Project Description: [ENTR 4433 Business Plan Development]

Welcome to Shift Critical International (hereafter Shift). We are thrilled to present an exciting

opportunity for talented MRU Business students to contribute to our innovative project titled “The Shift Critical Business Plan Development Project.”

Our Company specializes in sustainability strategy and ESG performance improvement helping clients to manage their risk and grow their business through the application of technology solutions (details provided in the following sections).

Main Goal:

To this point has had a successful growth trajectory. We now require a business plan that will carry us to the next phase.

Working with the two Founders (Frank and Craig) you will play a pivotal role in developing our Year 3 to Year 5  plan. At this time of transition, we need a plan that clearly articulates our growth path to potential partners, funders and others with whom we work. The plan will explain our growth targets in terms of clients and financial returns to the business based on analysis of the market, the opportunity, finances and funding.

We believe that this is a unique opportunity for the successful candidate to play an important role in helping to define how a company with huge potential can best leverage past success for future growth.

At a high-level the project involves analysis and evaluation in the context of the current business environment in which Shift operates. It will involve evidence-based comparisons of the market and the development of a rationale for the assumptions made in the business plan. It will also involve making projections about market potential and the development of strategies to propel Shift through his next step change.

• We believe that plan development including preparatory and background work will take approximately eight weeks. At the end of the project, there will be approximately two weeks to finalize the plan in the form of a report, therefore we believe that the project is manageable in the time allocated from September 20, 2024 - December 10, 2024 and that the timeline is realistic.

Project Scope and Expectations:

The project will proceed through three phases. The list below is preliminary and we would anticipate building out a more concrete plan in discussion with the successful candidate (see next section for details).

·       Phase1: Current Status Review.

·       Phase 2: Projections.

·       Phase 3: Business Plan.

While we look forward to mentoring the successful candidate on sustainability, risk, compliance and integration, we expect the candidate, based on their qualifications and experience will also lead on some discussions with respect to markets, growth strategies, risk and opportunity. We anticipate fully involving the candidate in discussions about how we move the needle and leverage past success for future growth.

Company Overview:

Shift Critical International is a successful startup focused on helping our clients to navigate the complex arena of sustainability. We specialize in sustainability strategy and ESG performance improvement helping clients to manage their risk and grow their business. The two Founders have decades of experience building teams in large organizations. In the last year to date, we have been focused primarily on modern slavery compliance, and sustainability reporting and ESG disclosure. We partner with others to supply a technology solution which helps clients meet their compliance objectives effectively and efficiently. Our partner also has other technology solutions which we plan to promote.

Our mission is quite simply to help clients integrate sustainability in a way that fosters business growth. We are a young company and our core values are equality, integrity and fairness. We also enjoy working with new people and exchanging new ideas. We do our best to make new people feel at home and an important part of the organization. We believe that we are uniquely situated to offer students insights into the fast evolving world of sustainability in a way that few companies in Calgary will be able to do.

Project Details:

The project will progress through a number of phases – these include:

·       Phase1: Current Status Review.

• Review of past work and current status.

• Updated market analysis – trends and demands for our services,
• Competitor analysis – “who’s who in the zoo” and where are competitors looking for growth?
• Evaluation of gaps and commentary regarding how Shift should best expend resources for success.
• Discussion of strategies for attracting new customers and retaining old clients

• Deliverable: Interim Report # 1 - Overview of current status and the opportunity. 8-10 pages. Due week four – (approx. first week of October contingent on discussions with candidate).

Phase 2: Projections.

• Evaluation of potential and discussion of requirements to achieve objectives.

• Financial planning; Income, balance sheets, cash flow, partnerships, etc.
• Operational planning: A review of year on year resources requirements (Year 2 to Year 5).
• Funding requirements: review of required, potential sources and uses.

• Deliverable: Interim Report # 2 – Evaluation of Operational, Financial and Funding requirements. 10-12 pages. Due week Eight (approx. second week of November contingent on discussions with candidate).

·       Phase 3: Business and Marketing Plan.

• Road map of year 2-5 plan based on review and evaluation offered in Phases 1 and 2.
• Finalization of the Business Plan in discussion with Frank and Craig.
• Deliverable: Report # 3 – Shift Critical Business and Marketing Plan – Years 2 to 5. Due at end of term with sufficient time to discuss results and next steps (approx. last week of November contingent on discussions with candidate).

Final Deliverables:

• A comprehensive 10-15 page business plan as per the team of consultants' course curriculum.

Support to the successful candidate.

Shift Critical Founders and other staff will provide support to the successful candidate as follows.

Scheduled Meetings:

·       One scheduled weekly meeting with one or both of the Founders for one hour to discuss next steps, challenges and opportunities.

·       Assistance with other resources as required to complete project objectives.

·       Regular review (at the request of the candidate) targeting specific challenges if they are an obstacle to completion of one of the phases of the work. These meetings will be at a time agreed between the student and Shift.

Regular communications

·       Shift Critical personnel communicate through emails, Teams meetings and other online resources, face-to-face meetings and by whatever other means are appropriate.

·       Shift critical personnel agree to make themselves available in a timely manner to discuss challenges and insights raised by the student, however as always availability is contingent on scheduling and travel.

Resources.

·       We currently have office space with a desk available if requested in the Ampersand building on Fourth Avenue and 1st St., Southwest in downtown Calgary.

·       The student will be expected to provide their own laptop as required.

Our aim is to assist the student in gaining valuable insights into the real challenges that face startup businesses and the opportunity for real world evaluations.

Phase reviews

At each phase of the project we will offer structured reviews against criteria which have been established beforehand with the student. The student will be expected to participate in

structuring the next development phase of the plan and identifying solutions for any

deficiencies in the previous phase.

Business meetings

It is also anticipated that the student will participate in some real-time business planning and

select client meetings to get exposure to the companies day-to-day work, and challenges to better understand the nature of the business plan required to elevate the company to the next

level.