HairSite - HairSite Research Fund

Welcome to

HairSite.com

The Ultimate Portal for Hair Care < since 1997> for Men and Women

SITE INDEX

Introduction to
HairSite Research Fund

[includepage/verticalindexlhs.htm]

[includepage/coretable100.htm]

Please use HM forum
for discussions regarding funding.
=========================
The following is the result of the support and suggestions of
many individuals in our forums.

HairSite Research Fund
An Introduction

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) Objectives
2) Focus
3) Format: Investing vs Unencumbered Funding
4) Format: Registered Charitable Organization vs Simplified Funding
5) Evaluation Process - Preliminary Screening vs Final Screening
6) Media Kits
7) Your Help
8) Preliminary Screening - interim status report.

OBJECTIVES

1) To foster collecting funding efforts aiming to expedite research and development in some of the most promising researches in hair restoration.

2) To intensify competition among various researchers in hair restoration so
that the consumers can benefit from competitive pricing and a broader
selection of treatment options.

FOCUS

1) Instead of dispersing financial contributions aimlessly to any researchers who is experimenting with new techniques in hair restoration, our goal is to channel unencumbered funding to the selected few who are the most promising in bringing us the next breakthrough in hair loss treatment.

2) Instead of focusing on researches in gene therapy, which may be more than ten years away according to some researchers, our primary focus is on hair multiplication / tissue engineering which many believe to be about 5 years away

FORMAT
INVESTING vs UNENCUMBERED FUNDING

Jim and Ali suggested a very intriguing idea. If we fund a particular research as investors in exchange for a minority share of the project, not only do we get our hair back, we will have a small profit from the eventual sale of the treatment as well.

Unfortunately, most researchers whom we contacted in the past two months (see interim status report) indicated that they are already fully funded and do not require any additional funding, unencumbered or otherwise.

On the other hand, researchers who may be open to funding are all associated with universities and hospitals. In most instances, these institutions are already bounded by existing grants and funding by-laws which make it difficult for them to negotiate an investing or licensing agreement with anyone without violating the provisions of existing grants and funding.

We might have a better chance negotiating an investing agreement if we already had millions of dollars on the table. However, at this point, what we have on the table is the "possibility" that we will have a substantial amount of financial resources to fund their projects. Hospitals and universities will be reluctant to commit to any substantial arrangement with us simply based on the "possibility" that we may help their project take off.

However, that does not mean that there is no hope for an investing agreement. If we can live up to our mandate and come up with a respectable amount of funding in the process, we might be able to negotiate something like a right of first refusal to the eventual licensing rights, although there is no guarantee that this will be the case.

But the bottom line is that we will be ahead of ourselves if we start off talking about investing right at the beginning. It appears that unencumbered funding is the way to go for now until we have a better idea how much funds we can raise, then we can explore the investing idea further.

Similarly, the idea of raising funds through an IPO may suffer from the same set back. It will be impossible to raise public funds if we do not already have the exclusive licensing agreement in place. However, no universities or hospitals will give us the exclusive right in the absence of solid financing scheme on the bargaining table.

FORMAT
CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION vs SIMPLIFIED FUNDING

The conventional way of raising funds is through a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. However, a registered charitable organization also comes with unnecessary burden such as record keeping, issuance of tax receipts, financial statements, IRS filing and year-end audits etc. HairSite will be buried in administrative work at the expense of our mission if we choose to register a charitable organization for our purpose.

In lieu of a registered charitable organization, the "Simplied Funding Method" is more efficient without compromising the integrity and focus of our campaign.

This is how the "Simplified Funding Method" works,

1) Members at HairSite will select one or two researchers who are the most promising in bringing us the next breakthrough in hair restoration in the near future.

2) Once a consensus has been reached at HairSite as to who the recipient(s) should be, all benefactors will be instructed to make contributions, either by check or money order, payable directly to the selected researcher(s) or their associated organizations.

3) There will be no monies going through HairSite and at the same time the contributors will receive tax receipts directly from the designated organizations. In addition, HairSite will be exonerated from all the accounting and administrative work since it will be handled by the receiving organization.

4) The important thing is that those who are interested in contributing will have to make a pledge even before they write the check. This way we will have a rough idea of how much we can raise through this campaign and this is what we will bring to the bargaining table with the researchers.

5) In order to pledge your support, you will have to fill in an online pledge form. All information will be kept strictly confidential. However, we will need genuine personal data for the purpose of the pledge, mainly for two reasons: a) so that the recipient organization of HairSite Research Fund can issue official tax receipts to the contributor and, b) so that we will have reasonable assurance that we will eventually collect the amount pledged.

EVALUATING THE CANDIDATES
PRELIMINARY SCREENING vs FINAL SCREENING

Preliminary Screening - the purpose is to identify researchers who are open to funding.

Final Screening - researchers who are open to funding will be invited to submit a detailed proposal addressing at least the following issues:

1) Qualifications and credentials of the researchers involved in the project.
2) Number of inventions / patents credited to the researcher.
3) Number of peer-reviewed publications related to hair restoration.
4) Synopsis of current research as it relates to hair restoration, its benefits and potentials.
5) Potential obstacles to the current research.
6) Pro-forma analysis of funding that will be required to bring research to completion and detailed explanation of how the funds will be used.
7) Existing grants or funds that are tied to the current projects and the respective restrictions or encumbrance associated with each.
8) A comment on how the technology will be introduced to the mass consumers once the research has been completed and proven successful.
9) Willingness to provide periodic updates and progress report.
10) Willingness to collaborate with other researchers and be a joint recipient of HairSite Research Fund.

MEDIA KITS

The final stage of our campaign will involve soliciting support from organizations and celebrities. Media kits with information about HairSite Research Fund and the designated researchers' work will be mailed to prospective donors.

WE NEED HELP

Your help would make a huge difference in our fund raising efforts. We need help in the following areas:

1) Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Please use HM forum.
2) Your pledge.
3) If you are a graphic designer, we need help in designing a logo for HairSite Research Fund, letterhead, stationery, business cards, and the eventual media kits for our project.
4) Contact info of organizations and celebrities who may consider supporting HairSite Research Fund.
5) Medical advisors. We need independent and objective medical advisors who can assist us in evaluating and screening the candidates of HairSite Research Fund.

PRELIMINARY SCREENING
INTERIM STATUS REPORT

Please use HM forum
for discussions regarding funding.