Refining the Business Plan for Blue Planet Ecosystems

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In our project course Business Planning, we had the opportunity to work with the Austrian start-up Blue Planet Ecosystems which is developing containers that turn sunlight into seafood. The company's vision is to provide sustainable and scalable aquaculture and, therefore, to feed countries and cities with high-quality, pollutant-free seafood under the current worsening conditions of climate change where conventional aquaculture is not the most viable solution anymore.

Assignment

The assignment was to rework and expand the existing business plan which can then be handed to potential investors, such as venture capitalists, to raise additional capital. Furthermore, a thorough market analysis and go-to-market strategy were needed. Last but not least, it was our responsibility to create a VC data room to prepare the management for further negotiations with venture capitalists.

Methodology

Throughout the semester, we analyzed the existing business plan in the light of the interests of venture capitalists and located sections in the business plan which had to be improved or were still needed. Furthermore, we screened several possible target markets and conducted more thorough market analyses for three key target markets with the highest fit for Blue Planet Ecosystems’ product. Finally, we created multiple financial projections considering a best, most likely, and worst scenario.

Results

In our final business plan, we analyzed three key target markets: Austria, Saudi Arabia, and California. For these markets, we conducted research including consumer behavior, governmental support, fish production and consumption, as well as potential first customers. Based on the market analyses, we developed a go-to-market strategy for each market. Additionally, we built several in-depth financial forecasts until 2025 to provide investors with a detailed overview of the company’s finances. Finally, we filled the VC data room with answers to 100 typical questions posed by venture capitalists.

Cooperation Partner

• Blue Planet Ecosystems
  Perfektastraße 88/Object 3
  1230 Vienna
  Austria
  www.blueplanetecosystems.com

Contact Person

• Paul Schmitzberger
  paul@blue-planet-ecosystems.com

Student Team

• Eszter Brhilk

• Lukas Eberhart

• Moritz Schaller

• Maximilian Schitter

• Peter Moravec

• Alexander Valtingojer

Project Managers

• Carola Wandres, M.Sc.

• Richard Olbrecht, MSc (WU)