The first project of Free Flow Technology, known as the Mark 1, shares many of my personal values in its design. I believe in simple elegance as a lifestyle. No unnecessary distractions. I formed the company, Free Flow Technology, because I believe that there are other people that share the same values that I do.
The original idea for wireless power transfer came during 2014, my matric year. During the time I didn’t take the idea further because I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to go about inventing a new product. I decided to wait until I was older to develop the product and I would just research the theory until then. The research yielded unexpected results and the first concepts of the Mark 1 were born.
The initial phases of developing the Mark 1 were challenging and many problems arose. The first concept did not comply with the necessary distance requirements and was inefficient. An uncountable number of attempts later and there was a rough theoretical prototype that “should” work. It did not work the first few times but eventually, with enough electrical tape and soldering, a working prototype was born. It was a miniature scale of the real Mark 1 because the technology is scalable.
The first project of Free Flow Technology, known as the Mark 1, shares many of my personal values in its design. I believe in simple elegance as a lifestyle. No unnecessary distractions. This project on Thundafund is aimed at bringing this Mark 1 to the world. Free Flow Technology is going to give the consumers a simple product that not only makes their life easier, but it actually makes the consumer happier, and that is all that we want. Thus with these thoughts constantly revolving around my thoughts, Free Flow Technology was established.
Free Flow Technology was formed in order to help those helping the world.I formed the company because I believe that there are other people that share the same values that I do. I want to help these people because they deserve it. I would like to provide a product to these people, not only because they are trying their hardest to change the world, but it is my duty to society to do so. How we are going to do this is by providing a simply elegant product with unparalleled functionality. What Free Flow Technology does is make wireless charging devices designed to help the consumer live an easier life.
I have many ideas for the future throughout the day, but there are a few that have shown potential. I would gladly discuss these projects with anyone who is interested, just contact via any of the channels.
In terms of the company, there are plans in place for future employees that will be needed. Physical capital is stretching the timeline but there are think-tank ideas. The business plan for Free Flow Technology highlights all these aspects and more.
This document will show the highlights of what the initial investment will be spent on. There are, of course, other costs that may arise that cannot be forecasted.
The investment value I am asking for is R180 000. Please note that in each expenditure category I am assuming the worst case scenario so as to not fall short. The amount of the investment that will be used in reality could be considerably less and the rest of the investment will go into the next phase of commercialization.
Product development:
There are still some tests that need to be run and these, worst case scenario, could yield unexpected challenges that will then be solved.
Developing the product that the consumer will use and test will cost R15 000 to develop each round. This is not to test the technology but to test how the final product will react to everyday use.
I am going to need to contact outside sources to get them to develop some key materials that are not used generally. I am hoping that these materials can be produced locally but I have considered the possibility of importing these materials.
Legal:
Acquiring a patent and the entire process involved is a costly but necessary requirement. I have also included the costs of obtaining a company registration as well as an import license but it could be argued that this will be saved for the next step of bringing the product to retail.
Patent Costs:
Phase 1 – Patent search (+-R3 950) [Already successfully completed once but I have changed the technology since then]
Phase 2 – File provisional patent (+-R9 950 +VAT)
Phase 3 – File complete patent (+-R8 950 +VAT)
The above costs are what to be expected if we do the process through “IdeaPrototype”, the prototyping company that will produce our “tester prototypes”.
The tipping point, being R47 000, will cover the most essential costs of product development. A rough prototype displaying the technology has been developed but this new prototype will be an exact replica of the final product, to be used in testing. This crowdfunding is going to be used to further develop the prototype with tools that would otherwise be unavailable.
Once the final prototype has been developed, the necessary steps will be taken to mass produce said prototype.
The dream goal is the total amount of money that it would take to produce the product and begin selling in the market. This would mean that no further funding from any other source or platform would be necessary and the company will be able to begin production as soon as we are able.
Mafahle Kgaphola (Right) is the lead engineer and partner of Free Flow Technology. The team member with the real intelligence between us, he is a vital asset to the company and its future.