Mapping the Business and the R&D Project

Here you’ll find:

• the company name (Mohala Media LLC)
• the company tasks/kuleana
• The product (Lynn’s Big Idea): the portal and its list of functions
• The R&D team:  the positions to be filled
• Links to educational researchers in Hawaii

Yesterday I spoke with Janice Kato, the SBIR (federal grants/contracts for Small Biz Investment Research) specialist at HTDC, Hawaii Technology Development Corp, in Mano’a. She sent a great worksheet. I woke up with the business structure.

I’m putting the project under my LLC:  Mohala Media.

mohala vs. Unfolded, as flower petals; blossoming, opening up; spread, as a turkey’s tail; blooming, as youth just past adolescence; shining forth, as a light; appearing clear, as a thought; evolved, developed; freed or recovered, as from fear, worry, illness. From Pukui, M. K. and S. Ebert, Hawaiian Dictionary. University of Hawaii Press, 1986.

I’m the CEO/president. Mohala Media LLC has a product that needs a name. Meanwhile we’ll call it Lynn’s Big Idea, or LBI.

The company

• envisions the overall design of the product:  LBI
• constructs the business plan; strategic and work plans
• acquires investment and research partners
• sets up the R&D team and funding; researches and writes grant proposals
• develops the branding, marketing, and commercialization of the product.
• interacts with community groups and schools.
• develops the scholarship funding system.
• develops budgeting and accounting
• oversees and coordinates the educational R&D project

The educational R&D project will develop the LBI technology. LBI consists of a portal that has multiple interacting functions:

• a wiki-type system for the awards, with links and tags
• a portfolio/social networking system for users
• a rating system for the awards
• a scholarship fund system for users
• a community networking system for organizers/users
• a database of all activities
• a search function
• a help section
• a video graphic for how to use the system (a marketing, not R&D project)

Research and development of the product under SBIR requires at least:

• a Principal Investigator (PI) (preferably experienced and a phd, though not required)
• a educational research methodologist (definitely a phd)
• a school
• a team of programmers.
• an SBIR grant/contract budget and accounting specialist

Ed Metz, the Department of Education SBIR research scientist contact, suggested describing LBI as a “social and behavioral intervention.” Actually, it is much more, but that will work in a grant proposal.

University of Hawaii’s Curriculum Research & Development Group and Kamehameha Schools have grants with PIs. Also there’s a Hawaii organization, the Hawaii Educational Research Association. It’s time to contact them.