Data Recovery Business Plan

Executive Summary

Introduction
Electronic Detectives, Inc. helps lawyers identify, acquire, restore, and analyze electronic data in litigation. From tape restoration to hard drive imaging, our full-time, certified forensic, discovery and testifying experts are highly experienced in acquiring data from NT, Novell, Unix and Linux servers and PCs, among others. As testifying experts, we will help shape the field of electronic discovery.

The Company
Electronic Detectives will be a limited liability corporation registered in the state of Delaware for tax purposes. The company has a limited number of private investors and does not plan to go public. The company has its main offices in Portland, Oregon. The company’s main clients will be law firms requiring identification, restoration, and analysis of electronic data.

The company’s private investors will own 47% of the company’s shares. The rest will be owned by the senior management including Mr. David Radcliffe, (20%), Mrs. Julie Walters (10%), Mr. Brad Rinke (15%), and Mr. William Orcott (7%). All other financing will come from loans.

The Services
Electronic Detectives has experts well versed in all commercial operating systems such as Unix, Linux, Novell and others. The firm will assist in 30(b)(6) depositions to produce and go on-site to inventory data and look for hidden sources. The company also plans to maintain well recorded chains-of-custody in order to protect our clients. Our written protocols and internal procedures ensure that our work product withstands scrutiny in all jurisdictions. Our firm will offer detailed written reports, presentations, and analyses to support our conclusions. We also have a wealth of experience providing expert testimony in federal and state court.

The Market
The electronic evidence gathering business is an offshoot of the detective industry and it is such a new segment that gathering market data is impossible. However, a look at the profitability of one of our older competitors will give the reader an idea of the profit and growth potential of this market. Computer Forensics of Bellevue, WA has been in business for four years now and has experienced explosive growth averaging 40% per year. The company, after significant investment, achieved record pre-tax returns on net worth of 65%. This is an indication of how much demand there is in the market and the overall growth capacity. Therefore this is an excellent market to enter now and achieve a defensible position based on customer satisfaction and reputation before more competitors enter.

Financial Considerations
We conservatively expect to begin to make monthly profits in November of the first year and yearly profits by year three. In case our predictions are erroneous, Electronic Detectives has secured an additional $60,000 credit line. Our break-even analysis indicates we need to complete six projects per month to cover costs. During the next three years we expect to maintain a positive cash flow and to begin to payoff our various loans.

1.1 Objectives

The three year goals for Electronic Detectives are the following:

• Achieve break-even by year two.
• Establish 40 law firm clients by end of year three.
• Establish minimum 95% customer satisfaction rate.
• Achieve project completion time of 10 days or less.

1.2 Keys to Success

Electronic Detectives’ keys to long-term survivability and profitability are:

• Attracting the best talent in the computer science field and establishing close contacts with those institutions and firms conducting the latest R&D in computer security.
• Keeping close contact with clients and establishing a well functioning long-term relationship with clients to generate repeat business and a top notch reputation.
• Establishing procedures to ensure rapid, accurate retrieval of information, and client processing.

1.3 Mission

It is the mission of Electronic Detectives to create a new standard in the detective industry. With the creation of computers and the Internet for business and personal communication and data storage, much of needed court evidence is now retained on computers and PDA’s in the form of personal files, emails, electronic picture formats, and other forms. Currently, there are few companies who offers investigative services for institutions and firms that require accurate retrieval of such information. Electronic Detectives intends to lead the way in establishing standards for customer service, accurate recovery, timeliness, and professionalism that will allow the company to gain significant market share and an agressive, defensible position in the industry.