Completely agree about their advertising. I came very close to walking away at the very start. But then I looked at the two founders and they are not idiots. A super successful Russian internet founder and his wife who often speaks on the global platforms like the UN and with world leaders.
But compared to the UK, the advertising is definitely built for more of a US mindset/style.
Anyway, it was one of my crazy WTH investments which I let myself make every now and then . I invested at $0.20 and their current round is $4 so on paper at least, some movement. They are pushing to go public this year and so having liquidity would be a great outcomeā¦.fingers crossed.
Iāve watched a few of the Unicorn Hunters episodes and there are some decent businesses on there but currently the minimums have meant I havenāt got involved yet. Anyway, exciting to see this private equity space being opened up to more people.
I think the upside could be enormous. Nice x20 already @Chrislewisuk Who knows where this could end up but I have to say the opportunities in the US (not always I will add) absolutely blow away the vast majority of the complete junk on CrowdCube and Seedrs. Different league. Iāve invested in so much compete garbage on CrowdCube over the years. Small fry junk apart from a handful of golden gems. Iād encourage everyone to have a look stateside, even if the tax benefits arenāt there. X100 is an ok problem to have with no tax benents versus EIS and x3
Going to do more digging obviously, but the grant space seems ripe for disruption / efficiency gains. I once did a Horizon 2020 EU grant application and it was an absolute nightmare. This is US-focused, but canāt imagine its any better there combined with the federal / state / municipal layers over there. Main focus of my DD will be on the team, all else looks quite nice actually. Marketing is done fully by the CEO appearing on right about every startup podcast / YT channel, which seems to be working quite wellā¦ Interested in othersā opinion here!
Itās an interesting one. Fantastically assembled team and with excellent exit experience, which is a huge plus. Fascinating solution and size of the prize is massive but a long way to go to before that is a reality + valuation seems a bit rich. Hereās Kibgscrowdās assessment:
Crowded space but love their super premium angle, the brand, growth and the team. The low/no alcohol space is forecasted to explode in the next few years and I particularly like the THC product direction as well. I think in a few years people will look at alcohol in the same way as smoking today - they will shake their head and say did people really actually do that
Iāve been put off after reading more by the fact that the IP license with the university isnāt secured, and this has tripped up prior investments for me
Good luck and thanks for replying!
Yes the more I dig the more I feel this is only one that I would consider investing in for future rounds. Itās a very high valuation for pre revenue and I can see this being extremely capital intensive with potential long delaysā¦.
Thx for sharing - that score does help with the filtering. I donāt invest in physical goods personally, had a quick look, team looks amazing and they are doing the branding the right way IMO, but thats some aggressive plans there;
They are burninggg cash; if keep spending equal to 2020, they need ~$13m in revenue just to break even. Looking at their projections, they presume significantly higher gross margins (very hard with physical products) and plan to accelerate spending and burn >$20m in the coming 3 years. Then add an incredibly competitive market and broad product line (no focus?), makes a very dangerous mix.
Valuation seems really steep, these are SaaS multiples (by a stretch already), I think weāre overpaying here.
No institutional support, which I donāt understand with this team and how slick everything looks, this is one of those where I really get the idea they were rejected by the VCs and need to find money elsewhere
Just my 2 cents from sifting through it, hope it helps & gl everyone with their diligence
Yes itās not aligned with my usual tech focussed selections but Iām following the CEO (Mark Lynn) who was the co-founder of another of my investments called Winc (successful exit x5 after just 2 years).
It also helps being some balance to my portfolio even if itās pricey. They are slick operators so could be big upside and also hopefully an exit in next 2-3 years which allows to take some profit and recycle into the next batch of opportunities.
Iām pretty familiar with them, my son and daughter had their parties at Otherworld a couple of times and the kids loved it. Their new one at Victoria is beautifully done, very Star Trek and futuristic. I can see them growing but Iād say the market is parties and corporate events rather than anything bigger so theyāll always be constrained to getting money evening and weekends. VR is an odd one (we have a VR headset), really good products but despite that people still put them down. Iād also say there havenāt been many new games released in the past year. No matter how good they are people donāt seem to be sticky with the product so I donāt see the outsize returns here. If the comparison is with bowling or cinema for a night out then they come in a bit pricey too. Not to say I donāt think theyāre good, just donāt see how they get good returns longer term.
I invested in the convertible loan note back in the summer, which they said they expected to convert in Q4 2021 or Q1 2022. Since funding no communication from the company. This evening an email from Crowdcube with a second cooling off period , change of CEO and change of holding company but not much of an explanation from either Crowdcube or Meatless Farm.
This is setting off many red flags (I got stung by emoov, which also had a second cooling off period).
Hey There No I missed this one. Be interesting to see how it performs as many new entrants have been getting walloped recently - including a couple of mine. Ferocious daily swings are ok but Iām not getting too many upwards ones
. I invested at $0.20 and their current round is $4 so on paper at least, some movement. They are pushing to go public this year and so having liquidity would be a great outcomeā¦.fingers crossed.
Who knows where this could end up but I have to say the opportunities in the US (not always I will add) absolutely blow away the vast majority of the complete junk on CrowdCube and Seedrs. Different league. Iāve invested in so much compete garbage on CrowdCube over the years. Small fry junk apart from a handful of golden gems. Iād encourage everyone to have a look stateside, even if the tax benefits arenāt there. X100 is an ok problem to have with no tax benents versus EIS and x3 
No I missed this one. Be interesting to see how it performs as many new entrants have been getting walloped recently - including a couple of mine. Ferocious daily swings are ok but Iām not getting too many upwards ones 