Why did CVT have so many people in accounting (at least 3, perhaps 5) while they had no sales? How many people does it take to keep track of nothing but zeros?
If they were busy paying for travel and expansion costs, that is a different matter. (But not a good one, in light of sales.) That overhead is an insane spend. The co evidenced failures of judgement. Where was the vaunted board? Lesson 1: Better governance is needed if you invest your money in a startup.
CVT did not succeed. Why? Did it not resonate with the right parties? Marketing that is ineffective in building a business is often still consumed by paid media or media without good questions. For a brief period, it sounded like they had a path with marketing. What happened?
Sydney. Washington. London. San Francisco. And with travel all over the world. That spend is the definition of a frequent flyer program, not a business lacking adoption. Especially so in the Internet age with an "Internet product"! Lesson 2: Charming but bad judgement does not yield profit.
In looking at the public record, CVT expanded at huge cost into regions where they had no substantial adoption. In adoption, they lacked "Real Daily Users". Only a mature business can withstand that, and then only with a great plan ...not a plan that only motivates investors.
Where were the ideas? I was aware of a few, but they are not what they pursued in public. Chasing telcos? Telcos, msps and the like? Those waters were already dangerous sailing, and the boats there have bigger problems. Selling into a market undergoing erosion of revenue is only smart if you have a product they crave. It would be curious to see any adoption numbers beyond a handful of daily users. If they had that: Why are they really failing?
Many more questions. Let it be a lesson. Warning: A pretty common one in startups.
CVT Price at posting:
4.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
