are dedicated to creating awareness in Singapore towards personal health
and hygiene and environmental friendliness. Our management team consists
of four passionate entrepreneurs, Ritesh Kalra, Veerappa Rajan, Charlie
Tong and Rohit Jha, who are currently undergraduates in NTU. RVCR plans
to introduce a portable stainless steel cutlery set which contains a small fork, a
small spoon and a pair of foldable chopsticks. Through intensive market
research, RVCR has targeted the Singapore market due to the strong concern
on personal hygiene and environmental-friendliness posed in the Singapore
society recently. By establishing a strong change in mindset through means of
promotion like awareness campaigns and guerilla marketing, RVCR aims to
make its products affordable and at the same time indispensible to our
customer base, which mainly constitutes the university student population of
Singapore. Our product is unique as compared to the ones sold by our macro
and micro competitors, namely, Daiso and other smaller vendors, selling
wooden and plastic products. To maintain its competitive edge, RVCR has
come up with its own “Blue Ocean Strategy” whereby it plans of creating the
greatest market of new demand by making our product indispensible to the
ones who care about hygiene and the environment. According to our financial
and timeline projection, we aim to sell 9,825 units by the end of our first year
in business, with an awareness outreach of more than 12,000 by the end of the
year. RVCR will have achieved a gross profit margin of 60% by the end of the
first year with a Return on Assets figure of 92.9%, showing our ability to
generate profits. Based on our comprehensive breakeven analysis, we hope to
breakeven within the first two months of our sales. However, based on certain
criteria, RVCR also is prepared with an exit strategy so that in case our
business fails to respond, we are able to successfully take alternative
marketing methods or just liquidate our assets and shutdown our company.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................. i

Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................................. iii

Business System and Organization .......................................................................................................................... 1

Business Model .................................................................................................................................................. 1

Organizational Structure .................................................................................................................................... 1

Operating Location(s) ......................................................................................................................................... 2

Management team ................................................................................................................................................. 2

Mr. Ritesh Kalra – Chief Executive Officer (CEO) ............................................................................................. 3

Mr. Charlie Tong – Chief Operations Officer (COO) .......................................................................................... 3

Mr. Rohit Jha – Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Chief Technical Officer (CTO) ............................................... 4

Mr. Veerappa Rajan – Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) ...................................................................................... 4

Products................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Portable Cutlery Sets .......................................................................................................................................... 5

Suppliers ............................................................................................................................................................ 6

Value Creation ................................................................................................................................................... 6

Competitor Products .......................................................................................................................................... 6

Key to Success .................................................................................................................................................... 7

Market and Competition ........................................................................................................................................ 7

Customer Analysis .............................................................................................................................................. 7

Competitor Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 8

Competitive Advantage ...................................................................................................................................... 8

Marketing and Sales ............................................................................................................................................... 9

Strategic Partnerships ........................................................................................................................................ 9

Intensive Marketing ..................................................................................................................................... 10

Huge Customer Database ............................................................................................................................. 10

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 Social Recognition ........................................................................................................................................ 10

Promotion and Advertising ............................................................................................................................... 10

Pricing Techniques ........................................................................................................................................... 11

Timing .................................................................................................................................................................. 12

Implementation Schedule ................................................................................................................................ 12

Growth Strategy ............................................................................................................................................... 12

Milestones and Timeline Projection .................................................................................................................. 14

Market research and liaising with suppliers .................................................................................................. 14

Liaising with potential customers and NTU Authorities ................................................................................. 14

Sourcing for funding..................................................................................................................................... 15

Launch of our awareness campaign, Product Launch & Sustainability ........................................................... 15

Product restocks .......................................................................................................................................... 15

Liaising with NUS and SMU........................................................................................................................... 15

Short term Objectives and Goals ...................................................................................................................... 15

Opportunities and Risk ......................................................................................................................................... 16

Porter’s 5 Analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 16

Opportunities................................................................................................................................................... 18

Risks ................................................................................................................................................................ 19

FINANCIAL PLANNING AND FINANCING ................................................................................................................ 19

Financial Ratios ................................................................................................................................................ 19

Breakeven Analysis........................................................................................................................................... 20

EXIT STRATEGY ..................................................................................................................................................... 21

APPENDIX 1 ............................................................................................................................................................. I

APPENDIX 2 ........................................................................................................................................................... IV

INCOME STATEMENT ........................................................................................................................................ IV

CASHFLOW STATEMENT ..................................................................................................................................... V

BALANCE SHEET ................................................................................................................................................ VI

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 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ........................................................................................................... VII

Appendix 3 .......................................................................................................................................................... VIII

Article 1 .......................................................................................................................................................... VIII

Article 2 .......................................................................................................................................................... VIII

Article 3 ............................................................................................................................................................. X

Article 4 ............................................................................................................................................................. X

APPENDIX 4 .......................................................................................................................................................... XII

INTERVIEW QUESTION ..................................................................................................................................... XII

APENDIX 5 ........................................................................................................................................................... XIII

Survey Questions ............................................................................................................................................ XIII

APPENDIX 6 ......................................................................................................................................................... XIV

REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................................................... XVII

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BUSINESS SYSTEM AND ORGANIZATION

BUSINESS MODEL

RVCR‟s business model is based on the simple concept of enabling one to own his portable
stainless steel cutlery set, consisting of a fork, spoon and a pair of foldable chopsticks, for the
purpose of personal hygiene and environment friendliness. This concept or trend even though
uncommon in Singapore, is widely common in Asian countries like Taiwan and even in First-
World countries like the USA. Our aim is to change the mindset of Singaporeans, especially
schools and, club and societies in universities in Singapore, and create awareness in Singapore
on personal hygiene and environmental friendliness. Our business strategy in selling these
portable stainless steel cutlery sets will be mainly through B2B (business-to-business) than B2C
(business-to-customer).

Figure 1 RVCR Business Model

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The management team is made up of the four founding members of the company who hold the
various key positions of the company. Even though some of the members hold two key positions,
the workload is still evenly spread and taken up since the singular key positions have a higher

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responsibility and as a result more workload attached to their position. The style of management
will be a cooperative one where each member does his specialized role as well as assist the other
members due to overlapping knowledge and expertise among the members. We will not partner
or recruit anymore members as we feel that we have the optimum number and any extra
workload can be shared or outsourced. Each member has an equal share to the company and
same remuneration. Any retained earnings will be pumped back into the company.

OPERATING LOCATION(S)

Our operations will be based mainly in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore
since we are based in this university. This will be a great advantage to us since almost one third
of our initial potential market comes from NTU and we can involve our business activities
directly. In terms of correspondence address and storage purposes, Veerappa Rajan‟s home
address will be used since he is the only Singaporean partner who has a permanent local
residence.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

RVCR is a knowledgeable and experienced team of four passionate and determined

entrepreneurs who are currently pursuing their undergraduate degrees in Nanyang Technological
University (NTU).

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 Figure 2 Management Team

MR. RITESH KALRA – CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO)

Ritesh Kalra is currently pursuing a degree in Computer Science and

minors in Business, Economics and Entrepreneurship. Being the Vice-
President, ValenWine 2009 and Honorary General Secretary 2008, and
the Project Manager for the Programming Languages Project, Database
Management System Project and Computing Innovation & Design
Project has given him great opportunities to exercise his leadership
abilities, management and organizational skills. His diverse personality and extremely versatile
passions is reflected by the array of activities ranging from Taekwondo to Salsa. In NTU, he has
also gained valuable communication skills demonstrated by his involvement in Intervarsity
Debating Squad which also has strengthened his reasoning and analytical abilities including
Journalism. All these experiences and knowledge make Ritesh Kalra a capable and holistic CEO.

MR. CHARLIE TONG – CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER (COO)

Charlie Tong is currently pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering and

minors in Business and Entrepreneurship. His active involvement in
AIESEC, the world‟s largest youth organisation, as a Delegate Servicing

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Director for National Leadership Development Seminar 2008 and Organizing Committee for
Exchange Participant Recruitment Drive have given him invaluable knowledge and experience
to be the COO. He is currently the Organizing Committee President of AIESEC Singapore
National Leadership & Development Seminar, the largest event for AIESEC Singapore which
will be attended by more than 200 delegates from 21 countries. He was also the top sales person
while working for Newstead Technologies. All these will gear Charlie Tong to be the best at
what he does.

MR. ROHIT JHA – CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (CFO) & CHIEF TECHNICAL
OFFICER (CTO)

Rohit Jha is currently pursuing a degree in Electrical and

Electronic Engineering and minors in Entrepreneurship and
Computing. A former accounts and finance intern in
Transport Nagar Trust and with relevant knowledge and
experience in minor in Entrepreneurship, he is well posed to
be the CFO of the company. In NTU, he is the President of
IEEE NTU Student Branch Island Wide Quiz Contest 2010 and the Key Director under the
Students' Union Media and IT executive committee. He is also a Developer for Microsoft and a
Beta-Tester for Google. Currently, he is in the process of being nominated for the Tah Kah Kee
Young Inventor's Award for his software for tracking movement of real-time objects using
lasers. All these achievements in IT speak for themselves on why he is also the best choice for
CTO. Entrepreneurship for him is something which has provided him a path to discover his
capabilities and dreams, and with this start-up, he will be able to fulfil and achieve them.

MR. VEERAPPA RAJAN – CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER (CMO)

Veerappa Rajan is is currently pursuing a degree in Mechanical

Engineering and a minor in Entrepreneurship. As a police officer
from Singapore Police Force who was involved with basic

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operations and management, and a contract staff of credit card operations in HSBC Singapore
Operations Centre (SOC), he had acquired an in-depth knowledge on organization and
management, due to the versatile working experiences from both government and private sector,
which makes him the most suitable for the primary job of CAO. In NTU, he holds the position of
Public Relations (PR) Head in Leadership Development Programme (LDP) in his faculty. He is
also the Director of Business Development for NTU Investment Interactive Club (NTU-IIC).
These positions in university enable him to address his secondary job as a CMO. With a passion
for entrepreneurship since secondary school and even a taste of a small scale business start-up,
which reaped profits of $125%, in junior college, he is an asset to the team and the company.

PRODUCTS

PORTABLE CUTLERY SETS

Inspired by the culture in Taiwan where citizens have their own portable cutlery sets, our team
decided to sell portable cutlery sets. Our main business concept is to create the awareness of the
adverse effects to the environment and personal health and hygiene of using disposable cutleries.
The portable cutlery sets that we are intending to bring into the market will be a perfect solution
to the problem.

All the portable cutlery sets sold by us will be made of stainless steel. Stainless steel cutlery sets
are resisting to rusting and chemical reactions. It is more durable and lasting and it will not
deform under hot temperature.

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Our products are categorized into 3 categories according to the price range. Besides that, there
are various combinations of cutlery sets and different design for the casing for aesthetic
appearance. See Appendix 1 for full product range.

SUPPLIERS

Currently, we are looking into collaborating with suppliers in Taiwan. Both Taiwan and China
have companies producing products at relatively low cost. However, the suppliers in Taiwan
appeared to be more credible and professional. The minimum orders from suppliers in Taiwan
are way lesser than China which is a crucial decision making aspect to ensure that we have a
healthy cash flow. Besides that the suppliers from Taiwan are able to provide us with more
variety of goods which are more appealing to youth and professionals.

VALUE CREATION

With portable cutlery sets, consumers are able to ensure the hygiene level of the cutleries they
use and be socially responsible at the same time.

Our products are welcomed by the food operators as well. With the introduction of our
campaigns and products, there will be less cost for the food vendors to purchase disposable
cutleries and hiring cleaners to clean the cutleries. We have talked to the manager of Canteen A
and he is willing to work together with us to support our idea.

COMPETITOR PRODUCTS

In the market currently, Daiso is selling similar products.

However, the product is made of plastic which might not be
durable and safe to use at all times. With no proper awareness
campaign, consumers are not fully aware of the benefits of using
the portable cutlery sold and also the negative impacts on the
consumers and environment. The packaging of the products is

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designed with colorful cartoons which might not be appealing to general consumers even their
product is priced at S$2.

KEY TO SUCCESS

Even though our products create value to our consumers, the product might not be selling well
due to the perception and receptiveness of consumers. Appropriate awareness campaign must be
launch together with our potential partners, i.e. Canteen A management team as well as other
canteens within NTU. Besides awareness, projects such providing discounts to consumer during
“Bring your own cutleries day!” are crucial in pushing our business idea to be a successful one.

MARKET AND COMPETITION

Our target customers are university students from the three local universities in Singapore, which
are NUS, NTU and SMU, and the total combined university student population is an estimated
74,000 in 2009, according to a report in Singapore Statistics. Our marketing strategy is to sell our
products through selective university clubs and societies, which we project to have memberships
of at least of 100 and will organize prominent activities or events which will have a minimum
participation of 500 students for each activity or event. Hence, we foresee that even in the worst
case scenario, if we secure only 4 clubs and societies for each university and we assume that the
outreach is only an estimated 50% for one activity or event, for a minimum of two events
organized per six months, there will be about 7,200 potential university students. Our target
number is 4,400 within the first six months of 2010, which is only about 60% of the total
potential university students and tallies with our survey response of 65.2% for those who were
interested in our product.

CUSTOMER ANALYSIS

Our distribution channel through which we will sell our products is local universities‟ clubs and
societies. Our reasoning for choosing these distribution channels is for their reliable university
student database and ease of accessibility to potential university students through activities and

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events. From our verbal and online surveys with university students, we managed to find out that
the following criteria were important for the potential university student:

 Convenience – the ease of carrying the product with no hassle.

 Appeal – has an attractive appearance so that it boosts the image of the consumer.

 Customization – the ability to personalize the product so that it is unique.

From the analysis of our product, we realize that our product meets all these criteria.

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

We have identified two types of competitors. A direct competitor (Daiso Industries Co Ltd)
selling similar products as RVCR. Some indirect competitors (suppliers of wooden chopsticks,
plastic forks and plastic spoons) selling substitute products.

 Daiso Industries Co Ltd: This is a Japanese mega store which sells retail merchandise
and has stores worldwide with five in Singapore. Even though they sell a great variety of
cheap products, including portable plastic cutlery set, the quality of the product is of
doubt and there is a very limited variety for such a product.

 Suppliers of wooden chopsticks, plastic forks and plastic spoons: These are a group of
individual companies selling individual cutleries made of cheap and fragile material for
one-off use. Even though the selling price is very cheap due to low input costs and
economics of scale for mass production, the quality of the product is again questionable
and since most of the time these products are for one-off use, they are not
environmentally-friendly leading to more pollution.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

RVCR has the following unique and sustainable competitive advantages:

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  Distribution Channel – University students nowadays are not only concerned about
academics and sports only but also on appeal and society. They want to look or possess
items that are attractive as well as do not harm the environment. Moreover, an ever-
increasing number of university students stay in campus where they do not have the
convenience of their own cutlery and need something that looks trendy and can be carried
„on-the-go‟.

 Support of Universities’ Clubs & Societies – More and more students actively engage
themselves in clubs and societies so as to have a holistic university life. Using these clubs
and societies as a platform, we are able to achieve effective direct selling.

 Attachment of a Social Cause – Unlike our competitors who sell their products with a
motive of profit, we have instilled a cause for social awareness and as a result, added
value to the product we are selling.

 Student Network – Being undergraduates ourselves, we have direct contacts with fellow
university students and universities‟ clubs and societies. Moreover, we have certain
advantages and privileges when it comes to get approval and cooperation from the
universities‟ management and administration.

MARKETING AND SALES

Within a year, we see RVCR becoming an established organization in Singapore for portable
cutlery. Thus, to ensure our uninterrupted growth we need to concentrate on our marketing and
sales in Singapore.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

There are very few businesses in Singapore providing such a product in which the biggest
provider is Daiso Industries Co Ltd. However, unlike our stainless steel cutlery sets, their
products are very limited and their products are of cheap quality plastics which are not too
environmentally friendly. With our intensive networking, our team managed to get quotations

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from a few Taiwan-based companies who directly manufacture these products. We hope to
partner one of these companies and benefit our partner company with the following benefits:

INTENSIVE MARKETING

Since we are a new start-up, marketing our products and publicizing our company is very
important. We plan do to these through various marketing strategies discussed in this business
plan. As a result, we create publicity for our partner company and the products and services
provided.

HUGE CUSTOMER DATABASE

As our initial target customers are university students, we will enable our partner company
access to the three local universities – NUS, NTU and SMU – which have a combined total
population of more than 74,000.

SOCIAL RECOGNITION

We will be selling the product with a social agenda of personal hygiene and environmental-
friendliness, and by being part of our cause, the partner company can practice Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) which adds value to the organization and boosts the image of the company.

Within a year, we see RVCR becoming an established organization in Singapore for portable
cutlery. Thus, to ensure our uninterrupted growth we need to concentrate on our marketing and
sales in Singapore.

PROMOTION AND ADVERTISING

We plan to launch our awareness campaign at the time of our product launch in the month of
January so as to supplement the usage and usefulness of our portable cutlery. The awareness
campaign would unfold in the following manner:

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  AIESEC and EarthLink together have an environmental drive in the month of our
product launch. EarthLink’s Environmental Drive would be our flagship event for our
product where we explain the emphasis of personal hygiene and the environmental
concerns over the conventional cutlery usage.

 Getting NTU’s CCO and NTUSU to support our portable cutlery campaign by providing
students with our products as gifts given as part of goodie bags during various orientation
and club activities.

 Stylish customization of external casing including creative, original designs and the
attractive RVCR logo.

 Applying guerilla marketing techniques such as implementation of a “Bring your Own

Cutlery Day” which could help in bringing awareness amongst the people towards our
product and its benefits.

 Apart from the above mentioned techniques, we would also be setting up conventional
virtual channels like RVCR website, blog, Twitter and Facebook.

PRICING TECHNIQUES

Product Category Product Description Price Range

Economic Series Consists of normal Stainless S$ 0-5

Steel cutlery with translucent
plastic covering. Presence of
RVCR logo and customizing
not allowed.

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 Cool Series Consists of normal Stainless S$ 5-10
Steel cutlery with plastic and
non-plastic covering.
Customizing allowed along
with RVCR logo.

Business Series Consists of Chromium Steel S$ 10-15

cutlery with plastic and non-
plastic covering. Customizing
allowed along with/without
RVCR logo.

The differential pricing technique has been developed by RVCR so as to cater to different needs
of our customers (which may vary depending on income, etc.).Refer to Appendix 1 for product
catalogue

TIMING

IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE

The implementation schedule of RVCR is mainly categorized into:

i. Growth Strategy
ii. Timeline Projection

GROWTH STRATEGY

Our venture will achieve growth by establishing a nationwide awareness campaign about the
health, hygiene and our environment which would in turn be crucial to the sales of our product.
We aim to spread the word through the student community first with the help of AIESEC,

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EARTHLINK, NTU STUDENTS‟ UNION & other NTU official channels. After the success of
our product and our campaign has been established here in NTU, then we aim to move onto other
universities and food outlets in Singapore.

Figure 3 Demand Projection

We plan to start selling our product from January with the onset of the 2 nd semester in NTU. An
initial demand of 100 has been projected from the data we obtained by asking a few vendors
selling products in our price range which suggested that on an average around 30 units of such
product can be sold per day. Moreover this would be the month when this product would be
launched in NTU via events organized by EarthLink, AIESEC, etc and also via regular B2C
booth setting-up by our company. There is an expected spike in the numbers during the month of
February and March because it is the prime season for various club activities and also students
are the most active during these months. The fall in numbers during the next few months are the
indication of the onset of examinations followed by a long-term vacation.

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 MILESTONES AND TIMELINE PROJECTION

Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April May June

Task 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Market Research
Liaising with suppliers
Liaising with potential customers
Liaising with Autorities in NTU
Preparation of publicity materials
Sourcing for fundings
Launch our awareness campaign
Product Launch
Product Sustainability
Product restock
Liaising with NUS
Liaising with SMU

Figure 4 Timeline

The orange color represents the part of the timeline that has been covered while the Black color
represents things left for us to do.

MARKET RESEARCH AND LIAISING WITH SUPPLIERS

This includes us looking at survey results, going around interviewing people ranging from NTU
officials to club committee members to normal university students, calling up suppliers from
Taiwan and China to get their quotations on the product.

LIAISING WITH POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS AND NT U AUTHORITIES

Liaising with NTU authorities including getting permission from SAO to talk to canteens in
NTU and also talk to the Corporate Communications Office regarding introducing our product as
an official gift given by NTU to its students. Our potential customers to whom we would be
talking to are listed below:

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SOURCING FOR FUNDING

This includes looking out for capital injection from other sources like non-profit organizations,
environmental and health agencies and SPRING Singapore (in case we went into registering our
business legally).

LAUNCH OF OUR AWARENESS CAMPAIGN, PRODUC T LAUNCH & SUSTAINABILITY

One week before the launch of our product in January, we plan to launch our awareness
campaign about health, hygiene and environment in collaboration with entities like our school
canteen and other clubs and societies in NTU. This would be succeeded by our product launch
and the sales of product would be continued throughout the period mentioned under
sustainability. During this period we also plan to bring in more related products if we can.

PRODUCT RESTOCKS

This has to be done on a regular basis so as to ensure that the supply of our product meets the
demand arising from its sales. Since, shipping generally takes about a month, we plan to restock
as soon as we hit half of our inventory (depending also on the current demand and the revised
projected demand at that point of time).

LIAISING WITH NUS AND SMU

Later, like any other business, we plan to expand into other markets which include NUS and
SMU. With the profits from our sales, we plan to reach out to the student community in these
and other academic institutions across Singapore.

SHORT TERM OBJECTIVES AND GOALS

1. Make every Wednesday “Bring your own cutleries day!”

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 RVCR short term goal would be to bring in more awareness about the product to the
student population in NTU. Our product would help the students’ realize the importance of
Hygiene in their daily life. We aim to make Wednesday to be known for “Bring your own
cutleries day”. This would be beneficial to the product we are selling and also would help to
spread the awareness about the product.

2. Have an outreach of 4000 by the end of March and 6000 by the end of June for our
awareness campaign.

RVCR aims to reach at least 4000 students by the end of March and 6000 by the end of
June. This goal is important for us to sell our product so that more and more students can
know and be aware about our product and its importance in their daily life.

3. Breakeven within two months of sale.

We do not only make people aware of the product but also believe in bringing in profits to
the Company. RVCR would be breaking even within two months of its sale of the product
and this would help it to grow and prosper.

4. Able to issue cash back by June.

After investing a start-up of $1200 in the Company, the founders aim to get their cash back
by the end of June. This guarantees that RVCR is an healthy investments.

OPPORTUNITIES AND RISK

PORTER’S 5 ANALYSIS

Issues Risk Possible solutions

Level

Supplier 1) Need to purchase in large High 1) Negotiate to be

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Power quantities sole distributor
with supplier in
2) Suppliers are based
Singapore
overseas, difficulty in
negotiating 2) Form agreement
with suppliers for
long term
quotation

Consumer 1) Consumers are slightly Low 1) Launching

Power price sensitive campaigns
together with
2) Unable to purchase large
influential parties
quantities
(e.g. AIESEC,
3) Buyer‟s incentive is high Earthlink, NTU)

4) Considered untouched
market

Threat of 1) Portable cutleries High 1) Form

Substitution collaboration with
2) Cutleries provided by
canteen vendors
vendors
and operators to
3) Consumers choose to eat provide benefit for
without cutleries consumers using
our products.
4) Stalls having more food
without using cutleries to
consume

Barrier to 1) Low start up cost High 1) Getting support

Entry from NTU.

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 2) Government policy is anti 2) Form huge
monopoly in the market extensive network
with major student
clubs and provide
them with
incentives

Rivalry 1) Daiso selling similar Medium 1) Our product are

product more superior in
terms of design
and quality.

2) We are leveraging
on the student
networks from
student clubs to
capture market
share.

3) Our product
pricing will be
based on
competitive
pricing

OPPORTUNITIES

We will be the pioneer in launching massive campaigns on the usage of portable cutleries. This
might enable us to build up our brand name and also have a foothold in the market before other

18
competitors in launching products. As this product is not widely available in Singapore and there
are few suppliers in Singapore, we might be able to be the sole supplier to vendors in Singapore
interested in selling these products.

RISKS

Besides the risk identified using Porter‟s 5 analysis, we might be having problem with cash flow
since our initial startup capital is relatively low. This will also hinder the growth rate of our
business and we might be wiped out by our competitors if we are unable to provide the supply
according to demand.

One way to minimize such risk is to negotiate for credit terms for payment with suppliers or be
their sole distributor instead of reselling the products. To increase our credibility, our company
will look into the possibility of forming partnership with more established companies or entities.
Besides that it is crucial for us to collect cash once our product sold to other vendors or school
clubs.

FINANCIAL PLANNING AND FINANCING

RVCR expects to attract 9,825 customers and sales of S$ 49,125 by the end of 1 st year. We
estimate a net profit after tax of S$15,795.

FINANCIAL RATIOS

 With a profit margin of 32%, RVCR is able to generate a healthy projected gross profit
margin of 60%.
 A ROA (return on assets) figure of 92.9% in the 1st year of operation of RVCR shows
our ability to generate profits by utilizing its assets efficiently.
 A positive ROE (return on equity) figure of 92.93% in the first year shows RVCR„s
ability to provide high return to stakeholders.

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BREAKEVEN ANALYSIS

Variable Unit Cost =S $0

Fixed Cost = S$19,650

Expected Unit Sales = 9,825

Price per Unit = S$5

Total Revenue = S$49,125

Total Variable Costs = S$0

Gross Profit = S$29,475

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EXIT STRATEGY

Being a start-up, RVCR might face a lot of uncertainties and we need an efficient exit strategy to
tackle the uncertain and risks involved in the business cycle. We base our exit strategy on the
amount of sales that RVCR make at the end of three months. Sales are directly related to the
revenue and hence profits.

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If our sale in the first three months exceeds 80% of the total inventory, we would be expanding
our business and would increase our sales in the subsequent months. Thereafter, we shall
register our business as a Legal Entity under Accounting and Corporate Regulatory authority of
Singapore (ACRA) and therefore would be a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP).

If our sales turn out be unexpected that is less than 50%, we will stop further orders of
inventories and would focus on clearing the inventories. We would be willing to sell the left
over inventory at a discount price or would look for alternative markets to sell them. By forth,
we will liquidate RVCR and would exit the market by the end of seven months.

The last option being that if our sales lie between 50% and 80%, we will reconsider the business
plan and would change the strategy to tackle the market. We also will focus on marketing and
would re-project the demand of the product. We would start looking into taking calculated risks
and would sell the product at a subsidized rate. Thereafter, we will be testing the market and
would re-evaluate the plans.

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APPENDIX 1

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 APPENDIX 2

INCOME STATEMENT

ACCRUAL BASIS
RVCR INCOME STATEMENT FOR YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2010

MONTHS NOTES Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Net Sales A 1,500 5000 6000 4500 3500 1500 500 625 7500 7500 5000 6000 49,125
Less Cost of goods sold
COGS including shipping B 600 2000 2400 1800 1400 600 200 250 3000 3000 2000 2400 19,650

Gross Profit 900 3000 3600 2700 2100 900 300 375 4500 4500 3000 3600 29,475
Gross Profit Margin 0.60 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6

Less Operating Expenses:

Salary & Wages C 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 9,600
Logistics Expenses 30 30 50 50 30 30 30 30 50 50 30 40 450
Rental Expenses - 100 100 0 0 0 0 0 100 100 100 100 600
Entertainment - 0 0 0 50 50 50 0 0 0 0 50 200
Travel Expenses 40 20 20 40 20 10 10 10 40 40 10 20 280
Advertising 500 300 100 100 50 0 0 0 500 300 200 100 2150
Other operating expenses 200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 0 0 100 400

Income before tax (670) 1,750 2,530 1,710 1,150 10 (590) (465) 2,910 3,210 1,860 2,390 15,795
Less Income tax expense D - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Net Income after tax (670) 1,750 2,530 1,710 1,150 10 (590) (465) 2,910 3,210 1,860 2,390 15,795

IV
 CASHFLOW STATEMENT

RVCR
Cash Flow Statement for the year ended 31 December 2010

MONTHS NOTES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 TOTAL

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Cash Inflows :
Sales A 1,500 5,000 6,000 4,500 3,500 1,500 500 625 7,500 7,500 5,000 6,000 49,125
Pay In Capital (Capital Injection) 1200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,200

Total Cash Inflow 2,700 5,000 6,000 4,500 3,500 1,500 500 625 7,500 7,500 5,000 6,000 50,325

Cash Outflows :
COST OF SALES
Cost Of Goods Sold
Cost of Portable Utensils B 600 2000 2400 1800 1400 600 200 250 3000 3000 2000 2400 19,650
SALES AND MARKETING ACTIVITIES
Entertainment 0 0 0 0 50 50 50 0 0 0 0 50 200
Travel Expenses 40 20 20 40 20 10 10 10 40 40 10 20 280
Advertising 500 300 100 100 50 0 0 0 500 300 200 100 2,150
ADMINSTRATIVE AND OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Rental Expenses 0 100 100 0 0 0 0 0 100 100 100 100 600
Logistic Expenses 30 30 50 50 30 30 30 30 50 50 30 40 450
Salaries and Wages C 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 9,600
Other operating expenses 200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 0 0 100 400
FINANCE ACTIVITIES
Finance Expense
Income tax expense D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total Cash Outflow 2170 3250 3470 2790 2350 1490 1090 1090 4590 4290 3140 3610 33,330

Net increase in cash 530 1,750 2,530 1,710 1,150 10 -590 -465 2,910 3,210 1,860 2,390 16,995
Beginning cash balance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ending cash balance 530 1,750 2,530 1,710 1,150 10 -590 -465 2,910 3,210 1,860 2,390 16,995

V
 BALANCE SHEET

RVCR BALANCE SHEET ON YEAR 2010

NOTES MONTHS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 TOTAL

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

ASSETS :
Current Assets
Cash and Cash Equivalents 530 1,750 2,530 1,710 1,150 10 (590) (465) 2,910 3,210 1,860 2,390 16,995

Non-current Assets - - - - - - - - - - - -

Intangible Assets - - - - - - - - - - - -

TOTAL ASSETS 530 1,750 2,530 1,710 1,150 10 (590) (465) 2,910 3,210 1,860 2,390 16,995

Current Liabilities

Income tax payable - - - - - - - - - - - -

Non-current liabilities - - - - - - - - - - - -

TOTAL LIABILITIES E - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Owners' Equity :
Pay In Capital 1,200 - - - - - - - - - - - 1,200
Retained earnings (670) 1,750 2,530 1,710 1,150 10 (590) (465) 2,910 3,210 1,860 2,390 15,795

TOTAL EQUILTY 530 1,750 2,530 1,710 1,150 10 (590) (465) 2,910 3,210 1,860 2,390 16,995

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY 530 1,750 2,530 1,710 1,150 10 (590) (465) 2,910 3,210 1,860 2,390 16,995

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NOTES :
A. Sales Assumed based on Demand Projection
B. Cost of Goods Sold including shipping is assumed to be $2
C. Salaries is assumed to be 200$/Month for each of the four management members
D. Incomes Tax is zero : Zero Corporate tax for new Singapore companies on the first 100K annual
profits for the first 3 years
E. Liability is assumed to be zero Cash Payments

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APPENDIX 3

ARTICLE 1

Figure 5 Extracted from http://www.nownews.com/2005/10/07/91-1853635.htm

ARTICLE 2

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Figure 6 Extracted from http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2639.html

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ARTICLE 3

Figure 7 Extracted from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/426316/1/.html

ARTICLE 4

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Figure 8 Extracted from http://www.recyclingpoint.com.sg/Articles/1991sep-Singaporegovernmentleadscampaign.htm

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APPENDIX 4

INTERVIEW QUESTION

Rohit Jha in conversation with Mr.Tan , Manager of Canteen A Food Court

Date : 23/10/2009
Time: 5:00 PM
Q. Have you ever heard of portable cutlery?
A. Yes.Actually I have been to Taiwan and I have seen that its kind of a culture there to carry
one's own personal set of forks,spoons and chop-sticks.This has helped in increasing the sense of
hygiene there.
Q. Do you believe that NTU canteens are very health and hygiene conscious ?
A. Well, I don't exactly know about hall canteens in general but in case of this food court, we
take great precaution towards the maintenance of clean and healthy eating environments. These
include proper washing of cutlery and plates, cleaning of tables periodically,etc. I am sure in
other canteens also they follow a similar norm so as to keep our students healthy and fit.
Q. We are planning in implementing the usage of portable cutlery in NTU so as to ensure better
hygiene and a sustainable green environment. Do you think this would be receptive by the NTU
population? How do you currently manage cutlery?

A.First of all, I think that it would be difficult on your part to get people habituated to using
personal cutlery items as people in Singapore generally are not accustomed to such an
idea.Probably your idea of approaching it from the "Go Green" side and personal hygiene side,
might just be the crowd puller.Currently, we employ a few people to wash the cutlery and dishes
as soon as they have been used and then to send it back to the individual stall owners.Non-
washable cutlery consists of wooden chopsticks and plastic spoons, forks and knives which are
generally provided free of cost to the person buying.

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APENDIX 5

SURVEY QUESTIONS

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APPENDIX 6

AGREEMENT BETWEEN

<COMPANY NAME>

AND

RVCR

ON DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS AND CONDITIONS

1. Representations

RVCR has it‟s base located in Singapore and <company name> agrees to enter into this
agreement for the distributorship rights of our product. RVCR holds all rights and <company
name> has to fully comply with the terms and conditions set by RVCR.

2. Term

All terms stated in this agreement shall last for 3 years and is effective, upon signed by both
parties, immediately. Termination of contract can only be effective by mutual consent.

3. Grants of Rights

RVCR hereby grants to <company name> the exclusive right, based on the terms and conditions
in this agreement, to purchase, promote and sell our product in their retail store. RVCR will also
reserve the rights to sell our product directly to customers in the market.

<company name>’s minimum obligations to RVCR:

1. <company name> has to purchase XXX units from RVCR in the first year and XXX units in
the second year and XXX units in the third year.

2. <company name> has to meet the sales quota of YYY units, set by RVCR, in the first year and
YYY units in the second year and subsequently YYY units in the third year.

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3. <company name> has to train a sales team to promote and advertise our product in various
modes. The employed salesperson will have to do direct sales to the market.

4. <company name> agrees to collaborate with RVCR to promote X-MuTes in campaigns and
promotions. XXX represents the number of units purchased by <company name>, YYY
represents the number of units <company name> needs to sell, to meet the sales quota.

4. Payment

A credit period of 30 days will be granted to <company name>

5. Inspection of Books and Records

RVCR shall reserve the rights to inspect the goods of <company name>‟s warehouse and verify
the sales and distribution figures of the record book.

6. Termination

Termination of contract can be carried out upon mutual agreement by RVCR and <company
name>. In the event either party is found responsible in fraudulence activity, doctoring of
accounts or not complying to terms acknowledged on in this agreement, contract may be
terminated with a compensation fee of SGD$500,000.

7. Resolution of Disputes

Any forms of dispute arises pertaining to any issues will be resolved under the Dispute
Resolution Policy in Singapore.

8. Notice

Both parties are to have a hard copy of this agreement and this contract shall be valid under the
laws of the Republic of Singapore.

Agreed:

To RVCR

____________________________________________ Date _________________________

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CEO

RVCR

To <company name>

____________________________________________ Date _________________________

XXX

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REFERENCES

University population statistics (highlighted in yellow): Retrieved non 10th Nov, 2009
http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/reference/yos09/statsT-education.pdf

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