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@Northern_Standard
Hey guys,
I like the lively discussion. There are a few point made here that I'll speak to. I'll try to keep it brief but I can't guarantee that I will. First, the deal we got is only a deal... not cash in our hands. We are in the due diligence phase of the investment and there is zero guarantee that this deal will even come to fruition.
Yes I work on Northern Standard full time. I left my job at the end of July to focus 100% on this business. It was a huge gamble but I've already put considerable money and effort into it and want to see this thing through. Will bike polo be able to generate the revenues we are hoping for? Nobody knows, but If you look at sports like skateboading, snowboading & Ultimate frisbee and follow them from inception to current day, there is definitely a potential as long as we can generate a critical mass. Yes the market is too small now and we will likely operate at a loss for a couple years. However, at the rate its growing - we estimate a compounded annual growth of 50% per year (this was take mostly from LOBP registration & averaged out over 3 years of figures) which could result in a big enough market for several medium sized companies to comfortably play in. Plus we need to look beyond shafts and heads and see the potential for a slew of other products that are needed/wanted. I love bike polo. I see huge potential for this sport and I want to be part of it.
As for the actual deal itself and the value of the company, I spent considerable time on this... but at the end it simply amounts to an educated guess. For those of you who have written a business plan, you know what i'm talking about. We looked at the current numbers, projected growth, amount of the market we could get, $ value of product we could sell to that market, projected that out over a period of time and voila.
To speak to clement's point, yes we have made some big & very expensive mistakes in the past. However, we are committed to making top quality projects and are focusing all our $ and time into R&D. Most of the money from this deal (if we get it) will go to new product development and testing. We have some great stuff lined up for early 2013 and could do even more with a healthy investment. The rest will be used for cash flow and sponsorship. AKA, we're not fucking around anymore.
To Mr. Kawasaki's point... the numbers were taken from a global perspective. However, much of the information currently available is USA-centric so it's tough to pull UK/Euro out of it. However, anecdotally, I think UK/Euro is growing faster and stronger than N.America. I personally believe that you guys will be the true innovators and leaders of the sport in the coming years (just dont tell NAH I said that)... 2 brand new companies have started in the UK alone in the past few months if that is any sign.
Aufbruch, I'm happy to talk frankly about the numbers in more detail but I'll spare the rest of the forum the boring details. You can email me at max(at)nsbikepolo.com with any specifics and I'll get back at you asap.
Also, a treat for those of you who actually read my entire rant... a buddy of mine has posted the video on youtube. Ta da:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHxc6u9enmQ