Bogus Ball..from the start
- Thread starter sopadre
- Start date
Huh?????
Did you mean to reply to another post In this thread? Your comments regarding the scale of investments made by venture capitalists compared to WPBL's total expenditures may apply better to one of the other posts but I don't get the connection to mine.
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I thought it was related myself. i thought you were saying that in today's world of start ups and venture capitalists companies are built with an eye WAY into the future for true ROI, and the initial investors are looking to recoup and get out with a public offering, which makes all the old models of income vs outgo sometimes obsolete.
And, you know, it may be true in relation to BB, not necessarily taking it public, but pumping enough money into it to make it viable to sell to some broadcasting entity. Sort of like KT was supposedly doing with the IPT.
Or, just a scam.
Meantime the odds of the players now rolling that big ball up the mountain (if that is the current plan) motivated because "it sure would be great if it worked" are LONG LONG LONG against success.
Kevin
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Gotcha
In another thread on BB I made similar comments to yours about how current net marketing and social media start ups burn 10's of millions and sell for 100's of millions via IPO's without ever earning a single penny of profit. The investor's horizons are way out there and they are patient to an amazing degree.
Some folks just don't realize how little a couple of million dollars means to certain circles of investors.
A friend of mine had an idea to do a food truck (years before the phenomenon took place). He was going to do a really GREAT quality up scale Mac & Cheese. Saved for years and got together 300K and a bunch of fabulous recipes with some real high end ingredients (Truffles, High End Chocolate, Exotic Cheeses from Italy). He got blinded by trying to do 5 star on wheels and forgot his base demographic: People looking for quick, cheap food on the go.
The truck would have fit in at NASCAR event. The product was like sex on a plate but at $16 a copy nobody would come back and very few would even try it. He burnt through 500K of his and some investor dollars before he pulled the plug. Sold the truck for 15cents on the dollar to a guy slinging pulled pork sandwiches for $6. Now that guy has 3 trucks and makes enough money to support 10 families.
Never forget for core demographic. Your product doesn't have to be the best or even first. The BB crew got blinded by the shiny rock. Invent a game (we didn't need a new one). Sell balls (I got a nice set thank you). Sell Jerseys (that make the XFL & WWE blush). Supersize everything that your nut is so big your hard core customers are not enough to pay the load. Go ask JCIN why he doesn't do a big event with say 8 stars? Because he hasn't thought about it.....NO. Because it makes no sense and MG would have to dig into his jeans for 20K which he'll NEVER get back.
Big Balls and no sense only works in PORN. In business is catastrophic. You want to meet a hater. Come have a chat with my accountant. These guys needed to go in front of Sharks Tank or Dragon's Den (Canadian version) and be told by Mr. Wonderful the realities of business.
Nick
The truck would have fit in at NASCAR event. The product was like sex on a plate but at $16 a copy nobody would come back and very few would even try it. He burnt through 500K of his and some investor dollars before he pulled the plug. Sold the truck for 15cents on the dollar to a guy slinging pulled pork sandwiches for $6. Now that guy has 3 trucks and makes enough money to support 10 families.
Never forget for core demographic. Your product doesn't have to be the best or even first. The BB crew got blinded by the shiny rock. Invent a game (we didn't need a new one). Sell balls (I got a nice set thank you). Sell Jerseys (that make the XFL & WWE blush). Supersize everything that your nut is so big your hard core customers are not enough to pay the load. Go ask JCIN why he doesn't do a big event with say 8 stars? Because he hasn't thought about it.....NO. Because it makes no sense and MG would have to dig into his jeans for 20K which he'll NEVER get back.
Big Balls and no sense only works in PORN. In business is catastrophic. You want to meet a hater. Come have a chat with my accountant. These guys needed to go in front of Sharks Tank or Dragon's Den (Canadian version) and be told by Mr. Wonderful the realities of business.
Nick
from 2010 to 2012 in about 18 months we blew $2,000,000.00 and change on a internet biz, I thought we had a solid biz plan, at the end of the day me and my partner lost all that time and a buck each-ouch!!
It's hard in the yard these days opening a business. the last 2 i did cost me about 1.5M, I made a property play in the past 6 months that if I sold now I'd recover the majority of that, however i don't think its the right time to sell. I could be wrong.
enuff about me, my point is for me, you, BB, or anyone biz is a risk and guessing game sometimes, its very rare it isn't, i been in that spot too and seen the hole filled and made tons, like this recent property deal. But thats rare, very very rare. ya got to be lucky sometimes and catch a break or roll in life to win.
Exactly. It like playing the lottery for the uber rich. Probably they lose some money and get a deduction, maybe they break even or thereabouts, or if they are lucky, they get in on the ground floor of the next Google. Either way, people that invest in things like this aren't betting their last dollar. It is a calculated risk for them and part of their portfolio.
thats correct, they fire at 10,20,30,40,50 deals and if a couple hit they it averages out good. I never had that much $$$ and if i did i'd still do my homework. I know people who fire blindly at deals and they have zillions.
I have a friend raising his 2nd round for a video game biz, he raised $3M and now $12.5M and he is talking to MONSTER $$$ OLD $$$ families where $500K is nothing(how i know this is i was at his office in Vegas and heard him on the phone with the his investors-i wish i could say who but i can't-i was amazed) i been around lots of deals even bigger $$, but never seen the contacts he has, wow!!!(it wasnt bill gates but families at that level if you add up the total net worth), a days earnings if that. his biz will most likely work and they will make $$$. I didnt invest. 5-6 years ago when i was rolling i would have bet on it for sure.
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My room mate and long time friend is the creative director for a startup. They get a wide range of investors from celebrities and athletes to wall street types. They host social events where investors can come and meet the staff, socialize with other investors, and eat and drink. A lot of networking goes on. Here is a shameless plug:
https://www.bespokepost.com/land/sem-bespoke?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=bespoke%20post&utm_content=26249113502&utm_campaign=Brand+-+G&mkwid=sSxhkctbN&pcrid=26249113502&pkw=bespoke%20post&placement=&pmt=e
its amazing how much work raising VC $$$ can be, i knew it was lots of work-just didnt realize how deep it goes. my friend is on the road with the "books"(they describe the investment) doing face2face meetings for 3 weeks straight, upto 8 people/groups a day. He has a massive amount of contacts for this type of biz, he has put together over the past 20 some years. Funny thing is the people he didnt expect to invest have and the ones he thought would didn't-he is 1/3 done with the 12.5M which is small in the biz he is doing. He said after the first 60% the last 40% is easy because people are more confident the whole raise will happen. I'm very interested in this, its part of biz i knew some of, but have LOTS to learn. I got front row seats so i'm not wasting this chance to learn.
When it comes to business, legitimate businesses look like scams and vice versa. When someone says "We got Shaq" or "We've locked up Wal Mart and Staples" and are looking for an investment, your warning antenna should go right up. If they really have Shaq and Wal Mart and Staples, they don't need your money.
BB looks to me like a bad idea, that's all. They built it and nobody came. There are too many good business investments out there - ones that have a legitimate chance of success - to waste time and money on something like this.
Sorry but whoever blows 500k on a food truck is not in their right mind. Plus the concept of the food truck has been around since the invention of the wheel.
Once upon a time someone invented 14.1. Then later someone invented one pocket. In fact every game in the rule book, some 50 of them, were invented at some point.
You're a hater. No matter what your accountant has to say about your bank account you're a hater. You think Larry made his money because he didn't understand business?
Are you privy to Larry's plans or his negotiations? Are you talking to the people he is talking to? I am going to guess the answer is no, you aren't. So it's really easy for you to sit on the sidelines and hate. And if you're right you get to say I told you so and if you're wrong you can say they got lucky.
So being a hater is the safe play here. I am not saying that this isn't all a pipe dream I am just willing to extend a little more credit to the people whose money is on the line that they have some sort of goal that goes beyond the "core demographic" of pool players who won't watch the DCC if it's on in the bar but who will watch baseball instead. Maybe their goal is to reach people who don't even play pool. Ever thought of that?
Like you know the MILLIONS of people who watch tennis, golf and cars racing around tracks who don't actually participate in those sports???
Or the millions of MMA fans who don't go out every day and beat people up? Same for boxing, baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, none of which are dependent on a core group who actually PLAY those sports.
Well stated
Reasonable folks may stop and think about what you said, the haters you reference most likely will not. I does not fit their preconceived notions.
...and what has the APA done for Professional Pool as of lately?
No need to be a rocket scientist to know what I was talking about......
Which means what, exactly?
The point wasn't about APA and pro's, the point was about no one thought that the APA would succeed, and look what they have done.
I'm not comparing the two, nor likely was 1 Lone Wolf. The point is the APA tried something that other thought couldn't work, and proved them wrong. We shall see if BB can do so again...
What do you think their expenses were on week one?
Not an expert on the subject but ask any of the members of the WPBA about the APA and it's support. Women's professional pool would have died many years ago without them. Yes, they have made some errors. Not allowing Mark Griffin to become executive director was probably one. Know both Larry Hubbart and Terry Bell were "pro" players when the APA started from the Busch League concept. Perhaps they both saw the handwriting on the wall for the men and found a creative way to make money playing pool. Regardless, what does the APA have to do with BB anyway?
Lyn