Reilly & Associates

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Position Description – President, Chief Executive Officer and Director – Long-Term Care

Our client, located in Northern California, offers vital information, products, critical services and resources, and an online community to support and empower caregivers and seniors across the entire continuum of care. Our client's goal is to use the power of the Internet to rationalize a fragmented delivery system and create a profitable resource marketplace matching caregivers with the goods and services they need.

The Company's value proposition is unique in that it targets a continuum of care, starting from when a person is simply concerned about a potential care-giving situation and progressing through the gradual decline in the elder’s health, institutionalization in a long-term care facility, and the process of death and grieving. As a result, the Company is in a strong position to establish an ongoing relationship with our members that may last for ten or more years.

Focus groups have indicated that (1) consumers are currently frustrated in navigating the system, (2) that no single place exists online or offline for consumers to quickly and easily find what they need and (3) that they would welcome a single source solution.

Because of the aging of the population, eldercare is a huge and growing market. More than $500 billion in products and services are already consumed annually, a figure that is growing by 11% a year. It is also a major issue for businesses with $20B in lost employee productivity a year. The system for delivering goods and services to caregivers is fragmented and there exists no major online or offline players. And with ever-increasing media interest in the issue as one of the major problems baby-boomers will face in the upcoming decade, our client’s “one-stop shopping” model combining content, community, information and resources, positions the company as the category’s market leader and ensures a robust revenue model.

Additionally, the aging of the population in many countries around the world presents our client with opportunities to adapt its offerings to the booming global marketplace for eldercare services. The Company has already been contacted by companies in Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, the United Kingdom, and Chile to discuss partnership possibilities.

The Company recently entered into an agreement with AOL, which will clearly position the Company as the front-runner in the race to market and position it to emerge as the leading site for all aspects of care-giving.

Management

The Company's management team is a highly competent, motivated and compatible group of business and clinical professionals capable of building a valuable and profitable business to support and empower caregivers and seniors across the entire continuum of care.

The style of management is deeply rooted in the team approach. To complement the management team, an individual must blend their individual success into that of the entire team. Company management is a highly entrepreneurial and aggressive team.

Organization Overview

The first round investors included private and venture capital sources, including AOL. Currently, our client seeks to raise a series "B" round of $10-$12 million. The company had already received commitment from AOL to re-invest in a substantial portion of the round and other parties expressed interest to invest an additional $2-$4 million. The "B" round of funding will be completed in the near future.

The “B” round funds will be used to launch the company's eCommerce offering, hire additional personnel, implement the AOL deal, launch a public relations and advertising campaign and develop/implement online-offline service offerings to enable one-on-one interaction of consumers with geriatric case managers and other professional service providers.

The Company “soft-launched” the site on December 1999 and in the following months has been using offline and online public relations efforts to create a buzz, generate site visits and acquire members. The number of unique visitors has been doubling every two weeks and customer feedback has been very positive. Recent public relations successes have included mentions in Red

Herring and on Bay TV, a 30-minute segment on the popular radio show “Talk America,” and items in many newspapers across the US are providing our client with national expose and is creating a great deal of interest both in the US and abroad. Our client has been interviewed for upcoming articles to in Newsweek, Business 2.0 and Latina Magazine. UPN is also scheduled. The CY 2000 advertising and promotion budget is $4 to $5 million.

The Company has identified relationships with key influencers such as service providers, health plans and professional organizations, as a cost-effective way to gain credibility and attract users in bulk to its site. Utilizing such “leverage points” is a key element in its marketing efforts.

The Company gained high visibility and name recognition as a leading sponsor of the ASA (American Society on Aging) conference in San Diego in March 2000. It will attain further visibility at the upcoming CMSA (Case Management Society of America) conference this summer. Currently there are employees calling on care management groups, assisted living facilities and discharge planners to preach the story. This is extremely important as a care manager or discharge planner might see five or more patients and their families a day.

Our client has further identified relationships with portals and ISPs, such as AOL, as a cost-effective means to deliver multiple users to our site. It recently entered into a two-year agreement with AOL that establishes the company as an anchor tenant on the Senior Health page and provides for exposure on various other sections of AOL, CompuServe, Netscape and Digital Cities.

Position Description

The President and Chief Executive Officer will build the Company into the preeminent provider of support and empowerment to caregivers and seniors across the entire continuum of care. To properly accomplish this goal, the selected candidate must have the personal knowledge to establish a clear strategic vision. Furthermore, the candidate must have the managerial and operational skills necessary to affect this strategy.

The successful candidate will lead the company’s management team in the completion of its top priority objectives by:

building a revenue model where the application of its capabilities, services and technology can yield acceptable returns on investment,
developing a strategic plan for market positioning and product branding,
achieving sustainable growth,
demonstrate the ability to produce profits,
secure additional pre IPO financing as required.

Competition

At present, our client has four online competitors. In the elder care field, there is, as yet, no “category killer.” It is The Company's intent to establish itself among consumers, professionals and businesses as the branded, “trusted” player in the space. Any potential entrant will find it difficult to switch consumers and professionals away.

Until recently, the only online players have tended to focus on discrete aspects of care-giving, such as placement in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Two such companies generate revenues through the listing of resources, primarily assisted living facilities. The obvious drawback to this model is that people have little incentive to return to the site once they have addressed the issue of institutionalizing an aging relative. The lifetime value of a customer is quite limited.

Because the Company addresses the entire continuum of care, its customers have a reason to return to the site again and again throughout the care-giving process, which can last for ten years or more. Moreover, the breadth of its offerings and its recent agreement with AOL clearly position our client as the front-runner in the race to market and position it to emerge as the leading site for all aspects of care-giving.

Responsibilities

The position requires that the President and Chief Executive Officer create and execute a business strategy that will establish the Company as a leading provider of support and empowerment caregivers and seniors across the entire continuum of care. Additionally, the Company will provide products and services using the Company's expertise and domain knowledge as a competitive edge to create strong shareholder value.

The successful candidate will provide the leadership necessary for the initiation and successful completion of business agreements (collaborations, partnerships, acquisitions, etc.). Additionally, he or she will negotiate corporate alliances that yield complementary benefits to the customer.
The President and Chief Executive Officer will create the culture that will enable the Company to achieve its aggressive goals and position the Company for successful growth to include a future Initial Public Offering ("IPO"). In part, this will take form in the identification and development of corporate strategies for other public, private and institutional financing prior to an IPO. He or she will also identify finance mechanisms and implement raising capital from venture capital and corporate partners.
The successful candidate will have a vast amount of experience in building a dynamic management team and productive culture. That experience, combined with his or her personal qualities, will be recognized by the financial community as a high profile and effective senior executive.
Develop a clear operational and financial strategy that will lead to value creation and profitability by addressing unmet needs for caregivers, including:
Information on a broad range of topics, including finance, health, government policy, housing options, and legal issues;
Help in finding, evaluating and coordinating among the various care providers and options;
Access to affordable and reliable products and services that can make life easier for seniors and caregivers.
Support and advice from experts and peers experienced in dealing with similar situations and difficulties.
The President and Chief Executive Officer will also be a member of the Board of Directors of the Company.

Experience and Education

The President and Chief Executive Officer will be a seasoned knowledgeable business development executive with a leadership drive to succeed. Experience in eCommerce industry with an exposure to or experience in the healthcare industry is a definite plus, but not a requirement. Exposure in an emerging entrepreneurial environment will be a definite asset. He or she will have significant experience at the Board of Director level.

The successful candidate will have demonstrated strong leadership, management, financial, and interpersonal experience and skills. Previous product branding, marketing, business development and licensing experiences are requirements. Having been in involved in an IPO, or other successful "exit strategy", is a definite plus.

He or she will have proven success in contracting, opening negotiations, and closing deals with corporate partners in domestic and international markets. Additionally, a demonstrated skill in negotiations and completion of effective business agreements is a must. Funding experience, including M&A activities in an emerging entrepreneurial environment will be a definite asset.

Personal Characteristics

As the Company is poised to move to a higher level, it is imperative that the successful candidate is first and foremost a proven leader. He or she will, in terms of both written and oral skills, be a superb communicator and have the style of a diplomat, i.e., able to influence and build a consensus among the employees. Beyond his or her abilities to persuade and compromise, he or she must be willing to champion and implement any and all plans that are important to the success of the Company.

The President and Chief Executive Officer will be a person who possesses a strong work ethic, rejects setbacks and values accomplishments highly. An action-oriented personality that deals with specifics within a broad conceptual framework will be most effective in this position.

The successful candidate will have an appropriate sense of urgency, found in an end product oriented individual that allows him or her to react to situations quickly and decisively. A nonpolitical "speak your mind" approach will work most effectively with the Company's culture.

The President and Chief Executive Officer will maximize growth while maintaining a cost conscious ethic, to extract the maximum value from the emerging firm.

Compensation

The compensation will comprise of base salary, management bonus and a stock option plan. Compensation will be commensurate with the experience and demonstrated accomplishments. Most importantly, the President and Chief Executive Officer will share in the Company's success through a substantial equity participation in the Company. Additionally, the Company has an employee benefits package consisting of Medical Coverage, dental, a vision plan, life insurance, and a 401K program which is being planned for at this time.