Graphene Frontiers (v1.3)• Zhengtang Tom Luo: EL• A.T. Charlie Johnson: PI• Mike Patterson: Mentor

• The subject of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics, graphene is believed to be the strongest and most conductive material ever measured

• Graphene Frontiers is working to scale and commercialize a patent pending production process for manufacturing graphene that produces a higher quality material at a lower cost than other known methods

The Business Model Canvas

Low Cost Thermal Mgmt Solutions

Direct Sales

Scale up

IP

Equipment Mfg

Direct Sales/Travel

Transparent Conduct. (Touch)

Chem/Bio Sensor

Education

Service/Maint.

License

Higher Quality

Large Area

“Industrializable”

License/RoyaltyCapital equipment

Lab space

Personnel

CVD Equipment

Facilities/Lab

Customization

Universities

Downstream fabrication companies

Intermediate product

Replace ITO

Collaborative R & D

What We Did• More calls to personal network: “Do you know anyone…?”

• Research to identify companies in target markets: Building the target list – Web, industry/research reports, personal network, “who else should we talk

to?” – Target: 75 Actual: 47 and counting

• 26 Cold calls to known companies– Transfers and voicemails… not productive, but still trying. Need to network

outside-in… a few hits this week.

• More emails– 30+ Broad distribution… asking for 15 minutes to “get your perspective”

• Google AdWords Campaign + Survey Monkey– 3 days, 8,555 Impressions, 34 people clicking through to our site, ZERO

contacts/closes.– Our Grade for execution: D+… but not an F. Will work out the kinks

• 7 New “Real” conversations, 3 shy of 10 goal (detail next slide)

• Using Free CRM + LLL to coordinate contacts

Action: Get out of the building and talk to 10-15 customers face-to-face

Progress: 7 “new” conversations this week:•<Membrane Switch co China?>•Tramonto Circuits – Bill (Director R&D)•Local Tech Investor – Ken Leith•FirstNano/CVD Equipment – Gary Dyal, high interest (Sales + partnership)•GrafTech – Lionel Batty (VP R&D), continued interest, signing NDA•GE – Straub (thermometrics, St. Mary’s, PA), passing us to NY R&D•Morgan AM&T – engineer excited, bumping us up to research div.•ATI Allegheny Ludlum•Ford (rescheduled to Weds)•Lockheed•SPI Supplies•ThinDiamond•Adamant Technologies (nano)•Fujifilm – Don Schroeder, Lawrence Warter•Solutia – (Strikeout… contact retired)•Dontech – (redirected – looking for new contact)

Tramonto Circuits, Bill, Not interested in conductive film, but thinks we should talk to membrane switch company. 

PannamWe don’t make mebrane swithes, imported from China

NINGBO BOLIN ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD, Membrane switch manufacturer in China, for membane switch the silver paste (~$10 in per kg paste).  This is not easy to beat.

Transparent conductive electrodes

What are the advantages?Cost?Properties? How difficult to changeQuality control

What were your hypotheses about who your users and customers were? Did you learn anything different?

• Leading Customer Segments– Transparent Conductors << Still viable, but “problematic” >> Tramonto– Chemical/Bio Sensors << Still viable, but not “confirmed” >>– Thermal Management << Still viable, but not “confirmed” >>

• Hypothesis Test:– Contact 10 Customers in each segment <<10+ more next week>>– “Do you value what we can produce?” <<YES!>>– How would you use it? <<Needs to be integrated into prod. Line??>>– How much do you need? <<Not enough info yet>>– What would you pay for it? <<Not enough info, but we’re starting to

hear that cost may be more critical than

we thought – esp. as ITO replacement >>

• Pass/Fail Criteria– Pass: “We could use that for XXX”, “We would pay for that” “I’d like to hear more…

that sounds like pretty good stuff” <<5/7 PASS>>– Fail: “What’s graphene?” “We already have that” “We’re not interested” “I don’t know

what we’d use that for” “our end customers aren’t asking for that…” “we’d like to play with it, but there’s no market right now…”

Did anything change about Value Proposition?

•Affirmation that cost matters, especially in cases where graphene replaces materials where performance isn’t #1 satisfier (e.g. silver paste, ITO)

•Starting to see a faint pattern that suggests that integration into existing production lines is *very* valuable… have not yet seen an instance where graphene would be a basic input to or final application of a manufacturing process

What do customers say their problems are? How do they solve this problem(s) today? Does your value proposition solve it? How?

•Still not enough product specific data on this… only have our impressions/opinions based on graphene performance specs

•Problem in application is seamless integration into existing production… may be better, but is it easier?

What was it about your product that made customers interested? Excited?

•Everyone has heard of it, most seem to think that their “company is working on it”, a few are actually working on it, those who are working on it are usually in R&D

•“Getting graphene into our product line would be a differentiator” <GrafTech>

•Most excited response award goes to CVD Equipment, sales department: “That’s terrific!! So how big a furnace are you guys looking for?” $$$

If your customer is part of a company, who is the decision maker, how large is their budget, what are they spending it on today, and how are they individually evaluated within that organization, and how will this buying decision be made?

•So far, most ‘hits’ have been in R&D, suggesting that most applications are still in prototype or design phase. New product design (product management, engineering) and R&D departments generally have separate budgets (biggest R&D appears to be in ‘old industry’ companies looking for a breakout product)

•Buying decision will likely be made on basis of:1. End customer needs (is graphene performance really valued?)2. Chance to be first mover – Innovation Flagship product3. Cost to implement vs. price premium possible (related to #1)

The Business Model Canvas

Low Cost Thermal Mgmt Solutions

Direct Sales

Scale up

IP

Equipment Mfg

Direct Sales/Travel

Transparent Conduct. (Touch)

Chem/Bio Sensor

Education

Service/Maint.

License

Higher Quality

Large Area

“Industrializable”

License/RoyaltyCapital equipment

Lab space

Personnel

CVD Equipment

Facilities/Lab

Customization

Universities

Downstream fabrication companies

Intermediate product

The Business Model Canvas

Low Cost Thermal Mgmt Solutions

Direct Sales

Scale up

IP

Equipment Mfg

Direct Sales/Travel

Transparent Conduct. (Touch)

Chem/Bio Sensor

Education

Service/Maint.

License

Higher Quality

Large Area

“Industrializable”

License/RoyaltyCapital equipment

Lab space

Personnel

CVD Equipment

Facilities/Lab

CustomizationUniversities

Downstream fabrication companies

Intermediate product