ePower is an electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) solution provider, offering companies the ability to present bills and receive payment electronically.

ePower's Solution
ePower's CustomerDirect solution, enables businesses to provide interactive financial statements to their customers via email and the Internet. ePower's electronically presented bill will retain the look and feel of the company's paper bill but adds the ability to initiate immediate payment from the customer's desktop. CustomerDirect integrates with the biller's existing systems, and allows the biller to retain control over proprietary customer databases. Essentially, the biller outsources the technical components of EBPP, while retaining control over data and content. The company's solutions focus on the client's individual needs to enhance customer relationships, marketing and billing. All products are tailored solutions to a given client.

Employees
Currently, ePower is run by the four founders. In addition to their formal roles founders will lead all initial sales efforts in the first six months. Upon funding, initial hiring will focus on technical developers, and sales professionals with utility industry experience. As clients are signed on, customer service and support personnel will be added.

Location and Facilities
The company has secured free office space at Babson College until September 1999 and plans to move to another rent free zone for a period of 6 months. The company anticipates 15 employees by January. Suitable office space in a low cost area offering access to powerful data lines will be needed. This will most likely remain in Massachusetts in the Route 11-8 or Cambridge areas.

Operations Plan
ePower's post funding launch will focus on all resources and logistics required to deliver the service by first quarter 2000. As office space has already been secured, the focus will be on hiring and product development.

• Hire: Immediately hire technical developers. Technology skill sets are vital to ePower, and aggressive hiring will occur starting the day of funding. The specific hiring schedule is provided in the financials section.

• Accelerate Pilot Program Development, signing formal agreements with pilot partners.

• Purchase server space and hardware. Purchase enterprise level server, development, database, and security software components.

• Recruit: Recruitment of key management and advisors is already underway. Key priorities are recruiting individuals possessing Marketing and Sales experience within the utility industry.

• Execute marketing plan as outlined in the marketing section.