Investors...

[craigix]

Thanks DaveC. When things seemed to be really stalled there was talk of having the finished molds shipped back to the U.K., though I've no idea how much work it would be to get the U.K. injection machines to mesh with the Chinese molds. If Craig's happy with the quality of the cases and the speed they can produce them, this may be a moot point now.


Edit: especially since they seem to be producing in the thousands now.

Buying an injection machine might happen, they are quite cheap at auction, but it's not top of the list right now.


It's true that we would give shares to certain people who are involved in the project (if they wanted them). Currently only DaveC has a contact with us.


If the response to this are good then OP Ltd will probably become OP PLC, and I hope if that happens all the investors can be from this very scene.

 

[neko]

As I've said, everything would be disclosed to anyone who was serious about investing, although you might be disappointed to know there are no big secrets or debts or surprises. We have been very open with events as they have happened.

The events were disclosed, yes, but some of those events involved rather large amounts of money (eg the nub company bankruptcy, and the credit card mess) and that may significantly affect the company's balance sheet. The amount of money and likelyhood of recovery is relevant here.


Even if you aren't listed on a public stock exchange, there are some pretty specific rules about what you have to disclose to investors.

 

[craigix]

Even if you aren't listed on a public stock exchange, there are some pretty specific rules about what you have to disclose to investors.

Yes, I know, obviously we have read up on this. As I keep saying everything would be disclosed to anyone who is serious as an investor. You make it sound as if we would try to hide things, but we would be open with it. We want it to work after all.

 

[neko]

Yes, I know, obviously we have read up on this. As I keep saying everything would be disclosed to anyone who is serious as an investor. You make it sound as if we would try to hide things, but we would be open with it. We want it to work after all.

I'm not accusing you of hiding things. I'm pointing out things which have not been publicly disclosed, but which would be relevant to an investor. I want to make sure all the bases are covered here.


If you think my questions are tough, try talking to some venture capitalists

 

[.Gogeta§§J4BR.]

having fans with money doesn't give you enough credibility to sell shares.


selling shares IS a double-edged sword.


don't just think about the money flow, remember the times even ourselves (happy pre-orderers) got pissed. put that in a graph.


you have to be stable in order to start thinking about it; having the 1st and 2nd batch units shipped would be an ideal starting point.

 

[Twisted]

Shares! Posting as interested, I would only be able to jump in for the minimum, unless the Aussie dollar keeps going up

 

[riumplus]

Shares! Posting as interested, I would only be able to jump in for the minimum, unless the Aussie dollar keeps going up

They say it may hit parity either today or tomorrow


I'm at least interested for more information, perhaps more.

 

[DaveC]

Thanks DaveC. When things seemed to be really stalled there was talk of having the finished molds shipped back to the U.K., though I've no idea how much work it would be to get the U.K. injection machines to mesh with the Chinese molds. If Craig's happy with the quality of the cases and the speed they can produce them, this may be a moot point now.


Edit: especially since they seem to be producing in the thousands now.

I suppose the molds could be maintained ny a UK molder. The making of the molds is the expensive part. Putting them on a machine and making parts is not as much. I would imagine tweaking molds could be done in the UK too, less chance of fucking them up then if the Chinese did it.


Just so you all know any tweaks to my CAD model for improving existing molds I am willing to do with no additional payment. I will just do them when they are ready. I basically know what can be done but I am just waiting until Craig indicates that the tweaks need to be done. I just want the current Pandora case to be as good as it can.

 

[Asiyura]

Well, having some funds injected into the company would be a good thing.


With more money, they would potentially have more latitude on choosing their business partners, better tools and more hands working for OpenPandora.


One year ago, I had more than enough to invest, and I hope that in one or two years, I'll get back some cash.


But right now, I'm fighting to pay the monthly bills, so investing 1000€ is completely impossible.

 

[UberDub]

Interested, pending terms and conditions. PM me for my contact info.

 

[gdap]

This sounds like a great opportunity and I'm sure many people from the community will want to invest.


As much as I love the pandora, the real money maker in my eyes is going to be the icontrolpad.


The sheer number of ios/android devices out there is staggering and is only continuing to grow. These platforms already run most of the emulators the Pandora can, and with the addition of the icontrolpad I am worried whether this will affect the appeal of the Pandora to the larger public.


As a member of this community, I want the Pandora to succeed, but as a potential investor I think the focus should be to sell a product that most people will definitely use, and right now I see alot of people playing games on there phones with shitty controls.

 

[Middo]

So who valued OP Ltd at $400 000 pounds. Is it worth that much?

 

[Hawkey]

Like the Idea and got some spare money - so I would be interested in it


There are just the allready mentioned questions that should be answered/solved before you start - especially about the situation of the "outer UKs" (~ since many of us didn't live there & don't know the law). If it's set, it would be good if it will be possibly to deal this through ED too - at least for the Germans ^^


All in it would be a good way to be more flexible and attract new customers, since they don't need to preorder, beside the Pandora will be keept in the community without relying on third parties

 

[Xenu]

So who valued OP Ltd at $400 000 pounds. Is it worth that much?

It's impossible to know without seeing some figures.

 

[zapman]

I also consider myself a potential investor.. some thoughts should be spent on gdap's arguments and I would need to see an elaborated plan what will be done with all the investments. Spending it on "some project in the future" isn't enough, of course. I will watch this thread, would be nice if you could really convince a bunch of people to put some money down.

As much as I love the pandora, the real money maker in my eyes is going to be the icontrolpad.


The sheer number of ios/android devices out there is staggering and is only continuing to grow. These platforms already run most of the emulators the Pandora can, and with the addition of the icontrolpad I am worried whether this will affect the appeal of the Pandora to the larger public.


As a member of this community, I want the Pandora to succeed, but as a potential investor I think the focus should be to sell a product that most people will definitely use, and right now I see alot of people playing games on there phones with shitty controls.

 

[zohnnyg]

i think it sounds good. it seems it would be more comfortable to keep it small and close to the community. we dont want some bigwig to come in and take it over and to a level or restriction where PANDORA becomes something we never wanted it to be.

 

[Eight Bit]

I might be interested too, but why make the decission to sell shares? Is the decission made to make the company grow faster or are there money problems and more cash is needed?

 

[ZXDunny]

Well, I'm going to break with the obvious trend that's developing and state for the record that I don't think Craig is trustworthy enough given his past behaviour. He has a tendency to be "over optimistic", as someone else put it, about what's going on and about time-scales etc. Let's not forget that he was adamant that he could get production done by 'xmas 2008, and there has been numerous occasions where if he hasn't outright lied, he's certainly bent the truth into creating a favourable outlook when things were stalled.


I'd not have a problem with that, but he could have been honest - instead situations were spun into optimism. If you're at all doubtful of my assessment, please bear in mind that EvilDragon had to start posting updates when Craig's all ended in flamewars - and ED's updates are the ones generally regarded as being accurate and honest. There is a reason that things developed that way.


I do understand that Craig runs a business first and foremost, and needs to keep interest up as a means to making money. He just goes about it the wrong way, though he has improved of late.


I can never forget his behaviour towards pre-orderers, however, when they disagree with him - "what's your order number" is a meme on GP32X now for good reason.


So in summary, no - I don't trust Craig.


D.

 

[EvilDragon]

Well, the only thing OpenPandora Ltd. is probably owing me are the rest of the units from Batch 1.


Apart from that I have my own company setup, so he won't owe me anything except for future orders as well. OpenPandora Ltd. currently handles all the orders and while we work together all I do is probably buy the units from him (or parts from the unit. To be exact, I own all the LCDs of Batch 1 )


So no hidden debts to me either


I guess he wants to use money to properly do things.


The production of Batch 1 is really wearing someone out - it took WAY too long, and soldering 4000 LCD cables yourselves also isn't fun. Having the option to switch to a different company for production could've probably sped up everything, but switching costs mone. Also, some things like the hinge (i.e. add middle step, etc.) could be improved, WiFi could be worked on, etc.


All those little issues could be solved. And you could produce more units without relying on paid preorders. Interest is still very high (I alone get about 2 - 3 people asking to preorder one per day), but I think if it's in stock it would even sell way faster.


I guess our priority list for the moment is:


1. Make production predictable and reliable (if that means changing companies, so be it!)


2. Fix the last issues there are (WiFi, Hinge, etc.) and also improve the quality


3. Improve Software OS


We've got a finished product already that only needs to have a few issues solved before it can enter proper production.


Your first batch units surely will always be a special unit

 

[Bosbeetle]

Hmmm the times I wished I had money, I think my life will consist mainly of wishing


- wishing I had money


- wishing I could code


- wishing I had more time


- wishing I was more productive


- wishing I had any skill


- wishing I was artistic


- wishing I had the determinacy to finish something properly


- wishing I ....