gs Review View Help Tell me what you want to do AaBbCcDc AaBbCcDc AaBbCc AaB E HE - 1 Normal 1 No Spac... Heading 1 Hea Paragraph Styles Case Analysis # 2 Business Idea: Design, manufacture, and sell LED lights that kill bacteria and other organisms in high-risk environments, such as health-care settings, airplanes, gyms, restaurants, office buildings, and public restrooms. Pitch: On a daily basis, people spend time in environments that are high-risk for contracting infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, one in 25 patients in a hospital or health-care setting like a nursing home will contract a health care-associated infection. This is a serious concern. MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which is a common infection contracted in hospitals, is resistant to antibiotics. In the United States alone, 99,000 deaths per year are associated with hospital-acquired infections. There are other high-risk environments that most of us enter frequently such as airplanes, classroom buildings, restaurants, gyms, and public restrooms. For example, MRSA survives in the seat pocket material on airplanes for as long as 168 hours and E. coli lives for up to 96 hours on a rubber armrest. Similarly, studies have shown that the grips on machines in fitness centers and gyms often have high counts of bacteria. Airplane cleaning crews and others are aware of the risks, and do what they can to periodically disinfect the most vulnerable surfaces. Still, people contract infections in these settings, which can lead to serious health complications. Vital Vio has designed, manufactured, and is selling lighting systems that tackle these problems in a new way. Its lights emit a precise spectrum of white light, created with patent pending LED technology, which kills harmful bacteria, with no adverse effects on humans or animals. Hospitals and others already use ultraviolet lights to disinfect surfaces, but UV light is not safe for people to absorb. Vital Vio sells overhead lights that can be retrofitted into existing lighting systems and under cabinet lights. Once installed, Vital Vio's technology is disinfecting every area of a room at all times, just at different rates based on distance. Vital Vio's system works by manipulating light in a manner to achieve passive decontamination of specific bacteria, such as MRSA, E. coli, and Salmonella. Traditional methods of decontamination, such as manually wiping down a counter with a cleaning product and paper towel, can be effective but are intermittent in their use. The advantage of Vital Vio's passive approach is that as long as the lights are left on, decontamination occurs on a continuous basis. Vital Vig manufactures proprietary LED lights to compete in specific markets and licenses its technology to manufacturers that are competing in other areas. a. Based on the material covered in this chapter, what questions would you ask the firm's founders before making your funding decision? What answers would satisfy you? b. If you had to make your decision on just the information provided in the pitch and on the company's website, would you fund this company? Why or why not