HomeMy WebLinkAbout30 - NB-3 - Attachment 2 - 8/3/2021Costa Mesa, C
May 21st, 2021
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Table of Contents
L Cover Letter
H. Background and Project Summary Section
iii. Method of Approach
- Implementation
- Scope of work
- Project schedule, tasks and deliverables
iv. Qualifications & Experience of the Firm
V. Financial Capacity
vi. Key Personnel
vii. Cost Proposal
viii. Disclosure
ix. Sample Professional Service Agreement
1
Cover Letter
Dear City of Costa Mesa,
Colu Technologies (US) Inc. ("Colu") is excited to respond to the City of Costa Mesa's
("the City" or "Costa Mesa") Request for Proposal ("the RFP") regarding a Shop
Local Incentive System. Costa Mesa has a vibrant local business community and we
are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with the City to revitalize civic pride and
the local economy as we transition into the post -pandemic world.
Providing a software service that incentivizes residents to shop in local Costa Mesa
businesses requires an innovative, forward -thinking partner, and Colu is more than
capable to meet and exceed the conditions and obligations included in the RFP.
Colu proposes a city -branded mobile app and platform that will enable the City to
stimulate its local economy and promote diversity by rewarding residents for taking
actions that promote the City's strategic goals. The platform is driven by City Points,
which residents earn by engaging in city -sponsored actions such as shopping at local
businesses, participating in nonprofit events, and more.
Residents later redeem these City Points at participating local businesses, creating a
circular economy. This maximizes the social and economic impact of funds invested
towards small business relief, particularly federal recovery funds like the CARES Act or
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. In Akron, OH, the City generated a significant
economic impact, by creating a 9x Economic Multiplier on the City's CARES Act funds
using Colu's platform.
Due to the high concentration of restaurants and small businesses severely impacted by
COVID-19, the City will work with Colu to determine a timeline for implementation and
expansion of the platform to ensure equitability, diversity and inclusion. Colu will
spearhead the merchant onboarding process, distribution of rewards, system
maintenance and secure the fund distribution as defined by the City's guidelines.
Our preliminary proposal is that the platform boost consumption at local restaurants and
retail businesses, such as a list of businesses that received the City's Small Business
Relief Grant, Bridge Grant Program, or a small business directory from the Chamber of
Commerce.
Additionally, Colu will provide the City with 2417 access to an economic data dashboard
to allow for flexibility in displaying reward offers, analyzing the success of different
K
offers, and making accurate decisions when it comes to assisting different business
segments (such as minority -owned or women -owned businesses). This feature
coincides with Costa Mesa's 2021 City Council goal of achieving long-term economic
sustainability by developing a quarterly reporting format, including financial metrics, to
improve fiscal transparency. The data dashboard meets the obligations established by
the City of ensuring that the program focuses on assisting local small businesses
equitably and encourages the broader shop local campaign.
As detailed below, Colu is offering its platform to the City at an exclusive rate of $85,000
for a one-year partnership, as part of the company's American Rescue Plan Act
Package. In addition to its heavily discounted price, Colu will also provide a
custom-tailored strategic support, partnership development services, and offer the City
additional use case development.
Please note, that pricing does not include the reward budget funds that the City would
need to inject into the platform in the form of City Points. In regards to distribution of the
redeemed City Points to merchants, Colu can, if the City elects to do so, assist City in
engaging with a third -party payment service provider for the purpose of distributing
payments to Redeeming Merchants.
The project will be managed by Colu's California office in San Francisco, located at 2
Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, CA 94111.
Respectfully,
Danny Razinsky, CFO
ii. Background and Project Summary Section
Colu's main objective is to help small businesses recover and persevere through both
the immediate effects of COVID-19 and the long-term threat of e-commerce platforms
such as Amazon, by tapping the power of local communities. However, since no two
cities are alike, formulating the program implementation strategy is routinely carried by
Colu's expert team and advisors, including behavioral economics experts, consumer
marketing, and mobility.
In Costa Mesa's 2021 Strategic Objectives, one of the City's goals is to achieve
long-term fiscal sustainability by maximizing the impact of the $2M Small Business
Bridge Grants program. This grant program was necessary due to the challenges small
businesses suffered as a result of the pandemic and rise of e-commerce giants,
however, this program only provided a short-term, one-time solution. In order to meet
the City's objective of long-term fiscal sustainability, programs that support small
businesses should consider engaging residents and creating a sense of civic pride.
Based on our research, we recommend that the program goal will be to showcase
positive impact on Costa Mesa's local businesses by aiming to channel 5% of
purchases made online at e-commerce giants to local businesses. For example, if just
15% of purchases made on Amazon per year are made instead at local businesses,
estimated at $66.5M, it would already constitute a huge boost to the local Costa Mesa
businesses, with $10.5M flowing back to the local economy as incomes to local small
and retail businesses. We recommend that the platform boost consumption at local
restaurants and retail businesses, such as a list of businesses that received the City's
Small Business Relief Grant, Bridge Grant Program.
Increase Small Business Revenue.
Keep Wealth Local.
$ spent on Amazon
$66.5M
Average $585 in annual
consumption per person on
Amazon,.
For City with 114k residents
Local SMBs
additional income
•
If only 15% of purchases
made on Amazon were
made at local businesses
Secondary Local
Spending
45% of spending at local
businesses stays local"
4
Additional objectives of the program:
• Utilize the platform as a centralized source for all local businesses in the City of
Costa Mesa. The platform will serve as a accesible, searchable and
GEOlocation-based small businesses directory;
• Promote diversity and raise awareness about City's Minority -owned,
Women -owned, Veteran -owned, and LGBTQ-owned businesses;
• Generate customer traffic to small businesses and their organic websites by
introducing residents to new neighborhoods and businesses and reduce
restaurants' dependency on platforms such as Uber Eats and Grubhub, which
consume significant portions of their revenue.
• Support a few of the outstanding initiatives that are currently taking place in
Costa Mesa, such as the #RestoreCM campaign that promotes local
consumption. A portion of the app's stories could be dedicated to featuring
inspiring initiatives as well as showcasing small businesses, and local nonprofits,
while highlighting the importance and significance of support from the residents
of the city.
• Support the City of Costa Mesa's marketing efforts and dissemination of
information, increasing civic participation in events, surveys, volunteering and
other programs (online and offline) made by the city, as well as increasing the
conversion of current city -operated social media accounts.
• Nurturing Costa Mesa's unique local identity and local pride by creating a unique
brand identity for the Cityand highlighting community projects, personal stories,
and nonprofit efforts;
• Empowering City Council, management and staff with real-time economic data
and insights, enabling data -driven decision -making and distribution of future
federal funds.
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iii. Method of Approach:
The implementation of Colu's platform will be done in 9 main steps; with specific
tasks as detailed below in the Scope of Work.
• Legal and Financial
• Branding
• Business Mapping
• Strategic Partners
• Participating Business Onboarding
• Marketing
• Content
• Redeeming Business Onboarding
• App creation
2. Scope of Work
1. The program would be for one year with the potential to extend
services for up to a total of 5 years. The preparation of the launch of
the program can take no more than three months from the kick-off
meeting. Colu is offering the City of Costa Mesa its program for one year
with the potential to extend services, for a fee, for up to a total of 5
years.The preparation of the launch is expected to take between 6 to 10
weeks from the kick-off meeting, subject to city efforts.
2. The platform must handle the distribution and auditing of
reward/point system, which would allow customers to earn points for
shopping at Costa Mesa businesses or participating in local events
while redeeming these points at Costa Mesa businesses. Thereby
potentially encouraging patronage of two small businesses in Costa
Mesa with each dollar. The Colu platform is powered by a unique
rewards program, which functions akin to loyalty points or frequent flyer
programs. The City Point rewards program incentivizes local economic
activity in a way that builds trust and encourages interactions between
residents, local businesses, and the City. The platform handles the
distribution and auditing of the City Point reward system. A City Point is
awarded upon completion of selected behaviors, such as shopping at local
businesses or participating in local events, that drive residents to take
action towards helping achieve City goals. City Points are built to be spent
only at local businesses around the City that have joined the platform, to
ensure that rewards stay local. In Akron, OH, the City generated a
significant economic impact, by creating a 9x Economic Multiplier on the
[0
City's CARES Act funds using the Colu's platform; thus, each dollar spent
by Costa Mesa in the program is expected to encourage patronage in at
least two local businesses.
3. The vendor would complete the establishment and administration of
the program. This includes finding and bringing businesses
onboard, developing the branding and outreach materials for the
program, overseeing the system's maintenance, and ensuring the
funds' distribution is secure and proper. They will make every effort
to ensure participating businesses are distributed throughout the
City. Colu will establish and administer the program; the City of Costa
Mesa will be assigned a City Launch team to help develop the program
and maintain it over time.
c Business onboarding - Merchant onboarding will initially be
spearheaded by Community Ambassadors, with
boots -on -the -ground training by the City Launcher and operations
team. Colu will work with the City to define criteria and identify
relevant businesses. The City will receive detailed training and
technical support to ensure businesses can easily and seamlessly
participate in the program. Colu will work with the City to establish a
Community Ambassador Program, with the objective of
streamlining a quick and efficient business onboarding process with
a boots -on -the -ground presence. The Community Ambassador
Program will also help ensure business owners with language or
technological barriers have equal opportunity to participate.
o Branding and outreach material development - Marketing efforts
are conducted by the City with
support and strategic guidance from p6ty
Colu's team and its City Playbook. R.C.ity
Colu will provide the City with the
following:
i. Branding- as part of the RCity
platform set up, Colu will work s' with the the City to create an app
name, coin name, logo,
graphic language (color �-now„
RCitpalette, fonts) and brand }' " .
app! „_...
guidelines (brand identity,
tone of voice, images)
ii. Go -to -market (GTM) plan- outlined launch and first phase
recommended plan, utilizing the City's owned, shared and
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paid media, budget mix, and the timeline for execution. The
GTM plan is focused on acquiring users (residents and
visitors) from all generations to use the app and help support
their local community.
iii. Website- Design, develop and host a consumer -facing
website to support user acquisition efforts (example:
Akronite's website)
iv. Merchant branding kit- designed collateral (ready for print)
for participating businesses to create awareness and
visibility around the City. Marketing kits are meant to
connect the digital world with the physical world. This
includes items such as:
• Posters
• Window clings
• Flyers
• Counter signage
• Postcards
V. Social media design kit- design and copy templates posts
for the City's social media platforms
o System maintenance oversight - Colu's team will provide system
maintenance oversight and ensure the platform is properly
functioning.
o Fund distribution - Colu will assist the City with monthly
distribution of payments to redeeming merchants through a
recommended third -party provider.
4. Any businesses recruited to be locations to accrue or redeem City
credits must be businesses within the City of Costa Mesa. The
vendor will coordinate with the City to ensure this program focuses
on assisting local small businesses and encourages the shop local
campaign. Users can get rewarded with Costa Mesa City Points for
shopping at selected local Costa Mesa businesses. The program will only
include businesses within the City of Costa Mesa, unless otherwise
requested by the City of Costa Mesa. Colu will work with the City of Costa
Mesa, as part of its recovery from the pandemic, to boost consumption at
local restaurants, shops, beauty salons, gyms, retail businesses, and
other local establishments. Instead of shopping at big -box retailers and
online platforms, users can be incentivized to shop at local businesses.
5. The system cannot require businesses to purchase additional
hardware to implement the program. Colu's program does not require
businesses to purchase any additional hardware to implement the
A
program. Users can redeem their earned City Points at any redeeming
business Redeeming businesses can be identified with an icon ("R") on
the City app.
Steps to pay with City Points:
A. User selects the redeeming business they want to shop at & click
"redeem"
B. User selects the amount of City Points they'd like to redeem
C. User clicks "Next" and then "Pay" (reminder: each City Point is
worth $1)
D. A "digital receipt" will auto populate on the app Note; The business
will also receive an email confirmation for each user's transaction
Steps to accept City Points as payment:
A. Important: The business staff needs to review and verify the user's
digital receipt has the correct (1) redemption timestamp, (2) amount
of redeemed City Points and (3) business name
B. Business staff record the transaction at the Point of Sale (POS) for
the business' own accounting /bookkeeping reconciliation (Colu
provides simple and quick set-up instructions for businesses to
set-up their POS). If a business does not have a POS they can
mark the receipt with a "P" to indicate the payment was made with
City Points. No external integration is required.
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6. Patrons and businesses must be able to use the service on a
personal mobile device easily. The City app will be available to
download, for free, on the App Store and Google Play.
E
7. The service will provide a monthly reporting system to allow for the
City of Costa Mesa to track the program's progress and track the
types of businesses benefiting most from the program. Cities will
receive 24/7 access to a dashboard with updated information about the
project, including user quantity, earning and redemption metrics by
business, earning and redemption metrics for each reward offer (for
example for a specific cause -based reward offer, such as shopping at
minority -owned businesses).
8. The service would provide flexibility in the program that would allow
the City to adjust reward points by type of business, business
location, or other essential characteristics of the businesses like
female -owned, minority -owned, within an opportunity zone, or more.
Users can get rewarded with City Points for shopping at selected local
businesses. The service is flexible so that reward offers can reward
residents for shopping at businesses based on countless predetermined
categories; such as neighborhood -based, business segment -based,
cause -based (e.g. Minority -owned, Women -Owned or Veteran -owned
businesses) or any other characteristics the city would like to reward. The
City will have the discretion to decide which reward offers to highlight.
9. Provide the flexibility for credits to be awarded for attendance at
public engagement opportunities, including event calendars and
page highlights where users can engage directly with the City of
Costa Mesa. The service will be able to offer credits (City Points) to users
for taking action such as attending public engagement opportunities,
engaging with 311 apps, and much more. The service can also showcase
stories, allowing the City to engage with residents and highlight events in
the City.
The platform is driven by stories, in addition to reward offers (where the
call to action is to shop at local businesses in the City); the app has
dedicated space for stories from the city, partners and businesses such as
the below:
10
Behind the Counter
Increase awareness and establish an emotional connection
between residents and local businesses. Rotating weekly
stories highlighting local business owners and their unique
story. Call to Action is to learn more about the local business
owner and consider shopping at their business.
Events and City Initiatives
Stories can be used as an additional marketing platform for
events and information City and local stakeholders would like
to share with residents. Call to Action might be to participate
or watch short YouTube video clips in order to spread
awareness.
10. Provide the flexibility for credits to be awarded for
nonprofit/community--based organization events. Increase visibility
of non -profits and highlight individual commercial corridors or local
business events like The Taste. The service can give users an
opportunity to redeem their City Points at non -profits as well as good
non -profits a stage to tell their story and showcase specific events, local
entrepreneurs, artists, and more. The service can help promote business
events or other local gatherings. Users could also be rewarded for
volunteering or participating in nonprofit/community-based organization
events.
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�.A Nonprofits
Provide a stage for local nonprofits to communicate with
residents and showcase their efforts and impact. Call to
Action might be to: volunteer, donate, learn more, participate.
11. Integrate with the existing Costa Mesa SAC (Business Assistance
Collaborative) website by assisting in producing an integration with
the Costa Mesa SAC so that participating businesses might be
identified in real time. Colu will work with the existing Costa Mesa BAC
website and work to create integrations, if possible, to promote real time
identification of participating businesses. The Colu platform can provide
links to the existing Costa Mesa BAC website.
3. Project schedule, tasks and deliverables are detailed in Proposal Appendix C
4. City staff's tasks and responsibilities are detailed in Proposal Appendix C
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iv. Qualifications & Experience of the Firm:
Name of corporation: Colu Technologies (US) Inc.
Corporate office street address: 1177 Avenue of the Americas, 5th floor
City: New York
State: NY
Zip code:10036
State where incorporated: Delaware
Date of incorporation: 12 January 2021
First and last name of officers: Amos Meiri, Danny Razinsky, Michael Mazur
How many years have you been in business under your present business name?
5 years
Provide a list of current and previous contracts similar to the requirements for
Costa Mesa, including all public agencies served (if any). For each, provide a brief
description of the scope of work performed, the length of time you have been
providing services, and the name, title, and telephone number of the person who
may be contacted regarding your organization's service record. Provide a sample
of each background investigation for each contract.
Colu is currently engaged in similar contracts with 6 cities throughout the US:
1. Akron, Ohio - Colu has been providing its services for a period of 9 months,
since August 2020. Contact person: Heather Roszczyk, Innovation and
Entrepreneurship Advocate, City of Akron, Ohio, Email:
hroszcz k akronohio. ov. Phone number: 330-375-2554
2. Youngstown, Ohio - Colu has been providing its services for a period of 3
months, starting February 2021. Contact person: T. Sharon Woodberry, Director
of Economic Development, City of Youngstown. Email:
tswood oun stownohio. ov. Phone number: 330-744-1708
3. Boston, Massachusetts - Colu has been providing its services for a period of 3
months, starting March 2021. Contact person: Natalia Urtubey, Director of Small
Business, City of Boston. Email: nat liiaurtubeyaboston gov. Phone number:
617-635-5729.
4. Rancho Cordova, California - Colu has been providing its services for a period
of 5 months, starting December 2020. Contact person: Micah Runner, Deputy
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City Manager, City of Rancho Cordova. Email:
mrunneraacityofranchocordova.org. Phone number: 916-851-8802
5. Monterey Park, California - Colu has been providing its services for a period of
1 month, starting April 2020. Contact person: Joseph Torres, Economic
Development Manager, City of Monterey Park. Email:
itorres �montereypark.ca.gov _Phone number: 626-307-1314
6. Chula Vista, California - Colu has been providing its services for a period of 1
month, starting April 2020. Contact person: Miranda Evans, Economic
Development Specialist, City of Chula Vista. Email: MEvans@chulavistaca.gov.
Phone number: 619-691-5044
Submit a description of the organization's qualifications, experience and abilities
that make it uniquely capable to provide the services specified in the Scope of
Work.
Colu was founded in 2014 with a mission to make cities more vibrant, connected, and
inclusive. Since its inception, Colu helped connect thousands of residents with their
local small businesses, and it is highly experienced in the planning, implementing, and
executing of projects of this type. In the past year, Colu has established a local team in
the United States, which includes a Vice President of Business Development, Research
department (City Solutions, policy team and analysts), and City Launcher team
(including on the West Coast in California).
In addition to working with the US cities listed above, Colu has significant experience
from its past operations in Israel and Europe. For instance, in Colu's flagship project in
Tel -Aviv; before shifting into the US Market, the company had over 250,000 users and
merchants.
Colu's team consists of experts in the areas of product, user experience, technology,
design, behavioral economics, and public policy. In addition, Colu hires experts in
various operational areas, in particular business onboarding, financial services, and
customer service.
The company is considered by many to be a thought leader in the areas of economic
development and the integration of behavioral economics in the public sector. Colu is a
proud partner and sponsor of the League of California Cities, ICMA, ELGL, Meeting of
the Minds, and former partner of the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities
Network.
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Colu is a venture -backed company that has raised over $35 million US❑ from leading
venture capital firms.
The City of Costa Mesa is interested in knowing how Proposers support the
communities that they serve. Please provide information on your organization's
participation in local community, charitable and civic organizations and events,
including membership in the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce, charitable
contributions made by your organization, etc.
• Colu provides a marketing platform for nonprofits and community organizations
such as Chambers of Commerce, to help promote their causes and events. In
other communities, Colu helped nonprofits to increase volunteers and donations.
• Internship Program - Colu works with local students for its internship program in
communities in which it operates. As part of this program, interns benefit from
participating in a mission -driven program, ongoing professional training and
educational sessions.
• Ambassador Program - Colu helps cities create an ambassador program to
encourage local residents to volunteer and support their city's local businesses.
• Educational sessions for small business owners - Colu provides educational
sessions and online marketing support to small business owners, to support their
digital transformation. One example is Akron, Ohio's program's ex lanato video
and Boston's explanatory video, as well as the dedicated presentation for
business -owners (see Proposal Appendix F).
V. Financial Capacity
The City is concerned about bidders' financial capability to perform, therefore,
may ask you to provide sufficient data to allow an evaluation of firm's financial
capabilities.
Colu has raised $35M from major VC investors, including Spark Capital and Aleph and
is more than capable to perform the proposed scope of work.
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A Key Personnel
• Identify the members of the staff who would be assigned to act for
Proposer's firm in key management and field positions providing the
services described in the Proposal, and the functions to be performed by
each.
Colu's expert team includes industry leaders and consultants who are mission -driven to
positively impact cities around the globe. See below a list of staff members who would
be assigned to the Costa Mesa program, and the functions to be performed by each:
• Product Management - Ortal Cohen-Tevel, CEO
• Business Development, Operations and Legal - Michael Mazur, Vice
President of Business Development
• Software Development - Elin Gersin, Vice President of R&D
• Project Management - City Launch team: Elizabeth Park & Daniel Leibovich
• Public Policy Research & Partnership Development - Elad Erdan, Global
Business Development Manager & Gonni Forman, City Solution Specialist
In addition to the key personnel listed above, who will be assigned directly to the
project, Colu has more than 30 committed and dedicated employees who will work 2417
for the success of the project and Costa Mesa small business community. Moreover,
Colu is assisted by experienced consultants who lead their fields in the country:
David Zipper is a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy
School's Taubman Center for State and Local
David
Government, where he examines the interplay between
Zipper
urban policy and new mobility technologies. David's
` Urban
perspective on urban development is rooted in his
�dp Developme
experience working within city hall as well as being a
a nt Expert
venture capitalist, policy researcher, and startup
advocate. He has consulted with numerous startups and
public officials about regulatory strategy.
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Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Economic Analysis and
Dr. Dana Policy from Stanford University Graduate School of
Heller Business. Served as Colu's Strategy Officer. Prior to Colu,
Behavioral she served as Head of Competition Division and Deputy
Economics Chief Economist at The Israel Antitrust Authority; Chief
- Expert Risk Officer of Menora Insurance LTD; Vice President
NERA Economic Consulting.
• Include resumes or curriculum vitae of each such staff member, including
name, position, telephone number, email address, education, and years
and type of experience. Describe for each such person, the relevant
transactions on which they have worked - Detailed in Proposal Appendix D
viii. Cost Proposal
See Proposal Appendix B
ix. Sample Professional Service Agreement
-- See Proposal Appendix A
The firm selected by the City will be required to execute a Professional Service
Agreement with the City. A sample of the Agreement is enclosed as Appendix B,
but may be modified to suit the specific services and needs of the City. If a
Proposer has any exceptions or conditions to the Agreement, these must be
submitted for consideration with the Proposal. Otherwise, the Proposer will be
deemed to have accepted the form of Agreement. See No. 12 of this RFP below.
Colu requests the City consider its attached templated Software Platform License
Agreement (Appendix A), which it typically uses with other cities.
X. Checklist of Forms to Accompany Proposal
As a convenience to Proposers, following is a list of the forms, Appendix C included in
this RFP, which should be included with Proposals:
1. Vendor Application Form - See Proposal Appendix E Y
2. CompanyProfile&References - See Proposal Appendix E Y
3. Ex Parte Communications Certificate - See Proposal Appendix E
4. Disclosure of Government Positions - See Proposal Appendix E
5. DisqualificationsQuestionnaire - See Proposal Appendix E
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6. Bidder/Applicant/Contractor Campaign Contribution - See Proposal Appendix E
7. CostProposal - See Proposal Appendix B
m