Deciwatt

Idea

Introduction

Deciwatt develop renewable energy solutions and our new product, NowLight creates instant light and power from the pull of a cord.

Just one minute of pulling on NowLight’s cord will generate up to two hours of light and when fully charged NowLight will provide up to 50 hours of light.

NowLight can charge mobile devices through its USB port and up to four ‘SatLights’ can be connected to the main unit, so you can spread the light around.

NowLight is a pico power station:
• An instant generator.
• A source of bright light.
• A 5V power bank.

NowLight can also be charged from a solar panel or by plugging it into mains electricity.

Intended impact

Most sources of electricity rely on external factors:

• Mains power needs a grid
• Generators use fossil fuel
• Solar products rely on the sun
• Rechargeable products rely on another source of electricity

Disposable batteries are standalone sources of energy, but only supply limited power and quickly end up in landfill. This is what makes NowLight unique:

• It does not rely on external factors like sunlight or mains electricity
• It can provide an extremely lengthy supply of electricity
• Just pull the cord for instant light and power

NowLight is useful when you want it and vital when you need it. Useful for lighting in your shed or charging your phone at a music festival. Vital for power cut emergencies.

Imagine the difference NowLight could make for:

• The one billion people who have no access to electricity
• The further one billion people who only have access to an unreliable supply of electricity
• The hundreds of millions who live at high risk of natural disasters

There are so many use cases for NowLight. How would you use yours?

Substantial accomplishments to date

NowLight builds on the success of our first product ‘GravityLight’, which attracted the attention of millions of people by harnessing the energy potential of gravity to power an LED lamp.

GravityLight won many awards, secured media coverage from around the world and was sold by major retailers including Walmart and Best Buy.

By listening carefully to customer feedback, we realised there was an opportunity to create a new product. One that could provide brighter light for longer periods of time, and crucially, the ability to charge mobile devices.

We began developing NowLight in 2017 and received a £140,000 grant from Innovate UK to partially fund the R&D. We have a patent pending on the manual power generation mechanism and a registered trademark on the NowLight name.

User trials have allowed us to iterate and improve the design. For example, in 2018 we partnered with the Red Cross to test pre-production samples in refugee camps in Rwanda and Uganda.

During 2018 we ran a crowdfunding campaign to kickstart the project. We raised over $144,000 (USD) and pre-sold over 1,700 NowLights to customers in 35 different countries.

These units will be delivered as part of our first production run of 5,000 units, with the first units expected to be available for sale by Q3 2019.

We have been awarded a new £173,788 grant from Innovate UK to integrate Pay-As-You-Go technology into NowLight and conduct trials in two emerging markets.

Monetisation strategy

Our main source of income will be through sales of NowLight units.

Initially we will focus on selling to customers with higher incomes in the ‘Emergency Preparedness’ and ‘Leisure’ markets.

Later in 2019 we will launch NowLight in emerging and middle-income markets, targeting consumers who have no access or only unreliable access to electricity. By integrating ‘Pay-As-You-Go’ technology, we will allow those on low incomes to pay for a NowLight in small instalments, dramatically increasing our addressable market.

Deciwatt may also be able to generate income through licensing NowLight's design or selling white-label versions of the product.

Over time we will extend the NowLight product range. For example, it would be straightforward to integrate a radio into the existing design, which could be especially valuable following an emergency or for customers who live off-grid.

Our current design also includes space for a second battery which, if added, would double NowLight's power storage capacity

Use of proceeds

This is a very exciting time to get involved in Deciwatt and as we prepare to launch NowLight, there are three main areas where we will use your investment:

We are in discussion with potential NowLight distributors from all over world. To realise these opportunities for growth we are expanding our team and are currently hiring a Marketing Manager and a Finance & Commercial Manager. This will allow us to scale up our business development and marketing activity.

We will invest in implementing our marketing plans. We will use social media, content creators and paid advertising to drive sales of NowLight in the Leisure and Emergency Preparedness markets.

We will invest in further product development. This will include work to reduce the manufacturing cost of NowLight, extending the NowLight product range and conducting testing to achieve the ‘Lighting Global’ kitemark and other certifications.

In NowLight, we have a unique product that is ready to launch. With your investment, we can realise the huge commercial potential of this product while also improving lives. Invest in Deciwatt today and help us bring instant light and power to anyone who needs it.

Please note the business has the following outstanding debts:

1. Gearing Outstanding Invoices

Gearing, a manufacturer based in China, are owed $51,371 (USD) in respect of outstanding invoices for NowLight tooling and GravityLight inventory. This debt will be repaid on a fixed schedule, with three payments of $17,123.67 being made in June, July and August.

2. Therefore Royalty Agreement

When the NowLight product was first being designed, Deciwatt had limited funds available. The product design agency ‘Therefore’ agreed to deliver the necessary product design work in exchange for a 'royalty' against future income generated from NowLight sales. However, although the word 'royalty' has been used in the contract that documents the agreement between Deciwatt and Therefore, it is important to note that the same contract explicitly states that Deciwatt is the sole owner of any and all intellectual property rights in the product designs. The agreement between Deciwatt and Therefore is arguably better described as a 'contingent fee agreement', where the total amount Therefore will receive in exchange for providing product design services is a function of how well NowLight performs in the market.

The Royalty Agreement has three parts:

1. Therefore will receive a perpetual 1% royalty on all sales of 'NowLight' and 'SatLight' (the peripheral light that plugs into NowLight)

2. Therefore will receive an additional 1% royalty on sales of the first 100,000 units of NowLight

3. Therefore will receive a fixed royalty payment of £1,750 per month, for a total of 20 months from May 2019 to December 2020.