MEEM is a charger cable that automatically backs up the personal data on your mobile phone when it is charged: a simple solution that fits into the daily routine with no third party access to your info. Data can also be transferred across platforms and between devices. The company is negotiating with a leading multinational company to license its IP and is led by Kelly Sumner, former CEO of RedOctane (Guitar Hero) and Take-Two (Grand Theft Auto).
MEEM is a USB charger cable that automatically backs up the personal data on your mobile phone whenever the phone is charged: a simple and secure solution that fits into your daily routine.
The market opportunity is vast with an estimated 7.1bn mobile phone subscriptions globally; and this is set to grow to 9.5bn in 2020. The key drivers of MEEM’s adoption are:
MEEM is appealing to the mass market: users that want a simple and secure tool that requires no additional thought about when or how to backup personal data. Of course, the more technically sophisticated will also find MEEM attractive as an alternative fail-safe solution to the cloud and one that facilitates the transfer of data across technology platforms.
MEEM has been granted a US patent and has been notified by the European Patent Office of its intention to grant a European patent. Intellectual property (IP) is the backbone of the Company with a focus on consumer charging / energy consumption and data backup and the company is expanding its patent portfolio in both content and geography.
The Company is in advanced negotiations to licence its IP to a leading US multinational corporation[15] with strong brand recognition and resonance with MEEM. Through this partnership, MEEM has the prospect of a sales and marketing presence worldwide.
The Android cable is now feature complete and in final testing while the Apple cable is close to completion. The product is expected to be launched in the US and Europe in Q3 2015 with two initial variants: a 16GB micro USB cable (Android) and a 32GB lightening connector cable (Apple), indicatively priced at £49.99 and £89.99 respectively. Subsequent iterations will have increased memory for those that really want it, a dual connector and will support the transfer of data from and to tablets will be supported.
MEEM is led by an experienced management team with proven track records in consumer related technology businesses.
Funds will be used to support the key functional areas of the business:
The addressable market is enormous. There were an estimated 7.1bn mobile phone subscriptions globally in 2014 and this market is forecast to grow to 9.5bn in 2020. With such a large target market, a small market penetration will deliver substantial returns.
At a very high level the market can be divided into the developed and developing world.
In the developed world, the key driver of growth in the mobile industry is the adoption of smartphones.Smartphones not only deliver strong revenue to the industry from phone sales but also through substantially higher Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) because of increased data consumption per subscriber as a result of social networking, music and video streaming, downloading more applications / games etc. and generally increased usage compared to a basic or feature phone user. The industry is therefore highly motivated to encourage customers to adopt smartphones.
MEEM supports the upgrade to smartphones because it seamlessly and simply facilitates the transfer of personal data from old phones to new. Once the transition has been made, MEEM protects the users’ data through its simple and secure back-up that fits in to the daily charging routine and enables the transfer of data across multiple devices, regardless of technology platform.
Similarly, in the event the phone is lost, stolen or damaged, MEEM ensures the user is up and running on a new device immediately. This is not only highly beneficial and convenient to the user, but also of considerable value to the mobile phone operators because there is no decline in ARPUs whilst users rebuild their contacts and content.
In the developing world, the structure of the market is very different with limited or no communications infrastructure in place. Consequently consumers are considerably more reliant on mobile devices for communication, banking, payments etc. and there is limited or no option for backing up the phones data. Consequently the MEEM cable not only facilitates the forecast trend for the adoption of smartphones in such countries where it is expected 80% of new smartphone subscriptions will be added, but also provides security and convenience where there is little today.
The simplicity of MEEM is the key component to its success – there are no technological or habit changing barriers to its use. Its target market is the mass market: those people that want the security of local backup, delivered simply with no technical knowledge required and that ensures personal data is backed up regularly because it is part of the charging routine. As MEEM establishes itself, new variants will be introduced with larger memory to appeal to the high-end market and smaller memory for the cost conscious, as well as functionality with tablets.
MEEM does not currently have any competition (to our knowledge) that offers its simplicity and convenience:our patents demonstrate this. And as far as the cloud is concerned, MEEM should be seen as complementary: it is an alternative, simple, convenient, secure and local backup solution with the added benefit of enabling the transfer of data across technology platforms.
Nonetheless, the cloud does need to be put into some context. Cisco, a worldwide leader in networking, estimates there were a little over 1bn consumers using cloud storage in 2014, which, according to Ericsson, compares to 7.1bn mobile phone subscriptions of which 4.7bn are unique consumers (factoring multiple device ownership). Cisco forecasts the number of cloud users to grow to just under 2bn users in 2018 when Ericsson expects the number of unique mobile phone subscribers will be 5.8bn. So whilst the growth in cloud users is substantial, so is the number of mobile phone subscribers with the mobile phone market the significantly larger of the two.
Consequently, our conclusion is MEEM’s potential market is enormous:
MEEM is also ready for wireless charging if/when the technology is standardized. Currently there are three competing technologies and as with video cassettes (VHS / Betamax) and high definition DVDs (Blue-ray / HD), the adoption of the technology will be hampered until this is resolved, which in our view is some years away.
MEEM is therefore a simple, convenient and secure backup solution that presents no technical or habit changing barriers to adoption and will be a considerable asset to both users and the mobile phone industry generally.
Kelly Sumner
Anil Goel
Jozeph Forakis
Robert Brent
David Knox
The most likely exit will be via a trade sale. MEEM is already engaged with potential acquirers, including the prospective licensor of its IP, mobile phone / accessory manufacturers and mobile network operators. The valuation multiples applied to these businesses are high and therefore an earnings enhancing acquisition can be achieved at a high price for MEEM. Based on our revenue and earnings forecast, we believe a valuation of £200-300m is possible in 2017. Strong international revenue growth, healthy margins and good cash generation could also lead to an IPO.
An Android or Apple cable.