IPO Hopeful 1 – Series A Complete?

This week, I attended a shareholder meeting for a startup I invested in last year. By chance, I got to know them and learned that during the pandemic when the entire travel industry was closed down, they were supported repeatedly by their core group of close to 300 angel investors. Unusual that a startup can accumulate such a strong group and definitely proving that the company has some strong financial underpinnings supporting it. Now, they’ve reached several key milestones that they promised before. According to their plan, they really did sign a master contract with the top player in the...

IPO Hopeful? 2 – 180 so quickly 😂

The startup I mentioned before that completed its Series A funding came in town after their shareholder meeting so I ended up joining them for dinner with a few other folks and the conversation got lively. Honestly, I made a small investment in this company at first mainly because of a few friends who hit the jackpot with startups and retired in one go. They always said it was pure luck, that it was only because of their connections and access to deal flow which made them so lucky back then. But to be honest, I think luck is part...

IPO Hopeful 3 – Is there really demand? 😂

Continuing from the last post, after stepping into enough pitfalls over the years, I’ve developed one principle: demand is king. When people start off by bragging about how amazing the team is, how well-funded they are, and so on, it goes in one ear and out the other for me. Demand is the “1,” and everything else is just the zeros that come after it. Without proven demand, all the rest is meaningless. So, before the appetizers were served, I went straight into skepticism: What’s your traction now? Since their product involves placing tablets in hotels, my questions naturally covered...

IPO Hopeful 4 – Who are the Real Golden Daddies?

Continuing from the last post, Kevin said, “The golden goose is the tablet. Why can we provide and install it for hotels entirely free? Because we have sponsors—our ‘golden daddies.’” “And who are these golden daddies?” I asked. “Advertisers!” I was skeptical. “What kind of advertisers are willing to spend that much? Is there really a demand for this?” Kevin chuckled. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. You clearly don’t know this space lol! There are three types of advertisers: Local advertisers, like tours, museums, restaurants, they will pay high prices to be on those billboards in the guestrooms! Also, big brands like...

IPO Hopeful 5 – Local Advertisers?

Continuing from the last post, Kevin explained that monopolization of screen advertising by major sponsors is simply not going to happen. “We’ve implemented limits to ensure that even the biggest domestic and international advertisers will only get less than 20% of the screen space. The remaining 80% is reserved exclusively for the hotels themselves, local suppliers, consumer brands, and the local government.” He elaborated, “Think about it: if you’re a tourist staying at a hotel, wouldn’t you be more interested in local events, attractions, restaurants, and shopping options? That’s where we deliver the greatest value—offering hotel guests the information they...

IPO Hopeful 6 – Tourism and Convention Bureaus

Continuing from the last post, every city has a local “Convention and Tourism Bureau”, responsible for the convention center and all of its business, and also responsible for managing the city’s tourism bureau. With it’s “billboard” in every guestroom, their brand is perfectly positioned to impact both of this key revenue drivers for every city. In the last post we dealt with the local tourism industry, in this post lets talk about the city’s convention business. Typically, local trade shows, industry events, and major conferences are held at the city’s convention center, generating tens of millions of tourism dollars for...