Investment
link2 will require an initial seed investment of $300,000. This amount is typical for software application startups.
As a brand new startup, we will be applying many strategies to minimize our costs:
- Initially we will need about 8 employees, salaried ranging from $35,000 to $40,000 for a total of $290,000
- At this stage the employees will be focused on the creation of the product and software development; salary will advance according to success of the product
- When link2 becomes a publicly traded company, all start-up employees will be granted generous stock options
- Use of GPS through Google Maps API Premier, a version available to companies using Google Maps for profit; initial cost starts at $10,000 per year
Marketing Strategies
- $10,000 will be used to present marketing options to service providers including AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, Alltel, etc. in order to have them market link2 on their phones
Promotional Strategies
- Word of mouth within a professional network. Most basic, effective strategy; cost is free
- Client visits: Personally visit corporations, businesses, agencies, public relations firms, and talent agents to demonstrate its ability to add business value and increase efficiency; cost of travel and stay $500 per visit with a minimum of 20 visits, total of $10,000
- Website: The official link2 site will provide businesses and consumers with a simple, descriptive location to learn more about link2; the site will also be prominently featured on Google and other search engines under appropriate key terms such as social networking and GPS
- Internet advertising: Google's AdWords. You create your ads using keywords and phrases that relate to your business/product – your ads appear on Google and in Google searches; costs = depends on demand of keywords, anywhere from around $.05 per click to $4.00 per click