Group project (30% of the DFIN 513 grade)
o Take a financial product or service in the conventional system and design a
decentralized equivalent, taking into account, functionality, customer value
proposition, economics and regulation
o Deliverables
▪ A business plan outlining the following elements of your New
product/service (10 pages without references/charts, no longer than 15
if all included)
▪ A 15-20minute summary presentation delivered in video (youtube).
Video can be either of a team delegate or from the whole team.
o DEADLINES:
▪ Team Structures and Topic: November 8th, 2017
▪ Project Outline: November 20th, 2017
▪ Presentation: You tube Video or live presentations
Posted till December 4th, 2017
▪ Project Deliverables Turn In: December 5th, 2017
Business Plan Guidelines:
Design
- Market analysis
o Analyze the existing market and incumbents whether from conventional finance, or
from potential competitors existing in the decentralized/digital currency space
- Competitors
o Analyze how competitors have operated so far, what are their perceived strengths and
weaknesses in their approach
- Team needed
o Team composition (actual or fictional). Mention core competences and how they’d be
put to use, what can be covered from present team, what needs to be brought in
Functionality
- Product/service specifications
o Draw the core characteristics of the product and how it will operate
- Use cases
o Draw at least one flow chart of the core use case scenario(s)
- Project plan/Timeframe to execution
o Design a very simple project plan or Gannt Chart outlining the steps and a tentative
timeframe to bring this plan to fruition
Customer value proposition
- Competitive advantages
o Outline the competitive advantages this product/service would have from a business
perspective
- Unique selling points
o Outline what the core customer value proposition is, why would customers prefer this
service over competitors
- Competitor differentiation
o Outline how and why your approach is different compared to your competitors, how
your business model is different (if at all), and how you are positioning yourselves to
make more revenues (and finally profits) than them
Economics
- Financing needs
o Describe whether you are able to bootstrap your project and till what stage, or if you
need external financing and how it will be allocated at which stages, and what will your
KPIs be for deciding this
o Does it make sense for you to do an ICO, and how would you increase your investor’s
confidence if yes?
- Core Budgeting
o Create a simple budget for the business including expenses, revenues and a P&L chart
for the first year of operation
- Monetization strategies
o Describe how you would gain revenues, reach profitability and/or break even
- Incentive structures
o Describe potential incentive structures you could offer to your users to increase growth
and adoption or maximize revenue, examples where similar strategies and tactics have
worked as you plan and why
Regulatory framework
- Which countries
o Describe how you fit towards your specific target market, what potential regulatory
conflicts may exist between them
- Which frameworks
o Are there specific legal and/or tax frameworks you should abide by, in your target
markets? Are you prepared for changes in the future?
- Licensing, registering needed
o What licenses or registration will you need in your incorporating country (if any), what
obligations will you have towards other countries?
- Other Compliance costs
o What ongoing compliance issues are you expected to have, if any?
NOTES:
- These questions/topics are aimed at helping you better define your idea, plan and the potential
problems you would encounter when implementing it. Not every question will be relevant to
your project. Apply your own judgement but make sure no crucial parts are missing.
- Don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone, or the jurisdictions you’re already familiar with.
Blockchain technology is global, and so should your customers, thinking and mindset be. We
guarantee it will be more rewarding, and prepare you better for the world that is out there
waiting for you to graduate ;)
- Have fun brainstorming and make the best of your time. You will have to do this project in
between your essays for this course and your real-life obligations. Don’t leave everything for the
last minute!
