Hashtag+BLUE+-+Project+Structure

This is overview of Project Structure #BLUE


 * Triangle Members**
 * Please confirm acceptance of draft terms below or issues with any terms and that you are good with Jan 1st start, and how many hours per week you will work Jan 1st forward, and what is other work you are doing.**
 * example record - Steve Kantor: I am good with terms, ready for Jan 1 start, will work 25 hours per week, I have a full-time job also as President of Lifebushido which takes up 40 hours per week.


 * Anthony Bui-Tran: Agree with the terms. Jan 1st date will not work for me. Jan 3rd will. Also, 10+ hours a week will be best for me.


 * Teddy Chivetta: I agree with the terms. Jan 1st start date works for me, and I can commit to 20+ hrs per week. I work as a full time consultant at Accenture. The trade-off to allow for this time will be a decrease in time spent with my band which is currently 12-hrs per week.


 * Graeme Cox: I am good with the terms. I will be ready to start Jan 1st at 20 hours per week. I have a full-time job as a BDR at EnPowered and am also working on a personal venture on the side.


 * Gaelan Goodfellow: I am good with the terms below and I will work 30+ hours per week and I am ready to start on Jan 1st. Currently I am working on growing my business BinStrap and creating awareness of the impacts Unsecured wheelie bins are causing to our Environment, Rivers, Oceans, Animals, Birds, Wildlife and so on. I have just begun a collaboration working with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation and the Not Whale Food organisations this week, I also work with other smaller organisations including the Vincent Wildlife Trust. Working on my own business lets me dictate the hours I spend on different projects, 30+ hours a week on top of my work schedule is very achievable. Helping to create and turn #BLUE into a successful business is an utmost priority. Thank you.


 * Zepha Jackson: I confirm both the Jan 1, 2018 start date and 30+ hours committed to #Blue work. I have now completed several other projects and I am now working on building my sustainable brand, Last Layer, being the business owner means my hours are flexible and can be put it at anytime, anywhere in the world. For #Blue, it is very achievable for me to spend 30+ hours working in this project and also to travel to wherever is necessary around the world.


 * Julia Nikola Kasatkin: Start Jan 1, 2018-confirmed. 35+ hours commitment-confirmed. I have had 2+ ongoing Ocean related projects of my own since we started the #Blue Triangle selection process. On a regular basis I have up to 5 projects to manage successfully. The timelines now for all 3, including #Blue, are well defined and to be respected as had been demonstrated during the process. The terms for #Blue are accepted. Thank you.


 * Asmita Kulkarni; I am okay with the January 1st start and I can confirm being able to put in over 20-30 hours/ week. I won't be taking any classes and would most likely work a day job so it won't be a problem at all.


 * Sebastian Nicholls: Confirmed I am good with the terms, and can commit to a minimum of 25 hours per week. I work full time as a consultant at Accenture, 40-60 hrs per week usually but time varies. In addition I have managed several projects while working on the side, including in the past year: Planning a conference with the State Department, research on the Blue Economy and Blue Economy Investment framework needed, consulting on the Global Ocean Refuge System, an initiative of Marine Conservation Institute and serving on the board of two local nonprofits (Ocean Film Festival and Charge Across Town). From January 1st, I will have only my board responsibilities)(8 hrs/ week in addition to my job and some dive travel booked.


 * Molly Paul: I am good with the terms. Jan 1st start works well at 25+ hours per week. I am a full time student at UNC Chapel Hill with 12 credit hours next semester (aka about 4 classes) and a research position (taken for course credit as part of those 12 credit hours) which takes 9 hours per week. Additionally, I am a UN Global Schools Ambassador in training, which takes about 5 hours per week.


 * Florence Turiaf: I agree with the terms. Jan 1st start works for me and I can commit to 15+ hours per week. I am conducting a full time research in remote islands around the world which takes 40+ hours a week and I am also working on a personal venture for 10+ hours a week.

Start Dec 1st or Jan 1st. Duration: 3 months. Work hours: Minimum effort of 20 hours per week per core Triangle Member. Helpers may help from 1-10 hours per week.
 * Timeframe**

The winning team will receive over $40,000 in tools, resources and funding. The Maverick mentor group will help allocate the funding based on key initiatives and provide recommended vendors, however the Triangle can ultimately choose (with mentors) how to allocate their resources.
 * Resources:**


 * Draft allocation:**
 * $10,000 startup funding (open funding) - open pool of funds for Triangle to use

//Potential recommendation://
 * //$5,000 website development//
 * //$5,000 consulting/training i.e. sales training or story telling//
 * //$10,000 marketing funds & campaign creation//
 * //$10,000 Intellectual property development//

The company will be organized as an LLC with 1,000,000 shares at $40,000 valuation. 20% (Series A preferred) reserved for the Maverick board of advisors (200,000 units)
 * Operations Structure & Equity:**

80% to be allocated as common units. (800,000 units), Of the 800,000 common units, 20% (160,000 units) will be allocated as equity for the Triangle team members. 1-year vesting, 6-month cliff. So after the initial 3-month "trial" - operating team can decide to stay on or not to qualify for equity position.

640,000 common units will remain a pool for allocation based on board's recommendation for key partners, capital raise, incentives, etc.


 * Royalty:**
 * Gross revenue royalty of 3% to Maverick after first $25,000 in revenue. At $1,000,001 in gross revenue in a calendar year, the royalty reduces to 2.5% ongoing.
 * Gross revenue royalty of 5% to Ocean Unite from dollar 1.

Note: More detailed operating agreement to follow.

Q. Can Triangle Members be on Board of Advisors? How will the board of #BLUE be constituted? I'm guessing that Ocean Unite/Maverick/Lifebushido will have a seat at the table. Beyond that, can we recruit board members that we think will be valuable? How many people will be on the Board? A. Yes there would be representation from the triangle members and there is an opportunity to add additional advisors as this progresses. The current number is not set, but most likely 5 members.
 * FAQs answered (I'm sorry this was never saved before)**

Q. If 20% of common units is allocated to Triangle Members, the ideal number to be happy with a Member's stake/revenue generation is then 5. Will the Triangle leader receive more or will it be equal? A. It will be up to the team and/or project CEO to decide on allocation.

Q. Would the allocation of stock based on board recommendation be a dictate based on the Board's suggestion, or will partners to allocate stock to be determined jointly by the Board and the core team? A. The allocation of stock from the pool would be based on Board recommendation.

Q. Is the Corp in the U.S.? A. Yes, the LLC will be based in the U.S. There should not be an issue to have non-US citizens as participants.

Q. What happens after 1 year of operations, if successful? Contracts? 3-6-12 months? 1-5 years? Negotiable? A. This will up to the team. Our goal is to create a sustainable and profitable business that can continue operating for the long-term.

Q. Royalties are based on gross revenue-- does that mean the responsibility of 5% to Maverick and 5% to Ocean Unite will still be required regardless of whether it is profitable yet or not? A. Yes, this should be factored into expenses so pricing and margin can be adjusted accordingly.

Q. Is the IP development fund destined for research, or patent/ legal? A. The IP development is around the assessment, implementation and sharing/messaging of what has been done. Ultimately it will be up to the corp to decide how to utilize this IP in more ways.

Q. Could designing and building infrastructure to support a plastic deposit refund system be a part of the services provided by BLUE beyond accreditation? Would an alternative pricing model/ continuous cashflow from such plastic deposit refund infrastructure or other continuing service offerings be acceptable in the corporate structure defined? A. Other revenue and business models are certainly possible based on team and Board's input and strategic direction.

Q. Re Intellectual property development, can this include physical products that can be created and designed by a triangle? A. Yes, this has been something that has come up in research and may be a possible model.

Q. I noticed on the Hashtag Blue site that the pricing already published on the accreditation agreement draft is of $5,000 per business registered. Is that negotiable? It would not make sense to charge a local grocery $5,000 and say, Coke, the same amount for the accreditation, I believe it would make more sense to charge as a % of the business in question, because a flat fee of $5000 would not cover the cost of audit for larger clients. A. This was a placeholder. The fee has not been set yet and will be developed by the winning team as their ongoing Marketplace validation.

Q. When will we begin designating roles more specifically? A. Once the final teams are selected, the roles can be more formally established.

Q. In relation to the recommended allocation, if say we had change from one area, can we relocate it to another to improve that area? A. Yes the sample 40k budget is just a recommendation. Board and team input will decide on strategic usage.

Q. Who are mentors? Do they overlap with the Board of Advisors? A. Mentors are Maverick1000 members and other key experts available for just-in-time and ongoing help and support. Each one has successfully built a 7 or multiple 7-figure company from startup. They are also experts specializing in digital marketing, selling to corporations, branding, scaling service based companies, consultant business models, etc. In some cases they might but you will have a much greater pool of advisors and just-in-time mentors available than just the Board.

Q. When approaching other companies can we use Maverick, Ocean Unite + Sir Richard Branson to promote the credibility of the brand #Blue and to help us build a reputation? A. You cannot use Sir Richard Branson or Virgin and you will be given guidelines on usage of Ocean Unite and Maverick.

Q. What is the final schedule? January to March or post that? Is the chance to meet Sir Richard still on the table for 2018 or moved to later? A. Ramp up through December 2017. Start up Jan 2017 through March 2017. Then the team will decide to stay on or not. The opportunity to meet Sir Richard Branson may or may not happen in 2017. Our regularly scheduled event on Necker has been postponed because of the Hurricane. We would be back on Necker in 2019. However, we have an Ocean focused Impact event (without Richard) Feb 6-8, 2018 in the Bahamas and we plan on bringing the team out to this.

Q. When is the expected date to be profitable by/goal? A. Ideally by end of phase I: March 2017. Or at least to show path to profitability.

Q. What is the estimated burn rate? A. This will vary based on what the company decides to do for payroll and resource allotment.

Q. What is the single most important thing to be accomplished and by when? A. Marketplace validation. (ie. getting to first "YES") As soon as possible.

Q. How do we plan to develop talent over time of the team? A. Like any decisions, the leadership team will decide when and how to bring in talent.

Q.Given that #Blue is doing well, will there be any further funding available if needed? A. Just like any business, you can decide if you want to bring in further investment.

Q. What are the top concerns/goals of the Mavericks? A. This is an experiment for us so our concern is creating a model that will work for future Evolved Enterprise/Impact business projects meeting the goal of sustainable, profitable and impactful.

Q. At what stage can we expect a contract/operating agreement of some sort? A. Most likely 2nd week of Dec will have an operating agreement.

Teddy Chivetta
 * Q: Is the phase 1 a firm 3 months? What happens if the team has a burn rate slower than 3 months? I foresee a good deal of planning will happen in phase 1 before any heavy expenses.
 * Q: What type of employment contract will the triangle members have with the company? Are we contractors to the LLC?
 * Q: Do we expect the triangle will work to redesign the website in phase 1? Are there mandatory requirements for the team to complete in Phase 1?
 * Q: What metrics will the board use to valuate the effectiveness and efficiency of the business at phase 1?
 * Q: What resources are available for follow on investment? Do we expect this may come from Maverick1000 and its network? If not, are there other resources available through the board?

Julia: Please recommend: the very first "YES" to be received; shall it come from a big (one of the biggest) players on the market, medium or small? Triangle Members add questions here starting with your name like: Steve Kantor
 * To the question " Q. What is the single most important thing to be accomplished and by when? A. Marketplace validation. (ie. getting to first "YES") As soon as possible."
 * FAQS**
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