Our general financial model can be seen in the table below. This represents our realistic estimates for expenditures and the current streams of revenue available to us. This creates total expenditures of $84800 in the first year of our venture and $33900 in years 2-5 of our venture. Our main sources of projected revenue come from grants including: Autism Speaks Grant, Autism Science Foundation Grant, Simons Foundation, Lehigh University CORE Grant, and the Davis Peace Projects Grant. 

A more optimistic estimate for our steady state over the coming years involves more grants and projected revenue becoming available to us. This also involves lower cost for staffing and equipment as prices fluctuate and stronger relationships with our partners provide resources we would otherwise have to pay for. A pessimistic view of our steady-state involves the opposite, and we would see very few grants adding to our revenue and no change in costs, or potentially even greater costs. 

It is difficult to create a financial model, as we are not selling a product for profit. We hope to get a better understanding of costs and resources when we go to Sierra Leone this summer.

In the context of our venture, our success is not measured by sales but by the number of children in Sierra Leone screened for autism using our screener. Our goal is to have 100% of children screened for autism by 2026, by expanding the use of the screener, training, and staffing to an increasing number of districts as our venture progresses. In the next two years, a realistic outlook/reach projection of our success would be 40% of children screened. In 2022, we aim to screen children in Bombali, Port Loko, and Kambia districts. By 2023, our reach would expand to include both the urban and rural Western Area regions. These projections are dependent on the success of our field work and working on improving the validity of our screener over the course of this summer and into the next semester. We also plan to train three healthcare workers at each healthcare facility and three teachers per school to administer and interpret the screener. These trainings follow the same reach projections as the use of the screener itself. Optimistically, our screener will be developed in a timely manner and we will be able to reach this goal, as well as possibly expand to more districts in a faster manner. From a pessimistic perspective, if work on the screener does not go as planned, or we run into unexpected delays, our reach projection for use of our screener may be delayed.

1. Business model canvas: https://canvanizer.com/slideshow/wTzhvQNx6rVIO

 

Cannot add visuals for some reason. It just adds a line of blank text. See Kelsey’s post for visuals on business model

 

1. Key Partners

University of Makeni

Sierra Leone Autistic Society

World Hope International

Sierra Leone Ministry of Health

Sierra Leone Ministry of Education

 

2. Key Activities

Developing a culturally appropriate autism screener for use in Sierra Leone

Screening 100% of children under age 5 for autism in Sierra Leone by 2026

Training educators about the signs of autism and how to implement inclusive education strategies

Training nurses and healthcare workers about autism and how to administer and interpret screener results

 

3. Value Proposition

We help children in Sierra Leone by screening them for autism so that they can be provided the appropriate classroom resources.

For teachers who wish to accommodate their teaching styles to children with autism, our trainings will provide the necessary guidance and education.

Our trainings will allow healthcare workers to become familiar with autism and be able to recognize and screen for its symptoms in the children of Sierra Leone.

4. Customer Relationships

Personal Assistance – Direct interaction between those administering the screener and the child, direct interaction between those training staff and staff

5. Customer Segments

Children with autism

Families of children with austism

Teachers of children with autism

6. Key Resources

Healthcare workers and nurses

Teachers

Faculty and resources at University of Makeni

MCAST Screener

7. Channels

In person training sessions with teachers and healthcare workers

Schools

Community healthcare workers

Public media outreach

8. Cost Structure

Physical production of the screener and related materials

Staffing of those who administer the screener

Travel Costs

Communications

9. Revenue Streams

Lehigh University Grants

Autism Science Foundation Grant

Autism Speaks Grant

Funding from the Government of Sierra Leone

Davis Peace Projects Grant

1. We help children in Sierra Leone by screening them for autism so that they can be provided the appropriate classroom resources.

For teachers who wish to accommodate their teaching styles to children with autism, our training sessions will provide the necessary guidance and education.

Our training sessions will allow healthcare workers to become familiar with autism and be able to recognize and screen for its symptoms in the children of Sierra Leone. 

The implementation of our screener will allow for 100% of children in Sierra Leone under the age of 5 to be screened for autism by 2026. Teachers and healthcare workers will be trained and empowered in understanding autism and providing appropriate resources. This will allow for more equal opportunities for children with autism and their families.

• Davis Peace Projects Grant: $10,000

 

1. Art of the Start:
   • Kawasaki makes the very profound statement that successful companies are those that start out trying to make meaning instead of making money. He expands on this, saying that if you make meaning then money will follow. However, if your goal is only to make money, you will not attract the people needed to achieve either outcome.
   • Kawasaki makes the point that starting companies should develop a mantra instead of a mission statement. This should be a few words, unique, and should capture the attention of employees and customers. Mission statements are often complex and difficult to understand, and they do not capture the passion of a project.
   • An important part of getting going is to find soulmates that compliment your passion and your strengths and weaknesses. Getting a project going requires teamwork, and the members of our team should add to it instead of just being a part of it. This creates balance in both knowledge and work atmosphere.
   • Guy Kawasaki uses humor appropriately to enhance his presentation. When humor is used incorrectly, either by offending viewers or reducing their respect for the speaker, it can detract from a presentation. Kawasaki’s humor often was used hand in hand with his past experiences, improving his credibility. This is something we can try to incorporate into our own end of semester presentation
   •  Kawasaki makes the point that we should niche ourselves to be successful. We need to differentiate ourselves from others with similar goals. For both business and our project, selling ourselves as unique will be essential to our success. As Kawasaki describes, a more unique product is more valuable to the customer.

 

2. Value Propositions

1. We help children in Sierra Leone by screening them for traits of autism. We empower teachers and nurses by training them to administer and interpret the screener’s results. We help parents better understand their child by educating them about autism. 
2. For teachers in Sierra Leone who need the ability to detect autism in their students our diagnostic screener is a tool that can be used by them to detect which students may have autism, allowing them to adjust their teaching accordingly.
3. For healthcare workers in Sierra Leone who want to better detect autism in the population our diagnostic screener is a tool that they can use to accurately screen the population for the condition. 
4. For the government of Sierra Leone who do not have the resources to screen everyone in their population for autism our diagnostic screener is a free utility that they can implement and use throughout the population of their country. 

 

3. Our total available market consists of schools, hospitals, and the government of Sierra Leone. The consumers of the screener are children of Sierra Leone, as well as healthcare providers and teachers. The screener would ideally be accessible to all economic groups. Our partnerships with The University of Makeni, Sierra Leone Autistic Society, and World Hope International helps to expand our available market beyond what we would reach without their pre-established groundwork in Sierra Leone. 

 

Our total addressable market currently consists of a few schools and hospitals within each district of Sierra Leone. These people are the teachers, healthcare workers, families, and actually children whose lives are impacted by autism, whether they know it or not. Healthcare workers and teachers want to address the needs of people they care for or teach. Families and children with autism want to avoid ostracization due to the condition and want to better their living conditions. We assume that we will be able to reach schools and hospitals within the districts of Sierra Leone and that workers within those areas will cooperate with us. We also assume that our screener is effective at finding autism and that our customers have the resources to implement the screener. We do not know the monetary value of the market we are addressing, however around 40% of the population of 7.8 million are children 14 years old and younger. Our plan is to screen a large portion of this population, especially those 5 and under, within the next half a decade.

Our team did not present during the midterm presentations. We have done our best to give examples of what we learned from watching the other teams present. 

 

1. Seven minutes may seem long when preparing to present, but the time passes very quickly. Some teams struggled with pacing their presentations. When we go on to present, we need to work hard to properly pace our presentation over the seven minute window. Efficiency when using time can separate a good presentation from a bad presentation. We have learned that we cannot include everything we want to, but we should include what is necessary.
2. Looking through peoples’ feedback through the presentations, a lot of them noticed when presentations included strong introductions. We should make sure to dedicate an efficient amount of time to a strong introduction when planning our future presentations. A strong introduction will increase interest in our presentation and improve our credibility. This also gives us an opportunity to address the next point.
3. A big criticism of presentations was a lack of enthusiasm while speaking or talking like reading from a script. Although it is very difficult to show passion while presenting over zoom, we should actively think about these potential criticisms while prepping for our next presentation. We should remind ourselves of the goals of our project to bring out enthusiasm. 
4. Some presentations did not have visuals that contributed heavily to their presentation. Other presentations had strong visuals that actually enhanced what was being said. We’ve learned that large amounts of text should be avoided while making slides, so the images become even more important. Although we have some strong diagrams and images from past presentations, we should try to make more. Especially as we get closer to fieldwork, diagrams and images that illustrate what we will be doing in Sierra Leone will be very important. 
5. When responding to referees questions, it is important to make sure that you are answering what they are asking instead of straying from the question. It can be stressful when being confronted with a question about your project that you might be unprepared for, but it’s also important to remember that you won’t always have the answer to every question and it is okay to admit that you need to do further research instead of rambling and losing clarity and the audience. 

 

Five techniques that teams did particularly well:

1. It was very obvious which teams had rehearsed their presentations and knew what to say confidently and seamlessly. For our final presentation, we should rehearse our presentation at least a few times so that we are fully prepared and know our content inside and out. 
2. Another technique that teams did particularly well follows the last point, but certain teams were much more prepared at answering questions than others. These teams most likely discussed which team member would take which type of question/which member would have expertise in certain areas. We can use this type of strategy to plan how we will delegate questions. 
3. Team members made sure to dress appropriately and professionally, as well as to have an appropriate background and an environment that was quiet. This ensures that the presentation will be clear with no interruptions, and ensures that the presentation is professional. It’s often easy to lose “professional” etiquette when on zoom, but we can use this strategy to make sure our project presentation is taken seriously and our goals understood. 
4. One strategy I felt could also help our presentation was using a timeline visual during the presentation, especially regarding current and future plans. Although our project is currently not active, we can use this strategy to emphasize what we will be doing when conducting fieldwork and beyond. 
5. Finally, a technique we can use to make our final presentation the best it can be, is to make sure we describe both the macro and micro problems that we are addressing through our venture. It is important to showcase how the project will directly affect the communities we are working with. Especially in the case of our project, where we are trying to help shift public perception of autism, it is essential that we hold those we will be trying to help to a high standard. Using this strategy during our presentation will make sure our true motivations will come across and add to the integrity of our venture.