I am going to intentionally try to be vaguely specific. I do not want to suggest any affiliations or anything- I am sincerely curious about the community's thoughts on very low start-up tokens with very low market-caps.
Please read to end and hopefully I will get some feedback.
I have owned a business for a number of years that has actual sales and trademarked brand recognition. We are not a big box store, we are a very small but successful project in the retail sector. I have thought about a utility token(by my definition) for years and I have finally decided to take the plunge and gather some opinions.
1. How does the community view offerings that are not from some fancy "professional listing service" or one that does not use a high tech white paper(we would make our NEW business plan which incorporates our token functionality with our website AND physical location(s), public instead)?
2. Although I will be making my presentation on our site, as I mentioned earlier- we are not spending tens of thousands of dollars to get set up. A- we don't have that kind of money, our money is committed elsewhere. B- I honestly and sincerely believe it should not be necessary. Is a self-written business plan by a self-taught business owner an immediate turn-off?
3. We will not be hiring some "amazing team" full of programmers. Honestly- we would contract our newly desired website development(we almost have to to integrate so that we do not spend money on an entirely new platform). We are NOT building a blockchain, only offering a utility token on a different existing blockchain. Employees will be put in place only as necessary. As we are retailers- that means the shipping department and possibly data entry/minor website development and maintenance. Is there ever a case in which not wasting money on a flashy-qualified to the NINES team of 3 or 8 people acceptable?
Our presentation would obviously include a lengthy write-up of who we are and how we came to exist. It will mention my belief that our branded token is required not only to enhance a buyers experience but to add new crypto users. Here is an excerpt from our business plan which does not disclose anything- just gives an insight to where we are coming from:
[excerpt]Yes, we understand the entire economy is based on trade- but when you analyze what TYPES OF TRADES.... no one is going to get excited or jump through hoops to buy a pair of socks or some groceries with cryptocurrency. It is why IN DEMAND APPRECIATING PHYSICAL ASSETS cannot be beaten (just like location location location in real estate). High demand PHYSICAL items are what is lacking from the crypto equations. It's why nearly everyone has heard about the guy that bought a Lambo WITH BITCOIN. Not many care if someone buys an everyday common staple with crypto (not yet anyway).[/excerpt]
We are not introducing new technology- we are hoping to introduce a new mindset of target user(our primary customer) and why our project will succeed. Would you give consideration to a project built around such an approach?
4. We want to do offerings by round- with the first round obviously being for development of what we declare necessary to that point(website update/development). Round 2 would then only be offered after we have proven what we did as a result of round 1(which means there is a gap between round 1 and round 2 for us to accomplish what we said we would). I personally believe this is not only a recipe for wasteful spending- but there is no point in taking on such massive reporting liabilities the first year. Would this be more appealing or less appealing AND do you believe it could possibly make each additional round more successful?
5. I truly believe that a small startup with a proven business history far outweighs the risks associated with monumental "new technology" start-up projects that are mired in development challenges, theoretical concepts and massive expenditures. It is my belief that starting with a realistically LOW market cap leaves room for the market to try out and appreciate our utility token. Remember, this token would be utilized on an already existing retail platform. Do you feel that a small-minded approach that keeps the token holders in mind is an acceptable way to go? Is it possibly MORE interesting to have a 3 million market cap than going for a 30 million market cap(ours would likely be in the range of only 2 to 3 million at the end of all rounds- OR hard cap=3M)? (This question is asked because there are some absolutely ABSURD valuations going on out there- if ours was proportional we should come in at 80 billion dollars market cap, LOL)
6. We believe that offering prices are out of hand. Is there a preference FOR YOU in this example- Let's say we want a market cap of 2M(usd) which is calculated off of our 5 year projected gross sales TOTAL REVENUE. (small right?) So- would we be better offering:
A) 200,000,000 coins at one cent each usd= 2M cap
B) 20,000,000 coins at 10 cents usd= 2M cap
C) 2,000,000 coins at $1 usd each?
We will also give you our take- WE PREFER A.
We want the smaller cap with more coins. We believe high offering prices look ridiculous and often result in a price spike and then obliteration of the token price. Do you prefer A, B or C? As our token has an actual REAL WORLD USE on our site- (I can't say more than that) we want the price to reflect the fact that we are starting nearly at zero and the actual USE of the token will promote demand.)
I look forward to reading thoughts, suggestions or trolls' comments. Even trolls can set thoughts down a path in which you had no intention going
I will apologize again for being vaguely specific- hopefully this post is not confusing. It is SO tempting to just post some of the plan, but I will NOT(yet). Thank you!