Team:Exeter/Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

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Mission Statement

Our team, PETexe, has the intention to form a biofilter company that provides expertise and products for companies looking to reduce their microplastic waste. They primarily cater to washing machine companies but also hold the possibility to provide services to water treatment plants in different industries. There will also be an opportunity for the general public to buy individual units to integrate into their existing household washing machines.

The PETexe vision is to revolutionise the washing machine industry, creating a future in which laundry is no longer the largest contributor to microplastic pollution.

Business Canvases

Value Proposition Canvas

The Value Proposition Canvas summarises the main benefits of the product, and the values promised to the customer by the company - this can be found below.



Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management tool to quickly and easily define and communicate a business idea or concept. It is a document which works through the fundamental elements of a business, structuring ideas in a coherent way. The right side of the BMC focuses on the customer while, the left side of the canvas focuses on the business. Both factors meet around the value proposition, which is the exchange of value between your business and your customer. Our Business Model Canvas can be seen below.


We worked with staff at the University of Exeter Innovation Centre to produce working drafts of our Value Proposition Canvas and Business Model Canvas. They helped advise and develop our business plan.



Market Analysis

Customer and Industry Input

Public Interest

To gain feedback from the general public, who we initially intended to be the primary customer, we conducted primary market research whereby a group of 85 people from different countries and age demographics were asked a set of questions about our product. Our research showed that 96.5% of people asked were keen to have a microplastic filter installed into their washing machines. We also asked whether it would be preferable for the filter to be sold as a separate item or be integrated into the machine before purchase. In total, 76.5% of people agreed that the best option would be to have it build into the machine before purchase, and so we based our design around this concept. To see our online survey, please click here.

With the initial market research showing that the end user would much prefer the filter to be integrated before purchase, the target market for this product would initially be high-end washing machine manufacturers who are more able to front the investment costs of integration. In time with a more widespread use of the filter and lower production costs, the target market would increase to cover all washing machine manufacturers. As the business develops, the aim is to produce different models of this filter, with the hope of targeting industry scale processing plants and fashion mills. We also aim to encourage the government to provide subsidies to the manufacturers to help tackle the investment costs of integrating this system, and if this is successful the target market will then cover all washing machine manufacturers. The end user would be the owner of a domestic household washing machine.

Industry Interest

Throughout the research project and development of the filtration system, the team engaged with industry and business to receive direct feedback and also to assess the industry interest. This was crucial as industry will play a large role in the integration of the filters into household appliances. Industry must be willing to pay for the cost of the filter and then absorbed the cost of both the purchase of the filter and adaptations to the manufacturing process.

Washing Machine Manufacturers:

Multiple international washing machine manufacturers were contacted at the start of the project including Samsung, Miele, Bosch, Hotpoint, Siemens and Whirlpool. We compiled their initial feedback related to the design of the filter and how it could be fitted to their specific washing machine units. Premium domestic appliance manufacturer Miele, was in regular contact with our team throughout the project and were influential to the design of the filtration system. It was also important to see what technology they already used in their household appliances, so that we could integrate technology that washing machine manufacturers are already using into our design, reducing their manufacturing costs in the long-term. After the competition we are hoping to continue our relationship with our stakeholders to further develop our design.



Fashion Companies:

Fashion companies were crucial to talk to as they would inform whether it would be possible to scale up the filtration system to a larger industry scale. They were able to provide flow rates for mathematical scaling and give industry an idea of whether our filtration ideas could be integrated in the future of the manufacture of synthetic clothing. We had keen industry interest from various stakeholders including The Microfibre Consortium, Ralph Lauren and Stella McCartney, many of whom are keen to see our filter integrated into the Circular Economy of Fashion in the near future. We are hoping to continue our relationship with The Microfibre Consortium, with the possibility of entering the H&M Global Change Award together early next year, as a joint industry-research application. This could potentially give us the funding to enable full development of our product.



Filter Companies:

Filter companies were essential to be in communication with as they provided insight into what products were already on the market and how we could fit in. We were in contact with companies including Lint LUV-r, Cora Ball, GuppyFriend and Xeros Technology Group who gave feedback and advice on our project. Xeros Technology Group were particularly helpful with regards to the engineering and testing of the filter design as they provided us with a sample prototype of their filter, X-Filtra™, and gave us ongoing feedback and advice.

From ongoing interaction with these different types of customers, our project has been developed as a direct result of their feedback and input. From the very beginning, we have taken on constructive criticism, leading our project to switch focus many times:

  • We were advised by multiple stakeholders to switch from using an enzyme-based detergent which would be put in with the clothes during the wash, to an enzyme-based filter. This was to prevent the degradation of the plastics within the clothes. We were provided with data regarding the electronic systems and dosing unit used within Miele machines, and were advised to have valves which link up to the current system. We were also supplied with a washing machine, to ensure that our system was compatible and worked with the machines.
  • Miele suggested to not give an option to end-user of by-passing the filter as it would lead to a lack of use and therefore lack of impact.
  • Xeros Technology Group gave us data on the size of filters that they use, and we based our filter sizes on this information.
  • We looked at upscaling our product upon hearing feedback from Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren and the The Microfibre Consortium. These companies were very enthusiastic about the project, and provided us with flow rate data from the fashion mills and explained how the filter could be even more effective for this use due to a certainty of the materials going through it.

Due to their feedback we now have a clearer idea of the customers needs and how we can fulfill them. After constant reiterations and cycles of improvement while in contact with these customers, the filter has reached the point where we are confident that it has been influenced enough by them to meet their needs. Our current prototype is designed for the use of washing machines, and further development would include the upscale for fashion mills.

Barriers to Entry

Barriers to entry describe any obstacles that prevent new competitors or companies from easily entering an industry or area of business. Barriers to entry benefit existing firms because they protect their revenues and profits. The diagram below shows the main barriers PETexe may encounter when trying to break into the market, which include investment costs, technology limitations, branding and access to resources.





SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is a study undertaken by an organisation to identify its internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as its external opportunities and threats.

S

Strengths
  • Unique design which can be easily integrated into common household washing machines
  • Has the potential to upscale this model to industry level.
  • Very current issue, so there is lots of interest and incentive to apply this product
  • Currently very few similar products on the market
  • Easily accessible to a wide range of people, as it can be pre-installed and requires no live bacteria
  • Working relationships with key partners on an international level
  • Support from the University, and use of University facilities

W

Weaknesses
  • Current model depends on being pre-installed by manufacturers, and would have to be adapted to be sold as a separate component
  • Current prototype needs further development and testing to reach commercial level
  • We would need to perform extensive field testing with our final prototype to ensure success.
  • Dependent on manufacturers being willing and able to invest in reducing microplastic pollution levels by integrating our filter
  • Lack of secure funding beyond prototyping phase

O

Opportunities
  • Model easily adaptable to different markets
  • Possibility of upscaling to larger water treatment facilities and fashion mills
  • Technology could potentially be applied to other areas of plastic pollution
  • Potential to collaborate with developed companies in the industry
  • Current societal pressure on the government and industry to address plastic pollution
  • Potential to integrate other plastic degrading enzymes into the solution

T

Threats
  • Competitors currently researching similar areas
  • Exposed to the variable costs of manufacturing the filter system and producing the enzymes
  • Dependant on large partners
  • Fast growing industry and so competition in the market could intensify rapidly



PEST Analysis

PEST analysis is a management method whereby an organisation can assess major external factors (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) that influence its operation in order to become more competitive in the market.

P

Political
  • No regulation on washing machine companies to install microplastic-capturing filter 1
  • No tax incentive for washing machine companies to install microplastic-capturing filter
  • Government currently focusing on regulating other types of microplastic pollution (microbeads, etc)

E

Economic
  • Emerging industry. It is growing fast at the moment but is not established so uncertain future
  • Exposed to the variable costs of manufacturing the filter system and producing the enzymes
  • Staff costs

S

Social
  • Lifestyle choices and public opinions have shifted to be more environmentally-minded, so market is likely to become more competitive
  • Concern about sustainability is in fashion currently, but public opinion could once again change. Dependent on social trends

T

Technological
  • Competitors currently researching similar areas of technology

Minimum Viable Product

The Minimum Viable Product is a version of the product which has the minimum required features to constitute a product. For us this meant a filter which was able to capture and degrade microplastics after washing cycles, and after many iterations of different prototypes we achieved this. This can be seen on the hardware section of the wiki. Our filter design currently doesn’t have the integrated enzyme delivery system, and this is an area which will be focussed on for future iterations of our product.

After our first design we compared our microplastic filter with Xeros Technology Group’s filter, X-Filtra. This showed that our current version of the filter is working at over 68% efficiency compared to their product, but there is still room for improvement. This will feed into future iterations of the filter, once we gain further feedback from manufacturers and potential users after sending our product out to market.

The strong industry interest we have received from many different sectors indicates a high product potential. Therefore, we are optimistic that we would have commercial success and viability, through continuing the industry relationships we have developed over the past 6 months and creating more.

Financial Analysis

We conducted extensive financial analysis of the first year of operations as a startup company. We produced a Costings Table, Cash Flow Statement, Balance Sheet and a Profit and Loss Statement to ensure that starting this business would be viable. These can be found below, and our full analysis and assumptions can be found within the business plan at the bottom of the page.

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Future Development

Vision Statement

The PETexe vision is to revolutionise the washing machine industry, creating a future in which laundry is no longer the largest contributor to microplastic pollution.
Below, our five year plan details what we aim to do to achieve this goal.




  • Patent pending for the an optimised filter design developed for the most effective removal of microplastics at specific washing machine flow rates. This way other companies may indeed copy the filter but could not copy the optimised design.
  • An optimised filter design, with further testing and funding from external partners to provide more rigorous testing protocols to ensure its suitability and reliability for inside a washing machine.
  • Further involvement with washing machine manufacturers as to their current filter and electronic valve technology, ensuring the technology is accessible at the manufacturing stage for all companies involved.




  • Optimisation of the PETase and MHETase enzymes, improving their stability for use within the filter, using further exploration of the most stable ancestors
  • IP on specific ancestors of MHETase and PETase discovered using the ancestral reconstruction software.
  • Collaboration and funding from enzyme companies, who would provide the enzyme powders. These powders would then be converted into a solution, which would be tested on PET plastics to ensure that a solution with enzymes sent by a larger enzyme company are as effective as the ones developed and tested within the lab environment.




  • Integration of the filter system into the inside of a test washing machine, running tests to determine its reliability within the machine. For example, determining how long the filter would before it needed changing, how often enzyme solution needs replacing and the best ways for the user to do this if the filter is integrated in the washing machine.
  • The optimisation of the enzymes activity to reduce the number of times the consumer would need to input the enzyme solution into the washing machine.
  • Begin to pitch and sell the integrated filter to widespread washing machine companies, producing larger quantities of the filter.




Future Planning

Potential Funding

Once we have formed a start-up company, we are planning to gain funding and capital through various different methods, including investment, competitions and grants. We are hoping to receive potential investment by further developing the relationships with different brands that we have gained throughout this project, and by continuing to listen to the feedback they give to create a product which fits their needs. There are many competitions and grants that we are interested in applying for, including the H&M Made for Change Award, Shell LiveWIRE Awards, CleanTech Challenge, Lloyd's Bank National Business Awards. We plan to apply to these, plus other funding competitions, as soon as we have successfully formed a start-up.

Gantt Chart

We have produced a Gantt Chart to show our major milestones and goals for the first 5 years, including the set up of the company and key events after that. Each target is given a start date, a due date, and an estimation of the length of time it will take to complete, so that we can effectively plan around these key milestones to complete everything within schedule.





Business Plan

Our business plan describes in detail how our business is going to achieve its goals. It lays out a written plan from a marketing, financial and operational viewpoint. To read our full business plan, see the document below.

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