SBI Project List for Spring 2007

Below please find the list of organizations and entrepreneurs that are seeking your services. This list is pre-screened for appropriateness of the project for this class. The organizations’ names often are left out to keep company data and their request confidential, although this may be relevant only for some. More information on these organizations and the project is available from your instructor. Please note that the descriptions below only roughly summarize the information provided by the client. Much refinement and redefinition of the projects are likely once you engage the client in your consulting work.

Business Plans

1.      A group of Missoula physicians is about to open a number of retail clinics in pharmacies and grocery stores in Western Montana. Retail clinics are a new concept in medical services where patients receive basic services at very low prices from physicians and physician assistants in retail environments. The concept was developed on the East Coast; the best-known retail clinic chain is “Minute Clinic.” While the first clinic of this group of physicians is about to open in the Bitterroot Valley, no business plan exists yet. Thus the group is asking you to develop a complete business plan that also identifies various site locations in Western Montana.

2.      A well-known Missoula business man is considering starting up a business that would provide low-cost wireless internet access in relevant buildings throughout the state of Montana. Currently there are numerous services in Montana, but no single provider for the entire state. Relevant locations include airports, shopping malls, etc. You are asked to perform a feasibility study and—if the project is considered feasible—to create the business plan for it. If not, alternatives need to be developed. The business man is currently serving in the Montana House of Representatives and will not be available for consultation for part of the project. Thus you will initially work with him and then with his designee, who has experience in this business but lives out of state.

3.      When the Soviet Union gave up direct control of the economy in the early 1990s, it also privatized a very large database it had created over decades. The database contains information on geophysical and geological information of the entire globe and is currently used to predict the likelihood of oil and gas reserves in Russia and China. The owners of the database have created a company, see www.pangea.ru, that performs geological risk services using this database and new, highly sophisticated software, mostly for large customers in the oil and gas industry. Pangea is now considering entering the North American market. Your job is to develop a business plan for this market entry. This project involves designing a business model for Pangea U.S., considering legal issues (such as data protection or liability), evaluating the financial feasibility, etc.

4.      Transynaptic Technologies LLC (TT) is a bio-tech venture and was formed in Montana in the Spring of 2006 to commercialize technology produced by faculty at the University of Montana. The company has two focus areas. The first concerns designing, testing, and producing new molecules for therapeutic, diagnostic, and research applications related to neurological disorders. The second aim of the company is to synthesize and commercially distribute off-patent molecules that are widely used in the academic and pharmaceutical research communities.

4.1.The first focus area for the company is in design and synthesis of novel compounds that interact with neurotransmitter transporters. An example of such a therapeutic compound is Prozac, which is widely used for treatment of depression. TT is actively developing analogous new molecules. The research group cloned the glutamate transporter genes from human brain and holds patents for several of them. There is presently a lack of selective drugs to block these transporters. TT recently filed for patent protection for a new glutamate transporter–selective compound that was developed at UM. This compound shows promise as a new research tool and possible therapeutic agent, potentially treating several disorders, including schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. The market for other unrelated drugs now used in treating these disorders exceeds 1 billion dollars a year. Your task is to write a business plan for this new compound to demonstrate commercial potential and attract additional research funding from public and private investors.

4.2.One strength of TT is in medicinal synthetic chemistry: The general market for the use of such compounds in neuroscience research is very large and these targets are the subject of study by academic and pharmaceutical research groups throughout the world. There are a number of companies focused on supplying research chemicals, ranging from relatively large companies like Sigma-Aldrich to specialty companies such as Tocris Bioscience. TT’s goal is to identify a limited subset of research molecules related to receptors and transporters in the brain. Dozens of these compounds are no longer patent-protected, and TT estimates margins for many to exceed 1000%. The firm believes there is a significant market opportunity in research chemicals analogous to that of “generic” drugs in the medical-pharmaceutical domain. Thus, the goal is to utilize TT’s glutamate research background and synthetic expertise to produce and distribute these compounds and to develop a reputation as a supplier of high quality, reasonably priced compounds targeted at glutamate receptors and transporters. There is a need to write a business plan for this venture too, which is completely separate from project 3.1.

6.      Sugarloaf Cabins (www.sugarloafcabinsandlodge.com) near Anaconda is building a lodge and planning to enter the events business (weddings, business meetings, receptions, etc.). Although some plans and funding are in place, the venture needs a complete business plan with a focus on marketing and operations. Your task is to design a marketing strategy and develop a complete business plan for this client.

7.      Two professionals in Missoula are considering building a top-notch events center on the river in or near to Missoula. The center would host weddings, conferences, receptions, etc. and take advantage of the natural beauty of Missoula and a location right on the river. Your task is to perform a feasibility study and—assuming a positive outcome—a business plan for this events center that identifies a location, market and marketing strategy, financial projections, funding needs, etc.

8.      A Missoula Pharmacist wants to open an independent retail pharmacy in a nearby town. With limited business skills, however, she needs you to write a business plan that outlines the details of the business, such as optimal location, marketing and advertising, human resources, breakeven analysis, financial pro-formas, etc.

9.      A Missoula business man and owner of a horse stable in the Bitterroot Valley wants to start a web-based clearing house for horse activities in western Montana. The website would contain all kinds of information on horses-related topics from “Where can I rent a horse?” to “Who can train my horse?” to “Where do I find feed and horse-related equipment?” The information could be organized by cities or counties. Interested parties would get information, phone numbers, websites, etc. The website would generate revenue from advertising, businesses listed, fees paid for “click throughs”, etc. Customers are stables, feed and tack stores, trailers stores, veterinarians, etc. Your task is to develop a business plan that outlines the design and management of the website, marketing, projected costs and revenues, investments required, financial proformas, etc.

Marketing Plans

10.  Creative Arts Publishing Co. is an established distributor (www.creativeartspublishing.com) of the photographic artwork of a Missoula artist. The company currently sells calendars, note cards, posters, etc. through its website, in stores in the national parks and through national retailers. The firm plans to expand and asks you to develop a marketing plan for existing and new products of the company. This project asks for your creativity to discover new markets and new venues for the firm.

Other Consulting Projects

11.  The Center for Structural & Functional Neuroscience in the UM Pharmacy School has been engaged in bio-tech research for several years, funded by double-digit million dollar grants from the NIH. The result of this work has been a number of innovations that are now being patented and becoming ready for commercialization. The Center has spun off several new business ventures, owned by the scientists involved in the research. Conditions of the research projects require that they be split up legally into separate business units. However, for efficiency and intellectual property reasons, some form of holding structure may be needed to create common control and ownership designation. You are asked to design such a holding structure for the Center’s ventures. This is largely a legal and managerial challenge. Exemplary structures may be found at other universities, in the oil exploration business and other research environments.

12.  A local family is looking into developing 16 acres of land it owns on Flathead Lake. Thus this is a real estate development project and your job is to look into the feasibility of various development alternatives. Among other topics, your efforts involve documenting zoning/development restrictions on Flathead Lake; market research on different time share concepts; target market research if decision on design concept is made in time; development of a preliminary marketing and operation plan as well as a budget.

13.  The President of The University of Montana has asked the business school to consider starting a doctoral (Ph.D.) program that would train future business professors. You are asked to look into the feasibility of such a program and potentially develop an implementation plan. This requires you to consider budgetary issues, accreditation concerns, resource requirements, curriculum, etc.

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