BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION
1.4 The Need for and App to Compliment
1.5 What is Rippled?
2.0- HOW IT WORKS
2.1 Student Activation/Log In
2.2 Teacher Activation/Log In
2.3 Parent Activation/Log In
4.2 Major App Markets and Educational Category
4.3 The App Gap
4.5 Conclusion
6.0- MARKETING PLAN
6.4 Continued Promotions
9.6 Pricing
10.3 PBIS Data
1.0 Why Rippled?
The idea behind Rippled was based on the PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Support) program which is currently being implemented in thousands of schools nationwide and gaining popularity and momentum. The main framework of PBIS includes rewarding students for good behavior. Rippled provides a digitized way to execute this program at a secondary level, replacing the elementary system currently being used. Rippled gamifies the PBIS rewards system, creating an engaging and valuable platform for teachers, students, and parents.
2.0 How It Works
The Rippled management system has three interfaces - teacher, student, and parent. The student creates a customized avatar and is able to monitor the coins rewarded, or taken away, in each class. The student can claim a reward or enter a raffle from a mobile or stationary device. The teacher is able to organize the avatars into a customized seating chart and give (or take away) coins as needed. Additionally, the teacher platform includes the ability to add individual notes for a student, post notifications for the entire class, and manage classroom rewards. Teachers can post a raffle, activate it, and randomly select a winner. All the while, parents can log in to track their students behavior, view rewards earned, and monitor comments from the teacher.
3.0 Competition and Matrix
Since Rippled is a management system, it includes various features. Some of these features are currently offered in apps individually, but not packaged as a system. Thus, we compared Rippled to the top apps in all the categories offered from Rippled, including seating chart creators, classroom management apps, and edutainment apps (apps for education). Rippled has created a niche in the secondary market, gamifying the behavior rewards system. There is no other option on the market that offers all the features available in Rippled.
4.0 Industry & Market Analysis
The use of mobile apps and mobile devices continues to increase. The education category dominates the app market – ranking first in the Google Play store and third in Apple’s App store. However, it is mostly dominated by apps targeting the elementary market and very few exist for secondary students, Jr. High and High School. Rippled was designed for the teenage market. The idea was quantified by administering two surveys on campus. The data showed that both teachers and students agreed that the current implementation of PBIS is very juvenile and more appropriate for primary grades. They agreed a digital, mobile app system would be more engaging, beneficial, and useful - and the majority said they are willing and ready to try it out and apply it in the classrooms.
5.0 Target Market
The target market is segmented into three phases - a progressive approach to systematically reach over 20,000 sites nationwide. In phase one, Rippled will target all secondary schools/districts currently implementing the PBIS system within a 20 mile radius of the headquarters in Covina, Ca. In phase 2, the market will expand to the entire state, including over 800 schools.  In Phase 3, the focus expands eastward, covering the rest of the nation. This approach will allow for a focused and intentional effort and the ability to work with the customer toward a successful implementation and promote positive feedback and reviews.
6.0 Marketing Plan
Rippled is scheduled to go to market in August 2016. A press kit will be sent to all sites within the initial target market, including flyers and business cards to help generate interest. Social media and word of mouth will be the main focus of promotion along with attendance at the annual CUE technology conference.
7.0 Operations
Schools will contract with Rippled on an individual basis, due to the fact that the pricing is relative to the school size. Once a contract is in place, the school will receive their access codes for the parent and students to begin activating their accounts. A simple form will be given to the school to hand out to assist with this process. Teachers will activate their accounts by using their school ID generated from their school’s grade system. The Rippled sales team will go over the process with the leadership at the site/district to ensure successful implementation at the school sites. Rippled will continue to communicate with contracted schools on a quarterly basis and renew contracts on a yearly basis.
8.0 Management
Rippled was created by the Business Academy students at Charter Oak High School. The class is divided into five departments with an executive running the team and a class CEO managing overall operations.
9.0 Accounting
The startup costs are roughly $60,000, with a majority of the funds used for development. Funding will be gathered from three sources, initial investors, crowdfunding, and participation in startup accelerator events. Rippled will cost $2.00 per student, plus a $400 startup fee. Sales were forecasted to accommodate the seasonal nature of the school year and thus fluctuate on a monthly basis. Operating expenses are minimal, except for the ongoing cost to maintain the software and database. Overall, total revenue projected for Year 1 is about $115,000.00 with a total profit of $75,000.
1.0 Why Rippled?
1.0 Why Rippled?
Before we describe the details of the app, Rippled, it is important to understand the premise of the concept. Thus, it is imperative to define the acronym PBIS and explain how it relates to the inception of Rippled.
1.1 What is PBIS?
In the past, school-wide discipline has focused mainly on reacting to specific student misbehaviors by implementing punishment-based strategies including reprimands, loss of privileges, office referrals, suspensions, and expulsions. On the contrary, studies show that teaching behavioral expectations and rewarding students for following them is a much more positive proactive approach than waiting for misbehavior to occur before responding. Thus, the purpose of school-wide PBIS is to establish a climate in which appropriate behavior is the norm.
PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports and is a program currently being implemented nationwide in thousands of schools. The program encourages limiting suspensions and other harsh disciplinary measures in favor of positive intervention and reinforcement. It recognizes students following school wide behavior expectations and acknowledges and rewards that positive behavior by handing out tangible “reward tickets” to deserving students which can be redeemed for a myriad of items determined by the school site. Disruptive students are provided support through three levels of intervention (primary, secondary, and tertiary). Each level becomes more individual and involved, allowing schools to document progress before immediately inflicting expulsions/suspensions. In this way, students can see improvement rather than continuous punishment. Ultimately, the PBIS system is designed to enhance the school culture and improve the climate and environment by providing a contagious spirit for positive behaviors.
1.2 Implementation of PBIS
Schools undergo a process to implement the PBIS program. A school site team comprised of school officials, administrators, and/or teachers are required to attend a training seminar to learn about the program and identify basic rules for implementation. Clear goals for the students and their behavior is established, creating a “matrix” of expectations for the school. A system of rewards and interventions is also determined by the PBIS team. Then, the rules and regulations are introduced to the students and staff, so consistency among every class and area of the school is important. The implementation varies from school to school. Overall, the PBIS system provides the foundation and framework, while the schools implement it based on their individual needs.
For example, at our school, Charter Oak High School in Covina, Ca, PBIS was launched this past January. The matrix of expected behaviors was established, shared with students, and posted around school (see Appendix 10.1 - COHS Behavior Matrix). Charter Oak decided to utilize “Bolt Bucks” to recognize student behavior. Bolt Bucks are handed out all around campus by teachers, counselors, proctors, clerical staff, administrators, etc. The Bolt Bucks can be redeemed for various rewards determined by the PBIS team. (Appendix 10.2 - Sample PBIS Weekly Rewards List) Comment by Camille M. Strycula: Appenidx A: COHS Matrix Comment by Camille M. Strycula: place image of bolt buck here
Sample Bolt Buck
-Throw away trash -Use appropriate language
-Use computer and internet responsibly -Stay on Task/Assist a peer
-Arrive on time to school -Report inappropriate behavior
b. What can you get with your bolt bucks?
Students can redeem Bolt Bucks for various rewards, including school wide raffles or specified rewards organized by classroom. Students place a desired amount of tickets in school wide raffle or simply pay for priced items. The raffle is completed every Friday at lunch in the Quad. Individual classroom raffles are maintained by the teacher. Each teacher creates rewards that are beneficial to his/her students.
c. School Wide Rewards Offered:
-Prom/ homecoming ticket
-Junior lunch pass
-Grad night tickets
-Theme park tickets
d. Classroom Rewards Offered:
Figure 1: Annual total of schools using PBIS
*Teachers are permitted to raffle or reward any prize within the class
1.3 Increasing Popularity of PBIS
Over 20,000 schools are currently engaged in the adoption of PBIS (see Figure 1), a 150% increase from 2008 when there was roughly 8,000 schools (see Appendix 10.3 - PBIS data 2008). All 50 states, including Guam and Washington DC report some level of implementation (see Figure 2). Thirteen states are using the PBIS system in at least 600 schools, nine of those are implementing the program in over 1,000 schools. Every year since 2000 the number of schools participating has increased.
Additionally, assembly bill AB-1729 was approved by Jerry Brown on September 21, 2012, supporting and requiring a progressive behavior model (PBIS) to be used in education. The bill states, The Assembly Bill AB-1729, under the Pupil rights: suspension or expulsion: alternatives and other means of correction; expands school administrator authority to use alternative means of discipline before suspending or expelling students, including, but not limited to, counseling and an anger management program, for a pupil subject to discipline under this provision.” The PBIS program supports this bill by limiting suspensions and other harsh disciplinary measures in favor of positive intervention and reinforcement, using alternatives to suspension that are age appropriate and designed to address and correct the student's specific misbehavior and requiring suspension to be imposed only when alternative means of correction are not successful. Since the bill was signed, approximately 4,000 more schools began implementing the program. Schools are now required to show/prove how alternative means of discipline is being implemented and PBIS is the easy solution. Thus, the number of schools participating is expected to increase which increases potential revenue.
Figure 2: Statewide number of schools using PBIS
1.4 The Need for an App to Compliment
In order to implement the PBIS system schools must create a reward system, like the Bolt Bucks used at Charter Oak. This task is timely and laborious and seems to fit in better with elementary audiences. However, handing teenagers Bolt Bucks seems juvenile to both the students and the teachers. The concept is well liked and has proven to be well received by all stakeholders, but the need for a more mature, streamline system would benefit all secondary schools attempting to implement the program.
Currently, the only software available to implement PBIS is called PBIS Rewards and requires students to wear ID tags with lanyards throughout the school day to be scanned (with a required device) to distribute rewards. This system creates more work for the teacher and staff, is expensive to implement, and not surprisingly, the students are not excited about wearing ID tags all day.
Another, more popular app available for teachers to distribute behavior rewards is called Class Dojo. However, this app is designed specifically for the primary market, using monster avatars and a teacher platform that is not beneficial to the secondary teacher. Additionally, Class Dojo does not allow rewards and merely tracks the student's behavior. Thus, in order to implement the PBIS system as required, the Class Dojo app does not provide the necessary tools.
1.5 What is Rippled?
Rippled is a simple, user friendly, web based app, designed specifically for secondary teachers and students. It provides a digital platform to assist with the implementation of the PBIS behavior management system, removing the tedious and elementary concept of handing out paper money, while keeping the teenage market engaged and encouraged to participate in the program. Rippled keeps the teacher, students, and parents connected, improving and encouraging communication.
Teachers, students, and parents simply activate their account by entering the activation code provided by the school. Upon activation, students are prompted to create a customized avatar character. The interface for the student is a simple, single screen, showing a class list and points (or coins) accumulated in each class, any notifications from the teacher, and a rewards button that can be activated only by the teacher. The teacher is able to customize a seating chart and view the avatars of students as they log into the system. The teacher can make individual comments using digital notes, post notifications for the whole class, or give coins/take away coins for student behavior. At any point, the teacher can activate a raffle button to offer class rewards. Students decide how many coins they want to put into the raffle, and the teacher raffles a reward. The more points a student has, the better chance to obtain a reward. Additionally, parents will receive invitations to join so all recorded behaviors can be observed by the parent/guardian. This system provides a virtual, age appropriate PBIS system that both the teacher and student will enjoy.
Rippled is priced as an annual subscription, $400 for startup and $2.00 per student, targeting all schools implementing the PBIS system. The details of the app features and functionality is described in Section 2.0.
2.0 How It Works
3.0 Competition
3.0 Competition
So, how does Rippled size up against the competition? Rippled offers many features bundled into the management system, whereas, competing products offer these features separately. Thus, any app that features a seating chart creator, classroom management system, or gamified education component, fondly known as “edutainment” can be considered competition. The top apps in these categories are detailed below.
Top 5 Seating Chart Apps
NAME
FEATURES
COST
$0.99
$2.99
FREE
Personal Organizer for teachers, handle classes and students, tracks attendance, students grades, and behavior
FREE
Smart Seat
Create seating charts, record and export attendance, PDF’s to give to substitutes, export student records through e-mail
$4.99
Class Dojo
Teachers can gather data on behavior on students, Behavior options of positive and negative, teachers can add behavior options to the list
FREE
Remind
Sends text messages through your parents or students phone, Reminds you of upcoming events, Reminds you about homework assignments and last minute activities
FREE
Quote Needed
Teacher Assistant
$5.99
NAME
FEATURES
COST
Plickers
Poll class for free without need of student devices, Give students a card and use your iPhone to scan them to do instant checks- for-understanding
FREE
Kahoot!
Learning platform that makes it fun to learn any subject, in any language, on any device
FREE
Socrative
Instant feedback, reports, engage with any students on any device or browser, and personalized your content, answers formative questions in a variety of formats such as quizzes, and quick question polls,
FREE
3.2 Niche
Overall, some of the apps listed offer valuable tools for the classroom and could be used in addition to the Rippled app and compliment the classroom routine. Rippled doesn’t replace every app on the market, but it does provide a sound solution for the target audience and fulfills a unique purpose. There is no need to use a separate seating chart app, a separate tool to record daily notes for students, or a separate tool to manage classroom communication. In addition, by offering the behavior and rewards component – Rippled is the only one on the market. Class Dojo offers a behavioral component, but it is designed for elementary students and the philosophy of the app is the opposite. Class Dojo does not believe in rewarding students for behaviors, so that component does not exist. The PBIS Rewards app, is extremely tedious, requires purchasing of hardware and training of staff, and requires students to walk around at all times with an ID around their neck – just not a feasible situation. All in all, Rippled is the only app that successfully implements the PBIS ideology, at an affordable price, for the secondary market, with a simple user friendly interface designed to easily communicate with the student and parent.
4.0 Industry and Market research
4.0 Industry Analysis & Market Research
Figure 2: Desktop vs. Mobile Usage
4.1 The Mobile App Industry
For the first time, as of early 2014, consumers are spending more time engaged with mobile devices and apps than with desktop web platforms (see Figure 1). In fact, studies have shown 85% of people prefer native mobile apps to websites. Additionally, global app revenue is expected to grow over 75% from 43.37 billion to 76.52 billion in 2017.
Overall consumer engagement with technology is also increasing, noted in the following facts:
· 1 in 5 people in the world own a smartphone
· 1 in 17 people in the world own a tablet
· 224 million monthly active app users in the US
· Amount of time spent on apps has increased by 21% since last year
4.2 Major App Markets and the Educational Category
There are three main platforms in the app market, including Apple’s Appstore, Google’s Play Store, and the Amazon App Store. All platforms continue to report growth in the number of apps available and the educational category plays a major role in each. (Figure 2: Percent of Apps in Each Market)
Amazon App Store: Includes 400,000 apps available, increasing 100,000 from just last year. Amazon contains 33,994 educational apps, comprising 8.5% of total apps provided.
Figure 2: Percent of Educational Apps offered in Each Market
Play Store: Includes 1.6 million apps, surpassing Apple’s App Store. As of February 2016, the top rated category is Education (making up roughly 10% of all apps), followed by Lifestyle, Entertainment, and Business. Google Play has 157,304 total education based apps, over 130,000 of those are free, and roughly 26,000 are paid apps. (See Figure 3 below).
Figure 3: Top Google Play Categories
Apple App Store: On average there are 138 apps being added every day and 25,000 to 30,000 apps added every month, for a total of roughly 1.5 million apps available. Education is the third most popular category, with a 9.44% share, preceded by Games at 22.49% and Business at 10.38%. (See Figure 4 below.)
Figure 4: Top Apple App Store Categories
Overall, educational apps have a profound presence in all three major app markets, and continue to flood the market, increasing in recent years due to the rapid growth in the ownership and use of mobile and tablet devices in an educational context.
4.3 The App Gap
Although education is one of the most popular app categories, the target market for those apps is usually toddlers and elementary age kids, presenting an “app gap,” and the need for more age appropriate apps targeting the secondary market, including Jr. High and High School aged students. In fact:
· Over 80% of the top selling paid apps in the Education category of the iTunes Store target children.
· In 2009, almost half (47%) of the top selling apps targeted preschool or elementary aged children. Today, that number has increased to almost three-­quarters (72%).
· Apps for toddlers/preschoolers are the most popular age category (58%), and experienced the greatest growth (23%)
· General early learning is the most popular subject/content (47%)
4.4 Top Educational/Edutainment Apps - Quantifying the App Gap
Listed below is the top educational apps offered in each of the three main platforms. As you can see, most of the apps target a young audience and while there is a few developed specifically for the teenage market, none have similar features to the proposed Rippled App.
Top Education Apps
4.5 Conclusion
Overall, with the app industry rapidly growing, the potential in this market is evident and limitless. The education category is a predominant sector on all three platforms. However, the amount of apps registered that target the teenage market is severely lower than those created for the toddler/elementary market. This target audience (teens) has immense potential with an estimated 92% of teens constantly online during their daily activities. Furthermore, experts believe that the, “future of mobile is in this demographics’ hands.” (Source: supersonic.com)
4.6 Market Research
In order to quantify the Rippled concept, it was necessary to survey students and staff currently using PBIS. The focus of the survey was not to find out whether or not participants enjoyed the PBIS philosophy, but to verify a proper method of implementation. Two surveys were dispersed at Charter Oak High School, one for the teachers and one for the students. The results were anonymously collected using Google Forms to promote honest, unbiased answers. In total, there were 455 students of all grade levels polled out of 1,500 - 30% of the total population. Out of the 455 survey participants, 60 were 9th graders, 85 were 10th, 101 were 11th, and 209 were 12th. There were 45 teacher surveys taken out of 68 – roughly 66% of the teaching staff. The results are detailed below.
4.7 Student Survey Data
Question #1
Question #2
Question #3
In conclusion and as revealed by the survey data shown above, most students would prefer an alternative to the behavior reward system (PBIS). Responses concluded that 76% of students would be more likely to engage in the new PBIS program if it was presented in a mobile app platform (See Question #2). When asked how Students felt about the “bolt bucks” manual hand-out, 86% of students stated they were very enthusiastic about collecting the reward money, but did agree that the concept is a bit juvenile. In other words, they would be open to a digital reward system. (See Question #3).
4.8 Teacher Survey Data
Question #1
Question #2
Question #3
Of the staff surveys, 71% of teachers believe that handing out “bolt bucks” is indeed elementary and not considered age appropriate for secondary educated students (See Question #1). More than half concurred that a digital platform or mobile app would be more beneficial and useful in engaging and encouraging students (See Question #2). Also, 62% of teachers were open to trying out and implementing a digital PBIS program in their classrooms, while only 38% still prefer handing out “bolt Bucks” manually (See Question #3). In conclusion and as marked in the survey illustrated above, a digital platform for the new positive behavior program implemented in schools today would be encouraged and well supported.
5.0 Target Market
5.0 Target Market
5.1 Defining the Target Market
The Rippled management system was specifically created as a tool for schools implementing the PBIS behavior management system. Thus, our target market includes any school using PBIS which comprises over 20,000 school sites nationwide. To narrow it down, we will begin by specifically targeting the secondary, teenage market, including Jr. High and High School campuses within a 20 mile radius of our headquarters. Within this defined area there are a total of 61 schools that have implemented PBIS and 19 of the 14 are High Schools. (Appendix 10.4 – PBIS school list), this will be our initial focus. Then, we plan to branch out to all schools in California, which includes 166 middle schools and 98 High Schools, a potential market of 297 total within California alone. This group has the need and desire for a more mature and streamline platform to implement the PBIS system as mentioned in section 1.0. Geographically, Southern California schools will be the first target since they are the closest proximity to our headquarters in Covina, Ca. Expansion will continue throughout the state and eastward as popularity increases. Our marketing team will reach out to district level personnel involved with technology or curriculum as well as school site administration - the people responsible for the implementation of the app. Thus, the direct and indirect markets are defined below.
Progressive Target Market Strategy
· Eventually reaching all schools that implement the PBIS program nationwide, comprising over 20,000 possible school sites.
· Primary grades implementing PBIS that are tech savvy and see the need for a digital way to implement PBIS
· New school sites adding the PBIS system throughout the school year
· Teachers/staff requesting the implementation of PBIS and Rippled
6.0 Marketing Plan
6.0 Marketing Plan
6.1 Building Brand Equity Comment by Camille M. Strycula: This section just needs proofread, what do you think? Add the logo and app image to the document.
Figure 1: Logo
The name Rippled implies a continuous wave of motion, just like a ripple effect that occurs when an object is dropped into water. In this case, the ripple effect is a symbol of the intent of the Rippled app. As students begin to demonstrate positive behavior, hopefully others will be encouraged to do the same - creating a school wide ripple effect, redefining the school culture and behavioral norms on campus. The “ed” was added to emphasize the fact that it is an educational app and is further accentuated in the corporate logo (see Figure 1: Logo) with several colors filling in the “ed.” The rounded bubble font was chosen to portray a fun, youthful, and age appropriate image that maintains a user friendly appeal for teachers and students. The colors are soft but bright and pleasing to the eye, a nod to the primary color palette reminiscent of the educational market. A simple black water drop hangs off the “d,” completing the design and connecting the ripple effect concept. Overall, the logo is simple and recognizable just like the app icon.
Figure 2: App Icon
The app icon (see Figure 2: App Icon) is easily noticed by the oversized water drop with blue lines around it representing ripples. The water drop is placed on a colorful background that matches the palette used in the logo. Overall, the logo and app icon create instant brand equity by defining the company with a professional, simple, and well-designed image.
6.2 Pre Launch Activities
Rippledapp.net: A simple, user-friendly website (www.Rippledapp.net) is available to communicate all information about Rippled. The site is broken down into four sections including, What is Rippled?, How it Works, Images/screenshots of the app, and a form to contact a sales representative. There are also buttons to activate a new account or sign in, just like you see on the mobile platform. A link on our website will direct you to the app store to easily download our app. (Appendix 10.5: Website Screenshots)
Social Media: We will be using two different sources of social media: Facebook and Twitter. These two platforms are the most often used in the education sector at 77% and 45%. Facebook and Twitter will help promote our app because social media attracts a tremendous amount of attention from our target market. Our Facebook will contain Q & A’s, as well as informational videos to provide additional aid in order to understand the process of our app. Twitter will communicate information about the app, videos of users, and links to find out more about the system.
Flyer: Front Side
Word of Mouth: Like any worthy app, “word of mouth” will play a vital role in marketing our app. Once schools subscribe we will encourage feedback on our social media accounts. Also, as long as customers are pleased, school officials will share the experience and spread the word to local schools.
Print Advertising: Flyers (shown to the right) will be distributed to all schools within the initial target market. It is a postcard size, glossy, full color mailer that will hopefully create interest and intrigue – a teaser promoting the customer to log on to rippledapp.net for more information. Additionally, business cards (shown below) will accompany the flyers.
Flyer: Back Side
CUE – Technology Conference: In March, sales representatives will attend the Computer Using Educators conference (CUE). This is the largest technology conference for Education. Within the event, there is an Administrators venue, which is where Rippled will be located. A workshop will be offered to showcase the product and a booth in the tech fair will be set up to further showcase the features and usefulness of the system. The same flyers and business cards will be passed out along with traffic builders – pens and buttons.
Business Card: Front Side
Business Card: Back Side
6.3 The Launch - August 2016
The day of our launch is August 1st 2016. We plan to send out our press release (See Appendix 10.6- Press Release), flyers, and business cards to schools within our initial target market - schools within a 20 mile radius that have implemented the PBIS system. An email blast will also be sent to secondary administrative staff as well as district personnel. The email will include basic information, contact information, and a link to the website. Sales representatives will also make phone calls to schools proposing the significance and the beneficial elements of our app. When our sales representatives contact the schools they will discuss if the school is interested in our app. If they are interested we will then send out a team to meet with the school administration and give a detailed presentation. Once all schools within the target audience have been contacted, the scope and reach of the campaign will broaden to all schools within California and eventually all schools implementing PBIS nationwide.
Launch Day Promotional Tools
6.4. Continued Promotions
In order to continue effective marketing on our app we have decided to focus on a few key factors. We want to draw more attention to our app so we will utilize App Store Optimization to increase the ranking in the app store by implementing key words in our app description such as: education, behavior, and classroom management. We will continue social media promotion using Facebook and Twitter. Social Media is a vital element in marketing Rippled, and will be used to promote events, display special features or discounts, and engage with our users. The website will be maintained to provide positive customer service and respond to any additional needs mentioned through customer feedback. Videos and pictures of people using our app will be displayed on the website and pushed out through the social media channels as well. Schools/districts that are part of the target audience will receive quarterly communication as a follow up to initial conversations. New schools adding the PBIS system will also be added to the list and the sales team will reach out with the various forms of communication.
6.5 SWOT Analysis
Weaknesses
· Not all students have access to electronics
· Expensive to start up
Opportunities
Threats
7.0 Management
7.0 Management
7.1 Organizational Structure
Rippled exists as an off campus business as part of the Business Management & Entrepreneurship course; the senior capstone class within the Business Academy at Charter Oak High School. The class is led by an elected CEO, which manages five departments including, Administration, Accounting, Human Resources, Technology, and Marketing (see Organizational Chart below). Each department is led by one executive, working with a team of employees to carry out various tasks (See Appendix 10.7—Employee List). Every week, a memo is sent out by the CEO to the entire class containing objectives and tasks that need to be completed to ensure smooth operations and workflow. After the CEO reviews the list with the team, each group conducts a department meeting and works together to create an agenda based on the responsibilities listed. The lead of the department is responsible for creating the timeline and verifying that all jobs are complete. The agenda is placed in the department binder along with all work completed by the group. Teamwork is crucial and deadlines are vital to the success of the organization.
Organizational Chart
7.2 Employees
All employees completed a cover letter, resume, and job application in preparation for an interview for a job within a chosen department. Students, or employees, qualified to partake in this course by successfully completing an Accounting/Finance course and a Marketing/Advertising course the previous year as a prerequisite for this opportunity. Group interviews were conducted with a select panel of teachers, administrators, and business partners. All students were then placed into assigned positions within the organization. There are not set store hours since it is part of a class, so work is accomplished daily from 10:30-11:20 and continued during break, at lunch, after school, or at home as needed.
7.3 Business Proposals
Employees were placed in small groups to investigate trends and research possible business opportunities. Each group proposed a business concept to the group. Then, the class voted for the most valuable, realistic, and practical concept. Thus, Rippled was launched. Rippled is an online management system and app specializing in implementation of positive behavior recognition and rewards, focused on the secondary market. Each team (department) has spent the school year investigating, researching, contacting and working with industry professionals to bring the idea to life. At this point, we have a solid concept and with some startup up funds and mentorship believe this idea can be a major player for all schools implementing PBIS.
8.0 Operations
8.0 Operations
As schools/districts respond to the promotions, conversations will be scheduled to price out the system for the school and a contract will be negotiated and signed. Each contract will we unique due to the number of students included (Appendix 10.8 – Sample Contract). Once the contract is signed the school will receive an activation code for their students and parents. Activating each account is simple. Teachers simply log on with their teacher ID from the school. Contracted sites will be given a short step by step instruction to assist with the process. See samples below. Rippled verifies that the contracted site is comfortable with the set up and implementation process. Customer Service is available 24/7 for support via phone, email, website, and social media. After a year, the contract will need to be renewed to continue service.
Rippled: Parent Activation
2. Either log in to an existing account or click “sign up”, then enter your parent code and your child’s ID#.
3. Enter your name, email, and create a password.
VZ10243
2. Either log-in to an existing account or click “sign up”, then enter your student ID, birthdate, and activation code.
3. Enter your email, and create a password where you can log back in.
4. This will link you to your account where you can customize your avatar.
Process for Contracting
9.1 Startup Costs
Most of the startup costs associated with the creation of Rippled are related to the development and maintenance of the software and website. A server is necessary to host the data. The Amazon EC2-M4 Large Hosting service will accommodate this need at a yearly fee of $2,414. The domain name rippledapp.net was purchased from GoDaddy.com for $12.17 – this will be a yearly cost. In order to promote Rippled, $500 towards promotion is budgeted for print ads, branded shirts, postage, and traffic builders. Promotion is a minimal cost since most of the marketing strategy includes social media, email, and word of mouth. There is also a minimal fee to post the app in the three main app stores. The Apple store has a yearly fee of $99, The Google Play store will charge $25, and the Amazon App store is free. For the front end website development and design we budgeted 60 hours at $40/hour based on a quote from eGood Marketing in Glendora, Ca. It is a complex site requiring professional development due to the advance features. The largest startup costs include UX/UI Implementation and Publishing with a fee of $20,000 and the App Back End Development with a fee of $25,000 - both are one time fees. These costs cover the coding and management of initial website and app development. In order to secure the brand, Rippled will also invest in intellectual property costs including a trademark, utility patent, provisional patent, non-provisional patent, and copyright. (Refer to 9.5 IP- Trademark and Patent for detailed pricing).
Start Up Costs
9.2 Funding
In order to raise the $60,000 of capital necessary to start the business, we have three options – loans/donations, crowdfunding, and participating in startup accelerator events.
Loans/Donations:
Rippled will initiate fundraising by requesting loans or donations from family and friends or potential business partners.
Crowdfunding:
Crowdfunding will allow Rippled the opportunity to fund the project by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people. We researched the most popular crowdfunding sites and the findings are detailed below:
Kickstarter
All-or-Nothing funding (you only receive the money if your money goal is reached by a deadline), 5% fee, Amazon applies an additional 3-5% fee
Indiegogo
2 different types of funding:
Flexible- you keep all funds raised even if goal is not met, 4% fee, additional 9% fee if goal is not reached but you keep the profits
Fixed- contributions are refunded if you don’t meet your goal, 4% fee, if goal is not reached you get refunded
There is also a 3% processing fee for credit cards plus a $25 wire fee
Appsfunder
All-or-Nothing funding, when goal is reached you keep 80% of the milestone amount, remaining 20% is paid out when app is launched, Appsfunder keeps 8% success fee
GoFundMe
No Deadlines, you keep all money earned, 5% fee from each donation, processing fee of 3% deducted from each donation
After reviewing our options, GoFundMe was determined to be the best option. It is simple, user friendly, and guarantees that we will keep our money without additional charges or fees.
Tech Start Up Events:
There are in increasing number of venture capitalists putting together unique events to allow tech startups to compete for funding, providing a competitive platform, where each participant vies for support to raise the capital necessary to begin the business. The most popular events are detailed below:
Imagine K12: Imaginek12 is a startup that helps companies innovate education technology. The Imagine K12 team meets with each startup weekly to discuss whatever needs discussing such as business strategy, product design, technical advice, recruiting advice. Imaginek12 is combining forces with another startup called Y Combinator to form an edtech vertical. They have 81 tech startups, 170 funders, and $200 million raised. Apply to Y Combinator, they are accepting applications for summer 2016 funding cycle, it will take place in Mountain View, CA from Jun-Aug 2016. Submit applications by 8pm (PT) March 24th. Imaginek12 invests through your startup from Y Combinator, they are combined and use Y Combinator for their startup investments.
Y Combinator: Y combinator is a community of over 2,400 founders. They have funded over 1,000 startups. Y Combinator provides seed funding for startups.  Seed funding is the earliest stage of venture funding. It pays your expenses while you’re getting started. Their goal is to get you through the first phase. This means getting you to the point where you’ve built something impressive enough to raise money on a larger scale. Then they can introduce you to later stage investors.  Twice a year they invest a small amount of money in a large number of startups. Their companies have combined valuation of over $65B. If you want to apply then submit your Application online by 8 pm PT on March 24. Their headquarters is located in Mountain View California. Y combinator have several events during each cycle. On the first day Prototype Day happens about two weeks in. A week before Demo Day, and they have another event called Rehearsal Day. The day before Demo Day they do an event called Alumni Demo Day.They’ll invest $120k in your startup for a return of 7% of the company’s equity.
TechCrunch:TechCrunch is a technology media property dedicated to profiling startups reviewing new Internet Products, and breaking tech news.  Its network of websites now reach over 12 million unique visitors and draw more than 37 million page views per month. The TechCrunch community includes more than 2 million friends and followers on twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google and other social media. The Crunchies is an award ceremony, which celebrates the most compelling startups, internet and technology innovations of the year. Techcrunch often creates a list of the top startups and the funding’s they got. The application for this app is at Disrupt New York. It is too late to apply now because the deadline was February 29th at 9:00pm. They will be from May 9th-11th only. Startup Battlefield brings the world’s top early stage startups together on one stage to compete for the coveted Disrupt Cup, a $50,000 prize, and the attention of media and investors.
CrunchBase: TechCrunch operates CrunchBase. CrunchBase is a database of the startup consisting of investors, incubators and start-ups. CrunchBase make around 500,000 data points profiling companies, people, funds, fundings and events. The company claims to have more than 50,000 active contributors.This app has no events happening and they give you information if you have any questions and they tell you to either email them or go in person to their office located San Francisco, Ca 94107, Address is 410 Townsend St.  There are three choices in ways to get techcrunch data into your business. You can do the basics (experiment with a limited crunchbase dataset) for free, you can also get the Advanced one (Conduct research, analyze investment trends, and build prospects lists) for the price of $999 a month, or you can get a Commercial (build customer facing applications with crunchbase data) for the price of $4,999 a month.
9.3 Types of Monetization
Before deciding on a revenue model for Rippled, many methods of monetization were researched. Below is a list of the top 10 ways apps can generate profit.
Revenue Options
Paid Model- One of the most popular ways an app makes money. The app is just 99 cents, a great simple app that only costs a dollar. This model is common in app stores because it’s only a 99 cents! People are usually willing to pay 1 dollar for a quality app especially when it means no ads. This revenue model lately has been seen more often in apps today.
Paid plus in-app Purchase In-app purchases are when you can go inside of an app and spend money on things within an app. This model means that you pay upfront as well. This model is used for games and interactive apps where you must pay to continue through the app or unlock more extras. This model isn’t the most common because it first starts you off paying for the app, but continues with more and more purchases.
Free Plus In-App Purchases This is defined as making your app free and then offering in-app purchases within the app. Freemium is also very popular model used. This model is one of the most used, this benefits the owner to receive more starting downloads with the app being free. While app is still free the users can buy more lives, levels, boosters etc.… continuing their revenue stream with the more and more active users.
Free App with Advertising This model is also a common revenue model for app creators. This model allows for a quick stream of revenue from advertisers during the app. It works because the advertisements within the app are targeted towards the user. Allowing for so many advertisers will create the apps revenue really fast, but will tire out the user. The app created is meant to not last forever because the endless ads will “burn out” the user and eventually kill the app.
Paid with Advertising This option isn’t the most used because once the app is paid for once the user doesn’t expect to see ads. Although the app will be making more money, it will not have the long lasting effect in the app store. Like the models with advertisements it will slowly die down because nobody wants to see a number of ads.
Subscription can get people to pay a monthly rate or yearly subscription that will be charged to their credit card automatically. This can be very helpful because these monthly subscriptions keep billing until the user doesn’t want to use the app anymore. Promise the app maker that you will pay and use the app for that month.
Free for limited time when making the app free for a limited time, it sends tons of users into the app so that you can create a big user base a specific way. Then can make it paid, do a targeted free campaign. This is a bit more on the “advanced” side because you need to have data and metrics. For example Anger birds, Alice’s Weather- Dress up! DayD Tower Rush, Choro & Robin adventures and many more.
Cross- Promotion once you start making partnerships with the app world, one thing you can do is cross-promote each other's games. Cross-promotion is tricky. For example, a buyer purchasing a shirt may be shown a picture of a pair of pants that coordinate with the shirt, or a buyer of a computer program may receive an email offering a reduced price on a guide to using that program.  A company can target buyers either during or after the purchasing process with suggestions on related products.
Sponsorships are when companies will come in and they will pay to brand your app for them. A form marketing in which a corporation pays for all of some of the costs associated with a program in exchange for recognition. Corporations may have their logos and brand names displayed alongside of the organization undertaking the project or program, with specific mention that the corporation has provided funding.
Conclusion
The best revenue model for Rippled is the use of a subscription. The subscription will be marketed to schools and/or districts. Costs will include a $400 startup fee in addition to $2.00/each per student enrolled. This will create the best potential revenue and is aligned with other educational app software that is currently being marketed to school sites. In-app advertising, although a lucrative idea, will not be an option since schools are paying for the system and expect an ad free environment for their students.
9.4 App Store Placement
Rippled will be available in the three main app platforms: Apple’s App Store, Amazon App Store, as well as the Google Play Store. The costs and process associated with each are detailed below.
Google Play Store:
The first step to success is to agree to the Google Play Developer distribution agreement. There is a minimal fee to submit the app of twenty five dollars which is a one-time fee as well as Google will require 30% of the profit for distribution an operating fees. Before the final submission the developer must first review the app and decide where the app will be offered. If the developer is planning on offering in app purchases the developer must create a Merchant account in the developer's country. After all criteria is met the app will be available to the public within two hours.
IOS App Store:
The Apple IOS Store is more complicated and difficult to submit an app. There is a yearly payment of $99 as well as Apple will require a 30% cut of the profits. There are also many other rules, regulations, as well as many steps to submit the app knowing the previously stated costs. Our app will be submitted to the app store under the organization of charter oak high school. This requires us as the developers to have A D-U-N-S® number as well as a legal entity status, along with a legal binding authority.
Amazon App Store:
For the amazon app store there are very little regulations, requirements, and fees. Amazon is free to submit an app but they will require 30 percent of the profits. To submit the app we must review and test the app before submission to make sure the functionality of the app is performing well. If the app passes the test performed by Amazon, our app will be posted within six days but may require more time depending on circumstances.
9.5 Intellectual Property- Trademark and Patent
To trademark the app logo, the word Rippled, and the graphic wording (Rippled) it would cost $219 with a $275 filing fee each for a total of $1,482. You can get a software patent, which is a type of utility patent, which will then protect systems, methods, and functions of the app. For example user-interface features, editing functions, compiling techniques, or program language translation methods. Legal Zoom offers a two-step process to file for a Utility Patent. Step 1 is for preliminary assessment and drawing, which is $699 and includes attorney consultation, technical illustrations, and optimal patent search. After completing step 1 you can start step 2 which is the Utility Patent and Application Filing, this costs $2400 plus a $1090 federal filing fee (Filing fee, utility patent search, and examination fee)and this includes a follow up consultation, preparation of the application, and electronic filing of the application; for a more in depth explanation on everything being received in step 1 and step 2 you can open this link. After 3 years of having a utility patent there is a $980 maintenance fee. Software patents are not allowed to be issued until at least one year after releasing your app to the market so what most people do is they file for a provisional patent, which is valid for 1 year. This establishes your priority filing date with the USPTO and allows you to immediately start labeling your invention patent pending. This 1 year patent pending status allows app developers to see if the app is going to be a success; if it seems that way the developer can then file a non-provisional utility patent application this ensure that the filing date of the provisional patent remains as the official filing date of the patent application. Once the patent office receives the complete patent application they will place your application in a queue to be examined by a Patent Examiner. The cost for this is $199 plus filing fees which cost anywhere from $65-$260, depending on the entity type. The code that runs the software cannot be patented but can be copyrighted which costs $114 plus a $35-$55 filing fee. The time frame in which it would take for the trademarks, utility patent, copyright, Provisional and Non-Provisional Patent to be approved are listed on the chart below.
Legal zoom Cost
Federal Filing Fee
Processing wait time
9.6 Pricing
Rippled is based on a yearly subscription and contracted with each school site/district. Schools will buy as many subscriptions as they need depending on how many students they have enrolled at their school. Each subscription is $2 per student and the school will have a yearly maintenance fee of $400.
Student Subscriptions
$2 each
Yearly Maintenance
9.7 Income Statement (Refer to appendix 10.10)
Rippled collects revenue from student subscriptions and a yearly maintenance fee from each school it contracts with. Thus, the revenue from each order will depend on the size of the school. So, we used the average school size, about 1,400 students, in our projections. The number of subscription fluctuates due to the holidays and vacations associated with the school year (as defined further in the Sales Forecast). There is a short list of expenses due to the nature of the business and typical overhead is not required. A few of the costs are annual, which include the domain name and app store fees which only appear in month one. The database hosting fee is a yearly cost as well, however, we will contract on a monthly payment of $200 to assist with cash flow. Promotional costs are minimal, including a larger amount in month one to assist with the cost of launching the app and a small monthly fee of $100 was included for any related costs (postage, printing, etc.). The majority of the expense is to pay for the salary of the database manager with will cost roughly $3000 per month. Overall, expenses are expected to total between $3,000 - $4,000 per month. The operating profit fluctuates monthly due to the sales figures. By the end of year one, total Operating Profit is projected to be just over $75,000 with an average operating margin of 65%. (Appendix 10.10 – Income Statement)
9.8 Income Potential and Valuation
There are over 20,000 contracted PBIS schools and counting – this includes, primary and secondary schools. Assuming only 15% are secondary schools and only 50% of those contract with Rippled. The potential sales is estimated at 4.8 Million.
Number of Schools
3,000 schools
1,500 schools
Plus $400 per school startup fee
1,500 * 400 = 600 K
9.8 Sales Forecast (Refer to appendix 10.11)
A sales forecast was conducted to predict the amount of revenue expected in one fiscal year, including the student subscriptions and a yearly maintenance fee. August will be month one and sales will fluctuate due to the seasonality of the school year. Sales are expected to start slow, dip in December due to the winter break, and gain momentum at the beginning of the year and into the spring months (January – April). Sales will slow again towards the end of the school year (May), but will sustain over the summer since the administrators and district personnel are still at work, making decisions on programs to implement for the fall school year. By the end of year one, Rippled is projected to contract with 36 schools – 12% of the PBIS schools in California. (Appendix 10.11 – Sales Forecast)
10.0 Appendix
10.3 - PBIS data as of October 2008.
10.4 – PBIS School List
International Polytechnic (iPoly) HS 23
no
Rosemead HS 55
La Mirada HS 157
Garfield HS 94
rippled launch
Covina, California, August 1, 2016– Today is the launch of the Rippled classroom management system. Rippled is a user friendly app, designed especially for the education market, and increases communication between teachers, parents, and students.
Rippled gives teachers an extra hand in organizing their classroom into a digital space. Teachers can log notes on individuals, send a group message, and log behavior points. Rippled drives the students to achieve and promotes communication with the teacher. Students are entertained by the gamified avatar that tracks their personal data and are encourage to gain coins to qualify for classroom rewards and raffles. Overall, the app features a fun reward system for students as well as supporting the educational environment.
Rippled enforces good behavior that will cause a “rippled effect.”
For more information please visit us at www.rippledapp.net.
10.7 – Employee List
All schools in California
All PBIS schools nationwide
Email Blast
Phone Calls
Social Media
Step 1:
Rippled promotional strategy is launced to reach out to the target market
Step 3: Customized contract created and signed by the customer, access codes assigned
Step 4: Contracts renewed annually
Step 2: Conversation withe school site/district regarding the pricing and features and impementation of the system
Percent Of Educational Apps
Amazon Apple Google 8.5000000000000006E-2 0.1 9.4399999999999998E-2
App Market
Amount of students
Number of Students
Would you be more likely to be engaged in the PBIS system if it was presented in a mobile app?
A digital system would definitely be more preferrable and engaging I would not prefer the digital system described above 0.41 0.13
How do you feel about the "bolt bucks"being passed out for positive behavior?
I like collecting "bolt bucks" to earn rewards, however the paper money seems a bit juvenile/elementary (for younger kids) I like collecting the "bolt bucks," I feel it is age appropriate and wouldn't suggest to change it 0.86 0.14000000000000001
How do you feel about the "bolt bucks" system?
I enjoy rewarding positive behaviors, however hand ing out the "Bolt Bucks" seems a bit elementary and not age appropriate I like handing out the "Bolt Bucks" and don't think we need an alternative system to acknowl edge positive behavior 0.71 0.28999999999999998
What if there was a digital platform (mobile app) available to virtually hand out "Bolt Bucks"?
Yes, I believe a virtual system would be useful and beneficial No, I still would prefer manually handing out "bolt bucks" 0.51 0.49
Would you be more likely to implement a digital PBIS program in your classroom?
Yes, I would definitely like to try it out No, I still prefer "handing out" the bolt bucks 0.62 0.38
AX7203
Amount
App Back End Development25,000.00$
Expenses:
Domain Name12.17$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ 12.17$
App Store Fee99.00$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ 99.00$
Total Expenses3,811.17$ 3,300.00$ 3,300.00$ 3,300.00$ 3,300.00$ 3,300.00$ 3,300.00$ 3,300.00$ 3,300.00$ 3,300.00$ 3,300.00$ 3,300.00$ 40,111.17$
Operating Profit/ (Loss)2,588.83$ 6,300.00$ 3,100.00$ 3,100.00$ (100.00)$ 9,500.00$ 15,900.00$ 12,700.00$ 9,500.00$ 3,100.00$ 3,100.00$ 6,300.00$ 75,088.83$
Operating Margin40%66%48%48%-3%74%83%79%74%48%48%66%65%
AugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecemberJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJuly
Annual
Totals
Subscriptions
28004200280028001400560084007000560028002800420050400
40,111$
Net Operating Profit2,589$ 6,300$ 3,100$ 3,100$ (100)$ 9,500$ 15,900$ 12,700$ 9,500$ 3,100$ 3,100$ 6,300$ 75,088.83
12-month Sales Forecast