Uniscen presents a highly specific solution for the fragmented nature of small business financial data. The deck identifies a pain point where business owners spend 10-30 business days managing data silos between CPAs, lenders, and attorneys. By positioning itself as an 'electronic health record' for financial services, Uniscen proposes a centralized 'Electronic Personal Record' using blockchain and identity access management. The ask is notably small at $200,000, intended to bridge the company to an MVP launch and a modest $4,500 MRR target. While the team slide is heavy on advisors and stra…
Key takeaways
- The company identifies a significant time friction, stating that data silos lead to delays of 10-30 business days for business owners (Slide 2).
- Uniscen defines its 'Sweet Spot' market as the intersection of 55 million consumers, 11 million small business owners, and 3 million financial service providers (Slide 3).
- The product is described as an 'electronic health record' for financial services, utilizing blockchain technology with a 'Patent Pending' status (Slide 7).
- A Google Survey of 203 respondents is used to validate the problem, with 76% of respondents ranking information access control as highly important (Slide 8).
- The funding request is for a $200,000 seed investment to deliver an MVP and reach $4,500 in Monthly Recurring Revenue (Slide 6).
- The team slide lists only two core management members—Rich Jarvis (CEO) and Quinn Lewis (CTO)—while relying heavily on a six-person advisory board (Slide 5).
- The Go-To-Market strategy is centered on 'Influencer Marketing for Subscription Based Services' (Slide 4).
- A detailed 'Permission Matrix' illustrates the granular level of data sharing the platform intends to facilitate across 18 different data types and 6 persona types (Slide 9).
Executive Summary: The Financial Data Clearinghouse
Uniscen is positioning itself as the connective tissue for the fragmented world of small business administration. The deck, titled 'Investor Briefing,' focuses on the friction inherent in professional services—specifically the manual and slow process of sharing financial documents with various stakeholders. By leveraging blockchain, the company aims to give 'control of data back to the small business owner' (Slide 1).
Slide 1: The Vision Statement
The deck opens with a high-level belief statement: 'we believe in delivering control of data back to the small business owner in a secure information sharing platform.' This is a standard vision-led opening that establishes the company's philosophical stance on data ownership before diving into the technical or market specifics.
Slide 2: The Consumer / Provider Problem
Slide 2 visualizes the pain point. It features a frustrated business owner and a list of 'Business Data Silos' including CPAs, Advisors, Lenders, Agents, and Attorneys. The slide quantifies the pain in three ways: the 'data silo problem of decades past,' 'higher costs and missed opportunities,' and a specific time lag of 10-30 business days . This time-based metric is the most compelling part of the problem statement, as it gives investors a concrete inefficiency to value.
Slide 3: Initial US Addressable Market
The market sizing slide uses a Venn diagram to identify a 'Sweet Spot.' It lists 55 million consumers , 11 million small business owners , and 3 million financial services providers . While these numbers provide a sense of scale, the deck does not explain the source of these figures or how they translate into a Total Addressable Market (TAM) in dollar terms. It focuses on the number of participants rather than the potential revenue capture.
Slide 4: Go-To-Market Strategy
The strategy is summarized as 'Influencer Marketing for Subscription Based Services.' The slide claims this will 'leverage organic growth' by offering consumers and business owners full control, better outcomes, and easier collaboration. However, the slide is light on details regarding which influencers will be targeted or how the 'organic growth' engine is actually built. It lists benefits rather than a tactical execution plan.
Slide 5: Team and Advisors
The 'Who's Going to Make This Happen' slide is divided into three sections: Management Team, Strategic Partnerships, and Advisory Board. The core management is lean, featuring only Rich Jarvis (CEO) and Quinn Lewis (CTO) . The deck leans heavily on social proof by displaying logos from Google, ExxonMobil, Cisco, Yahoo, and SVB, presumably representing the past employers of the advisors and partners. This is a common tactic for early-stage startups to borrow credibility when the full-time headcount is low.
Slide 6: The Ask and Milestones
Uniscen is seeking a $200,000 seed investment . This is a relatively small ask for a blockchain-based platform, suggesting a very early-stage or 'pre-seed' profile. The deliverables for Q2 2019 are specific: deliver the MVP, attract talent, and acquire 1,800 customers to reach $4,500 MRR . The math here is notable; $4,500 divided by 1,800 customers suggests a price point of just $2.50 per month , which indicates a high-volume, low-ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) strategy.
Slide 7: Secure Information Sharing (The Solution)
This slide provides the product analogy: 'Uniscen is like an electronic health record... built for the financial services industry.' It introduces the 'Electronic Personal Record' as a central hub connected to ten different entities (Lender, Spouse, Real Estate, etc.). It also mentions 'Identity Access Management and Blockchain Technology' and notes that the technology is 'Patent Pending.' This is the core of the value proposition: a single source of truth that the user can 'gate' for third parties.
Slide 8: Market Validation
To prove demand, Slide 8 cites a Google Survey of 203 respondents. The question asked was 'How important is controlling access to your information?' The slide highlights that 76% of respondents rated this as a 9 or 10 (Extremely Important). While the sample size is small, it provides a data point to support the 'belief' stated on Slide 1.
Slide 9: The Permission Matrix
The final slide in this set is a detailed 'Permission Matrix.' It lists 18 types of data (from P&L and Balance Sheets to Paycheck Stubs and Wills) against 6 types of recipients (CPA, Banker, etc.). This slide is highly effective at showing the complexity the software must manage. It demonstrates that the founders have thought through the granular permissions required to make a 'secure information sharing platform' actually functional in a professional context.
What Works in This Deck
Specific Pain Quantification: By citing a '10-30 business day' delay in Slide 2, the founders move beyond vague 'inefficiency' talk and give a measurable metric for the problem they are solving.
Clear Analogy: Comparing the product to an 'Electronic Health Record' (Slide 7) is a strong shorthand. It immediately explains the architecture (user-centric data) and the high stakes (sensitive, regulated information) without requiring a technical deep dive.
Granular Product Vision: The Permission Matrix (Slide 9) is the strongest slide for demonstrating product-market fit. It shows a deep understanding of the workflow between a business owner and their professional service providers, proving the founders aren't just building a generic 'file locker.'
What Is Missing
Unit Economics: The deck mentions a $4,500 MRR target from 1,800 customers, but it does not explain the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) or the Lifetime Value (LTV). At a $2.50 price point, the margins must be extremely high, or the acquisition must be almost entirely free for the business to scale.
Competitive Landscape: There is no mention of existing solutions like Dropbox, DocuSign, or specialized portal software used by CPAs and law firms. Investors would need to know why a business owner would add another subscription to their stack rather than using existing tools.
Technical Architecture: While 'Blockchain' is mentioned, the deck does not explain why blockchain is necessary for this specific use case compared to a traditional encrypted database. In 2018, blockchain was a significant buzzword, and the deck fails to justify its technical inclusion beyond the 'Patent Pending' label.
Founder Takeaways
Keep the 'Ask' grounded: If you are only asking for $200k, your milestones must be hyper-specific. Uniscen does this well by naming a specific MRR and customer count goal (Slide 6). · Use matrices to show depth: A permission matrix or a feature comparison table shows that you have mapped out the 'boring' parts of the user experience, which often signals a more mature product vision. · Social proof matters for lean teams: If you only have two founders, filling the 'Team' slide with high-quality advisors and recognizable logos (Slide 5) helps mitigate the perceived risk of a small headcount. · Beware of low price points: Proposing a $2.50/month subscription requires massive scale to reach venture-scale returns. If your price point is that low, your 'Go-To-Market' slide needs to be much more robust than just 'Influencer Marketing.'
Frequently asked questions
- What is the primary problem Uniscen is trying to solve?
- Uniscen targets the 'data silo' problem where small business owners struggle to share sensitive information efficiently. According to Slide 2, this fragmentation leads to higher costs, missed opportunities, and delays of up to 30 business days when coordinating between CPAs, lenders, agents, and attorneys.
- How does Uniscen use blockchain technology?
- Slide 7 specifies that the platform uses blockchain and Identity Access Management (IAM) to create an 'Electronic Personal Record.' This allows the consumer to maintain central control over who can see specific documents, mimicking the architecture of modern electronic health records but applied to financial services.
- What are the specific milestones for the $200,000 investment?
- Per Slide 6, the seed capital is earmarked for three deliverables in Q2 2019: delivering the MVP to market, attracting key talent/partnerships, and acquiring 1,800 customers to reach a target of $4,500 in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR).
- Who is behind the company?
- The management team consists of Rich Jarvis (Founder & CEO) and Quinn Lewis (CTO). They are supported by a three-person strategic partnership team and a six-person advisory board with backgrounds in operations, cybersecurity, and digital security from companies like Google, Cisco, and Yahoo (Slide 5).
- What is the proposed business model?
- While the deck does not provide a full pricing table, Slide 4 and Slide 6 confirm it is a 'Subscription Based Service.' The revenue goal of $4,500 from 1,800 customers implies a very low price point of approximately $2.50 per customer per month.
