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Peter Kakris & Gary Borham.
introducing:
lifetech balance
our vision
We are on a mission to change the face of family households across the world.
LifeTech Balance is planning to shake up the multi-billion dollar gaming industry by responding to the demands of frustrated parents who are losing the battle with screen obsessed kids.
Our solution empowers young people to take control of their screen time under the guidance of their parents; to harness the benefits of technology while minimizing its negatives.
We are seeking further investment by people who share our passion & vision.
The founders of LifeTech Balance Pty Ltd, Peter Kakris & Gary Borham, have developed a dynamic, fully integrated system to help manage screen time across virtually all platforms – including offline!
Unlike existing products, the LTB solution allows kids to earn more screen time by completing tasks such as homework, chores and physical activity.
As the video below demonstrates, this is a fun, gamified solution which caters for different parenting styles and empowers kids to make balanced choices.
The result: Healthier kids, happier parents and a more harmonious household.
This project is supported by the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources through the Entrepreneurs’ programme.
We are thrilled to announce that we have recently been awarded an Australian Government Accelerating Commercialisation Grant for $298,500.
We are close to having an early pilot version of our product to go to alpha trials.
As part of this project we have pre-Alpha trials starting in April followed by an extensive A/B Alpha trial program in June 2020
We commence our ‘Go to market’ strategy off the back of these trials to drive initial sales.
Click play below to watch Gary share an overview of our project.
investor tax advantages*
LifeTech Balance Pty Ltd qualifies as an early stage innovation company (ESIC).
This means: you will be eligible for a 20% tax rebate on the investment (for Australians).
Additionally, your investment is Capital Gains Tax – Free.
Upon investing, you will receive shares in the Company.
*Before investing, please seek independent professional advice from your
Financial Planner or Accountant to confirm your personal situation.
The extent of the problem
In this modern technological age, parents are losing a battle.
- 87% of Australian homes have electronic devices;
- 97% of homes with children have computer games;
- 60% of households have five or more screens; and
- 80% of households have more than one game device.
College of Paediatrics in Australia recommend children 5-17 years have a maximum of two hours of screen time per day.
However, these guidelines are not being met in Australia, reports reveal:
Children 5-12 spent 4.6 hours per day on average on screens
49% of teenagers spent 6 hours on screens per day
21% of teenagers spent 12 hours or more on screens
We plan on launching initially in Australia, then North America and the UK, where the numbers listed above are very similar.
Market Size
our solution…
We are on a mission to support parents to manage their children’s screen time.
LifeTech Balance (LTB) is looking to disrupt the rapidly expanding $1.8 billion parental device management space. LTB has developed a comprehensive, radical approach to helping stressed out parents manage their kids’ obsession with screens.
Video game companies hire neuroscientists and psychologists to help make their games maximally “engaging”. As a result, busy parents are losing the battle to get their kids off their screens and onto physical activity, homework, chores and family time. According to our market research, many parents are exhausted by the constant negotiation and worried about their child’s health and brain development.
The founders of LTB have drawn upon their own frustration and experience with their kids to come up with a holistic solution to satisfy the needs of modern, busy parents and children across the globe, that also has a strong business model.
An idea that will turn the market on its head.
Our solution is an integrated hardware and software solution for managing household screens including TV, gaming consoles, tablets, laptops and phones. It provides a gamified platform that allows a set amount of screen time across multiple devices. It also encourages kids to earn more screen time from all manner of choices they make, such as:
- activity (movement recorded by fitness trackers),
- homework,
- reading,
- family time,
- chores around the home,
- bonus time for taking initiative and other fun incentives.
Thus children will proactively accumulate time by doing the things that gain the higher rewards – this could then cater for all the small things parents find tedious in raising kids. For example, every day activities such as brush your teeth or put your school shoes away, and chores like wash a car, clean your room or prepare a meal. If parents don’t want to allow kids to earn more screen time, that is ok, our product has many options to support your own parenting style.
The uniqueness of the product is the cross-device capability across all devices including TVs and Gaming Consoles even when the internet is off (See further detail below about our Competitive Advantage).
These frustrations were highlighted when parents in our focus groups commented on the device ‘merry-go-round’ they experience when they ask their child to get off some electronic device only to see them move onto another. Most of all, LTB’s solution supports children to learn healthy screen time habits as they grow, this is missing from current solutions. As a child progresses through levels of achievement in the system they will eventually earn the right to have full control of their devices and self manage their LifeTech habits.
The addressable market in Australia is 2.4 million households and globally equates to more than 84.7 million families / potential customers.
In summary, our product ensures that kids can have a healthy life-tech balance and family harmony is restored. Our solution empowers kids to take control of their own screens under the guidance of the parents; to harness the benefits of technology while minimizing its negatives.
We think games and technology are great, we just think they should be in balance.
Our company tag line for LifeTech balance Pty Ltd: Because life comes before technology.
This is a multi-billion dollar industry and parents everywhere are crying out for help.
It is our intention to provide a powerful global solution.
Market Research
Brand Identity
Product Development
We are working towards a high quality, cutting edge product that sets us apart from any other solution currently on the market.
our competitive advantage
We have completed significant research on the products currently available on the market.
They are all extremely limited in their features.
From the outset, we challenged ourselves to come up with the most complete solution possible, to blow our competition out of the water.
The LTB solution provides a unique, multi-dimensional solution to managing screen time.
Our competitive advantage can be broken down into two areas:
Philosophical and Physical/Technical advantages.
Unlike any other product on the market, the LTB solution has complete flexibility to cater for different parenting styles. It has a multi-dimensional approach to supporting children and young people to have a balanced life.
The biggest competitive advantage of our product is that we are the only solution on the market that manages TVs, Gaming Consoles, mobile devices and personal computers.
According to our market research, a significant number of parents are looking for a solution that offers the features we have included. We are confident that the LTB solution will satisfy the needs of the market and have global appeal over other solutions that are currently available.
Philosophical Advantages
of the LTB Solution- Our biggest competitive advantage is our intent to empower children/ adults to make good choices about their screen time, not just telling people how long they have been or how long they have left remaining their screens.
- We know that young people hate to be told what to do. Rather than using the “stick” method, we have created a “carrot and the stick” approach which offers incentives to earn rewards – tokens and gems.
- The system can be customised by the parents, school and the child themselves depending on the needs of the family and the parenting philosophy.
- All people – children and adults – are motivated by what they value most. With most teenagers, their highest values are their friends and their devices. Linking physical activity with their highest value (time on devices or money) is a great option to encourage young people to get more active. This encourages long term life skills – you get in life what you are willing to work for.
- Using health data from mobile devices (activity trackers) to manage screen time does not exist in the market at present.
- No other solution in the market is so expansive and effective in managing screen time.
- Our system will demonstrate how a fun, gamified approach to managing screen time will be instrumental in changing behaviour around the use of all children’s devices and create healthy life-long habits for the use of technology.
- Some initial trials with families with our prototype had parents report positive behavior changes in their children – cooking meals and walking to school; which had previously been a sticking point in their homes. And significantly, parents also reported a greater sense of harmony returning to the home.
Physical / Technical Advantages
of the LTB Solution- The LTB solution is significantly superior to all solutions on the market based on the largest range of managed devices and the largest range of key features – many of which are unique to our solution.
- For instance, each platform can be shared and managed while offline and the points system used to earn more than their daily allowed amount, can also be used to earn pocket money.
- Specifically, the major technical/physical competitive advantage we have over our competition is that we will do ALL of the following:
- Our solution tracks and manages total screen time across all six digital platforms: iOS, Android, Mac, PC, TVs, gaming consoles, Streaming (Netflix, Stan etc), on screen apps and live TV; along with devices plugged into the HDMI ports (Foxtel, DVD players etc) ^^
- No one else manages more than four device types
- No one else can manage TVs
- Multiple people can share the same device and still keep track of their individual usage (for example if children are sharing an iPad or computer. **
- The LTB solution works when online, offline, inside and outside of the home with all devices (other than the handheld Nintendo switch, which no one can manage). **
- We provide a holistic approach that allows children to increase the amount of screen time they are allowed by completing set tasks and activities using a points system. **
- The points system can also manage earning pocket money. ^^
- Our solution is flexible and easily customised by each family to meet their specific parenting philosophy and personal requirements. ^^
- Health data from mobile devices (Fitbits, Garmins etc) will automatically add points/screen time for users. ^^
- Our solution is gamified and empowers kids to make good choices and have fun doing so. ^^
- Multiple profiles are offered eg for fun time or school work, where school profile blocks some apps web sites to prevent non-educational activities. **
- Member portal will be offering parenting content and webinars parents can choose to participate in. ^^
- When online you can remotely send message to your kids on all platforms they are using such as the TV and iPad at the same time ^^
- ^^ above means no one else offers this feature
- ** above means very few competitors offer this feature
- All of the competitors have five or more limitations from the above list, when compared to the LTB solution.
We see a future of children who are more active, healthier mentally and physically, with strong life and technology habits to set them up for success.
Balance
All the research into kids and video games is that they need to reduce the screens and do a wider range of activities.
Family harmony
The battle with video games is causing conflict in the family units. We want to restore harmony in your family.
Health
The obsession with video games is impacting on our kids physical and mental health.
market research results
In addition to our comprehensive research on the products currently available on the market, we have also conducted our own extensive market research with Australian parents to explore what their specific issues are and how we can solve them.
From our quantitative and qualitative analysis,
we discovered that:
60% of parents want their children to either ‘play less’ or ‘play significantly less’ with their devices.
The 3 biggest frustrations parents have with their child’s device usage:
47% Change in child’s behaviour/moods when finish playing on their device
39% The lack of exercise and outdoor activity
33% Their lack of involvement in the family when playing
70% of parents said they would purchase a solution to help manage homes, ‘depending on the devices included in the solution’.
However, only 14% had looked at solutions to manage devices better.
77 % of parents feel the problem is the same or getting worse as time goes by.
What Parents are Saying
We interviewed parents individually and in small groups to discover their concerns and frustrations with their kids video game use.
Here’s a snippet of what they had to say.
It does concern me that when they get off they don’t know what to do with themselves.
meet our founders
Gary Borham, Founder, Business Management
Gary is a communications, change management and learning and development expert who for the past 10 years has assisted organizations around Asia Pacific translate ‘geek speak’ (computer systems and technology) and use it to their best advantage.
Prior to this, Gary mentored and trained business owners. In this role Gary worked with Peter Kakris helping with two of his computer businesses. They have been friends since.
Gary has also owned a series of small businesses. He is passionate about helping others to achieve their goals and make positive changes.
In his spare time, Gary paints, writes, enjoys any beach activity and is the current world ‘tickle tackle’ champion – in his home at least.
Peter Kakris, Founder, Technical Lead
Peter is a software expert and business expert who has been self employed since he was 23.
Peter is a former developer and business analyst, who founded two successful IT companies which he sold to semi-retire to spend time with his 18 month old son. Peter has invested a significant amount of time and money completing personal development courses and bootcamps. He is a qualified life and business coach.
Peter is currently a Director of Datalink Pty Ltd, an Australian company that provides emergency management software for councils and government departments around Australia.
He loves finding ways to use technology to make the world a better place for everyone.
Peter’s son is now 16 and for many years, played way more video games than we would like. He also has an 11 year old daughter who loves to relax in front of her Mac and iPad.
His family has Macs, PC, iPads, iphones, Androids, Playstation and Nintendo Wiii which is why he realised that there needed to be a better way to help manage their use.
revenue model
As outlined in the following image, we plan to have a free version of the product with limited functionality for families to try it out.
If they want more features, the ongoing monthly subscription will be an affordable $10 per month for the whole family or household.
There will also be a one-off upfront cost of $100 for a hardware box which will be added to the TV.
Additionally, we have future plans to include advertising revenue.
path to market
The LTB team are experts with IT and experienced business owners who also have a strong marketing knowledge.
However, we recognise that we are not marketing experts, and therefore plan to bring in this expertise.
We will partner with Webprofits, multinational digital marketing experts with offices worldwide. They will establish plans and commence implementation. We will add our own staff to support the ongoing marketing implementation.
Our wider target market includes any family with mobile, desktop, TVs or consoles with children at school. However our more specific market is a middle – upper class family with more than one child with multiple devices from multiple vendors.
As there are 100’s of millions of potential customers worldwide, an online sales and marketing strategy is essential. Our research shows that while 60% of parents have a screen time problem that would use a solution to help them, only 14% of parents have actually looked for a solution. This is why we will implement more traditional offline marketing approaches such as media PR, events, partnering with schools and other companies to gain access to parents.
Post commercialisation we will drive the growth of the business with a continual digital marketing strategy. This will move customers through a broad range of communication and information, leading them to purchase from our e-commerce site.
We plan to launch in overseas markets towards the end of 2021 in 2 phases. We will focus initially on the United Kingdom and the west coast of the United States. This will be followed by Europe and the remainder of the USA in 2022, and then launch into Asia. The AC grant enables us to get ready for the Australian market launch and to test the business mechanisms before we move to this stage. There is a requirement of significant capital to drive the growth for the technology, business growth and marketing costs.
Feb 2020 – June 2020 Marketing Plan
The ‘Go to Market’ strategy initially is through our online sales platform. Ref115
Create e-Commerce Website, with SEO, Sign-up and Sales Pages
Create marketing funnel to move interested clients from leads to sales
Brand awareness campaign using social media platforms and microinfluencers
Create engaging content for followers to keep them engaged
Recruit families for Pilot Alpha Trials
Run Alpha Trials, obtain success stories and testimonials
June 2020 – December 2020 Marketing Plan
Continue brand awareness with macro-influencers
PR Media Kit
Google & Social Media Ads
PR Campaign
December 2020 – ongoing
Establish reseller arrangements with small to large companies with a similar market
Look to sell the box and software packages from existing retail outlets eg. JB Hifi, EB Games, Harvey Normal. (For traditional offline sales in 2021, we will aim to bring advisor Paul Colley into the team to help us establish distribution channels.)
December 2021 – ongoing
launch into overseas markets, initially UK and west coast of USA, followed by Europe and the remainder of North America and Canada, and finally Asia.
risk mitigation
As part of the business planning process, we have looked carefully at potential risks to the future of the project. We have listed the main possible issues that may arise below, and we have plans in place to minimise these risk factors. Please let us know if you would like to view the document which outlines these strategies.
RISK
Technology
Business Risk
Commercial
CONSIDERATIONS
Programming taking longer than expected
Theft of IP
Another company could create a similar or identical product
Losing key personnel
running out of money
Pricing – customers not willing to pay monthly plan
Lack of customer acquisition
Being beaten to market by another company
Parenting or other experts not agreeing with our philosophy
be a part of Something amazing
we’d love you to join us
If you share our philosophy of empowering young people and balancing life and technology, please complete the form below and we will be in touch.
If you are interested in making a tax deductible* investment in our project, please get in touch to set up a meeting.
Peter Kakris 0413 047 721 or
pkakris@lifetechbalance.com.au
Gary Borham 0413 881 865 or gborham@lifetechbalance.com.au
Life Tech Balance Pty Ltd
ABN 76 628 373 893
PO Box 2545
Regent West
Victoria 3072
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