This is the Compass Deck as of 9/14/14

1. Compass
Tech talent and services for small businesses

2. Small Businesses struggle with their
digital presence
It starts with the lynchpin of their digital presence...
websites

3. So how are small business doing
with websites?
More than 45% of businesses don’t have a website yet
Of the small businesses that do have websites, 93% of them are
not mobile responsive
Meanwhile...
90% of consumers prefer to look at a businesses website to
inform their purchasing decision
50% of all searches are done on mobile devices

4. So what’s going on?
While agencies can do quality work for clients with deep pockets, they’re simply
not practical for small businesses
Highly custom, hard-coded websites → Way too expensive
And often, really shitty...
someone paid
$5,000 for this

5. “A year ago, I started shopping
around for an ecommerce site to sell
my products, and the quotes were
around $10,000, so I wrote it off”

6. So what about freelancers?
So what about freelancers?
Freelancers are great, and more affordable
than an agency, but they require a lot of work to
manage.

7. Agencies and freelancers have remained
impractical avenues for small businesses
because they have a high variance in
quality, and require too much of a Small
business's most valuable assets:
Time & Money

8. But wait… isn’t that what companies like
Squarespace, Wordpress, and Weebly are
meant for? To make it cheap, fast, and easy?
“Squarespace is the easiest way for anyone to create an exceptional website.”
“Weebly gives everyone a surprisingly easy way to create a unique site”
“WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog.”
“Customize with Wix' free website builder, no coding skills needed”

9. Unfortunately, while these tools make it easy to
create high-quality websites, they still haven’t
made it easy enough for the masses
Only 2% of registered users for these
sites actually end up with a final product
More than 70% of all websites are still
created by professional developers

10. What if we empowered smart, tech-savvy
people to use some of these products for
small businesses?

11. Enter Compass
Compass connects the dots.
Compass empowers a well-vetted freelance network to create
websites for small businesses in the most affordable, efficient,
and transparent way possible, without sacrificing quality

12. Market
23 million small businesses (1-500 employees)
23 million nonemployers (founder, 0 employees)
Approximately 543,000 new businesses get started each month
Note: we have some work to do here. We need to figure out which part of this huge
market we want to FOCUS on penetrating

13. How? What will Compass do differently?
Tools Fleet of freelancers Small businesses
By leveraging some of the amazing website creation tools and resources that
exist, a freelance network really smart digital natives that are NOT professional
developers, and Compass processes to remove overhead, we can simplify
website creation, and provide it at a fraction of the cost

14. What makes a Compass freelancer?
Not professional developers.
Not professional designers
Really impressive soft skills
Recommended by Compass Network
Tech-focused (i.e. works at a tech company, loves online tools)
It’s like UberX for freelancers. You don’t need to have a black
car, and you don’t need to be a professional driver

15. Compass’ proprietary processes
1. Information gathering: We’ll use a Turbotax-esque web form that helps
customers communicate their needs and detail what they want on their site
2. Freelancer match-making: We’ll use information about the client and
project to find the right freelancer for them
3. Streamlined project definition and agreements: We’ll handle the legal
overhead and make sure all parties have aligned expectations before a
project begins
4. Automation of dirty work: things like transferring files, importing product
lists, and data entry will be handled by Compass to save the freelancer
time
5. Project management: We’ll make sure projects are meeting both time and
quality expectations, and moderate feedback between the client and
freelancer

16. These processes lower costs and can all be
automated
Compass’ proprietary processes Key Metrics
1. Information gathering
2. Streamlined project definition and
agreements
3. Freelancer match-making
4. Automation of dirty work
5. Project management
Fewer touchpoints
Faster project kickoff
Lower overhead for both parties
Fewer changes in scope
Customer satisfaction
So how does this work in practice?
Lower costs
Happier freelancers
Happier clients
Scalability

17. Case Study
Note: this is our “traction”
A Detroit-based investment firm needed a website, and came to us.
They needed a basic, aesthetically pleasing, informational site so prospective investors could learn
more about the fund.

18. Info Gathering
Streamlined
project definition
and agreements
Freelancer
Match-making
Automation of
dirty work
We created a detailed google form for the client, prompting
them to tell us:
● The specific pages they wanted (sitemap)
● An overview of the purpose for each page
● Specific copy for each page
We were also able to discover that they already had:
● a logo that they wanted to use
● a marketing book that supplemental copy
Project
Management
Key Activities
Case Study

19. We never spoke to the client on the phone, and it took them less than
an hour to fill out the form, giving us
● The 4 pages that they wanted for the site
● exact copy for all of the pages
● logo
● color scheme
● 3 other websites that they liked from companies in their industry
● agreement to use stock photography in the absence of their own
Examples of information we could gather for other projects:
● list of products with details and images
● Fields for a lead form
● media for different pages
photography
Key Activities
Case Study
Info Gathering
Streamlined
project definition
and agreements
Freelancer
Match-making
Automation of
dirty work
Project
Management

20. Key Activities
Case Study
Info Gathering
Streamlined
project
definition and
agreements
Freelancer
Match-making
Using the information collected:
● we were able to come up with
a fair price ($500 for the client,
$400 paid to the freelancer)
● We reorganize the information
into a more digestible format
for both parties
● We got the client to sign off on
our definition of the project
Automation of
dirty work
Project
Management

21. Key Activities
Case Study
Info Gathering
Streamlined
project
definition and
agreements
Freelancer
Match-making
Automation of
dirty work
Project
Management
● Based on what we knew about the project,
we suggested it be built with Squarespace
● We sent the project brief to one of our
freelancers who had Squarespace
experience
● He asked a few clarifying questions about
the project before accepting
● He accepted the project and began working

22. For this project, we reduced overhead by
providing the freelancer with all of the copy and
specific requirements for the pages
Ways we can reduce overhead overhead for other projects:
● Importing the client’s products to a site builder before the
freelancer even gets started
● Aggregating all of the client’s photography and other
media assets
Key Activities
Case Study
Info Gathering
Streamlined
project definition
and agreements
Freelancer
Match-making
Automation of
dirty work
Project
Management

23. Key Activities
Case Study
Info Gathering
Streamlined
project definition
and agreements
Freelancer
Match-making
Automation of
dirty work
Project
Management
● There were clearly defined milestones at the onset of the
project:
1. 70% feedback touchpoint
2. 99% feedback touchpoint
3. delivery
● We clearly defined and regulated the type of feedback that
could be provided at each point
● We monitored the feedback to make sure it was appropriate

24. Key Activities
Case Study
Info Gathering
Streamlined
project definition
and agreements
Freelancer
Match-making
After only 2 hours of work, our freelancer had completed his first iteration of the
website (the 70% feedback touchpoint)
The client took 1 day to aggregate feedback
Automation of
dirty work
Project
Management

25. Key Activities
Case Study
Info Gathering
Streamlined
project definition
and agreements
Freelancer
Match-making
Automation of
dirty work
Project
Management
Our freelancer spent 1 hour iterating on feedback provided by
the client
We don’t want to share the name of the client publicly, but
they’re site looks great, we promise.

26. Case Study
Testimonial
“Pretty impressive bang for your buck.
Definitely pleased.”
(this was via from a super informal conversation via text-- waiting for a more
official testimonial)

27. Recapping the Value-add
Client
gave: 2 hours of work + $500
received: a website they love
Compass
gave: 5 hours of work (which can be
automated)
received: $100
Squarespace
gave: their product
Received: a new customer
($10/month)
Freelancer
gave: 3 hours of work
Received: $400
Case Study

28. Services and Pricing
We believe that our customers should only be paying for what they’re
getting→ a la carte pricing, no packages
1. Website creation has a fixed priced based on complexity
2. Compass tasks- we’re going to disrupt the idea of website “maintenance”
If you need something done…
● adding a page
● adding a product
● changing the layout
...and you don’t want to do it yourself, you can pay us for an on-demand, well-defined
task. This increases the customer lifetime value
Compass takes 20% of all work done by The Fleet (Still TBD)

29. Scaling the freelance network
We don’t want a huge network of freelancers
We want a committed, loyal community→ The Fleet
We’ll grow The Fleet through referrals from highly rated
Fleet members

30. Customer Acquisition
How do you reach a market that’s difficult to reach online?
We’ll incentivize The Fleet and our previous customers to sell Compass
services to the small businesses that they know.
Making personal relationships drive sales for Compass
● Anyone can refer a small business they know to Compass.
● We can offer 10% of our margin (5% to referrer, 5% to new customer) and
maintain a 15% margin on the initial website design
● We capitalize on trust by getting referrals from individuals that the small
businesses know personally
● Compass customers that provide referrals will get 5% in the form of “store
credit”
● Compass Fleet Members that provide referrals will get 5% in the form of
cash

31. While we’re starting with websites...
This model can be applied to dozens of services. We can provide a variety of digital services to small businesses
in a more efficient, affordable, and transparent way
websites Explainer videos Social media Distribution

32. Imagine a world where small businesses could focus on what they
do best--creating new recipes, training their athletes, or managing
their inventory
For everything else, they go to Compass