1:  Company Introduction

Branding Statement (tagline) (slogan) (external vision) (for our customers)

To learn more about our ☀︎🚶︎🏠︎ outdoors,
identify your local
🌳︎ trees and shrubs,
using this
🏛 educational web app.  mobile-friendly graphic, select to go to about page section on mobile-friendly

"Connect to the world around you, identify nature on-the-go!"  mobile-friendly graphic, select to go to about page section on mobile-friendly

🎯︎ Target market

🌱︎🚶︎  Gardeners, landscapers, naturalists, teachers, students, ⚜︎ scouts, citizen scientists and anyone who wants to learn more about the world around them.

Competitive advantages

Versus our 📚︎ paper-based competitors, ICSN is:

  1. Lighter, more portable, and always with you — on your 📱︎ phone!
  2. Updatable, and more up-to-date.

Versus our online competitors, with ICSN:

  1. You will learn how to do it on your own!

Versus all our competitors, ICSN is:

  1. Much more user-friendly.
  2. Much more usable, identifying with 🔑︎ keys that are multi-access, bidirectional, polytomous and interactive, rather than single-access, unidirectional, dichotomous and static. Details.

Legal structure

I Can See Nature, LLC is a single-member LLC under the State of Michigan, ID=E7801U. [1] ID=802018334   It reports its income as a sole proprietorship, USA EIN=81-1545557.

Until we 👥︎ partner with someone (see Exit Strategy ).

Next steps:  Where do we go from here?

We will add ability for customers to keep track of what they see.

We will also 👥︎ partner with other organizations, allowing direct reporting into citizen science sites, to help build their databases of species distribution and population trends (MISIN added in v1.0.0.3).

And a long list of other enhancements (see Static Website Generator section TODO+BugList), adding value for our customers.

Customers:  profile, geography, buying behavior, problem solved, need filled

Please see Business Model Canvas sections (1) Customer Segments and (2) Value Propositions.

Competition:  who, what, where, how, SWOT

Please see Static Website Generator section Sources (it also lists competitors).

Benefits/features analysis:  value propositions

TBD

Pricing

Please see Business Model Canvas section (5) Revenue Streams .

Sales plan:  sales force, distribution, customer service, warranties

Please see Business Model Canvas sections (3) Distribution Channels and (4) Customer Relationships .

Management team

Eric Piehl, in consultation with Martha MacCleery, and rest of our Product Advisory Board.

Accountant

Eric Piehl, with support as needed from his mother, and a CPA in Chicago.

IT service

Eric Piehl .

Staffing objectives

None, as of .

Product Advisory Board

Please see Static Website Generator section Overview+ReleaseHistory.  (Formerly known as Alpha Test Group.)  (Could be called Board of Directors.)

4:  Financials

Assumptions

TBD

Income and Expense (P&L)

Please see Business Model Canvas sections (5) Revenue Streams and (9) Cost Structure .

Existing debt (if applicable) terms and conditions

None, as of .

Exit strategy

In , we linked to relevant citizen science sites, such as MISIN.

Next year, form 👥︎ strategic partnerships with iNaturalist, i-Tree tools, National Geographic, Smithsonian, or other high-quality organizations.  In , merge into this 👥︎ strategic partnership.

Business Model Canvas 1: Customer Segments

For whom are we creating value?  🌱︎🚶︎  Gardeners, landscapers, naturalists, 🏛 educators, students, ⚜︎ scouts, citizen scientists and anyone who wants to learn more about the world around them.

Customer Segment A:  Landscapers, foresters, and other professionals.  Will they pay?  Market size?  Are they growing?  Yes.  TBD.  TBD.

Customer Segment B:  🌱︎🚶︎  Gardeners, naturalists, and citizen scientists.  Will they pay?  Market size?  Are they growing?  A little.  1 million in 🇺🇸 USA.  Yes.

Customer Segment C:  Students, ⚜︎ scouts, 🏛 educators, and homeschool parents.  Will they pay?  Market size?  Are they growing?  A little.  60 million in 🇺🇸 USA.  Don't know.

Who will use our product most often?  🌱︎🚶︎  Gardeners.

Who is most severely impacted by the problem?  Landscapers.

Who are our most important customers?  Landscapers, 🌱︎🚶︎  gardeners and students.

Characteristics:  Mass Market vs Niche Market vs Segmented Market vs Diversified (e.g., GE) vs Multi-sided Platform (e.g., 📰︎ newspapers).  Niche Market, Segmented, Diversified.

Business Model Canvas

Business Model Canvas 3:  Distribution Channels

Through which (3) Distribution Channels do our (1) Customer Segments want to be reached — customer touch points?  Direct sales?  Word of Mouth?  Where to buy?  How do we deliver?  (1) mobile-friendly graphic, select to go to about page section on mobile-friendly Re­spon­sive web app on 📱︎ smartphone or  tablet, or 💻︎ computer.  (2) 📲︎ Downloadable mobile app on 📱︎ smartphone or  tablet.  (3) TBD.

How are we reaching them now?  Web, 📧︎ email, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter),  talks at 👥︎ local groups of interested people.  TBD.

How are our (3) Distribution Channels integrated?  TBD

Which (3) Distribution Channels work best?  TBD

Which (3) Distribution Channels are most cost-efficient?  TBD

How are we integrating our (3) Distribution Channels with customer routines (e.g., on way to work)?  Landscapers probably have a 📱︎ smartphone with them while at clients sites or plant nurseries.

Channel Phases:
  1. Awareness:  How do we raise awareness about our company's products and services?  TBD
  2. Evaluation:  How do we help customers evaluate our organization's Value Proposition?  TBD
  3. Purchase:  How do we allow customers to purchase specific products and services?  TBD
  4. Delivery:  How do we deliver a Value Proposition to customers?  TBD
  5. After sales:  How do we provide post-purchase customer support?  TBD

Business Model Canvas

Business Model Canvas 5:  Revenue Streams

What are we selling exactly?  Identification, and links to more resources.  Eyeballs and clicks?

For what value are our customers really willing to pay?  For a 📲︎ downloadable mobile app, US$5 or €5?  For a mobile-friendly graphic, select to go to about page section on mobile-friendly re­spon­sive web app, free, but supported by ads, or by donations?

For what do they currently pay?  US$7-25 or €6-22 per 📚︎ fieldbook.

How do they currently pay?  Bookstore, presumably by cash or credit card.

How do they prefer to pay?  TBD

How much does each Revenue Stream contribute to overall revenues?  TBD.  Ads + apps = total.  Ads currently use Altervista Leaderboard 728X90px at bottom of page, earning randomly €c6 + Ac11 per click or €c0.034 + Ac0.043 per unique impression, by a unique IP address in 24 hours.

How can we scale this?  Our Webserver is responsible for scaling their part.  Our Static Website Generator SWG helps us scale the R&D part.

Think better than a 1:1 transaction.  TBD.

Exit strategy?  Exit Strategy .

Types:  Asset sale, Usage fee, Subscription Fess, Lend/rent/lease, Licensing, Brokerage fees, Advertising, Fixed pricing (List price, Product-feature-dependent, Customer-segment-dependent, Volume-dependent), Dynamic pricing (Negotiation/bargaining, Yield Management, Real-time Market).  Advertising.  Later:  Subscription.  TBD.

Business Model Canvas

Business Model Canvas 7:  🔑︎ Key Activities

What 🔑︎ Key Activities do our (2) Value Propositions require?  TBD

What 🔑︎ Key Activities do our (3) Distribution Channels require?  TBD

What 🔑︎ Key Activities do our (4) Customer Relationships require?  TBD

What 🔑︎ Key Activities do our (5) Revenue Streams require?  TBD

Types of 🔑︎ Key Activities:  Production, Problem Solving, Platform/Network.  TBD

Business Model Canvas

Business Model Canvas 9:  Cost Structure

What are the most important costs inherent in our business model?  TBD

Which (6) 🔑︎ Key Resources are most expensive?  TBD

Which (8) 🔑︎ Key Activities are most expensive?  TBD

Is your business more:  Cost-Driven (leanest cost structure, low-price value proposition, maximum automation, extensive outsourcing) vs Value-Driven (focused on value creation, premium value proposition).  Value-Driven (focused on value creation, premium value proposition).

Think of Fixed Costs (salaries, rent, utilities), Variable Costs, Economies of Scale, and Economies of Scope.  TBD

Business Model Canvas

Business Model Canvas C:  👥︎ 🏞 Social and Environmental Cost

TBD?  TBD

TBD?  TBD

TBD?  TBD

Business Model Canvas

Elevator pitch:  1 minute

Hi, I am Eric Piehl (like a 🍌︎ banana), a 📱︎💻︎ computer geek who loves the ☀︎🚶︎🏠︎ outdoors.

I built an 🆔︎ 🔍︎ identification tool for 🌱︎🚶︎  gardeners, landscapers, naturalists, teachers, students, ⚜︎ scouts, citizen scientists and anyone who wants to learn more about our ☀︎🚶︎🏠︎ outdoors.

I call it "I Can See Nature!"  .com!  You can run it now!  [cards]

ICSN runs on 📱︎ smart­phones,  tablets and 💻︎ computers.

ICSN is 🏛 educational, not at all like LeafSnap and others.
[Demo.]  After using the tool, you will know about:

For students and ⚜︎ scouts, we provide:

For 🌱︎🚶︎  gardeners and naturalists, we provide:

For landscapers and foresters, we provide:

So far, mostly 🌳︎🌲︎ trees, shrubs and invasives, east of the 🗻︎ Rocky Mountains, we will later add other plants.  And 🐟︎ 🐢︎🐇︎ animal 🐾︎ tracks, 💩︎ scat and 🐝︎🐜︎🐛︎ bugs!  And ⛰💎︎ rocks and minerals!

My name is Eric Piehl.  I wrote iCanSeeNature.com.  Please use it, and help make it great!  Thank you!  [Call for questions, distribute cards.]

Elevator pitch:  📄︎ Notes for me

EP, geek outd.
🆔︎ 🔍︎ ID tool gard land teach.
ICSN.com. Now [card], ph tab com.
Edu ∼LS. St sc [Help]. Gard nat [solID Cntct LM]. Land fore [EYs Search].
Tree shr inv, ERock. Pla 🐾︎ 🍄︎ 💎︎.
ICSN.com, pls use, hlp me great!  ThkU! [card]

[Set NTCF WTF TF WWF FF 🐾︎ MNFI Flora ph cards idx*2 EWP.]
EP, geek outd. 🆔︎ 🔍︎ ID tool gard land teach.
M MG MN supp [NTCF WTF TF WWF FF 🐾︎ 🎒︎ MNFI Flora].
Fieldb ID: si-ac unid dic st, later.
Fut: mu-ac bid pol int, lat.  Look, no.
Built ICSN.com. Now [cards], ph tab com.
Andr iPh WP Mac PC, resiz orien.
Pl-nerd Edu ∼LS. [Demo.] St sc [Help bro-con sim-com alt-opp-whl].
Gard nat [solID 3121 Cntct LM]. Land fore [EYs Search].
Lite always, useful.  Web app, ad.  Mob app, partn, cit sci.
Tree shr inv, ERock. Rgn herb aqu flow fr-ber-n 🐾︎ moss 🍄︎ ⛰.
ICSN.com, pls use, hlp me great!  ThkU! [Q cards.]

Thank you!

  — Eric Piehl (he/him/his), Founder, CTO, 📱︎💻︎ computer geek/​Master Naturalist/​citizen scientist/​agent of change/​environmental entrepreneur.   Resume   LinkedIn   Eric Piehl comments on … some of my other projects.