Pre-Proposal Dash Messaging Eco-System

[GrandMasterDash]

This equity deal is interesting. My main concern is competition and scaling up. This is a very competitive space (kik, wechat, obsidian, younow etc) and I would of really liked to of seen some mention of them and how you will compete and differentiate. It is, however, not a deal breaker so long as there's no non-compete clause.

Going forward, I can see you're going to need a LOT more funding so I'm wondering if dash will have the option to increase it's equity at some future date?

As an equity deal, I want to be assured of continuous quarterly updates.

I can imagine a more mature version of this being used in conjunction with tv shows (x factor etc). (though that seems a long way off)

 

[Will_DD]

This equity deal is interesting. My main concern is competition and scaling up. This is a very competitive space (kik, wechat, obsidian, younow etc) and I would of really liked to of seen some mention of them and how you will compete and differentiate. It is, however, not a deal breaker so long as there's no non-compete clause.

Going forward, I can see you're going to need a LOT more funding so I'm wondering if dash will have the option to increase it's equity at some future date?

As an equity deal, I want to be assured of continuous quarterly updates.

I can imagine a more mature version of this being used in conjunction with tv shows (x factor etc). (though that seems a long way off)

Dear GrandMasterDash,
Yes Dash will have the option for sure, with non-compete and quarterly updates is a very reasonable request.

As for the need for future funds, we have built the app with revenue in mind, not to be like some of the others who have little to no revenue models. We thus believe we may require less than competitors. But would much prefer Dash as a partner and would be happy to offer Dash a position before even ever engaging other potential investors.

There may even be the opportunity to collaborate on some work with the Dash core team, which could be another exciting project on its own.
We are very open to suggestions, it is all so new for us with Dash and we look forward to learning more..

I also see xFactor and Idols, strictly come Dancing.. there are many.. I love that you share the vision.

The legal agreement is with Ryan and your/his lawyers.

I am scared of saying the wrong thing about competitors, not sure if this is allowed? (using their names etc) i did try touch in it in the video on the submission.

I am currently putting the videos into the pitch also.

Hope this answers some of your questions?

Kind regards
Will

 

[Will_DD]

Dear GrandMasterDash,

I managed to also load up the Demo video in the Budget proposal..

Also a meet the team link: (just waiting for upload to complete)

Kind regards
Will

 

[GrandMasterDash]

Yes, I saw the videos but it didn't really give much comparison against, say wechat, where the ecosystem is very rich and established.

 

[GrandMasterDash]

Only 6 days left to vote yet I would like a summation and the all clear from Core regarding the legal agreement.

 

[Will_DD]

I must say i was worried about the timeline, we sent the contract to Ryan on Friday and he forwarded it to the lawyer, straight away.

We sent him a follow up email on Monday, but he is a busy guy as you know and it is thanks giving...
Not too sure what to do, given the timeline...

If all else fails, i give you my word on this. We will do what it takes to make this work for us all.

Now let me answer your other question.

Thank you for your time and everything you have done for me so far, i really appreciate it!

Regards
Will

 

[Will_DD]

Yes, I saw the videos but it didn't really give much comparison against, say wechat, where the ecosystem is very rich and established.

I agree with you that WeChat is a well established product, which is why some say it is valued at $80 Billion.

The major differences we see with WeChat are these:

1. WeChat lets you match random people near you - Which we see as a privacy invasion. We link via phonebook
2. WeChat lets you search or shake to find other random people.. again attracts the wrong attention
3. WeChat integrates with Fiat, which is limited to in border and traditional banking barriers - We do Dash!
4. In DappDapp anyone can create a public chat quickly and easily, as apposed to this being exclusively available to larger companies etc.

As for WeChat i would not say DappDapp is better, but different, some people eat chicken, others don't.
If we can become the brand where you can get into Crypto, without having to go through exchanges, even more so if you want to get crypto, but don't have money so you can earn it through campaigns, that is incredibly valuable in our minds.

In comparison to Kik:

1. Kick has a username search feature, where i once was contacted by "candice" my wife obviously had some questions... I subsequently deleted it immediately.
2. Kik are looking at crypto, which is good, but they are doing an ICO of their own, now if you read their documentation, they are issuing trillions of coins.. i don't see how owning one could ever be as valuable as owning Dash.
3. Dash is established and growing as a major global player, being integrated with such reach brings many users on board.
4. Then Kik also has the problem of once having had a couple hundred million downloads and dropped back to about 15 million. As you all know getting a download is hard, getting one back that you've lost is nearly impossible.

Some other DappDapp features are:
1. Public Chats where only group members can talk and followers can only view.
2. DappDapp let's people get into Crypto, without the need to understand it. It is like an easy entry.
3. Followers are anonymous, which is big for education as they don't want followers to be visible to the wrong people.

Current features we are building:
1. Pin protect chats or groups. So you can choose to make your "Surprise Party" group pin protected, meaning you cannot see the chats without the pin.
2. Hidden groups, where group members are not shown to others. We had the feature requests from some moms who were organizing kids parties, they said sometimes there is a child the do not wish to invite to a birthday party, but do not want all the moms to know that one person is not invited.


I think it would be arrogant (and obviously biased) for me to say that we are better than others, but if we can get our slice of the cake and with Dash as partner, we will be really happy.

Then another one we did not touch on is twitter, i always say with them it is like writing on the wall and hoping someone walks past and read it.
Whereas with DappDapp you can create a public group, let's say the liverpool soccer team, they can have player banter and the followers can all see the conversation. Every time they "like" a comment the group earns some Dash to be used for charity etc.

Hope this helps you?

Kind regards
Will

 

[Macrochip]

The major differences we see with WeChat are these:

1. WeChat lets you match random people near you - Which we see as a privacy invasion. We link via phonebook
2. WeChat lets you search or shake to find other random people.. again attracts the wrong attention
3. WeChat integrates with Fiat, which is limited to in border and traditional banking barriers - We do Dash!
4. In DappDapp anyone can create a public chat quickly and easily, as apposed to this being exclusively available to larger companies etc.

I assume you don't plan on spying as much as WeChat either?

 

[Will_DD]

I assume you don't plan on spying as much as WeChat either?

Exactly!

 

[GrandMasterDash]

I assume you don't plan on spying as much as WeChat either?

You haven't seen the permission list, it's huge! But I'm ignoring this because their target audience doesn't care that much. Besides, the people that do care might well have two or more phones.

Imo, wechat is the model to beat. Maybe they can find a better way. But I noticed, in one of the demonstrations, to earn dash, the user could take a survey, and the user's email address was required. I didn't like that and I imagine most surveys would require it. I would of preferred that dapp dapp be the gatekeeper, but who knows, I'm more paranoid than your average.

 

[Will_DD]

You haven't seen the permission list, it's huge! But I'm ignoring this because their target audience doesn't care that much. Besides, the people that do care might well have two or more phones.

Imo, wechat is the model to beat. Maybe they can find a better way. But I noticed, in one of the demonstrations, to earn dash, the user could take a survey, and the user's email address was required. I didn't like that and I imagine most surveys would require it. I would of preferred that dapp dapp be the gatekeeper, but who knows, I'm more paranoid than your average.

As for permissions, we are at the mercy of the stores.
The survey however, was just a demo we set up to show you the concept. We can dictate the rules.

Kind regards
Will

 

[GrandMasterDash]

Can you please clarify how many investors there are and how the shares are distributed.

Can you please tell us of any loans and liabilities.

You've been doing this since 2014. I'm wondering what's been holding you back. Play Store says you've had just 100 downloads.

 

[Will_DD]

Dear GrandMasterDash,

We started really small in the garage, 1 dev and as a sideline to meet our business needs at the time. (micro insurance)
Myself and Allen are the main shareholders, but every member of staff has a share.

After the hassles we had with other messaging apps, we then decided to do it on a more competitive, scalable solution to open it up to the public etc as there were many other similar complaints from friends in business and subsequently had some friends investing anything from 100 to 10000 pounds. We got 143 friends to invest and told them and their families to download it and help us test it.

We limited growth as we first wanted to overcome the payments challenge. We had a lot of interest from Skrill to be our payments partner, however Fiat poses obvious challenges.

We currently have no liabilities and do not want to get into any, which is why we approached Dash.

Hope this helps?

Kind regards
Will

 

[Will_DD]

Just out of interest sake, our friends don't have voting rights, as it is impractical.

They just wanted a small slice and said "when it goes big one day, we want a % of the dream"... as friends do!

 

[GrandMasterDash]

Sorry to say, on the face of it, it seems too expensive.

 

[Will_DD]

Please dont feel sorry, I take that on board GrandMasterDash, I would rather know the problem so i can fix it, than not know where it is.

Valuations are always the big question when talking about equity.

You see we understood that it is not about equity but rather about growing the footprint, in threads higher up, it was mentioned that the equity would make it a lot more attractive.

We based the proposal on VC agreements we currently have, for obvious reasons we would rather work with a partner who shares the vision.

We now realize however, that it is much more about equity, than we initially thought, which is also fine.

We would like to make adjustments where need be, in order to get the relationship right, where ever that adjustment needs to be.

What would you say is reasonable or your "sweet spot" so to speak?

If it means we lose a bit more equity in exchange for the RIGHT partner, we are happy with it.

Kind regards
Will

 

[GrandMasterDash]

Please dont feel sorry, I take that on board GrandMasterDash, I would rather know the problem so i can fix it, than not know where it is.

Valuations are always the big question when talking about equity.

You see we understood that it is not about equity but rather about growing the footprint, in threads higher up, it was mentioned that the equity would make it a lot more attractive.

We based the proposal on VC agreements we currently have, for obvious reasons we would rather work with a partner who shares the vision.

We now realize however, that it is much more about equity, than we initially thought, which is also fine.

We would like to make adjustments where need be, in order to get the relationship right, where ever that adjustment needs to be.

What would you say is reasonable or your "sweet spot" so to speak?

If it means we lose a bit more equity in exchange for the RIGHT partner, we are happy with it.

Kind regards
Will

It's not down to me, many other MNOs to consider. I'm hoping others will chime in.

It's such a competitive space. I definitely see the need for this kind of product / integration, and £1M would of been okay if you had many users. Maybe £1M if you met certain criteria e.g. 100, 000 installations.

 

[Will_DD]

Dear GrandMasterDash,

I appreciate it is not just your call, but if I have learnt one thing in business is that when you solve one person, you normally solve many.

How would something like this sound to you:

Valuation accepted, but subject to acceptance of the following clause:
3-4 months to launch, puts us end March 2018.
40 000 people month 1
growth of 40% month on month

Thus:
30 April 40 000 total Downloads
31 May 56 000 total Downloads
30 June 78 400 Total Downloads
31 July 109 760 Total Downloads

Any of the above targets unmet, the equity stake bought Doubles at no additional cost.

This way the investment is justified or doubled up.

Would something like that assure me of a Yes from you?

Just playing with some ideas, obviously open to discussion.
The challenge is that i cannot amend the ask from my understanding, so need to adjust the offer somehow.

Kind regards
Will

PS: I am pasting some of our discussions in Dash Central also, please let me know if you have any objections.

 

[Will_DD]

It's not down to me, many other MNOs to consider. I'm hoping others will chime in.

It's such a competitive space. I definitely see the need for this kind of product / integration, and £1M would of been okay if you had many users. Maybe £1M if you met certain criteria e.g. 100, 000 installations.

I was writing the above with your 100 000 suggestion in mind, if you would simply wish to see a valuation adjustment, or a combination of the two, please let me know, just seeking some guidance.

 

[GrandMasterDash]

Tbh, at this point I can't see you reaching those targets, and losing equity when you fail would just dis-incentivise you further.