Pod Business Plan

CONFIDENTIAL 

Pod Giving 

The modern offering basket. 

Business Plan 

Prepared December 2015


Table of Contents 

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................... 1 

Opportunity ............................................................................................................. 1 

Expectations ........................................................................................................... 2 

Opportunity ..................................................................................................................... 3 

Problem & Solution ................................................................................................. 3 

Target Market ......................................................................................................... 4 

Competition ............................................................................................................. 4 

Execution ........................................................................................................................ 7 

Marketing, Sales & Revenue .................................................................................. 7 

Operations ............................................................................................................. 10 

Milestones & Metrics ............................................................................................ 11 

Company ....................................................................................................................... 12 

Overview ................................................................................................................ 12 

Team ...................................................................................................................... 12 

Financial Plan ............................................................................................................... 14 

Forecast ................................................................................................................. 14 

CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISSEMINATE. This business plan contains confidential, trade-secret 

information and is shared only with the understanding that you will not share its contents or ideas with 

third parties without the express written consent of the plan author. 

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Financing ............................................................................................................... 16 

Statements ............................................................................................................ 18 

Appendix ....................................................................................................................... 21 

Profit and Loss Statement ................................................................................... 21 

Balance Sheet ....................................................................................................... 24 

Cash Flow Statement ........................................................................................... 27 




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Executive Summary 

Opportunity 

Problem 

Our culture is quickly becoming cashless, and there are no options for churchgoers 

and charitable givers to donate quickly in-person without cash. 

Solution 

Pod allows anyone with a card, the most popular form of payment, the convenience to 

donate in a single second. 

Market 

We expect our strongest target market to be churches. According to our research, 

there are 350,000 churches in the United States, and churches account for 32% of all 

charitable donations totaling $114 billion. To start, Pod will focus on churches, but we 

see a large opportunity in the fundraising industry as we grow. 

Competition 

There are multiple options to give in-person, but each of them have an element of 

inconvenience. Below is a summary of our competition and the issues for each option 

are described in more detail under the competition section. 

• Online Giving: easily forgotten and non-participative 

• Kiosks: slow and non-participative 

• Mobile Applications: slow, not user-friendly for everyone, and distractive 

• Text Giving: slow, not user-friendly for everyone, and distractive 

• Products Like Square: slow and not user-friendly for all age groups 

• Cash and Check: unpopular 

Contrary to our competition, Pod offer the least resistance to give being fast, 

participative, user-friendly, non-distractive, understandable by all age groups, and 




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using cards, the most popular form of payment - all while touching every hand in the 

church. 

Why Us? 

When it comes to giving, God doesn't want something from us, He wants something 

for us. We believe the top competitor for our devotion to Jesus is money. Giving allows 

us to demonstrate that He is more important to us than any material thing. If we've 

been blessed with the skills and opportunity to help others put God first, then the 

enthusiasm and zeal instilled in this team to help others do just that makes us the ideal 

group to build this business. 

Expectations 




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Opportunity 

Problem & Solution 

Problem Worth Solving 

It's true that our culture is quickly becoming cashless, and there are no options for 

churchgoers and charitable givers to donate quickly in-person without cash. Church 

donations equaled $114 billion last year, and the vast majority of these donations came 

offline. Now imagine what those numbers could be if technology provided a path with 

no resistance to give. There are other products that allow donors who carry little to no 

cash to give in-person, but none of them do it quickly, which means they lack 

convenience, the cornerstone that decides whether an individual takes action or 

not. The current competition that allows donors to give in-person includes online 

giving, kiosks, text giving, mobile applications, products similar to Square, and of 

course, cash and check. Every single one of these current options has an element that 

makes it inconvenient which is covered in the competition section. Our culture takes 

the path with the least resistance, and the problem is that in-person donors currently 

do not have a convenient option to give. This leaves charitable organizations having 

to choose the least worst option. This is the problem Pod was designed to solve. 

Our Solution 

Pod's patent-pending technology allows anyone with a card the convenience to give in 

a single second. A Pod is four-sided, each side with a different amount to give. You 

simply swipe one of the sides, or multiple sides to give a different amount, the Pod 

blinks letting you know you made a good swipe and your secure donation is complete. 

That's it. Pod is fast, there's no account setup, it's non-intrusive to a church 

setting, participative, and cards are the preferred, most popular payment 

choice making it friendly to all age groups. If you want a receipt for tax purposes, you 

can get one at our site or we integrate with your church's current software. With Pod, 

there is no resistance to give making it not only simple, but the most convenient way to 

give. 

Pod recently finished a year long beta test in the Indianapolis area, and the results 

showed an increase of in-service giving in every church by up to 50%. 




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Target Market 

We expect our strongest target market to be churches. According to our research, 

there are 350,000 churches in the United States, and churches account for 32% of all 

charitable donations totaling $114 billion. To start, Pod will focus on churches, but we 

see a large opportunity in the fundraising industry as we grow. 

Our target user is the millennial generation. Research shows that cards are the 

preferred payment method, especially by millennials, and that millennials are most 

likely to give in the moment as opposed to planned giving. Our year-long beta test 

showed that not only did millennials use Pod to give, but all age groups welcomed the 

convenience and user-friendly simplicity. 

Pod has taken aim at not only one of the largest market segments by dollar amount, 

but has also geared its product to take favorable advantage of millennial habits, one of 

the largest and fastest growing generations. 

Competition 

Current Alternatives 

There are multiple options to give in-person, but each of them have an element of 

inconvenience. Below is a summary of our competition and the issues that come along 

with each one: 

Online Giving: easily forgotten and non-participative 

• can be forgotten about after the church service or fundraiser 

• you have to create an account 

• doesn't allow the user to participate during a church service or fundraiser 

Kiosks: slow and non-participative 


• you have to wait in lines 

• doesn't allow the user to participate during a church service 




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Mobile Applications: slow, not user-friendly for everyone, and distractive 

• you have to download yet another app to your phone 


• you have to go through multiple mobile screens to give 

• it's not user-friendly for all age groups 

• pulling out your phone can cause a distraction to you and others during a 

church service 

Text Giving: slow, not user-friendly for everyone, and distractive 



• pulling out your phone can cause a distraction to you and others during a 

church service 

Products Like Square: slow and not user-friendly for all age groups 

• you have to go through multiple mobile screens to give 

• you have to enter an amount, your pin or signature, your e-mail, and wait for 

approval 


• buttons on the screen can easily be pressed causing the app to go back to the 

home screen or another screen when being passed hand-to-hand 

Cash and Check: unpopular 

• you have to plan ahead to have cash and check making it easily forgotten 

• culture is trending toward a cashless society causing cash and check usage to 

drop 

• no receipt for tax purposes when using cash 

• cash is on-hand not allowing for multiple transactions once depleted 

Our Advantages 

Contrarily, Pod offers no resistance to give. It can be used in a single second making it 

fast, there is no account setup to use the product, it allows the user to physically 

participate in the church service or fundraiser, you have the ability to retrieve a receipt 




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at any time, it utilizes cards, the most popular payment source, and there are no 

confusing buttons or screens making it user-friendly for all age groups. 




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Execution 

Marketing, Sales & Revenue 

Marketing Plan 

Attracting both customers and users with measurable results is crucial to the success 

of Pod. There are seven elements to our advertising strategy, each outlined below: 

Pastor Referrals 

To date, almost all of our customers have come from pastor referrals. While we won't 

rely on this outlet because it's out of our control, we will take advantage of it. We will 

run a messaging campaign to current customers asking for referrals allowing current 

churches to monetarily benefit by marketing Pod for us. One of our current pastors has 

already planned to take Pod with him to any church conferences he attends. Charitable 

organizations, especially churches, are a tightly-knit group, and real value spreads 

within their community. 

Church Conferences 

While we don't have the money to sponsor conferences or purchase a booth, we do 

have the ability to attend the events where our customers gather. We have identified 

dozens of conferences planned in 2016 focused around fundraising and church 

technology we can attend. We're a talkative, social group, and we'll pitch our product 

to anyone willing to listen. It helps that we have a physical product to show off instead 

of an intangible software solution. 

Media Coverage 

Everyone thinks their idea will go viral, but gaining coverage by the media still takes an 

immense first push. We've contacted multiple media outlets and many have already 

agreed to cover our story. Our first story, covered by Current in Carmel, brought us 

three new churches, and we have a story in the IBJ going live in December 

2015. Additionally, we are also talking with other journalists from Indianapolis Star, 

TechPoint, and Fox59 to name a few. These are all leading media brands in the 




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Indianapolis area, especially for business and technology news. We will plan on 

reaching out to various media outlets nationwide to gain publicity. 

Outbound Messaging Campaigns 

E-mail campaigns are now overused, but they still can't be overlooked. We have a list 

of over 1,000 pastors in the Midwest, and are adding new contacts every day. Our 

messaging will be short, personal, and value-driven in order to see the best results. 

Church Visits 

There's nothing wrong with knocking on doors and getting directly in front of the 

customer. We plan on attending new churches each Sunday to introduce ourselves. 

We won't pitch Pod at the church after the service as it's not the time or place, but we 

will follow up and reference our introduction. This method will be the most time 

consuming, but sweat equity has already proven to add churches to our customer 

base. 

Guerilla Style 

We're a high-energy, imaginative group, and we have the advantage of being located 

near downtown Indianapolis where there are always crowds of people and multiple 

churches and charitable organizations. We'll use this unconventional advertising 

strategy to strike our consumer at more personal and memorable level. 

Partner Reseller 

In the longer term, an option for us will be to partner with payment processors to sell 

our Pod devices. Payment processors already have a large book of business that 

includes churches, so it would be a natural next step to offer the newest payment 

solution to their current and future accounts. This allows us to capitalize on their sales 

team and the relationships they've already built. 

Sales Process 

The sales process will originate from one of our seven sources of marketing described 

prior. We offer such a unique, value-driven product that we believe our marketing 

efforts will create enough inbound demand for sales to start. Inbound prospects will 

convert on our website through a sign-up process. This process allows us to attain the 




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information we need to create an account for them and results in us shipping them 

their desired number of Pods. Leads that do not convert will be put on a nurture 

campaign and routed to one of our current pastors for a referral and future conversion. 

Revenue Plan and Pricing 

There are three methods for Pod to generate revenue: taking a percentage of each 

transaction, a monthly recurring platform fee, and selling the Pods. We've laid out a 

short, mid, and long term revenue plan below: 

Short Term (3 months) 

• Pod will partner with a payment processor in the short term to 

take approximately 0.7% of each transaction. 

• The monthly, recurring service fee is $50 per month per Pod, but negotiable as 

we are defining what the customer is willing to pay. 

• Pods cost $500 each to produce by 3D printing, and this cost is passed to the 

customer. We are discussing another production method that may lower our 

production costs in the short-term by approximately $100-170 per unit. 

Mid Term (3-12 months) 

• Pod will still be partnered with a payment processor taking 0.7% of each 

transaction. 

• Unless the market tells us differently, Pod will still be $50 per month per device. 

• Paying for the device has been the biggest pain point to adding churches. 

Therefore, we will focus on the manufacturing process to lower our production 

cost to $25-$50 per unit by end of mid term. 

Long Term (12+ months) 

• Our first option is to provide revenue long term is to partner with all major 

payment processors, similar to what a company like Verifone does. This allows 

Pod to use the payment processor's sales team to sell Pod. We would attempt 

to still have a percentage of each transaction, but it would vary processor-toprocessor. 

• Unless the market tells us differently, Pod will still be $50 per month per device. 




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• If manufacturing costs are low enough, we will be able to give the Pods away at 

no upfront cost so the barrier to doing business with Pod is lower. 

We have margins for the percentage revenue and unit sales, so we will have the ability 

to negotiate large deals. 2016's big deals on the horizon include Indiana Wesleyan's 

group of 62 Central Indiana churches and Salvation Army's Red Kettle campaign in 

Indianapolis. Combined, total processed donations are estimated at $4-5 million. 

Operations 

Locations & Facilities 

Pod currently operates out of a home office in Hamilton County, Indiana. Our product 

and team do not currently have a need for a central office space. This will change as 

the company grows, and we will potentially need a location for a bigger team 

and inventory. We will look to make this move with funding or sustained growth in the 

future. 

Technology 

The Pod team will need tools to market, manage prospects, and create pipeline. This 

includes a marketing automation tool like Marketo, and a CRM solution like Salesforce. 

The hardware and software behind Pod has already been created, but it will need to be 

re-developed for larger scale. This includes a better front and back-end website and an 

upgrade to our Pod device to create an even simpler user experience. 

Equipment & Tools 

We will outsource tooling and manufacturing to produce the Pod systems, so we do 

not need any tools and equipment on our end to do this. We will need IT equipment to 

support the day-to-day operations in the future. Major equipment includes computers 

and possibly a server. 




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Milestones & Metrics 

Milestones Table 

Milestone Due Date Details 

Partner with Payment 

Processor 

Central Indiana Wesleyan 

Church Deal closed 

Net New Churches Q1 

2016: 13 


2016: 62 

Finalize Manufacturing 

Plan 

January 01, 2016 

February 29, 2016 

April 01, 2016 

July 01, 2016 

July 01, 2016 

Partner with CardConnect, a payment processor, by 

end of year. 

Central Indiana Wesleyan Churches (62 in total) have 

expressed interest in Pod at all locations. Plan to 

finalize agreement by end of February. 

By the end of 2016 Q1, Pod should have added 13 net 

new churches. 


new churches. 

Pod should have defined a plan for mass production by 

July 1, 2016. 

Pod Salvation Army Deal 

Closed 

July 15, 2016 Finalize Salvation Army Red Kettle pilot for 2016. 


2016: 85 

First Prototype of Mass 

Production 

October 01, 2016 

October 01, 2016 


new churches. 

By end of Q3 2016, we should have our first prototype 

of the mass produced Pod units. 

Series A Funding December 31, 2016 Pod should have secured Series A Funding by the end 

of 2016. 


2016: 95 

January 01, 2017 

By the end of Q4 2016, Pod should have added 95 net 

new churches. 

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third parties without the express written consent of the plan author.


Company 

Overview 

Ownership & Structure 

Pod Giving is a registered limited-liability-corporation in the state of Indiana. Our two 

founders, Michael Yonke and Ben Royal, are co-owners with equal shares, and there is 

one future hire, James Sharp, who focuses on sales and customer relationships. There 

is one outside investor, a family member to one of the owners, whose investment will 

convert to equity when the company decides to sell shares of preferred stock in a 

priced round. 

Company History 

The original idea for Pod took place 10 years ago during an all-school church service in 

Fort Wayne, Indiana. Even a decade ago in a dusty gym between choir hymns, they 

asked each other why it wasn't convenient to give during church for those not carrying 

cash. Now that thought rings truer than ever. Best friends then and now, Ben and 

Michael were armed with new skill sets after college and decided to hone in on their 

talents and build the first Pod device by themselves, everything from writing software 

to 3D modeling. They created a minimum viable product in late 2014 and beta tested 

the idea in a handful of churches in the Indianapolis area during 2015. The product was 

well received by both Pastors and churchgoers providing up to a 50% increase to inservice 

giving. Since then, they've made upgrades to the MVP adding more 

functionality. They both work at technology companies in downtown Indianapolis - Ben 

at Salesforce in IT and Michael at Appirio in marketing. Pod is currently a second job 

for them working nights, weekends, and during any available free time. They recently 

brought on James Sharp, who shares their same passion for charitable giving, to focus 

on adding customers. Pod caught on with local churches and fundraisers, they're off 

and running. and they're excited to have the opportunity to use technology to help 

others. 

Team 

Our business is a collaboration between three good friends: Ben Royal, Michael Yonke, 

and James Sharp. Ben is focused on the technology behind Pod, and his experience 




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comes from working in IT at Salesforce. Michael is focused on product, user 

experience, and marketing, and his experience comes from working in marketing 

at Appirio. James is focused on sales, and he has an outstanding record leading one of 

Appirio's sales teams. 

The combination of technology, marketing, and sales within the core team has proven 

to be advantageous in growing Pod from an idea to a valuable product in the 

Indianapolis area. 




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Financial Plan 

Forecast 

Key Assumptions 

Our current data from our 12-month Pilot averages to about $400 in donations each 

week per Pod; we assume the average church will need 4 Pods resulting in about 

$11,440 a month in donations processed. Our discussions with potential payment 

processing partners has us to believe the interchange fee will be 2.5% per donation. 

Pod will have a list price of 3.5% per donation (leaving a 1% margin for profit or 

contract negotiation) and cost $50 per month per pod. For the forecast we estimate the 

average sale will be 3% per donation (0.5% margin) and $35 per pod per month. 

Pod assumes 5 churches per month will be added in FY16, 40 in FY17, and 75 in FY18. 

The large jump in revenue in F16 Q1 is assuming the Central Indiana Wesleyan Church 

deal goes through and adds 62 churches over 3 months. 

The jump in FY17 to FY18 is attributed to: 

1. Recognition of Pod. 

2. The ability to do more conferences and travel to land large deals. 

The jump from FY16 to FY17 is due to the assumption that: 

1. Pod will be mass produced in FY17. 

2. All 3 current members of Pod will be solely devoted to Pod and not have 

additional work responsibilities. 




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Revenue by Month 

Net Profit (or Loss) by Year 




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Revenue Forecast 

FY2016 FY2017 FY2018 

Revenue 

0.5% of Donations $28,428 $156,322 $431,227 

Pod Subscriptions $99,410 $546,580 $1,507,787 

Pod Device Sale $189,955 $164,048 $139,715 

Total Revenue $317,793 $866,950 $2,078,729 

Direct Cost 

Merchant Cost Per Church $6,391 $35,137 $96,929 

COGS $189,955 $164,048 $139,715 

Technology & Design $2,760 $102,530 $2,760 

Marketing $3,600 $18,000 $18,000 

Office $12,000 

Legal & Administrative $20,004 $20,004 $20,004 

Expense Contingency (10%) $22,273 $33,972 $28,940 

Total Direct Cost $244,983 $373,691 $318,348 

Gross Margin $72,810 $493,259 $1,760,381 

Gross Margin % 23% 57% 85% 

Financing 

Use of Funds 

Pod plans to obtain funds late in FY15 and early in FY16 to cover the operating loss 

expected to ramp up operations and land the Indiana Wesleyan church deal (62 

churches). These funds will be used on legal fees with the contract, the cost of goods 

sold to produce, small amount of inventory of Pods for these churches, and any 

marketing materials needing to be produced to support these churches. We expect 

this amount to be between $20,000-30,000 to sustain December to April cash flow. 




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Towards the end of FY16, Pod will also engage in funding to design and manufacture a 

mass producible product to support and sustain the FY17 and FY18 growth plans. We 

expect the funding need here to be between $75,000-100,000 based on initial 

estimates. 

Sources of Funds 

Pod founders have continuously operated the company out of their own funds while 

receiving one investment from a family member to support a redesign of the product. 

Pod founders will continue to operate this way until the business can sustain itself and 

the members of the organization. 

To obtain the source of funds needed, Pod will give the first opportunity to friends and 

family. Pod will look to secure $20,000-30,000 in the next 3 months for initial expenses 

and then look for larger investments mid-year to cover the design and manufacturing of 

a mass produced product. 




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Statements 

Projected Profit & Loss 

FY2016 FY2017 FY2018 

Revenue $317,793 $866,950 $2,078,729 

Direct Costs $244,983 $373,691 $318,348 

Gross Margin $72,810 $493,259 $1,760,381 

Gross Margin % 23% 57% 85% 

Operating Expenses 

Salary 

Employee Related Expenses 

Total Operating Expenses 

Operating Income $72,810 $493,259 $1,760,381 

Interest Incurred 

Depreciation and Amortization 

Income Taxes $0 $0 $0 

Total Expenses $244,983 $373,691 $318,348 

Net Profit $72,810 $493,259 $1,760,381 

Net Profit / Sales 23% 57% 85% 




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Projected Balance Sheet 

FY2016 FY2017 FY2018 

Cash $72,810 $566,069 $2,326,450 

Accounts Receivable $0 $0 $0 

Inventory 

Other Current Assets 

Total Current Assets $72,810 $566,069 $2,326,450 

Long-Term Assets 

Accumulated Depreciation 

Total Long-Term Assets 

Total Assets $72,810 $566,069 $2,326,450 

Accounts Payable $0 $0 $0 

Income Taxes Payable $0 $0 $0 

Sales Taxes Payable $0 $0 $0 

Short-Term Debt 

Prepaid Revenue 

Total Current Liabilities $0 $0 $0 

Long-Term Debt 

Total Liabilities $0 $0 $0 

Paid-in Capital 

Retained Earnings $72,810 $566,069 

Earnings $72,810 $493,259 $1,760,381 

Total Owner's Equity $72,810 $566,069 $2,326,450 

Total Liabilities & Equity $72,810 $566,069 $2,326,450 




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Projected Cash Flow Statement 

FY2016 FY2017 FY2018 

Net Cash Flow from Operations 

Net Profit $72,810 $493,259 $1,760,381 

Depreciation and Amortization 

Change in Accounts Receivable $0 $0 $0 

Change in Inventory 

Change in Accounts Payable $0 $0 $0 

Change in Income Tax Payable $0 $0 $0 

Change in Sales Tax Payable $0 $0 $0 

Change in Prepaid Revenue 

Net Cash Flow from Operations $72,810 $493,259 $1,760,381 

Investing & Financing 

Assets Purchased or Sold 

Investments Received 

Change in Long-Term Debt 

Change in Short-Term Debt 

Dividends & Distributions 

Net Cash Flow from Investing & 

Financing 

Cash at Beginning of Period $0 $72,810 $566,069 

Net Change in Cash $72,810 $493,259 $1,760,381 

Cash at End of Period $72,810 $566,069 $2,326,450 




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Pod Business Plan

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