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venture/STRATEGY.md

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Strategic Direction

Executive Summary

Mission: Bridge the OT/IT gap for small-to-mid manufacturers through edge-first industrial IoT solutions.

Vision: Become the trusted partner for manufacturers who want modern visibility without cloud vendor lock-in.

Positioning: "The OT/IT translator for manufacturers who value data sovereignty and predictable costs."

Market Opportunity

The Problem

  • OT/IT Skills Gap: Controls engineers don't understand cloud; cloud engineers are terrified of PLCs
  • Enterprise Solutions Too Expensive: Siemens, Rockwell, GE solutions cost $50k-500k+
  • Cloud Skepticism: Manufacturing companies hesitant about AWS/Azure due to data sovereignty, vendor lock-in
  • Brownfield Challenges: Legacy equipment needs connectivity but can't afford rip-and-replace

The Opportunity

Market Size:

  • Industrial IoT Platform Market: Growing at 13-47% CAGR
  • Virtual PLC Market: $1.8B (2025) → $3.6B (2032)
  • Digital Twin Market: $21B (2025) → $150B (2030)

Underserved Segment:

  • 20-100 employee manufacturers
  • $10-100M annual revenue
  • 1-5 production lines
  • Aging infrastructure
  • No dedicated IT staff

Market Gaps:

  • Enterprise solutions too expensive for SMB
  • Cloud-first vendors don't address data sovereignty concerns
  • Most MSPs lack OT expertise
  • Virtual PLCs still <5% of market (huge whitespace)

Competitive Advantages

1. Rare Skill Combination

  • 13 years PLC programming (Allen-Bradley, Siemens)
  • 4 years cloud engineering
  • Speaks both OT and IT languages fluently

2. Edge-First Architecture

  • On-premise or customer hardware deployment
  • No forced cloud migration
  • Works offline (critical for manufacturing)
  • Sub-10ms latency for control applications

3. Bootstrap Economics

  • No VC required
  • Customer-funded growth model
  • Start with $500 capital
  • Scale with cash flow

4. No AWS Conflict

  • Positioned as complementary, not competitive
  • Can integrate WITH AWS/Azure if customer wants
  • Focus on edge processing layer
  • Targets AWS non-customers (data sovereignty crowd)

5. Platform Expertise

  • LXC container experience from ZeroLagHub
  • Multi-tenant architecture proven
  • Can scale efficiently

Strategic Positioning

What We Are

"The Edge-First Industrial IoT Partner"

  • OT/IT integration specialist
  • Edge monitoring and control
  • Data sovereignty advocate
  • Predictable cost alternative to cloud vendors

What We're NOT

  • Cloud platform replacement (we're edge-first)
  • Enterprise software vendor (we're bootstrap/agile)
  • Controls-only integrator (we bridge to IT/analytics)
  • Hardware vendor (we're platform-agnostic)

Target Customer Profile

Ideal Customer Characteristics

Company Profile:

  • 20-100 employees
  • $10-100M annual revenue
  • Discrete manufacturing, food/bev, or packaging
  • 1-5 production lines
  • Some existing PLCs/SCADA
  • Limited IT resources

Pain Points:

  • "We have no visibility into production"
  • "Our data is trapped in PLCs"
  • "We can't afford Siemens/Rockwell"
  • "We don't trust cloud vendors with our data"
  • "We need better OEE tracking"

Buying Triggers:

  • New plant manager wants KPIs
  • Quality issues requiring root cause analysis
  • Customer audit requirements
  • Capital budget available ($15k-50k)
  • Regulatory compliance needs

Decision Makers:

  • Plant Manager (primary)
  • Maintenance Manager (influencer)
  • Operations Director (budget holder)
  • IT Manager (occasional gatekeeper)

Business Model Evolution

Phase 1: Consulting (Months 1-3)

  • Service: OT/IT integration projects
  • Revenue: $150-200/hour or $15k-40k per project
  • Purpose: Cash flow, market validation, network building

Phase 2: Platform (Months 4-9)

  • Service: Edge monitoring + consulting hybrid
  • Revenue: $1k-2k/month recurring + project fees
  • Purpose: Transition to recurring revenue, build infrastructure

Phase 3: Premium AI (Months 10-18)

  • Service: Predictive maintenance, computer vision
  • Revenue: $4k-8k/month premium tier
  • Purpose: Differentiation, margin expansion, moat building

Competitive Strategy

Against Enterprise Vendors (Siemens, Rockwell, GE)

Their Strengths:

  • Brand recognition
  • Comprehensive solutions
  • Deep pockets
  • Existing customer relationships

Our Response:

  • Target customers they ignore (too small)
  • 10x faster deployment (weeks vs months)
  • 10x lower cost ($20k vs $200k)
  • More flexible (no vendor lock-in)

Against Cloud-First Vendors (AWS IoT, Azure)

Their Strengths:

  • Scalability
  • Feature breadth
  • Marketing budgets
  • Integration ecosystem

Our Response:

  • Target data sovereignty conscious customers
  • Edge-first (works offline)
  • Predictable costs (no per-message fees)
  • OT expertise (we understand PLCs)

Against Traditional MSPs

Their Strengths:

  • Existing relationships
  • IT expertise
  • Support infrastructure

Our Response:

  • OT expertise they lack
  • Manufacturing-specific knowledge
  • Can actually program PLCs
  • Understand production environments

Growth Strategy

Year 1: Establish & Validate

Goals:

  • 10-15 customers
  • $35k/month recurring revenue
  • 5-10 case studies
  • Network of 50+ manufacturing contacts

Tactics:

  • Personal network outreach
  • LinkedIn content (OT/IT bridge positioning)
  • Local ISA chapter participation
  • Referral program

Year 2: Scale & Systemize

Goals:

  • 30-40 customers
  • $80k-120k/month revenue
  • 2-3 employees/contractors
  • Standardized processes

Tactics:

  • Content marketing
  • Partner with system integrators
  • Attend trade shows (Pack Expo, Automate)
  • Channel partnerships

Year 3: Expand & Dominate

Goals:

  • 60-80 customers
  • $200k+/month revenue
  • 5-8 team members
  • Regional presence

Tactics:

  • Geographic expansion
  • Vertical specialization
  • Partner ecosystem
  • Potential acquisition targets

Risk Mitigation

Key Risks

  1. AWS Non-Compete Violation

    • Mitigation: Edge-first positioning, target non-AWS customers

  2. Slow Customer Acquisition

    • Mitigation: Start with network, consulting cash flow buffer

  3. Technical Complexity

    • Mitigation: Start simple (monitoring only), add features gradually

  4. Competition from Established Players

    • Mitigation: Focus on underserved segment, move fast

  5. Cash Flow During Build Phase

    • Mitigation: Consulting revenue funds platform development

Success Metrics

Phase 1 (Months 1-3)

  • 2-3 completed consulting projects
  • $20k-45k revenue generated
  • 5+ discovery calls completed
  • 1 case study published

Phase 2 (Months 4-9)

  • First GTHost server deployed
  • 5-8 recurring customers
  • $10k-15k MRR achieved
  • Multi-tenant architecture proven

Phase 3 (Months 10-18)

  • GPU server operational
  • 12-20 total customers
  • $35k+ MRR achieved
  • First contractor hired

Strategic Principles

  1. Bootstrap Always: Never take funding if avoidable
  2. Customer-Funded Growth: Use their projects to build platform
  3. Edge-First Forever: Cloud is optional, edge is mandatory
  4. OT/IT Bridge: Always position as the translator, never just one side
  5. Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast: Quality over speed
  6. Data Sovereignty: Customer owns their data, always
  7. No Vendor Lock-In: Platform-agnostic, standards-based
  8. Manufacturing-First: Build for production environments, not IT labs

Last Updated: December 2025