Jaaz OS presents a hybrid B2B and B2C business model designed to simplify web hosting for non-technical users. The deck outlines a strategy to provide a user-friendly operating system that can be licensed to existing hosting companies (B2B) or used directly by consumers (B2C). With a market opportunity cited at 260 million registered domains, the company seeks £1.5 million in seed funding to develop their 'Free Edition' and execute a London-based launch. The deck relies heavily on a tiered pricing model ranging from free to £10 per month and identifies 350+ UK-based hosting companies as poten…
Key takeaways
- The company is seeking a £1.5 million seed round specifically for the development and marketing of their Free Edition (Slide 14).
- Jaaz OS identifies a massive market of 260 million registered domains, noting that only 40% currently have a workable website (Slide 4).
- The business model is a mix of SaaS subscriptions, advertising, and B2B licensing to other web hosting companies (Slide 7).
- Pricing is structured across four tiers: Free, Personal (£3.50), Community (£5), and Business (£10) (Slide 6).
- The competitive landscape slide claims that 85% of the market consists of small-to-medium companies that are potential customers rather than competitors (Slide 9).
- The growth strategy focuses on the UK market, where the company has identified over 350 web hosting companies to target for licensing (Slide 8).
- The team consists of five named individuals, including a Chairman, Secretary, and Financial Director, but lacks detailed professional biographies (Slide 12).
- A future Series A round of £5 million is already planned to fund the development of the Personal, Community, and Business editions (Slide 15).
Executive Summary and Value Proposition
Jaaz Portal Ltd, presenting under the product name Jaaz OS, positions itself as a bridge between the technical infrastructure of data centers and the mass market of non-technical users. The deck, dated 2018 in the footer, outlines a plan to commoditize professional web presence through a proprietary operating system. The core value proposition is the simplification of website creation and hosting management, targeting a global market of hundreds of millions of domain owners who currently lack functional websites.
Slide 1: Title Slide
The opening slide introduces Jaaz Portal Ltd. It features a generic high-tech image of a hand interacting with a cloud of digital tiles. Notably, it includes the "SEIS" (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme) logo, signaling to UK investors that the company is positioned for specific tax-efficient investment incentives. Contact details for a London-based office are provided in the footer.
Slide 2: Elevator Pitch
Slide 2 defines the mission: "Opening Data Centers and Web Hosting companies to the mass market of non-technical customers." This sets the stage for a dual-client approach, targeting both the end-user and the infrastructure provider.
Slide 3: The Problem
The problem is bifurcated into B2C and B2B segments. The B2C problem is identified as social network users and bloggers wanting professional websites. The B2B problem is described as hosting companies being too focused on hardware and lacking software solutions for the general public. This slide is effective in identifying a gap in the existing market's usability.
Slide 4: Market Opportunity
This slide presents large-scale figures: 260,000,000 registered internet domains. It claims that 40% of these have a "workable web site," implying a massive untapped segment. It further predicts "incredible growth" of 26 million new websites over the next four years. While these numbers are large, the deck does not cite the specific source for these statistics.
Slide 5: The Solution
The solution is presented as a three-part ecosystem: an Operating System for unskilled users to create sites, an Advertisement model where free pages generate traffic for banners, and a Marketplace for online retailers. The mention of "Open Source" for the licensed product suggests a strategy to encourage adoption among other hosting providers.
Slide 6: Product Editions
Slide 6 details the tiered pricing strategy for Jaaz OS. The tiers are:
Free Edition: Basic open-sourced service with limited CMS. · Personal Edition (£3.50): Includes news/commenting systems and custom domains. · Community Edition (£5): Features social tools like info streams, forums, and work-groups. · Business Edition (£10): A complete e-commerce solution with an auctioning system.
Slide 7: Business Model
The revenue model is expanded here, citing SaaS subscriptions, Ads & Royalties, and B2B Licenses. A specific detail is included regarding a partnership or affiliate model with 123rf.com for reselling pictures, adding a micro-transaction layer to the revenue stream.
Slide 8: Growth Strategy
The growth strategy highlights a target of 350+ web hosting companies in the UK market. It emphasizes the use of the J2EE platform for easy deployment and the ability to scale from Virtual Private Servers (VPS) to the cloud. The "Free Edition" is explicitly labeled as the "entry point" and marketing base.
Slide 9: Competitive Landscape
This slide uses a pie chart to show that while giants like GoDaddy and BlueHost own about 15% of the market, 85% is fragmented among smaller players. The strategic pivot here is claiming that these 85% are not competitors, but rather potential customers for the Jaaz OS licensing model.
Slide 10: Revenue Stream
Slide 10 reinforces the B2B and B2C split. B2B is driven by licenses, while B2C is driven by subscriptions, banner space, and provisions from third-party content (123rf.com). It is a visual summary of Slide 7.
Slide 12: Our Team
The team slide lists five members: Artur Radosz (Chairman), Marcin Gregorczyk (Secretary), Bishesh Guragin (Financial Director), Maciej Podstolski (Graphic Designer), and Ramon Battershall (Chief Editor). The slide is missing professional backgrounds, past successes, or technical credentials for the founders, which is a significant omission for a seed-stage tech company.
Slide 13: Timeline
The timeline shows four steps. The company claims to have finished marketing analysis and a prototype. They are currently seeking funding to reach Step 3 (Free Edition launch) and Step 4 (Series A). No specific dates are attached to these milestones, only a sequential order.
Slide 14: Funding Needs - Seed Round
The company is asking for £1,500,000. The funds are allocated to the development of the Free Edition, a launch event in London, and general marketing. The SEIS logo is repeated here, emphasizing the tax-advantaged nature of the investment for UK taxpayers.
Slide 15: Funding Needs - Series A
Unusually, the deck includes a specific slide for a future £5,000,000 Series A round. This is intended to fund the development of the paid editions (Personal, Community, and Business) and further marketing. This shows long-term planning but may be premature given the lack of traction data for the prototype.
Slide 17: Contact Info
The final slide provides social media handles, an email address, and a phone number. It also includes a standard legal disclaimer regarding the confidentiality and risk of the investment.
What Works Well in This Deck
The clear distinction between the B2B and B2C strategies is a strength. By identifying smaller hosting companies as potential partners rather than competitors, Jaaz OS creates a "picks and shovels" narrative that can be very appealing to investors. The tiered pricing model is also well-defined, showing a clear path from free user acquisition to high-value business customers. The inclusion of the SEIS logo is a smart tactical move for a UK-based startup, as it immediately signals a lower-risk profile for local angel investors due to tax reliefs.
What Is Missing or Could Be Improved
The most glaring omission is the lack of team biographies. In a seed round, investors are primarily betting on the team's ability to execute. Simply listing names and titles like "Secretary" or "Chief Editor" does not provide evidence of technical or commercial competence. Furthermore, the deck lacks any mention of current traction. Even if the product is in the prototype stage, data from beta testing or letters of intent (LOIs) from some of the 350 identified hosting companies would significantly strengthen the case. The technical architecture is also vague; for a product calling itself an "Operating System," there is very little information on how it actually integrates with existing data center hardware.
Founder Takeaways
Founders should note the effective use of market fragmentation (Slide 9) to turn competitors into a target customer base. This is a classic strategy for startups entering a crowded market. However, founders must avoid the mistake of including a future Series A ask (Slide 15) before proving the Seed round's milestones; it can make the current ask seem like just a small part of a very expensive and unproven journey. Finally, always include a slide that proves the team has the specific "right to win" in the space, which this deck fails to do by omitting founder backgrounds.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the primary problem Jaaz OS is trying to solve?
- According to Slide 3, the company addresses two distinct problems. For B2C, social media users and bloggers want professional websites but lack the technical skill to build them. For B2B, most web hosting companies are 'hardware oriented' and lack a user-friendly software solution to capture the mass market of non-technical customers.
- How does Jaaz OS plan to generate revenue?
- Revenue streams are diversified across three areas as shown on Slide 7: SaaS subscriptions for their in-house hosting, advertising and royalties (including selling banner space and reselling stock photos from 123rf.com), and per-user licensing fees charged to other web hosting providers.
- What is the specific funding request in this deck?
- The deck outlines two phases of funding. Slide 14 requests £1,500,000 for a Seed Round to develop the Free Edition and host a launch event in London. Slide 15 forecasts a subsequent Series A requirement of £5,000,000 to complete the Personal, Community, and Business editions.
- Who are the competitors and how does Jaaz OS view them?
- Slide 9 identifies 'Internet Giants' like GoDaddy (5.69% market share), BlueHost (2.54%), and HostGator (1.91%) as direct competitors. However, it argues that the remaining 85% of the market—comprised of medium and small hosting companies—are actually potential customers for their licensed OS.
- What is the current stage of the company according to the timeline?
- Slide 13 indicates that the company has completed 'Step 1: Marketing Analysis' and 'Step 2: Jaaz Portal Prototype.' They are currently in the pre-launch phase, seeking funding to reach 'Step 3: JaazOS - Free Edition' and eventually 'Step 4: Series A.'
