Halo Application Document

In order to assess your company in the process to select which companies pitch to Halo, we require 2 documents : 1. This document filled in as completely as possible 2. Our terms and conditions document signed • • • • • • • The information in this document is designed to follow a similar structure to that required for a full pitch to Halo. This means that, if you are selected to go further, you will already have started the process of generating your pitch There will be opportunities later to modify anything you have stated here including financials. At this stage we just need sufficient information to decide whether to select your company Please fill in the contact slide and the following 12 slides with the information requested. Simply replace the questions on each slide with your information. There will be plenty of opportunity later to add further information Please keep any graphics to an absolute minimum at this stage Please do not add any extra slides to this pack at this application stage Do not add any further documents or files to this document It is difficult to put a lot of information on PowerPoint slides, this is deliberate as we do not want too much at this stage of the process 1

Treat This as Word!!

• At this stage we don’t want a presentation!

• Please treat this document as if it was a Word document • We want text which answers the questions, not slides for a presentation • We do this in Powerpoint to get you thinking in terms of the 12 slides you will be doing in the future should you be selected to pitch

Contact Slide

Please provide the following information : • Full company name • Company legal status (Ltd company, sole trader etc) including company number and VAT number of it exists • Date this company commenced trading • Are you a subsidiary of another company?

• Company registered legal address • Actual trading address if different including

land line

contact numbers, fax and website 3

1 - Business positioning statement

• One-sentence “what we do” statement (positioning or elevator pitch) • Name of main contact for Halo in the company with full contact information • What you want i.e. state the amount of money you want from Halo angels • Your timescale – when do you need the money and why then?

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2 – The Need

– The problem you solve and who needs it

Describe the ‘the pain the world feels’ and which you are going to solve. Also indicate the

size

of the market. You may need to mention your solution/product, but leave the detail for the next slide.

Note this slide describes the ‘problem’ and then next slide answers this with the ‘solution’.

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3 - Solution

– Product + Core Benefit

Clearly explain your product/service, what it is that customers will be buying. This is the solution to the problem in the previous slide.

Describe the benefit delivered, justifying the cost of the whole solution

vs

the expected benefits 6

4 - Competition

– Who they are and your defences

Who are your main competitors? State their sales turnover, or other indicators of size if available (eg market share) What IP or other protection do you have?

If you have patents etc, clearly state what stage they are at and what countries they apply to 7

5 – Route to Market -

How your customers will find and buy your product Now we want to know your route to market. You’ve shown the problem, you’ve shown your solution – now show

how

you will get it to people who will pay for it. Highlight any existing sales including try-outs etc where the users have not paid.

How will this be sold eg dealers, direct sales, direct web etc. State who you have approached to sell your product – if anyone and any agreements in place It may be useful to state your price here compared to competitors.

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6 - Business Strategy

– How you plan to grow beyond launch

Describe the 3-5 year goal of the business. Include your projected sales revenue in year 5 as this is a key figure for investors.

Give some key steps or milestones along the way When will you achieve positive cash flow Explain the product development status ie if it is not fully developed, state exactly what stage it is at Identify major development risks or challenges Describe any key business relationships either technical or sales/marketing 9

7 - Financial Projections

Provide a P&L similar to the one below, summary form at this stage. Note that most angels will go straight to the year 5 figures so it is important to give these.

FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS (£k) Yr to now YR 1 YR 2 YR 3 YR 4 YR 5 NEW CUSTOMERS UNITS SHIPPED REVENUES GROSS PROFIT OR GROSS MARGIN % CASHFLOW CUMULATIVE CASH

State clearly the current indebtedness of the company. You don’t need to include normal working overdraft here, but you must show longer terms debts eg older trade creditors, bank loans etc.

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8 - Funding

– Amount , sources, use of funds and share table

For this proposed funding round state clearly : • Restate the total amount you seek from Halo angels •All sources and amounts of funding for this round and the major uses proposed for these funds eg development, paying off existing debts etc • Include grants eg INI and their current state eg agreed/applied for etc • Include any bank or other sources of funding • Are you eligible under EIS or say if you don’t know what this is As the company is at present ie before this round state clearly : • All existing investment in the company including all the sources • Please state what the owners have invested in the company both in hard cash and ‘in kind’ eg time worked unpaid • Set out the current share ownership in a share table. You must list all current shareholders giving the % owned for each 11

Clearly state that all IP relevant to the company is owned by the company.

9 - Management

– relevant experience

Set out who are the key members of the team. Show any experience which is

relevant

to the business Also state any key gaps in the team Any people lined up to join later Please don’t be tempted to ‘fill up’ this slide with junior people 12

10 - Milestones

– major milestones from now until exit

You do not need to fill in this slide at present.

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11 - Exit Strategy

– acquisition or IPO

Angels invest for capital gain. State how you think they will ‘exit’ eg by a trade sale of the company Identify any likely buyers or types of buyers you know at present Explain why they would be interested Describe any existing relationships which may help 14

12 – Call to Action

You do not need to fill in this summary slide at present 15

Now Sign the Terms and Conditions Document

Please sign the separate legal document agreeing to our terms and conditions. We need a signature on this and your application is not valid unless both Legal and Application Documents are signed.

We accept signatures on paper and also scanned documents returned to us electronically.

Please return these to : Halo NI Science Park The Innovation Centre Queen’s Road, Queen’s Island Belfast BT3 9DT [email protected]

02890737800 16