REfficient
Presenter:
Stephanie McLarty, President
Email:
stephanie@refficient.com
Phone:
905-364-5266
Website:
http://www.REfficient.com
Address:
450 Sherman Ave N
Hamilton, ON
L8L8J6
Year Founded:
2010
Industry Sector:
Cleantech Category:
Company Overview:
REfficient is a online marketplace and services for selling, donating and recycling surplus assets.
REfficient enables companies to resell, donate and recycle their surplus assets, and provide integrated sustainability reporting. Their OptimalAsset tool reaches global buyers, local non-profits, and calculates stats on the process financial benefit, cost avoidance, waste diversion, and carbon footprint estimation.
REfficient also provides related material management, manages take-back programs and more. They current service other major Canadian telecom companies coast-to-coast and other organizations.
Markets & Applications:
REfficient designed its services to help organizations dispose of assets, whatever or wherever it is, following a number of trends:
- Everyone needs to maximize current resources
- Do more with less and get maximum value when selling assets
- Technology turnoveris increasing
- A lot of technology now has an average lifespan of 2 years
- 40M computers are upgraded by US businesses alone every year
- $200B is spent on telecom upgrades annually around the world
- Environmental and social responsibility is a priority
- 83% of F250 companies have a CSR report (as of 2008)
- Verifiable data is needed to avoid greenwashing & brand damage
Key markets include:
- Telecom
- Accounting
- Banking
- Utility
Key departments include:
- Material Management, Supply Chain, Asset recovery, Reverse logistics
- Procurement
- Corporate & Environmental Responsibility
Technology & Products:
1) OptimalAsset™ Sustainability Tool – get the most value for your assets and reduce your procurement costs
- An online tool which is part inventory management tool, sustainability calculator and online portal for auctions, fixed price store & donations
- Customers can post available equipment they don’t need for sale or donation – both if the assets are in their warehouse or ours
- Waste diversion and carbon footprint estimations are integrated
- An industry report will be provided (for telco’s only in 2011)2)
Trademarks have been filed for OptimalAsset™ and REfficient™.
2) Nationwide material management – an efficient one-stop shop for anything related to old/surplus assets
- Pick-ups, inventory, testing , repurposing, storage, recycling
- Value-based sorting – only to inventory what has reuse potential
- Managing take-back programs, return-for-repair, and more
Sustainable Competitive Advantage:
- One solution for all assets -- providing customers with a hassle-free, reduced risk solution
- Network of buyers and non-profit organizations -- enabling customers to reach global buyers, as well as local non-profits
- One place for all sustainability reporting -- helping customers track and more effectively reach environmental goals
- Supplier diversity certification -- any spend on REfficient's services can be counted towards customers' supplier diversity goals
- REfficient's culture of innovation -- always developing new services and being a leader
Business Model & Financials:
REfficient's business model is a fee plus commission model.
- Fees
- Monthly fee to access OptimalAsset
- Fees as needed for transportation, inventory, testing, repurposing, storage, etc
- Commission
- Resale
- Sourcing equipment for our clients
We have different “packages” – from listing a line of inventory on our site to full asset management.
REfficient started July 1, 2010. In 10 months of operation, we have achieved:
- over $500K in revenue and are showing profit
- cashflow positive and debt-free
Projected financials:
F2011 - R $600K, EBITDA1%
F2012 - R $1.7M, E 3%
F2013 - R $3.4M, E 4%
With additional resources, we could move F2013 targets forward into F2012.
F2017-8 - Exit - potentially an acquisition by an online marketplace site or a large waste management company
Team:
REfficient has achieved these results from the following core team:
- Stephanie McLarty, President – second business in this area, 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Ontario Finalist, IEC Global Young Leader
- Elena Doy, Sales & Accounts Manager – 10+ years in telecom sales in Peru
- Rick Calder, Operations Manager – 25+ years in web & database development
- Andrea Brunelle, Office Manager -- 20+ years in office administration
REfficient has an experienced advisory group for questions and support:
- Don Hathaway - CEO, Global Risk Institute
- Barbara Barde - President, Upfront Entertainment
- Isabel Banarjee - CEO, BIYA Global Inc.
- David Oxtoby - CEO, CarbonFree Technology
Development Plans:
1) Increase global buyer and donee database
- Site has been designed for SEO
- Have a webpage dedicated to key market locations – Spanish, French, Chinese, Hindi, and Arabic to start
- Find logistics partners to coordinate customs and logistics (and offer this as a service to buyers)
2) Increase client base in Canada
- Expansion of services within current telecom customers
- Accepted to be pilot project for Ontario government
- Acquire Canadian multinational corporation customers through current leads adn network
- Currently use warehouse partners in Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax –when volumes are high/steady enough, consider establishing our own warehouses, rather than just use a partner model
3) Pursue US clients
- Acquire US warehouse partners
- Use supplier diversity programs to get leads into US telecom customers, then multinationals
- Work with Canadian multinationals to get referrals to their US offices
4) Pursue clients globally
- Acquire warehouse and logistics partners
- Pursue providing services for global offices of existing multinational customers
Additional Information:
Conover + Company Communications is presenting this information to you on behalf of the Government of Canada. Additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, District of Columbia.