jSpan Corporation is an ASP that provides remote access. jSpan allows independent professionals and small to medium businesses to have the same information access previously available in an enterprise environment.
7.1 Important Assumptions
jSpan Corporation assumes a constant price of $25 per month over the forecast period. The price for the service may decline over time; however, the addition of premium subscriptions and value added services will compensate for the price degradation. Approximately 15% of revenue will be shared with jSpan partners. Shared revenue is treated as a discount on the $25 price, resulting in per user revenue of $21.25 per month.
Under COGS, direct material cost is estimated based on the cost of bandwidth, monthly operational costs and licensing costs. An average cost and performance of T1 lines is used to approximate the cost of bandwidth. Operational costs are expected to be similar to the cost of customer care for Internet Service Providers, $3 to $7.50. Software will be licensed and other software added as value added services. Total per unit direct material cost is estimated at $6.50 for years one and two, $6, $5.50 and $5 for years three, four, and five, respectively. The drop in cost is due to the realization of economies of scale.
Employee salaries increase annually by 5%. Initial salaries may be somewhat lower than forecast, but will include options.
Operational hardware is leased on a 3-year capital lease. Some portion of this hardware may be purchased depending on the terms jSpan is able to negotiate. Hardware requirements are based on the number of servers and routers needed to support 2,000 users. The hardware cost per 2,000 users is estimated at $130,000 for years one and two, dropping to $65,000 for years three, four and five.
All capital purchases (hardware, software, furniture and fixtures) are depreciated over three years.
21 The Infrastructure Report: Internet Service Provider Industry Overview, Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation, December 1998.
General Assumptions
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Plan Month
1
2
3
4
5
Current Interest Rate
8.50%
8.50%
8.50%
8.50%
8.50%
Long-term Interest Rate
8.50%
8.50%
8.50%
8.50%
8.50%
Tax Rate
2.50%
0.00%
2.50%
0.00%
2.50%
Other
0
0
0
0
0
7.2 Financing Plan
The management estimates that achieving forecast results will require approximately $14.9 million in capital. Break-even operations are anticipated in the second quarter of FY 2003, at which time gross revenues will be approaching a $109 million annual run rate, and gross margin contribution of 64%.
jSpan Corporation has either completed or anticipates funding the above capital requirement as follows:
Seed, June, 1999 — $500,000
Series A, January, 2000 — $3,200,000
Series B, October, 2000 — $11,200.000
Total — $14,900,000
Start-up
Requirements
Start-up Expenses
Legal
$0
Other
$0
Total Start-up Expenses
$0
Start-up Assets
Cash Required
$498,500
Other Current Assets
$0
Long-term Assets
$1,500
Total Assets
$500,000
Total Requirements
$500,000
Start-up Funding
Start-up Expenses to Fund
$0
Start-up Assets to Fund
$500,000
Total Funding Required
$500,000
Assets
Non-cash Assets from Start-up
$1,500
Cash Requirements from Start-up
$498,500
Additional Cash Raised
$0
Cash Balance on Starting Date
$498,500
Total Assets
$500,000
Liabilities and Capital
Liabilities
Current Borrowing
$0
Long-term Liabilities
$0
Accounts Payable (Outstanding Bills)
$0
Other Current Liabilities (interest-free)
$0
Total Liabilities
$0
Capital
Planned Investment
Investor 1
$200,000
Investor 2
$200,000
Other
$100,000
Additional Investment Requirement
$0
Total Planned Investment
$500,000
Loss at Start-up (Start-up Expenses)
$0
Total Capital
$500,000
Total Capital and Liabilities
$500,000
Total Funding
$500,000
7.3 Exit Strategy
By consolidating the highly fragmented market for independent professionals and businesses, jSpan is a potential acquisition target for corporations that offer goods and services to this market segment. Research indicates that recent acquisitions value qualified users between $300 and $500 per user. The interactive nature of the jSpan service is such that the value is likely to fall near the upper end of the range. Based on a $450 per user price, a conservative estimate is an acquisition value of approximately $105 million at the end of year three, increasing to over $1 billion by the end of year five. Successful diversification into related market segments could substantially increase the value of the corporation by exceeding the projected number of user accounts. The result would be a higher acquisition value or a potential public stock offering.
7.4 Projected Profit and Loss
The following table presents the projected profit and loss.
Pro Forma Profit and Loss
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Sales
$39,100
$4,706,250
$44,396,875
$199,306,250
$422,384,125
Direct Cost of Sales
$412,241
$2,437,134
$15,945,617
$49,092,698
$138,293,331
Other
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
Total Cost of Sales
$412,241
$2,437,134
$15,945,617
$49,092,698
$138,293,331
Gross Margin
($373,141)
$2,269,116
$28,451,258
$150,213,552
$284,090,794
Gross Margin %
-954.32%
48.21%
64.08%
75.37%
67.26%
Expenses
Payroll
$591,832
$1,712,195
$6,481,223
$22,925,573
$63,933,934
Sales and Marketing and Other Expenses
$1,894,597
$2,614,784
$5,324,365
$35,693,325
$85,000,000
Depreciation
$40,328
$201,000
$330,200
$1,103,600
$2,573,650
Bank Charges
$1,958
$188,250
$200,000
$1,000,000
$3,000,000
Insurance
$60,000
$60,000
$80,000
$120,000
$500,000
Rent
$12,000
$24,000
$84,000
$250,000
$1,000,000
Payroll Taxes
$88,775
$256,829
$972,183
$3,438,836
$9,590,090
Other
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
Total Operating Expenses
$2,689,490
$5,057,058
$13,471,971
$64,531,334
$165,597,674
Profit Before Interest and Taxes
($3,062,631)
($2,787,942)
$14,979,287
$85,682,218
$118,493,120
EBITDA
($3,022,303)
($2,586,942)
$15,309,487
$86,785,818
$121,066,770
Interest Expense
$23,077
$107,995
$352,032
$658,273
$1,410,643
Taxes Incurred
$0
$0
$365,681
$0
$2,927,062
Net Profit
($3,085,708)
($2,895,938)
$14,261,573
$85,023,945
$114,155,414
Net Profit/Sales
-7891.84%
-61.53%
32.12%
42.66%
27.03%
7.5 Projected Cash Flow
The Cash Flow chart and table are shown below.
Pro Forma Cash Flow
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Cash Received
Cash from Operations
Cash Sales
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
Cash from Receivables
$13,115
$1,604,540
$18,019,147
$96,356,061
$274,130,287
Subtotal Cash from Operations
$13,115
$1,604,540
$18,019,147
$96,356,061
$274,130,287
Additional Cash Received
Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Received
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
New Current Borrowing
$231,074
$605,792
$1,408,222
$1,727,000
$5,507,278
New Other Liabilities (interest-free)
$0
$0
$0
$0
$7,559,441
New Long-term Liabilities
$274,565
$1,211,583
$2,816,445
$3,454,000
$11,014,555
Sales of Other Current Assets
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
Sales of Long-term Assets
$1,500
$0
$0
$0
$0
New Investment Received
$3,703,050
$11,200,000
$41,835,000
$0
$0
Subtotal Cash Received
$4,223,304
$14,621,915
$64,078,814
$101,537,061
$298,211,561
Expenditures
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Expenditures from Operations
Cash Spending
$591,832
$1,712,195
$6,481,223
$22,925,573
$63,933,934
Bill Payments
$2,131,372
$5,582,680
$21,874,436
$84,752,098
$229,271,702
Subtotal Spent on Operations
$2,723,204
$7,294,876
$28,355,659
$107,677,671
$293,205,637
Additional Cash Spent
Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Paid Out
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
Principal Repayment of Current Borrowing
$93,792
$0
$0
$0
$0
Other Liabilities Principal Repayment
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
Long-term Liabilities Principal Repayment
$0
$100,000
$200,000
$2,000,000
$2,000,000
Purchase Other Current Assets
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
Purchase Long-term Assets
$605,000
$1,405,000
$1,292,000
$7,734,000
$14,700,000
Dividends
$0
$1,000,000
$2,000,000
$1,000,000
$0
Subtotal Cash Spent
$3,421,996
$9,799,876
$31,847,659
$118,411,671
$309,905,637
Net Cash Flow
$801,308
$4,822,039
$32,231,155
($16,874,609)
($11,694,075)
Cash Balance
$1,299,808
$6,121,848
$38,353,003
$21,478,393
$9,784,318
7.6 Projected Balance Sheet
The Balance Sheet follows.
Pro Forma Balance Sheet
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Assets
Current Assets
Cash
$1,299,808
$6,121,848
$38,353,003
$21,478,393
$9,784,318
Accounts Receivable
$25,985
$3,127,695
$29,505,423
$132,455,612
$280,709,450
Other Current Assets
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
Total Current Assets
$1,325,793
$9,249,543
$67,858,426
$153,934,005
$290,493,768
Long-term Assets
Long-term Assets
$605,000
$2,010,000
$3,302,000
$11,036,000
$25,736,000
Accumulated Depreciation
$40,328
$241,328
$571,528
$1,675,128
$4,248,778
Total Long-term Assets
$564,672
$1,768,672
$2,730,472
$9,360,872
$21,487,222
Total Assets
$1,890,465
$11,018,215
$70,588,898
$163,294,877
$311,980,990
Liabilities and Capital
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Current Liabilities
Accounts Payable
$361,276
$467,588
$1,917,031
$7,418,066
$19,867,490
Current Borrowing
$137,282
$743,074
$2,151,296
$3,878,296
$9,385,574
Other Current Liabilities
$0
$0
$0
$0
$7,559,441
Subtotal Current Liabilities
$498,558
$1,210,662
$4,068,327
$11,296,362
$36,812,505
Long-term Liabilities
$274,565
$1,386,148
$4,002,593
$5,456,593
$14,471,148
Total Liabilities
$773,123
$2,596,810
$8,070,920
$16,752,955
$51,283,653
Paid-in Capital
$4,203,050
$15,403,050
$57,238,050
$57,238,050
$57,238,050
Retained Earnings
$0
($4,085,708)
($8,981,646)
$4,279,928
$89,303,873
Earnings
($3,085,708)
($2,895,938)
$14,261,573
$85,023,945
$114,155,414
Total Capital
$1,117,342
$8,421,404
$62,517,978
$146,541,923
$260,697,337
Total Liabilities and Capital
$1,890,465
$11,018,215
$70,588,898
$163,294,877
$311,980,990
Net Worth
$1,117,342
$8,421,404
$62,517,978
$146,541,923
$260,697,337
7.7 Business Ratios
Standard business ratios are presented below, as well as comparative information for S.I.C code 7375, Computer Programming, Data Processing, And Information Retrieval Services.
By 
