1.

Why is the problem of bringing light to people who don’t have access to
reliable electricity not being tackled in a meaningful way by a large lighting
company, such as GE (General Electric) or Philips?

Ans 1. To solve the problem in a meaningful way means that the solution must be
sustainable and cost efficient to the people and also introduces a new creative product
such as the d.light. Companies like General Electric (GE) and Philips focus on the
long term profit making for their own stakeholders. This means that the investors will
not be able to make money if they find a meaningful way to tackle the electricity,
although it would be reliable to the people using it and benefit them drastically.

Most of these big companies conduct studies and surveys to understand the
demographics of the people in the region. They might have found out that those
individuals living these areas are not earning enough salaries to be able to pay for
their lighting and in return, the big companies will not risk their time and funds in
such places.

2. What qualities do Sam Goldman and his team have that will help them solve
the problem of providing light to the billions of people in the world who lack
access to reliable electricity?

Ans 2. Providing light to billions of people was not an easy task, and it required
creativity and most importantly teamwork to solve such a problem. Sam Goldman and
his team completed each other by coming from different professional backgrounds. In
terms of Sam Goldman, there was no doubt that he comprehended the problem of
those individuals without any access to light or reliable electricity. This is because he
has visited and lived in many countries with similar issues. His team are also willing
to travel to small villages and live in such circumstances to understand the problem
more clearly and advertise their product there. Nonetheless, Sam’s team are a
combination of brilliant engineers and distribution professionals. They have also
managed to create a wide channel of distribution to the d.light in many countries. All
of these qualities have contributed in making the d.light a successful solution.
3. Why does Sam Goldman go out of his way to talk about the importance of
d.light’s business plan? In what ways do you think having a meticulously created
business helped d.light in its launch efforts?

Ans 3. Sam Goldman stresses the importance of d.light’s business plan because it has
helped the firm look the way it does today and more importantly in gathering the
initial investment capital.

I think a meticulously created business helped Sam and his team to lay out a well-
detailed plan, which showed them what to do step by step of the way. This has helped
d.light to win in 3 different competitions and challenges. The team has claimed the
sum of $250,000 in the last competition in May 2007, which has helped them in
launching the company and funding most of their work that has taken place in the
following summer that year.

4. If you were one of d.light’s founders, what would your marketing strategy be?
How would you go about educating people in remote areas of the world about
your product and the benefits associated with purchasing it?

Ans 4. As a founder of d.light, my main marketing strategy would focus on

advertising. Of course, it is extremely hard to reach those people through social media
so other old fashioned means must be implemented. One way is through paper
advertisements where I can hire a few people in the town or village to hand over
paper leaflets to the individuals. Those leaflets would include pictures, descriptions,
costs and benefits of the d.light products. The graphic design must be creative and
highly attractive so the person reading it would be interested to find out more about it.