Kynote in Beijing

Project Kynote
August 10th, 2015
Kynote Management Team
nguyen.adam@post.harvard.edu
Business Plan Summary

1
Copyright©2015byTAG.Allrightsreserved.
Executive Summary
Customer Pain Point
Students have inefficient resources
for getting solutions to their problems
Product
Kynote App has four key steps:
price, post, pay, and solution
Timing
Currently sharing-economy concepts
are being accepted globally making
barrier-to-use low
Market Size
The market size for single-question
tutoring is in the upper multimillions
Competition Comparison
There are a few competitors already
in the market
Competitive Advantage
Kynote has a few advantages that
competitors do not
Revenue Model Overview
We will implement a take-rate from
the total transaction value between
5-20%
Marketing Plan Overview
Our go-to-market strategy will touch
offline and online areas
Website
We have a website up for collecting
interested students
Marketing Partnership
We have the support of a multi-
national NPO for marketing
Development Schedule
We are on track for development
and implementation up to December
Strategic Partnership
We have a partnership with a market
leading test prep company in Tokyo
for the expat community
Team Profile
Our team members have strengths
in a variety of areas that complement
each other
Business Plan
Kynote will turn a small profit within
a year and focus on a student
acquisition strategy
Funding Requirements
To continue operations for the
forward year, we hope to raise
around 100k USD

2
Customer Pain Point
People have few options when they want quick solutions to difficult questions
Teaching
Assistant
Tutors
Friends
Library
Internet
Timely to find the
right information
Can only steer you
in the right direction
Reliable but costly by
the hour
What are their
current options?
Helpful but
may not be
there in all
situations
Often never specific
enough to be
meaningful
Source: Kynote Management Team

3
Product
Our platform is a single-question tutoring marketplace that emphasizes simplicity by having
an intuitive design that minimizes steps required to complete a transaction
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4
Learner posts a question &
gives the ideal price
Mentor makes an offer
with an estimated time
Learner selects the best
offer & pays
Learner receives the
solution & rates Mentor

4
Timing
Source: TechCrunch, Crunchbase
We are in the Golden Era of the Sharing Economy in terms of technology and customer
adoption where behavioral and technical barriers-to-entry are low
Startup
Launches
Changes
Behavior
Develops
Brand
Adapts to
Regulations
Disrupts
Market
Company Logo Surplus Resource Est. Market Cap Year Founded
2009
2008
2008
2015
Cars
Homes
People
Freelancers
Knowledge
$51 Billion
$25.5 Billion
~$1 Billion
$200+ Million
Unknown 2015
Key Drivers
• Sharing technologies
are relatively available
• Most people own a PC,
tablet, or smartphone
• Culture of “early
adopters” from
Millennials
• Various payment
solutions exist that
enable P2P
transactions

5
Market Size
Kynote will enter a multimillion dollar market in North America and capture 16% by year 5
The total available market for
single-question tutoring in North
America (including Canada)
expected to be $646M in 2015
Kynote’s segmented
available market is the
wealthiest group of students
who can spend nearly $107M
Kynote expects to
capture 16% of the
market share by our
fifth year
___Offline Tutoring___
___Learning Analytics___
___Education Consulting___
Diversification

6
Competition Comparison
Our competitors vary across platforms, business models, topics, and potential earnings
Tutor
Commission
80% Credits/Flat Rate $20/hour>80%
Business
Model
Bargain Q&A System SearchFirst Price Sealed-Bid
Reverse Auction
Topic Most Subjects K12 - College Math Most SubjectsSTEM, Business, Languages
Platform Web App Smartphone App Web AppSmartphone App
Funding ~$1.2 Million
initially by 500 Startups
Corporate Funding
from Tutor Universe
Corporate Funding
from Chegg
Private
Core
Supplier Outsource Part-time tutors StudentsAdjunct Professors

7
Competitive Advantage
Kynote’s focus on building a premium brand is the key driver for our competitive
advantages
Safety/Quality Response Time Usability BrandTutor Earnings
x x x x
o ooo
Takes 20%
Commission
≤20% Commission Anonymous Profile
+
Verification Process
Set by Mentors Intuitive design
with minimal clicks
Focus on Brand
for tutors
Anyone can tutor No limits Many interactions
required
One of many
knowledge “pools”
x x x o
TutorUniverse
incentives only
Anyone can tutor 10 Minutes Only Mathematics TutorUniverse
Brand
x
x
o

8
Revenue Model Overview
Kynote will facilitate a First-Price Sealed-Bid Reverse Auction marketplace and take a
portion of the transaction value
Learners MentorsOffer price &
pay upfront
Takes a share of
the payment
amount
Mentor
receives
remaining
amount
Our Mentors bring us higher overall revenue per question even
with a lower commission relative to our competitors.
Our First Price Sealed-Bid Reverse Auction model makes transaction
easy and efficient for Learners and Mentors.

9
Marketing Plan Overview
We will use offline and online marketing strategies to increase our user base
1. Attract Users 2. Use and Repeat
3. Reviews and Branding
Offline Advertisement
Web Advertisement
App Advertisement
Social Media
40%
Listing Ads
Ad Service
Referrals
Campus
Advertising
30%
30%
Forums & Local
Events
Substitution
Products
CommercialBlogNews & Media Word-of-Mouth
Website
Visit
Application
Download
Register
Customer Service
Post
Auction
Solution
Share
Repeat

10
Website
We will on-board potential users with our website while doing beta-testing

11
Marketing Partnership
Hackademics can provide support with contacts for developers, investors, educational
institutions, and students

12
Development Schedule
The goal is to launch the private beta test in time for the new school year and gather
customer feedback through December
Beta Full
Product
Design
Strategic
Planning
Development
Marketing
Initiatives
Concept
Designing
Product-to-Market
Strategy
Development
Market
Research
Find early-adopting
students and teachers
willing to join a beta test
Minimum Viable Product
Development
Launch
Social Media
Pages
Debug
and Update
Negotiate the details for
usage and compensation
Website
Development and Backend
Integration
Develop Key
Performance
Indicators (KPIs)
Developer
Coordination
Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 Month 6 Month 7 Month 8
Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct
Month 9 Month 10
Marketing
Partnership with
Union
Social Media Marketing and Media
Outreach Initiatives
Create and update
website domain
Initiate
Web App
Development
Additional
Features
Development
Word-of-Mouth
Incentives
Programs
Mock-Up Missing Features
for App and Website
Customer Feedback
Surveys
Talent
Search
Planning
Month 11
App
Registry
Nov Dec
Month 12 Month 13
Onboard Strategic
Partners

13
Strategic Partnership
We will start a private beta test with a college prep partner and gather customer feedback
of the results for about 100+ students and 10+ teaching staff before full launch
Partner Business Structure:
• Students: 100+
• Parents: 200+
• Tutors: 10+
• Developers: 3
• Investors: 0
• Website: www.tokyoacademics.com

14
Team Profile
Our team members have strengths in a variety of areas that complement each other
Jason Cofounder & COO
Jason is currently a graduate of Bentley University
in Economics and Finance with a minor in law. He
has previous work experience at Ernst and Young
TMT. He was also the vice-president of MIT-China
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum. He
organized a trip to teach rural students in China
where he came up with the initial concept of
Kynote.
Melvin is currently a rising junior at UC Santa Barbara
working towards a B.S. in Computer Science . He is
also an intern at Tokyo Academics for back-end
development. He was the web developer for a student
run organization at his university. His previous work
experiences consists of self-study projects and a
team development project on a dining hall mobile
app.
Melvin Software Engineer Intern
Technical ConsultantRobin
Robin is currently in his third year of employment as a
Full-stack Engineer at a startup in San Francisco. He
has worked on full-feature development from
architecture and design to full implementation of key
components where he offers expertise on both
product requirements as well as customer needs. His
previous work experience includes Software Engineer
at Kyocera and Web Developer at Mighty Mitty
Studios. In his free time, he participates in
hackathons and recently placed 10th at Dreamforce
Hackathon 2014. He attended UC Davis for Computer
Science Engineering.
Adam Cofounder & CEO
Adam is currently the COO of an education start-
up based in Japan. Previously, he was a project
manager at Rakuten where he focused on startup
initiatives and global expansion from the CEO’s
office. Prior to this, he has worked at China
Universal Asset Management and Deutsche Bank.
He is the cofounder and CEO of Hackademics, a
board member of the Harvard Club of Japan, and
was co-president of the Harvard China Forum. He
holds an A.B. in Economics from Harvard
University and has a background in data science.

15
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
50,000
-$50,000
$0
$50,000
$100,000
$150,000
$200,000
$250,000
$300,000
$350,000
$400,000
$450,000
Apr
Jun
Aug
Oct
Dec
Feb
Apr
Jun
Aug
Oct
Dec
Feb
Apr
Jun
Aug
Oct
Dec
Feb
Apr
Jun
Aug
Oct
Dec
Feb
Apr
Jun
Aug
Oct
Dec
Feb
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Revenue Profit Cumulative Active Registrations
Business Plan
Kynote will turn a small profit by the first year and focus on a student acquisition strategy
for the following three years by reinvesting earnings until the business stabilizes
Inputs:
Commission Rate: 5~20%
Average Transaction: $11
Question/Month/Student: 4
Registration CountMonthly Revenue
Pre-Profit Profit Reinvestment Profit Earning

16
Funding Requirements
With funding, we will develop a web platform, add features to the existing mobile platform,
and grow our user base
Business Development Process
Marketing Acquisition Onboarding Nurturing
Current
Issues
• Cannot acquire
Mentors who may
not own a
smartphone
• Some Mentors
wish to have call
functions to teach
more effectively
• Lack of nurturing
system for
community of
Mentor and
Learners
• Lack of resources
for incentivizing
word-of-mouth
marketing
Driving
Success
Factors
• Hire developers
to create a Web
Application
• iOS, Android &
Back-end
developers
• Add features such
as “calling” to
raise
effectiveness for
Mentors
• Experiment with
“chat” feature
• Hire a dedicated
team of
Community
Managers
• Develop
Customer
Support system
• Create rewards
system for every
successful
referral
• Newcomer cash
incentive to try
Kynote
Estimated
Costs
$50,000 $5,000 $35,000$10,000

18
Evolution of Tutoring
Constraints:
Location: Specific
Topics: Limited
Duration: Set
Constraints:
Location: Any
Topics: Limited
Duration: Set
Constraints:
Location: Any
Topics: Any
Duration: Set
Constraints:
Location: Any
Topics: Any
Duration: Any
1990s 2000s 2010s Now
Traditional
Tutoring
Video
Lessons
Online
Tutoring
Micro-
Tutoring
Innovations in forms of teaching have improved versatility in three ways for the student

19
Solution: Kynote’s Knowledge Auction Marketplace
We will create a marketplace that allows people with specialized knowledge to connect with
those who need them
Problem SolutionNeeds
Quality Explanation
Quick Delivery
Variable Market Quality
Inefficient Lessons
Security Identity Often Revealed Anonymous
Standardized Quality
Question/Topic Specific
Performance-BasedFixed Hourly SalariesMerit-Based
Efficiency
Simple Teaching Experience
Erratic Student Needs
Must Find Students
Security Identity Revealed to Students Anonymous
Standardized Answers
Brand Power
A marketplace that connects Learners with Mentors and takes a commission from the transaction
Learners
Mentors

20
General Strategic Plan
Start by refining a strong product within a niche market then expand into new businesses
Alpha Minimum Viable Product Beta Testing Product Fully Viable Product
Build Product Network Conduct Validated Learning
Product
Development
Adjunct
Unions
Student
Unions
Professional
Groups
Student
Forums
1) Idea
3) Test
2) Build4) Learn
Pilot
Program
Geographic Strategy
United States
Canada
Greater China
Content Strategy
K-12 Education
Post Secondary Education
Real-time Translation
Professional Consulting
Software Strategy
Video Call
Voice Recording
Data Mining
Call Feature

21
Global Expansion Strategy Overview
Our global strategy will focus on intellectual labor arbitrage
Step 1:
Build core
mentoring
ecosystem in core
cities in U.S.
Step 2:
Leverage U.S. brand
and build out major
cities in Asia
Step 3:
Create arbitrage opportunity by facilitating
cross-country communication
Professional
STEM, Finance
Local Subjects
Global Labor Arbitrage Pathway

22
5s Product Framework
Kynote’s value proposition can be summarized by our 5s philosophy
Scope
Speed
Social Secure
Simple
Our technology is optimized for connecting
questions with answers quickly
• We aim for real-time responses to questions as if
you always have a teacher at hand using our
platform
Our questions and answers
maintain a high level of
accuracy and
comprehensiveness
• Inputs are standardized in
the best way for creating
an efficient experience
Our platform will create a thriving
community of students and teachers
• We encourage relationship
development beyond just simple
Q&A transactions to ensure long-
term growth
Our user interface minimizes
steps and distractions from
the learning experience
• No advertisements and
minimal steps to bid
Our security system will maintain trust
of our users from all forms of fraud
• We maintain state-of-the-art
practices for security and fraud
protection

23
Application Features
Features for the minimum viable product are necessary for hypothesis-driven testing
Minimal Expected Full
Post
Bid
Reply
Payment
• Post a text string
• Post an image
• Display multiple bid
prices
• Display amount of time
• Reply by photo
• Reply by text
• Create “Total Amount
Earned” for each
teacher
• Post a document
• Display deadline
• Source of question
• Sort bids by price
• Sort bids by time
• Reply by voice call
• Integrated payment
solution for cash/card
• Reply by video chat
• Payment through
credit/points
• Payment through all
currencies
Profile
• Display experience
• Display rating
• Display question history
• Display average solve
time
• Login through Facebook
• Display friends/students
• Login through other
networks
• Display current best bid
• Forwarding “Replies” to
friends
• Posting solution on
Facebook
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+

24
Competitive Landscape
Kynote delivers a wide range of quick, specialized answers compared to competitors
Indefinite Time Definite Time Near Instant
K-12CollegeSpecialized

25
Risk Mitigation
We will test our assumptions from the MVP and form contingency plans for identified risks
Industry Company
Risks
• Losing users to a
competitor (i.e.
Studypool)
• Getting sued for bad
mentoring experience
• Supply and demand
issues due to
seasonality effects
• Financing may run out
• One or more
cofounders may not be
able to fulfill role
• Failure to find product-
market fit
• Failure to attract users
away from our
competitors
• Entry of a copycat
competitor
General
Solution
• Implement a Mentor
loyalty program to
retain talent
• Hire outside counsel
for mitigating lawsuit
risks in Terms and
Conditions
• Approach angel
investors through
family contacts
• Implement one year
“cliff” and gradual
vesting schedule
• Closely monitor our in-
app customer
feedback
• Implement competitive
pricing and cost
reductions
• Raise barriers to entry
by keep code internally
and implementing
loyalty program

26
Customer Pain Point 2
Source: 1) National Center for Education Statistics 2) National Science Foundation
-
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000 Bachelors Masters PhD
# of U.S. Degrees Granted1
-
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
1991 1996 2001 2006 2011
Industry Postdoc Study Unemployed
# of Commitments After Graduation2
The number of highly-educated
individuals have been steadily
increasing over the last 40 years!
The number of individuals who can quality for
teaching platforms also increases
As the number of jobs decrease and
unemployment rate increases, many
people move into Postdoc Study
Those in postdoc study or are unemployment need
to find a way to earn money such as tutoring
Increasing number of highly-educated individuals in the last 40 years but job opportunities
are stagnant

27
Target Mentors (1/2)
The growing amount of adjunct professors will be the first group we enlist on our platform
because we address their needs best
Undergraduate
Students
Graduate
Student
Adjunct
Professors
Average
Professionals
Career Tutor /
Teachers
Full-time
Professors
Privileged
Class
Industry
Professionals
Specialists
Adjunct
Professors have
the greatest
need for our
services
Educational Level
Earnings
Potential

28
Target Mentors (2/2)
Source: 1) American Association of University Professors
The number of part-time faculty (adjuncts) and graduate students are growing while tenure-
related positions remain flat
-
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
900,000
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Full-Time Tenured Faculty Full-Time Tenure-Track Faculty
Full-Time Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Part-Time Faculty
Graduate Student Employees
Year
Number of Jobs

29
Future Vision
We can turn our data and assets into a sustainable profit by expanding into several product
lines
GrowthGrowth
Industry
Expansion
Social
Media
Data
Mining
Advertisement
E-CommerceResell questions
without Mentors
Rental or used
textbooks
Advertise
Massive Open Online
Courses
Real time private
banking solutions
Connect Mentors &
Learners to HR firms
& social platforms
Learners
&
Mentors

Kynote in Beijing

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