Elevator Pitch

What is Connected Labs?

Connected Labs is a first of its kind remote laboratory and workshop company. Through partnerships with colleges, universities and private corporations, we outfit underused facilities with robotic arms connected to 5G communications. This allows students and schools to rent out space in high tech areas without the need to be on site. Our aim is to inspire and empower the next generation of change makers and scientists by providing them easy access to the tools of the trade.

Utilizing the robotic arms pictured above, teachers can instruct students on methods to perform basic titrations, chemical reactions, and more without the need to have the materials in their own classroom. This expands the type of experimentation and exploration students can do, while keeping them in a safe environment, all they need is an internet connection.

Robotics have been used in laboratory settings for many years now, improving the efficiency and accuracy of testing samples. Bringing this technology to educational settings is a natural next step in investing Canada's future researchers. Check out the video below to see how ABB has been benefiting through the use of robots.

The Problem

#1 School and Facility Closures

The pandemic had a great negative impact on Canadian learners, closing down schools and many of the facilities necessary for their learning. One positive that came from these closures is the increased use and normalization of remote educational technology. As a result many institutions have increased their investment in to the educational technology industry, providing Connected Labs with the perfect opportunity to transform how schools approach teaching their science curriculums.

#2 Cost to Run a Lab

Labs are extremely pricey to build, run and maintain. The national average cost for laboratory space was $24.60/sqft in 2015, which has only increased in recent years. As a comparison, the national average for office space is $2.78/sqft (University Lab Partners, 2020). This doesn't even include the cost for materials, reagents, safe disposal, lab managers, etc. Making lab space a privilege for only the wealthiest of educational institutions.

The Solution

Leveraging 5G technologies and advancements in the robotics industry, Connected Labs can outfit and retrofit laboratory spaces to be controlled by anyone with access around the world! Schools can purchase a subscription to be able to run experiments, allow students to test hypotheses, and access guest speakers from within the industry.

Universities, colleges, and private labs can pay an initial setup fee to have their labs retrofitted with the equipment necessary to provide the online access to students worldwide, and receive monthly payments from Connected Labs for use of the space.

The Market

Connected Labs will be the first to market 5G virtual lab rental space.

Please check out our SWOT Analysis below to learn more about areas we see for potential growth and how we plan to address some of our potential shortcomings.

Funding

We're looking for an initial funding round of $1.4 million dollars to get started. We plan to operate on a lean startup model so we can get to market quick, and deliver value to our customers immediately. Our funding breakdown is as follows:

As you can see, the majority of the initial investment will be going toward the hardware and payroll expenses for the engineers necessary to set it up.

Business Model

We will operate on a subscription based model for school boards and institutions, and a pay-per-use model for individual post-secondary students in order to maximize profits, while providing an affordable rate for customers.

The rate for schools is $500/month per class of 30 students. This includes unlimited in school access for students to conduct experiments, and 1 hour/month for students to use the software at home for assignment completion. Schools will also have the ability to book time with professional chemists to provide virtual talks with classes, discussing industry trends and potential areas of study for interested students.

The individual post-secondary student rate is $5/hour of lab use.

With school boards mainly making the decision for the entirety of schools in their district, we plan to utilize the talents of our business development reps to build partnerships across Canada with school boards. The first school board we will be onboarding is Peel District School Board in southern Ontario. With approximately 250 schools, we are expecting to sell approximately 2500 subscriptions (based on 10 classes per school). Bringing in an average of $1.25 million/month. This will allow investors to begin seeing a return on their investment after just a few months!

References

Business Development Representative salary in Toronto, on - indeed. Indeed. (2022, November 25). Retrieved 2022, from https://ca.indeed.com/career/business-development-representative/salaries/Toronto--ON

Dobot CR3 collaborative robotic arm. RobotShop Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved 2022, from https://ca.robotshop.com/products/dobot-cr3-collaborative-robotic-arm

Hardware engineer salary in Canada - indeed. Indeed. (2022, October 21). Retrieved 2022, from https://ca.indeed.com/career/hardware-engineer/salaries

University Lab Partners. (2020, September 25). 11 reasons why lab space is so expensive. University Lab Partners. Retrieved 2022, from https://www.universitylabpartners.org/blog/11-reasons-why-lab-space-is-so-expensive