Proposal “purchase-product--tickets--loungeeventwe“ (Closed)Back
| Title: | Purchase Product + Tickets @ LoungeEvent/WeedPaidForThis™ |
| Owner: | ThirtySix |
| Monthly amount: | 433 DASH (12961 USD) |
| Completed payments: | no payments occurred yet (2 month remaining) |
| Payment start/end: | 2019-08-24 / 2019-10-14 (added on 2019-08-24) |
| Final voting deadline: | in passed |
| Votes: | 413 Yes / 397 No / 8 Abstain |
| External information: | app.dashnexus.org/proposals/purchase-product--tickets--loungeeventweedpaidforthis/overview |
Proposal description
Proposal: Purchase Product + Tickets @ 90’s Lounge Event / Weed Paid For This™Prepared by: Alt Thirty Six Team + Edward BrownAugust 2019
Weed Paid For This™.pdf (formatted proposal)
1. Executive SummaryAlt Thirty Six has partnered with San Francisco based Releaf Herbal Dispensary and Weed Paid For This™ which is a brand of events that seeks to create communal, wellness and recreational benefits in hopes of re-defining cannabis culture. The 90's Lounge Party will be the first event under the brand and arguably Oakland's first licensed event.
The event is a throwback to the era that gave us cable television (Magic School Bus+Nickelodeon), toys (Bop-It, Super Soaker), food (fruitopia), and games (chutes-n-ladders, NES/SNES). Weed Paid For This™ will create a lush, comfortable indoor and outdoor environment to consume cannabis and enjoy the company of others. Alt Thirty Six will be the exclusive payment system for all ticket and other sales at the event. This event will support both Alt Thirty Six registered customers and direct Dash transactions from any Dash enabled mobile wallet.
This event will take place October 26, 2019 and would like Dash + Alt Thirty Six as the only sponsors. Releaf will be the primary dispensary for all cannabis purchases at the event. With the Alt Thirty Six platform, merchants and users will be able to sell product and make purchases that all happen on the Dash blockchain. The event will increase the customer base and increase the number of merchants using Alt Thirty Six in the Bay Area. Releaf is a trend setter that’s one of the largest, and oldest license holders in San Francisco, located right next to tech giants like Twitter and Uber. Releaf is known for their extremely loyal customer base, they really strive to be a part of the local community. We look forward to generating new loyal customers that also work with the growing tech community in downtown San Francisco.
1.1 BackgroundAlt Thirty Six is now live in San Francisco and Arizona. Through our expansion to the San Francisco community, we were able to partner with Releaf and the Original Equity Group, that was co-founded by Edward Brown and also behind Weed Paid For This™. Edward is currently facilitating Alt Thirty Six’s first California retail relationship with Releaf a San Francisco Cannabis Dispensary.
Releaf Herbal, a dispensary in San Francisco (SF), will be the platform's first operator to conduct consumer licensed sales on the platform in Northern CA. Earlier this month, the founders of Alt Thirty Six flew to SF to meet the operator and the Owner of Releaf where we agreed to launch. During the visit the owner agreed to go live in late August. Releaf's launch will coincide with a large media push including a full-press release and social media engagement.
The Original Equity Group has been planning a licensed cannabis event with Releaf for the past 6 months, Alt Thirty Six + Releaf Partnership allowed us to join and support in the conversations and partnership. To coincide with the partnership, the Group and Alt Thirty Six would like to bring DASH to co-sponsor the event.
1.2 Benefits Alt Thirty Six Platform use and increased exposure. All ticket sales will be processed on the Alt Thirty Six platform. Cannabis will be offered by Alt Thirty Six’s retail partner Releaf. All participating vendors will offer Alt Thirty Six as the payment method during the event. After the event all these vendors will now be registered to also accept payments at their retail or online stores after the event. All customers will also be able to pay either with their Dash enabled mobile wallet or an Alt Thirty Six customer account. Both payment options will hit the Dash blockchain.
The branding and sponsorship opportunities will include swag bags with logo placement and a mural of Dash likeness on the venue building. The branding also includes a primary sponsorship with logo placement at the event and on the website.
Media will also be covering the event with live video, including attendees interacting with the platform and paying for the purchases in Dash. Testimonials and interviews will be given at the event. Local print, newspapers and other media will be invited to market the event before and after for those that aren’t able to attend.
In addition to the media that will be at the event, we would also like to extend complimentary tickets to Dash media + enthusiasts to attend and make purchases at the event with Dash. Please email lauren.murphy@alt36.com to request a pass!
1.3 Key MetricsThe event will include 10 cannabis brands and vendors and will target the local community, which has the demographic of 40% women and 60% men. We expect 350-500 attendees and tickets will sell for $90 with 5 VIP cabanas selling for $300 each. With 350 attendees + 5 cabanas, this would generate at least $33,000 in ticket sales from the 1 night event. All sales will be processed on Alt Thirty Six and settled to the Dash blockchain.
Target audience for the event includes both cannabis merchants and consumers.
The merchant audience will be comprised of the 10 cannabis vendors but also cannabis business owners from the San Francisco and Oakland area.
The consumer audience breaks down to be 50% millennials, 20% tech-workers, 20% food lovers, 10% beer/alcohol consumers.
1.4 JustificationThe total ask for the event is $80,000, which includes the costs associated with making Dash + Alt Thirty Six the primary sponsors. Also includes costs for the event which include permitting, venue and infrastructure.
Weed Paid For This™ will enable other merchants to see how the Alt Thirty Six platform works with both Dash transactions + paying directly from a bank account with a registered account on Alt Thirty Six. Participating merchants will be able to register prior to the event to accept payments in addition to sharing their experience with other cannabis license holders. The group behind the event will do everything in their power to promote this event, demonstrating the ability of the Dash blockchain and benefits of the Alt Thirty Six payment platform.
The event will be advertised throughout to the group’s cannabis network of business professionals and enthusiasts. In addition to this event, it will not be a “one-off”, there will be several hosted events in California with Alt Thirty Six at the forefront of anything the Original Equity Group is a part of and planning.
2. Cost BreakdownTotal Cost:
$80,000 + 5 Dash proposal fee = 862 Dash @ $93.33([i]https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/dash/#markets[/i]) on 8/23/19 @ 6:59pm.
Venue $26,000
*Venue includes bldg mural, kitchen use, sound engineer, on-site manager, and security
Infrastructure $25,000
Permitting $4,000
Insurance $5,000
Multi-Media + DJ $4,000
Staffing $3,000
Art Curator $4,000
Advertising $4,000
Waste Mngmt $1,000
Point of Sale $4,000
*Point of Sale; includes required contract for cannabis point of sale to process cannabis inventory and setup infrastructure to handle these tasks legally + remain compliant with what the state requires. This also includes licensed staff to operate the POS system.
2.1 Deliverables
Redacted State Event Permit will be completed on August 23, 2019.
State Event Permit will be filed on August 26, 2019.
Proposal Approval: Once the proposal is approved and funded, the funds will be transferred from Alt Thirty Six to the Weed Paid For This™ group to start planning and solidifying vendors, advertising etc.
TEAM
Releaf Dispensary
Releaf has been providing safe access to medical and recreational cannabis since 2008. As the 2nd oldest permitted dispensary in San Francisco, Releaf has provided customers with great cannabis products at a value to customers. 100% family owned and operated. 70% of employees are San Francisco Residents.
Releaf also provides resources to disadvantaged San Francisco (equity) cannabis permit seeking applicants by participating in a bi-monthly “Fireside Chat” designed to help applicants understand the realities of operating a retail dispensary. Releaf has also mentored 5 new Equity applicants to help them navigate the cannabis permitting process in San Francisco.
Edward Brown
Edward is the co-founder of the Original Equity Group, a corporation formed for the sole purpose of providing education, networking and advocacy opportunities for cannabis (equity) applicants that were damaged from the War on Drugs. Edward has also spent considerable time assisting cannabis dispensary owners understand compliance in the new legal cannabis market in California. He actively provides guidance to legislators and city officials on new legislation in San Francisco. Edward holds a cannabis event organizer license and is planning to hold frequent cannabis events throughout the year. As a crypto/blockchain enthusiast he is excited about cannabis and blockchain companies forging new partnerships.
Alt Thirty Six
The team at Alt Thirty Six has been exclusive partners with Dash since 2017. There has been many adjustments along the way to make sure the platform is built with all the proper compliance to ensure long term success. Alt Thirty Six is excited to partner with Releaf Dispensary and Ed Brown at Original Equity Group. We look forward to working together on our expansion into the San Francisco and Oakland area to enable payments on the Alt Thirty Six platform for cannabis retailers. On the Alt Thirty Six platform customers have the option to pay directly with any Dash enabled mobile wallet with an in store, mobile and ecommerce sale; or they can register and simply link their bank account to pay while the transaction is settled to Dash blockchain on the backend.
Weed Paid For This™.pdf (formatted proposal)
1. Executive SummaryAlt Thirty Six has partnered with San Francisco based Releaf Herbal Dispensary and Weed Paid For This™ which is a brand of events that seeks to create communal, wellness and recreational benefits in hopes of re-defining cannabis culture. The 90's Lounge Party will be the first event under the brand and arguably Oakland's first licensed event.
The event is a throwback to the era that gave us cable television (Magic School Bus+Nickelodeon), toys (Bop-It, Super Soaker), food (fruitopia), and games (chutes-n-ladders, NES/SNES). Weed Paid For This™ will create a lush, comfortable indoor and outdoor environment to consume cannabis and enjoy the company of others. Alt Thirty Six will be the exclusive payment system for all ticket and other sales at the event. This event will support both Alt Thirty Six registered customers and direct Dash transactions from any Dash enabled mobile wallet.
This event will take place October 26, 2019 and would like Dash + Alt Thirty Six as the only sponsors. Releaf will be the primary dispensary for all cannabis purchases at the event. With the Alt Thirty Six platform, merchants and users will be able to sell product and make purchases that all happen on the Dash blockchain. The event will increase the customer base and increase the number of merchants using Alt Thirty Six in the Bay Area. Releaf is a trend setter that’s one of the largest, and oldest license holders in San Francisco, located right next to tech giants like Twitter and Uber. Releaf is known for their extremely loyal customer base, they really strive to be a part of the local community. We look forward to generating new loyal customers that also work with the growing tech community in downtown San Francisco.
1.1 BackgroundAlt Thirty Six is now live in San Francisco and Arizona. Through our expansion to the San Francisco community, we were able to partner with Releaf and the Original Equity Group, that was co-founded by Edward Brown and also behind Weed Paid For This™. Edward is currently facilitating Alt Thirty Six’s first California retail relationship with Releaf a San Francisco Cannabis Dispensary.
Releaf Herbal, a dispensary in San Francisco (SF), will be the platform's first operator to conduct consumer licensed sales on the platform in Northern CA. Earlier this month, the founders of Alt Thirty Six flew to SF to meet the operator and the Owner of Releaf where we agreed to launch. During the visit the owner agreed to go live in late August. Releaf's launch will coincide with a large media push including a full-press release and social media engagement.
The Original Equity Group has been planning a licensed cannabis event with Releaf for the past 6 months, Alt Thirty Six + Releaf Partnership allowed us to join and support in the conversations and partnership. To coincide with the partnership, the Group and Alt Thirty Six would like to bring DASH to co-sponsor the event.
1.2 Benefits Alt Thirty Six Platform use and increased exposure. All ticket sales will be processed on the Alt Thirty Six platform. Cannabis will be offered by Alt Thirty Six’s retail partner Releaf. All participating vendors will offer Alt Thirty Six as the payment method during the event. After the event all these vendors will now be registered to also accept payments at their retail or online stores after the event. All customers will also be able to pay either with their Dash enabled mobile wallet or an Alt Thirty Six customer account. Both payment options will hit the Dash blockchain.
The branding and sponsorship opportunities will include swag bags with logo placement and a mural of Dash likeness on the venue building. The branding also includes a primary sponsorship with logo placement at the event and on the website.
Media will also be covering the event with live video, including attendees interacting with the platform and paying for the purchases in Dash. Testimonials and interviews will be given at the event. Local print, newspapers and other media will be invited to market the event before and after for those that aren’t able to attend.
In addition to the media that will be at the event, we would also like to extend complimentary tickets to Dash media + enthusiasts to attend and make purchases at the event with Dash. Please email lauren.murphy@alt36.com to request a pass!
1.3 Key MetricsThe event will include 10 cannabis brands and vendors and will target the local community, which has the demographic of 40% women and 60% men. We expect 350-500 attendees and tickets will sell for $90 with 5 VIP cabanas selling for $300 each. With 350 attendees + 5 cabanas, this would generate at least $33,000 in ticket sales from the 1 night event. All sales will be processed on Alt Thirty Six and settled to the Dash blockchain.
Target audience for the event includes both cannabis merchants and consumers.
The merchant audience will be comprised of the 10 cannabis vendors but also cannabis business owners from the San Francisco and Oakland area.
The consumer audience breaks down to be 50% millennials, 20% tech-workers, 20% food lovers, 10% beer/alcohol consumers.
1.4 JustificationThe total ask for the event is $80,000, which includes the costs associated with making Dash + Alt Thirty Six the primary sponsors. Also includes costs for the event which include permitting, venue and infrastructure.
Weed Paid For This™ will enable other merchants to see how the Alt Thirty Six platform works with both Dash transactions + paying directly from a bank account with a registered account on Alt Thirty Six. Participating merchants will be able to register prior to the event to accept payments in addition to sharing their experience with other cannabis license holders. The group behind the event will do everything in their power to promote this event, demonstrating the ability of the Dash blockchain and benefits of the Alt Thirty Six payment platform.
The event will be advertised throughout to the group’s cannabis network of business professionals and enthusiasts. In addition to this event, it will not be a “one-off”, there will be several hosted events in California with Alt Thirty Six at the forefront of anything the Original Equity Group is a part of and planning.
2. Cost BreakdownTotal Cost:
$80,000 + 5 Dash proposal fee = 862 Dash @ $93.33([i]https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/dash/#markets[/i]) on 8/23/19 @ 6:59pm.
Venue $26,000
*Venue includes bldg mural, kitchen use, sound engineer, on-site manager, and security
Infrastructure $25,000
Permitting $4,000
Insurance $5,000
Multi-Media + DJ $4,000
Staffing $3,000
Art Curator $4,000
Advertising $4,000
Waste Mngmt $1,000
Point of Sale $4,000
*Point of Sale; includes required contract for cannabis point of sale to process cannabis inventory and setup infrastructure to handle these tasks legally + remain compliant with what the state requires. This also includes licensed staff to operate the POS system.
2.1 Deliverables
Redacted State Event Permit will be completed on August 23, 2019.
State Event Permit will be filed on August 26, 2019.
Proposal Approval: Once the proposal is approved and funded, the funds will be transferred from Alt Thirty Six to the Weed Paid For This™ group to start planning and solidifying vendors, advertising etc.
TEAM
Releaf Dispensary
Releaf has been providing safe access to medical and recreational cannabis since 2008. As the 2nd oldest permitted dispensary in San Francisco, Releaf has provided customers with great cannabis products at a value to customers. 100% family owned and operated. 70% of employees are San Francisco Residents.
Releaf also provides resources to disadvantaged San Francisco (equity) cannabis permit seeking applicants by participating in a bi-monthly “Fireside Chat” designed to help applicants understand the realities of operating a retail dispensary. Releaf has also mentored 5 new Equity applicants to help them navigate the cannabis permitting process in San Francisco.
Edward Brown
Edward is the co-founder of the Original Equity Group, a corporation formed for the sole purpose of providing education, networking and advocacy opportunities for cannabis (equity) applicants that were damaged from the War on Drugs. Edward has also spent considerable time assisting cannabis dispensary owners understand compliance in the new legal cannabis market in California. He actively provides guidance to legislators and city officials on new legislation in San Francisco. Edward holds a cannabis event organizer license and is planning to hold frequent cannabis events throughout the year. As a crypto/blockchain enthusiast he is excited about cannabis and blockchain companies forging new partnerships.
Alt Thirty Six
The team at Alt Thirty Six has been exclusive partners with Dash since 2017. There has been many adjustments along the way to make sure the platform is built with all the proper compliance to ensure long term success. Alt Thirty Six is excited to partner with Releaf Dispensary and Ed Brown at Original Equity Group. We look forward to working together on our expansion into the San Francisco and Oakland area to enable payments on the Alt Thirty Six platform for cannabis retailers. On the Alt Thirty Six platform customers have the option to pay directly with any Dash enabled mobile wallet with an in store, mobile and ecommerce sale; or they can register and simply link their bank account to pay while the transaction is settled to Dash blockchain on the backend.
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Discussion: Should we fund this proposal?
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Now, I'm only interested in focusing on whether or not this is a prudent use of our funds. The rest of the drama and comparing Alt36 to Charlie Shrem is just loud mouth people I don't know and have no reason to trust. I suggest any MNO who cares about Dash focus on that.
Our role as MNOs is to assess these funding requests and determine if they are a worthwhile investment and going concern for the network. We cannot do this without the information we need to evaluate a project correctly.
Can you imagine what it would be like to go to a venture capitalist asking for $1,000,000+ in funds without a business plan and without agreeing to provide regular monthly updates to the organisation funding the project? You would be laughed out of the room! Allowing projects to go through without accountability is unheard of for a fund manager. MNOs are supposed to be assessing these projects to see if they are worthwhile and to provide constructive feedback based on our business experience. If, that is our role how can we do this if we do not have the information we need?
For the long-term health of DASH we, as MNOs, need to now demand a higher standard in terms of requirements that a proposal owner needs to meet in order to get funded. I would rather the DASH was burned than invest it in any project that was not prepared to give us regular reports and to put together a business plan.
My fellow MNOs, we need to professionalise the treasury system. If we don't do not insist on higher reporting standards and accountability on funding proposals, we are actively encouraging people to scam our treasury system and spend our hard-earned investment money whilst delivering little to nothing. We have seen this time and again. Funding dead-end projects such as Charlie Shrem and KuvaCash, along with countless others, reduce the value of our DASH investment.
If we do not insist on higher reporting standards we are also responsible for seeing the DASH price decline due to our funds being inflated away without the projects providing sufficient value in return. I would rather we burn our DASH and at least keep its value.
By having higher quality reporting standards we also discourage scammers that can throw together a seemingly good idea and then leave with the funds. I’m not saying Alt36 is doing this, but I am saying they are not being held accountable to the source of those funds which is the MNOs..
I, for one, will not be voting positively for any projects going forward that do not have a fully worked out business plan and who do not provide regular updates or agree to monthly Dash Watch reports. That is the absolute minimum needed. There are specific projects where a business plan is not required, e.g. DCG programming, or projects such as the Help Centre or other essential services for the network to operate. But any external projects such as Alt36 need to be held accountable.
This is what I want to see from all proposal owners, including Alt36 going forward.
1. A fully business plan presented to DashWatch and the community. Including SWAT analysis and plan to bring the Alt36 product to market for the next 3 to 5 years. Since your founder is doing a BA, he can supply that. I particularly want to see the strategy of how Alt36 is going to sell their systems into the market. At the moment it appears conferences / events are the way to go and relying on their partners to sell their product. If that is the case I would say that is definitely not the way to go. We need to know the details so that we can assess if the Alt36 project is worth our funds.
2. Monthly reports from Alt36 to DASH on progress.
I do not buy the explanations from Alt36 that some details are private and you don't want to give them out due to your competitors. Progress reports can still be giving without revealing company sensitive information. Besides, we also have DashWatch that can assess the project privately.
3. DashWatch reports on Alt36.
I asked DashWatch why we were not bee receiving DW reports, and they informed me that DCG stated that they were overlooking the Alt36 project and that DW reports were not necessary. That is not an acceptable response. DCG is not responsible for treasury funds, and I find this an abuse of power to influence a project in this manner.
DCG is not responsible for the treasury funds. MNOs are responsible for treasury funds, including paying DCG proposals. There are no exceptions to this rule because MNOs are the ones providing investment funds. That is our investment money. We need to have a say on how to fund are used and not DCG.
This ensures that the financial decisions made are made for the best health of the network and avoid any possibilities of positive of negative bias on a project.
4. It is essential we have full disclosure of the connection between Ryan Taylor and the project owners of Alt36.
In any industry, it is vital that full disclosure is given so that investors understand if there could be any possible positive bias toward a project. This happens in the medical industry with Pharmaceuticals and doctors that promote them as well as for scientific papers for authors to disclose their associations and funding by sponsors. It is essential we know if there is a past relationship between Ryan Taylor's and the founders of this project because it looks like Alt36 are getting special dispensations.
Here is where I feel Alt36 is getting special treatment
a e.g. Alt36 are exempted from DashWatch reports and giving monthly updates to the community. We would not expect that from any other project, so why is Alt36 exempt from DashWatch reports?
b. DCG typically do not make statements in proposals to influence MNOs on any other projects. In this project, we have a comment from DCG.
I request that Ryan Taylor give a public statement to the community on his history and connections with the management or founders of Alt36, along with a separate account on the relationship of Ryan Taylor with Arizona State University.
Both of these projects are based in Arizona, where Ryan Taylor is based, and both of these projects appear to be receiving special treatment that no other projects have.
Projects receiving favourable dispensations are potentially damaging to the network health because they are not held accountable to the same standards as other projects. It also means MNOs cannot do our job correctly for assessing the projects.
Alt-36 is the first business DashCore has been this intamitly entwined with, if this proves to be a failure I will no longer trust cores reccomendation on busines expenses when it conflicts with my own interpretation of a given situation.
But for now you have a yes from me, although I doubt this will change the outcome for you in time.
Take it as a lesson that no matter how close you and DashCore work, at the end of the day the masternodes are the ones who vote. Be more up front with us about what is happening behind the scenes if you want more trust from us.
https://app.dashnexus.org/proposals/purchase-product--tickets--loungeeventweedpaidforthis/discussion
Also copy and pasted below:
DCGBizDev
MEMBER
5 minutes ago
Dear Dash Community,
There has been some confusion around Alt Thirty Six and our work with them that we hope the following will help clarify:
- DCG and Alt Thirty Six are (and have been) working closely on growing Dash Adoption in the Cannabis industry through a number of initiatives prior to their launch and following their launch. This requires close coordination between the two organizations which are done through weekly meetings. Periodically, as we come close to an objective or release, we tend to speak several times a week. Alt Thirty Six is a network born organization, however they are a strategic partner for our Cannabis growth and therefore we provide additional support in the manner that best fits the initiative we’re working on together (ie marketing, tech, BD, etc.)
- In these conversations, we are kept informed on Alt Thirty Six’s progress and current focuses. During the past two years, they have been developing their platform and continuously making improvements where needed. In the past year and a half, in parallel to the work being done on development, Alt Thirty Six has been working in other areas to prepare for launch including compliance (applying for and receiving all required licenses), implementing proper workflows, identifying and integrating with key integration partners that enhance Alt Thirty Six’s offerings, and forming banking relationships. In the past month they have launched their platform and it is live.
- Alt Thirty Six has changed their strategy for adoption by providing merchants with the ability to accept fiat with Dash as a settlement mechanism as well as their original vision of direct Dash payments. In the former case, Dash is settled on the blockchain so in essence for every fiat payment, there is a Dash transaction for the equivalent amount on the blockchain
- As mentioned, the Dash blockchain is used for payments as well as book-keeping. DCG Product team is also working with Alt Thirty Six on preparing for our release of Dash Platform which should introduce capabilities for services that address compliance, payments, and other areas as to offer a major feature/value for the cannabis industry.
1. We rarely get feedback from Alt36 on progress. We mainly only hear anything when they are anticipating to get more funds. Sorry, that is not how the treasury was designed to work. MNOs are the investors in DASH, the people that give DASH it's value in terms of fiat. With no investors money DASH is not worth anything - at least until businesses start accepting DASH directly as legal tender. Until that day monetary value of DASH is directly related to the number of people investing in it. That means our hard earned money is being spent each time there is a proposal being funded. The value of DASH decreases when DASH is used unless the project using the DASH generates more value than it takes. To date I have not seen any value from Alt36 to increase the price of DASH except promises - which after several years of very little news updates are now wearing extremely thin.
I do not wish to fund a project that does not give us monthly updates. Why because we cannot make informed decisions that the project is worth while funding. I saw the interview with DFN and that is one of the few pieces of information released. There was a single announcement on dashcentral a month ago apart from that there is next to no news out of Alt36. I do not class that as a healthy partnership.
2. From the interview you had with Dashnews I can also tell you have no idea how to actually market your type of product effectively in my opinion. In the interview with DFN you stated that you intended to find a hands of way of marketing which does not require you to actually visit dispensaries.
What I realise now is the DASH management does not have any effective professional sales experience. When I say professional sales I do not mean marketing experience. I mean a professionally trained and experienced sales person that can make the rounds one by one to each dispensary. In my opinion this is the only effective way to get your product established. Conferences and events are only good for building contacts and raising awareness. They are *definitely not* the way to sell your type of product. You will only build up contacts and get your name out. You will not sell systems based on events.
Often times people have a negative concept when they hear the word "sales", having a picture in mind of a sleazy second hand car salesperson. Professional sales however is completely different. A professional sales person can open doors you would never imagine is possible.
The reason I am saying that you must have professional sales people, with a long track record and experience in professional sales is the Alt36 product has the following characteristics that make it a tough sale without a Sales person.
1. It is a relatively complex solution for people to understand. Cryptocurrency on its own is complicated for even technical people to understand. Cryptocurrency payment + product that has strict regulations associated with it makes it infinitely more difficult to sell. A professional sales person would be able to educate and reassure dispensary owners about the technology and the solution. It is an *emotional* buy based around the owner wanting to feel secure the solution they choose meets regulations and is the right solution for them and associated with this are literally hundreds of doubts and questions that are personal to each dispensary owner that will need to be dealt with one on one before a sale can take place. This type of sale requires person-to- person contact on a frequent basis until the dispensary owner has had all their doubts objections and questions fully answered.
How do I know this is the way to sell your product? Because I was in a professional sales for 5.5 years after my Ph.D selling products that had similar barriers to entry to yours. I was was involved in sales for high tech anti-explosion equipment for large industrial firms like BP, ICI, and the nuclear industry etc that required not only a high level of technical knowledge but also an in-depth knowledge of legislation and certifications required for instrumentation in Zone 1 areas. An in-depth knowledge of industrial plant design, safety procedures, and certifications for instrumentation in Zone 1 e.g. CENELEC certification for intrinsically safe devices in the EU. The combination of factors which included Technical, Legal, and Instrumentation knowledge made it an tough sell. The company I worked for did not make a single sale at any conference they attended. All they did was build up their name and build contacts. That was it. The sales took on average 6 months - 12 months work however one one sale was made in an industry it was much easier to get repeat sales due to the quality of the product and aftersales service. But even after a sale was made repeat visits were absolutely necessary to maintain the relationship to ensure that any further questions or issues that turned up where fully resolved.
Due to the lack of quality information provided by Alt36 to DASH that has provided over 1 Million dollars of funding I do not wish to support this project further until we actual demonstrable results shown for our investment AND regular monthly updates on your progress.
In my opinion Alt36 has had enough time and money from us to delivery on its initial objectives when you asked for you original funding. You have also had additional funding top ups which were also large asks from our treasury which also affected funding on other projects.
I personally will not be voting for Alt36 going forward until you deliver something worth funding from the $1,000,000+ funding we have already given you. If you can't do that then your project is not worth giving more money to in my opinion. You have had enough. It is time now for Alt36 to deliver.
Voting no until you deliver something worth funding.
Our team has been completely transparent with updates that we can make public whether it’s what people want to hear or not. We believe being up front, even when that’s hard to do. We also have to be cautious of what we say since this is a public forum - our competitors could be waiting for us to share confidential information that’s not public. As I stated in a previous response, the first year was spent building the platform, the 2nd year was used to put all the compliance in place to ensure long term success and make sure we aren’t wasting the grant funds we had gotten from Dash by going live without all the pieces of compliance. Technology is tough because it gets delayed almost every time, but now we are live even with the setback of the horrible investment situation that occurred. If there is one thing we’d hope that is apparent, we don’t give up and we are always hedging forward. There are many factors that have pulled us back and some that are completely out of our control. It’s not about the hype, it’s about executing.
2. Answer: If you listened to the interview you would have also heard our primary approach is a channel strategy approach with targeting POS and ecommerce systems that already have a client base. We have had some of these integrations already complete, and now we are pushing down to all their dispensary clients. Of course we will talk with one off merchants, but our primary focus is the ISV - Referral model. We’ve adjusted our approach since we first started, which is very common for businesses. Since we had started building the platform we have gotten feedback from merchants, consumers and partners, seeing what works and what doesn’t.
That was also the first interview I (Lauren) had ever done and was extremely nervous, but glad to hear you don’t think we or I know how to market our product.
I (Lauren) am not sales, I have never claimed to be but I do have to help out in deals from time to time. I primarily focus on operations, compliance and tech. The sales professionals we have are highly experienced working with fortune 500 and 100 companies, yet they have also had to learn how the cannabis industry operates, as it is completely different than any other industry.
We have professional sales and a trusted network, which is why we are able to get in the doors and close the partnerships we are closing.
Since we are now live, the sales process is actually much faster than you would experience in other industry outside of cannabis. We are ramping up clients and continuing to add integrated partners now that we have gotten out of beta. This is necessary for us to be financially viable and close on a real Series A investment.
We’ve had federal banking regulators, former deputy from FinCEN review through our compliance in addition to money transmission legal firms, they have all said we are the most compliant solution… because of this - is why we will be the longest lasting solution though we weren’t first to market. We have also paid so much attention to making a transaction and signup as simple as possible - this is very attractive to ISVs, merchants and consumers.
3. Answer: This is why we have sales professionals that are also referral partners with close relationships with these dispensaries.
Our CEO is also in the final stages of getting his doctorate in business administration, he has been very involved with putting together our strategy, brand, marketing etc. We also have an entire board of advisors that have helped open doors, make referrals and provide extremely valuable advice on their area of expertise and business. I would agree with you on how long a sales cycle takes in most markets, but cannabis is much different. Merchant’s are an easy sell in terms of time frame, the sales cycle that could take up to 6 months would be the ISVs.
The funding from Dash has all gone towards the platform in addition to previous year marketing efforts which achieved what we sought out to do with raising brand awareness. We’ve also added our own capital into the additional development that needed to be done with compliance and new transaction workflows to obtain faster merchant / customer adoption. We have delivered on everything that needed to happen up until this point, and are now executing on going live.
Finest regards, Solarguy
I think we are a little past giving you money to host a one time event.
If you were offering equity in return it would be different, but I don't see the point in paying $80,000 just so there is a single day of more transactions and better business opportunities for your company.
We haven’t received funding from the Dash network for events or business development since last year. Last year was about building the brand awareness which worked very well. This event is for exposure of the platform that exists in dispensary locations for live processing and new clients which equals more transactions on the Dash blockchain.
We’ve offered Dash community equity in our company previously should anyone want to participate in the seed round that was re-opened after June 21st. If you’re interested in investment, please contact lauren.murphy@alt36.com.
Offering equity in Dash Ventures from what we understand is not yet ready for this type of agreement. If it is, I’m guessing we would need to work directly with Dash Ventures on this vs a direct proposal.
These funds are going towards the partnership we’ve solidified with the groups mentioned in the proposal to put on the first licensed consumption event in Oakland.
That is not a sustainable way for us to be spending money.
This will be the first licensed event of this kind in Oakland, which naturally attracts other cannabis brands and retail shops. There will be at least 10 cannabis vendors in addition to Releaf dispensary whom are registered and will use the platform during the event. Word of mouth and trusted referrals, weighs very heavily in this industry, being able to view other local businesses using the platform will promote other license holders to register.
for free.