JM's response to pdx's questions
There are two things I would like to say in general.
First of all, we decided last October not to go to market with our initial, proof-of-concept, Java-based software. The proof-of-concept software had convinced us that SaaS would be suitable for the hospitality industry, but we felt the proof-of-concept software would not provide a stable enterprise platform for a company that wanted to be a large enterprise player. So we decided to completely rewrite the software using Ruby on Rails and Javascript/Dojo. It is not unheard of in software companies to write software twice in the early stages of a company. Consider also that when the proof-of-concept software was started over three years ago, Ruby on Rails was an unproven entity, while Java had been solid for years. The good news is that the new software will be easier to deploy, easier to maintain, easier to adapt, and more stable in the long run. This new software provides us with a killer infrastructure that existing and future competitors will find very hard to duplicate. This was a tough decision to make, but it was the right decision. It delayed us getting customers, and I have had to take a lot of flak for that, but I am pretty much immune to flak. We will survive and go on to become the leader in Restaurant Management Software.
Secondly, note that I said we would become the leader in Restaurant Management Software (RMS). This is much, much more than merely a Point of Sale (POS) system. A POS system is our first offering, but it will be only a small subset of what we will eventually offer. And our system is tightly integrated. That is very important to what we are developing, and I have articulated that in several past articles, but I am not sure it has sunk in with everybody. Lecere is not a POS company. We are an RMS company.
Focus on the brand name of our software: FIRMS, Fully-Integrated Restaurant Management Software. We did not choose that name at random.
Thirdly, because our software is not yet complete, we have not been able to approach customers with a ready-for-prime-time, deployable product. We will be able to do so by April 30, but it will probably take a month after that before our product goes live in a real restaurant setting. New software needs some hand-holding when it stands up for the first time and takes its first few steps.
1. Sales & Marketing- Current Deals
Q. It appears the BOD failed to bring any real deals to the table (please correct me if I am wrong on this one- I have been asking about it for a while). Just odd there are not clients lined up to install this with the connections from the group. Look at other PDX SAAS firms (corillian, sabrix, etc.) all had deals signed before they even became a company. Just surprised LCRE wasn’t able to do this.
A. I could have convinced twenty companies to sign deals and then announce them later. But until there is a working, deployable product, signed deals aren't worth the paper they are written on. And, by the way, Roger Williams was able to get us in the door at an enormous opportunity. Had it not been for Roger, we would never have gotten into this opportunity. Furthermore, this deal will not be signed until we have successfully demonstrated a working product in several real restaurant situations, as well as our ability to support and maintain that product. I obviously can't say anything more about this opportunity. I hope people can understand that.
Q. What really has me concerned though is that it appears the only sales mechanism LCRE has at the moment is the hope of a third party distributor. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the idea of additional sales channels (direct or indirect) but distributor sales are not as easy as they sound. Almost all startups have to commit to assisting in sales, paying for marketing, etc. before the distributor will take it seriously. The distributor will also mandate the software provider also be financially sound enough to ensure they will be around in 3-5 years. This is especially true with SAAS firms. What distributor will want to sell a product (service) from a SAAS firm if the SAAS firm may not be around in 12 months? This leaves the distributor open to significant client managementhassles for a LONG time. Seems to me that LCRE has to 1) get the distributor to actually add the LCRE product / service to their catalog (not easy) and… 2) will have to continually push the distributor to actually sell the product. Once the distributor has a few clients using the product and it proves to be a material profit tool for the distributor (and LCRE can prove it’s staying power), the distributor will open up the sales volume.
A. First of all, this is not a software distributor. I can't say anything more about this opportunity, but Lecere and all its advisors are certain that this is an enormous opportunity for Lecere. First we have to deliver, but we can do it, because we have done it before, several times. We need investors to trust us, be patient for another 3-4 months, and give us enough financial backing that will enable us to be financially viable. Some of the concerns in the paragraph are real, and, believe me, I deal with them every day. All we can do is forge ahead to the best of our ability and try to avoid the potholes as they come at us.
Q. What I want to know from LCRE is the following:
Q a. What is being done by the LCRE management team (Jim) and BOD to beat the trees in their own back yard? What are they doing to line up the 2-3 deals out of their own rolodex necessary to take LCRE to some degree of profitability?
A a. On Friday, we got a verbal agreement to begin talks with a first restaurant in the Portland area. Again, that is all I can say at this time. We have been beating the trees in our back yard for several months. We have uncovered numerous possibilities, but nobody will seriously engage with us until we have a deployable product. Finally, last Friday, we found out that even though we are seven weeks away from a beta product, we are ready to begin initial talks with a first customer. Even now, there is some concern we are a tad too early.
Q b. What is LCRE doing to mature the indirect sales channel and ensure the sales channel will actually sell their product? (This is not simply “sign them up”)
A b. The large opportunity I discussed above is our only planned indirect channel at this time. When we turn that channel on for real in a few months, and we will, it could almost (but not quite) overwhelm us for a couple of years. It is that big.
Q c. What is LCRE doing to establish their own direct sales channel? (including the full lead generation mechanism, method for walking prospects through the sales cycle, closing, etc.)
A c. We have no money to establish direct sales channels and our product is not ready, so a direct sales force is premature at this time. When we are ready to turn on a direct sales channel, we not only have a lot of experience with sales among ourselves, but we also have an advisor to help us in that area who was CEO of a company that went from nothing to $1 billion in sales. Do you think this guy knows anything about sales? Again, I can't say anything about who he is right now, because we have decided to keep him below the radar for a while, but he has been quietly helping us. Pdxinvestor will most assuredly know who he is.
Q d. Related to the above- what is LCRE doing to generate leads / market interest? A single presentation at an industry show is not enough. What is the marketing plan?
A d. We don't have enough money to do this right now. We are focused primarily on development. When we need to do this, we know exactly how to do it.
Q. All of you out there that are doing the “rah-rah” cheerleading, you need to know that if LCRE can’t clearly state their sales strategy and outline exactly what it will cost, how it will be paid for, how it will work, etc. LCRE is dead. Please do not take this as a bash. This is simple fact… and you need to know “a distributor with the ability to sell to hundreds of clients in 2010” is not enough. It sounds great but is very hollow.
A. We are not at this stage yet. We don't have the money to do this. When we do have the money, and we will, we will have a lot of very smart people who have done marketing plans, sales plans, etc., for the last 20-30 years of their lives. Rome was not built in day.
2. Ongoing Capitalization of LCRE
Q The other major concern that I have is the ongoing capitalization of LCRE. Getting enough money together to keep the lights on until product release may be a challenge but this is nothing compared to the challenge of funding LCRE until profitable. While SAAS is really cool (great business model) it has a significant challenge; You don’t get a large cash infusion with each sale. You earn your money one dollar at a time on a month to month basis. Let’s assume the product is done and is well received by the market at the upcoming trade show. Let’s further assume LCRE is able to sign up 50 clients right out of the gate. All great news… but LCRE will need funding for at least the entire calendar year 2010 to cover launch costs, integration costs, etc. How is LCRE going to cover this?
A. Once we have a viable, deployable product, have a few satisfied customers under our belt, have some revenue, and have proved our worthiness to and inked a deal with the large opportunity I discussed earlier, we will have much less trouble raising large amounts of capital. We have already talked to people who could supply that money. Everybody is waiting to see if we can achieve the first part of this paragraph.
Q. The often stated answer to this question for most companies is “well, if we have a lot of client contracts, investors are easy to find!” That used to be true. Capital markets are still funky and investors are much more finicky now days. This is not an easy proposition. What is LCRE’s plan here? Go back to the 504s and ask for a significant cash infusion? Go to the traditional VCs?
A. No, that is not the right answer. The right answer is "Once we have a viable, deployable product, have a few satisfied customers under our belt, have some revenue, and have proved our worthiness to and inked a deal with the large opportunity I discussed earlier, investors are much easier to find". Investment is very difficult these days. I know that better than most everybody. But when we achieve "the right answer", we will be able to raise sufficient capital.
Trust me, if LCRE has the product production ready for the trade show… there is still a relatively long and challenging road ahead. Not to say that it can’t be done but I just have not heard the solution yet.
I know the road is long and challenging. I have been there before. We're not going to make the trade show. Too much money. If any investor wants to put up a significant private placement, we will (in confidence) explain our plans in more detail, and I will disclose the things I have not been able to disclose here, but I can't announce our confidential, detailed plans to the public.
Q. Jim publicly stated that he was in process of winning a large lawsuit and would invest $$ into LCRE upon receiving his cash. I have still not heard if he won- and don’t know how much he won. Any updates here? If he puts in 1 mil to cover sales & marketing- and puts in money to bridge LCRE until it can stand on it’s own at some point in the future, LCRE has a real chance of making it.
A. I still believe I will win the lawsuit and I believe that will still be a significant source of funding for Lecere, but the obtaining of that money will probably not occur before June.
Q. I have a legitimate series of questions that I feel everyone on this board should be asking. If there are answers that I do not know, please post them publicly.
If I sound negative at all in any of my posts, I apologize. I admit that I am frustrated with LCRE due to current progress and the feeling that I was misled by Jim. All of that said, I believe in the product and in the market. I am also fully willing to admit that I may have the wrong read on him and LCRE. If I can get my questions answered to an extent that makes sense, I will put $$ back in.
A. So if pdxinvestor has any more questions, let him fire away to me.
Thanks again for your conduit help.
...Via Jim email to BIO
