4 David Silvester is the founder and owner of a recently formed gift packaging company, Gi

Question

4 David Silvester is the founder and owner of a recently formed gift packaging company, Gift Designs Ltd. David has

spotted an opportunity for a new type of gift packaging. This uses a new process to make waterproof cardboard and

then shapes and cuts the card in such a way to produce a container or vase for holding cut flowers. The containers

can be stored flat and in bulk and then simply squeezed to create the flowerpot into which flowers and water are then

put. The potential market for the product is huge. In the UK hospitals alone there are 200,000 bunches of flowers

bought each year for patients. David’s innovative product does away with the need for hospitals to provide and store

glass vases. The paper vases are simple, safe and hygienic. He has also identified two other potential markets; firstly,

the market for fresh flowers supplied by florists and secondly, the corporate gift market where clients such as car

dealers present a new owner with an expensive bunch of flowers when the customer takes delivery of a new car. The

vase can be printed using a customer’s design and logo and creates an opportunity for real differentiation and impact

at sales conferences and other high profile PR events.

David anticipates a rapid growth in Gift Designs as its products become known and appreciated. The key question is

how quickly the company should grow and the types of funding needed to support its growth and development. The

initial financial demands of the business have been quite modest but David has estimated that the business needs

￡500K to support its development over the next two years and is uncertain as to the types of funding best suited to

a new business as it looks to grow rapidly. He understands that business risk and financial risk is not the same thing

and is looking for advice on how he should organise the funding of the business. He is also aware of the need to avoid

reliance on friends and family for funding and to broaden the financial support for the business. Clearly the funding

required would also be affected by the activities David decides to carry out himself and those activities better provided

by external suppliers.

Required:

(a) Provide David with a short report on the key issues he should take into account when developing a strategy

for funding Gift Designs’ growth and development. (10 marks)

Answer 1

正确答案：

(a) To: David Silvester
From:
Funding strategy for Gift Designs Ltd
Clearly, you have identified a real business opportunity and face both business and financial risks in turning the opportunity
into reality. One possible model you can use is that of the product life cycle which as a one-product firm is effectively the life
cycle for the company. Linking business risk to financial risk is important – in the early stages of the business the business
risk is high and the high death rate amongst new start-ups is well publicised and, consequently, there is a need to go for low
financial risk. Funding the business is essentially deciding the balance between debt and equity finance, and equity offers the
low risk that you should be looking for. As the firm grows and develops so the balance between debt and equity will change.
A new business venture like this could in Boston Box terms be seen as a problem child with a non-existent market share but
high growth potential. The business risks are very high and consequently the financial risks taken should be very low and
avoid taking on large amounts of debt with a commitment to service the debt.
You need to take advantage of investors who are willing to accept the risks associated with a business start-up – venture
capitalists and business angels accept the risks associated with putting equity capital in but may expect a significant share
in the ownership of the business. This they will seek to realise once the business is successfully established. As the business
moves into growth and then maturity so the business risks will reduce and access to debt finance becomes feasible and cost
effective. In maturity the business should be able to generate significant retained earnings to finance further development.

Dividend policy will also be affected by the stage in the life cycle that the business has reached.
Yours,