El-Ghazali Sofia (CLO, CMO)
Green Tech
Room 3 (Who)
Objective: learn how to launch a start-up and how to use Debate Graph platform for a successful communication within the team and effective brain-storming.
Role: Chief Legal Officer (CLO) and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
This year, the business internship consists of an online lecture in which we are working as a team on how to launch a start-up. The chosen name of our start up is Green Tech.
We are using Debate graph as a means of communication. The Debate graph is a genuinely interesting platform of communication in which we can share ideas with all the members and creates a network to which everyone can have access, edit and delete. Therefore, we can decide the most outstanding idea which is worth to be implemented on the ground.
I belong to room 3 (who). The objective of this room is to identify the customers who want to pay for our eco bags. The customers can be all the citizens, manufacturing companies and everyone involved in the supply-chain.
In the framework of biodiversity conservation, we thought about the product “Eco-bag” as a sustainable shopping bag made by eco-friendly materials.
We are still discussing which material should be used for the fabrication of this product.
We concluded that there is no such 100% eco-friendly bag. As per three considerations:
- Synthetic materials are made from petroleum polymers. These materials have a negative impact on the environment. Petroleum-derived contaminants constitute one of the most prevalent sources of environmental degradation in the industrialized world.
- Natural textiles when used extensively, this may lead to their extension which threatens the biodiversity conservation.
- Recycled materials need to be processed by an industrial treatment which requires energy which is a potential source of pollution.
I suggested Nut shell waste or coffee grounds as a raw material for the production of eco bags in order to contribute in the reduction the amount of waste discarded to landfill.
“2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed in the world daily.” Wikipedia
My idea of the bags production of a composite material by using these waste materials along with a polymer matrix.
We will proceed for a chemical treatment of the waste particles, then deciding the polymer, considering the applications and finally attempting to prepare a suitable composite.
We will start by an Alkali treatment, then a neutralization with Acetic Acid and thoroughly washing with water and left for drying.
After that, we will conduct grinding if necessary on waste materials submersed in liquid nitrogen as a very effective technique, followed by sieving in order to have a homogeneous powder.
The polymer used will be a cellulose based material such as Cellulose acetate. This composite will be the base for manufacturing the bags.
The idea is that the customers, with an ecologic mindset, shall use this product for as long as possible. So we should invest in the aesthetic aspect as well.
My role as a CLO is to protect the Intellectual property of the start-up which means all property rights, including patents, copyrights, trade secrets and confidential information.
Eco bags will be designed with respect to IPR. According to the Japanese trade regulations, the market of bags is open and we can manufacture bags and enter in the competition. We should work to register the copyright of our innovative product.
In addition, while carrying our daily tasks, the following points will be considered:
- Developing corporate legal strategy to protect the matters of Green Tech.
- Leading internal audit and corporate compliance programs.
- Overseeing delivery of legal services to accomplish corporate goals and strategies.
- Maintaining proper corporate interactions between the governmental bodies and legislatures.
As a CLO, I also contribute in the management, e.g. team reviews, career development, developing networks, helping with projects. Another important role of CLO is motivating the team, by valuing or complimenting them, this undoubtedly increase the productivity and maintains a good working environment within the organization.
On the other hand, as a CMO, I am responsible for the marketing activities in an organization.
As basics of marketing, we should define four important points:
1. Customers: the target demographic can be all the citizens, manufacturing companies and everyone involved in the supply-chain.
2. Placement: as a start-up of less than ten people, I suggest that we will have an online platform to sell our bags and the manufacturing process will be out-sourced.
3. Marketing Medium: e-mails, social media, phone
4. Promotion: In order to drive the initial sales of your bags, we will create a special promotion for our launch; we will offer a special 25-percent-off in the first week. We will advertise this promotion through the favorite social media of our customers.
In order to work together with customers, I am suggesting multi-channel support strategy and Email communication as the main channel for our structure. But the most important is to make sure that we’re talking directly with our customers to understand how we can make choices and where they want support.
The following are the channels most likely to be used:
1. Email
As an online business, email customer service is a non-negotiable channel. 91% of consumers use email every single day. (source: www.groovehq.com)
Not only does email enable immediate response, it also ensures we keep track of all outgoing and incoming communication.
2. Phone
Phones account for 68% of all support interactions. (source: www.groovehq.com). Many customers prefer the speed and convenience of being able to pick up the phone and get an answer right away.
3. Social Networks
As almost everyone, customers certainly spend time each day on at least one social network. We should discuss with our customers by preparing a questionnaire about which social media platform is the most used in order to achieve successful business operations by delivering great support in that channel. Companies who use social media see an average churn rate that’s 15% higher than companies who don’t. (source: www.groovehq.com)