Fastforward Innovations Share Discussion Threads

[doodlebug4] 05/3/2017 13:52

An interesting article on one of BLU's Investee Companies:

[doodlebug4] 05/3/2017 13:26

Tech startups prepping for future IPOs know they need to worship at the altar of profits, too. Some of them, including Dropbox Inc., are boasting about their profits -- or "profits". A couple of years ago, they would have been talking only about revenue growth or the number of new users.

Other unprofitable startups with controversial business models are opting to hold off going public until they can get their financial houses in order. Spotify Ltd. no longer looks like it will try to go public this year. Blue Apron Inc. recently put off its IPO preparations to do some repair work to its costs before it goes asking for public cash.

Snapchat showed no such deference to profits before it went to pitch its IPO. In the final quarter before its offering, Snapchat burned $1.14 in cash for each dollar of revenue. And it didn't matter.

Unless Snapchat's stock price falls apart in coming months, the ability to get its IPO off the ground successfully should embolden those other young, richly valued tech companies with high revenue growth but finances that need some work. People close to Spotify have said they were watching Snapchat's IPO process for hints about the reception to a potential initial offering from the promising-but-unprofitable digital music company.

It's true that lowering the bar for companies to go public will give jitters to anyone with a memory of the dot-com bust. When investors stop caring about profits and ignoring business model red flags, things like Webvan happen.

On the other hand, it's healthy for tech land to have an IPO exit path for a potentially dangerous clog of richly valued private tech startups.

Some investors in startups and others in the tech industry have been talking about alternatives to the traditional IPO market for companies that need to pay out existing investors but find public markets an awkward fit. I'll believe it when I see it.

The more than $11 billion invested in Uber Technologies Inc. has to be paid back sometime. Do you think Saudi Arabia's sovereign investment fund is going to wait around forever to get its $3.5 billion back from Uber, plus a handsome return? Nope. And that is likely to happen only through an IPO.

Not every promising but flawed young tech company is going to have a happy outcome like Snapchat did (for now). Most companies do not have the cachet of Snapchat, which makes it possible to overlook the company's defects. But for a special select few, Snapchat has proved a startup doesn't need to be perfect to have an IPO happy ending.

M.economictimes.com

[moormoney] 05/3/2017 11:43

Indeed ffwd has several opportunities and we have been patiently waiting for the fireworks. A bit frustrating at times but most of us on here have never doubted what is coming.😇

[888icb] 05/3/2017 11:35

$24 million from a $15000 investment. That is exactly what FFWD is looking for in its investments so let's hope they find it. FFWD has several irons in the fire and what Snap shows is you only need one investment to really succeed and you are made for life. It also shows the time scales from rags to riches can be quite short. Let's hope we are about to see some fireworks from the pending deals on our way to finding The One!

[doodlebug4] 05/3/2017 11:32

I've just been checking the news item on 3rd January about the proposed acquisition of Schoold and realised that the info I have in the header is incorrect ---- FFWD actually has a 12.3% stake in Schoold, not 9.1%. I will change the header later today. I'll also update the header with the info on Satoshipay and Blue Star Capital.

[doodlebug4] 05/3/2017 10:26

$24million from a $15,000 investment:

[doodlebug4] 04/3/2017 19:13

Good to see Jim Mellon retweeting some positive comments about FFWD at last. He's very well aware that he is restricted by certain rules about his comments on this company, but since some of the FFWD detractors get away with bending the FCA rules and regulations perhaps it's time Jim took his gloves off and started hitting back. Go for it Jim!:-)

[keya5000] 04/3/2017 15:37

I wonder if TW and the other goons at Shareprophets can work out why snapchat may be trading just a tad higher than it's NAV?

[doodlebug4] 03/3/2017 16:09

jim mellon Retweeted
Sierra117‏ @Sierra117_Jon

#FFWD Know nothing about the company (except that @jimmhk is involved - big plus) but like the look of the chart.

[flashheart] 03/3/2017 16:07

Thank you doodlebug and yes I hope so too.

[doodlebug4] 03/3/2017 15:56

Have a good trip flash and a great time with your family. Hopefully when you return the share price will be reflecting the progress and growth of FFWD's Investee Companies.

[flashheart] 03/3/2017 15:24

Thanks for the date info db. Away for 3 weeks this evening but should still be able to monitor proceedings sufficiently. Like you say could come at any time and not necessarily down to the wire.

[doodlebug4] 03/3/2017 14:59

Countdown until the Schoold announcement deadline will be 15 days from Monday morning and that is assuming we don't get an RNS this afternoon.

[ivor hunch] 03/3/2017 14:16

Actually I sent the email some ago - and never got a response ! Probably too busy harvesting his 3 olive trees in Greece.

[doodlebug4] 03/3/2017 13:23

Interesting:

[doodlebug4] 03/3/2017 11:48

Good luck with that email Ivor. I sent him a polite email after his first derogatory comments last year about FFWD, where he got so many of the basic facts wrong and his response to me was patronising and less than courteous. Shareholders in the companies he blogs about should check his facts and figures and not be blindly influenced by rumours of placings etc.,etc. Thankfully most of the shareholders and posters on this thread are experienced and astute enough to see through the shenanigans perpetuated on various threads on ADVFN and to distinguish between fact and fiction.

[ivor hunch] 03/3/2017 11:31

I don't have much time for TW and I have emailed him saying that he is wrong about FFWD. However to give him his due he has exposed a significant number of AIM scandals which no-one else has highlighted. Reading his many exposés of AIM cons has definitely made me much more wary of many AIM companies which are often set up as frauds. These are often deliberate cons to raise money on the market which goes directly into directors' fees before the company ultimately folds.
Ivor

[rafboy] 03/3/2017 10:26

Thanks doodlebug4, interesting times ahead as we approach 21 March and beyond.

[doodlebug4] 03/3/2017 09:53

Some positive comments about FFWD:

[doodlebug4] 03/3/2017 09:36

Rafboy, it's good to have your views. BLU is a small company and it will be interesting to see how FFWD's investment pans out - at the moment I think it looks like a better deal for BLU than FFWD, but Jim and Lorne Abony are privvy to far more information about the company than we are. I think the fact that two of Bluestar's Directors have experience in the gaming industry is significant.

Good idea to start a new BLU thread 888, I was thinking about doing that myself but you beat me to it! I haven't bought any shares in the company yet, but will post any info on there that I think may be helpful.