Let me preface this post with the comment that it's just my recollection and interpretation and that everyone should 'Do Your Own Research' nor rely on the accuracy/completeness of any of the following.
Okay here's a dump from the notes I took and memories of the talk. It's interesting that a number of people have posted here and they all took something different away. So you may/may not agree.
He has experience bankrolling 100 staff himself. Watching the income come in and go out monthly is real pressure and he was able to make it work. If you want to run your own Startup, you have to be prepared to pay for it yourself.
Make sure your product is a solution that people will pay you for, not what you think they’ll pay you for. The distinction is important as you can spend a lot of time doing something that people do not want.
Preparation meets Opportunity. Part of that is knowing when an opportunity is presenting.
In retrospect, you may be aware of a couple of times where a real opportunity presented itself and may have passed you by. At the time, you weren’t able to identify it.
The key to opportunity and growth is seeing constraints. Then asking, how do I remove these constraints? and How quickly can I do it?
Describing the business, he says Pointerra doesn’t own the capture process – unlike Nearmap.
He said when the shareprice fluctuated that there was a lot of advice/pressure to raise capital.
A lot of people were saying “You’ve got to do it now” and do a CR. However, he said that when you raise money, you then have to deploy it. This would mean, spend a heap on advertising and get 5 or 6 sales guys and he would then have to manage the sales process, which takes you away from the core business activities and means you have to start running an HR function.
He said he would rather have one good sales guy than a team. He described that his role is to support the tech team and the sales team.
"A number of clients will help you fill out" Which is why they are targeting multiple levels of customer. They are targeting customers at different levels, through different channels and mentioned the following.
$500 per month
$1,000 per month
$10,000 per month
$20,000 per month
$50,000 per month – Enterprise Client
He said the target markets for growth were US and Western Europe. That these places have customer density that Australia can only dream about.
On the name of the event: “Building a Billion Dollar Business.” Andy the organiser and Ian both laughed about this and said they had received a number of comments and questions regarding the name, where it came from and how it applied to Pointerra. How did they get to $1B business?
Ian explained that the EV of a SaaS Business is 10x, so they would need $100M in annual revenue in order to achieve a $1B valuation. So working backwards, in order to do that. You need $8M revenue a month. You can then separate the required revenue into verticals and break it down. What works in one vertical can then be replicated across others.
They have 'options' that will be executed in 15months. Didn’t seem that keen on raising capital or the need for it?
The Company has a layered business model, which allows experimentation rather than being limiting. Describes that they are doing a few things ‘not very well’ yet as they grow plus a couple of core activities with deep conviction.
He described as a business/organisation that they were learning and were able to experiment. He emphasised the transparency in the organisation. The idea of a Keyman is not correct – Power does not equal control. The business structure is open such that everyone knows everything.
One application for 3D spatial data is aerial surveying for fire risk. They survey assets and vegetation, then know when they are converging which saves a company money.
When the shareprice shot up they were approached a lot for partnerships and had to grow/learn fast. He mentioned Total Earth Solutions are doing it at their cost and providing a Revenue Share. When TES approached, he felt that the move came earlier than they had anticipated and would happen maybe 18 months down the track. In that regard, they are ahead of where they thought they would be.
Ian says Pointerra don’t own the capture process. Their business model is open to the myriad of sensor formats, providing flexibility.
The buyers they have to convince are highly cynical technical buyers who then talk to the guy with the chequebook. Selling! Is providing value. They are able to provide value through several channels:
ROIs on improving workflow, and
CAPEX v OPEX and
Risk Management
Harnessing Social Media and Connections:
Hustle – Don’t give your social media function to a young person. They don’t understand it and won’t really go after it, the opportunities and connections that are possible.
On that point, he personally runs his social media. They are active on LinkedIn and Twitter – where you can Share, Educate and Promote.
Guided by 3 Business Principles:
No Surprises
Complete Transparency
No Dickheads – (this phrase makes the Americans cringe a bit)
Question time -----
He said in the US, sales guys work from home because you lose 2-3 hours a day travelling.
The US Salespeople request – Unlimited PTO (Paid Time Off) which is completely unheard of in Australia. – One of the benefits is that It doesn’t accrue. Also, the perceived downside doesn’t really exist as they never use it. They are worried if they leave their role for too long, someone will take their position.
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