Market Discussions

As with everything in EVE, once in a while things need to be updated. So I've decided to update the old IPO template written by Hexxx.I've added a new chapter, made adjustments to include bonds or offerings, as well as making some corrections and other minor adjustments.

If anyone has any suggestions of things they would like to see added, removed or modified in this updated template just let me know.

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What this template is:
A flexible standard for the minimum level of detail expected from a typical IPO, bond/offering.

What this template isn't:
This Template is not a requirement for issuing an IPO. Because this template is followed does not mean the offering is legitimate. Legitimate offerings should be judged on their content. As not every offering will want to follow this template, there are always exceptions to the rule.

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ACME Industries IPO/Offering Plan

• Chapter 1 - Summary of ACME
• Chapter 2 - Background on origins/idea/current business
• Chapter 3 - Corporate Governance
• Chapter 4 - The Business Plan (either beginning or expanding)
• Chapter 5 - Statement of Assets
• Chapter 6 - Full Disclosure of Risks
• Chapter 7 - Full Disclosure of Main and Alts
• Chapter 8 - Exit Strategy
• Chapter 9 - IPO Phases, Dividends, Market Cap
• Chapter 10 - FAQ
• Chapter 11 - Q&A with potential investors

Chapter 1 - Summary of ACME
This section should should describe what kind of business ACME is. What do you sell? What do you trade? What do you manufacture? This should be a quick 30 second speech you would give if someone asked what your business did.

Chapter 2 - Background on origins/idea/current business
This section should include some history about the business. Is it you and your friends? Is it just you? Where did you get the idea for it? Have you already been operating a successful business that you just want to expand? What is your prior experience in EVE?
The key to this section is communicating to your potential investors some idea of who you and your company are. This section may have some overlap with Chapter 1, but should be more detailed as to what the business is about.

Chapter 3 - Corporate Governance
How is your business governed? A dictatorship? A board of directors? Votes by shareholders? Do you have members of your corp holding majority stock? Are you retaining 50% of the shares for yourself? Is a 3rd party in control of your business? This is open ended, but a significant effort should be made to explain how decisions are made.

Additionally, a complete employment history listed (from in-game Information) of everyone in corporation with wallet access should be provided. Investors should know who has access to what. This request should be reasonable as it would be extremely alarming if so many people had access that it would be a chore to list them all.

Chapter 4 - The Business Plan
This is the EXACT specifics of what your business does. What exactly are you going to do with the market capitalization from your IPO and/or bond offering? For example, let's say you build ships:

-> What kind of ships do you build?
--> What are your material costs? Do you mine or buy minerals from the market?
---> What are your profit margins?
----> What is your projected profit for a given week or month?
-----> How many ships do you plan to sell in a week?
------> How much inventory do you keep on hand?
Etc, etc, etc.

Chapter 5 - Statement of Assets
This is exactly what it sounds like. What are your current assets?

Chapter 6 - Full Disclosure of Risks
This is a tough part. You have to list all possible major risks you can think of. Not just in-game risks but
real-life risks. If you have to stop playing because of your budget, this is a risk! If you give someone your
password to "help", you have to disclose this. Basically this section makes sure that if the business
fails for ANY reason….that reason will not be a surprise. This should be extensive and imagine even wild
scenarios. Also, include mitigating factors for financial risk if there are any, such as collateral held by a 3rd party.

Example:
It is highly likely that liquidating assets will yield a "profit" since the value of those fixed assets (BPO's) will appreciate with research. It is therefore almost certain that even if this business "fails", significant financial losses can be avoided.

Chapter 7 - Full Disclosure of Main and Alts
Hopefully this is pretty straightforward. I've included the following example:

My main is xxxx. He is a year old character, and I encourage you to do your own research on my posts within the forum and my corporate history. In fact, do this before you buy any shares at all. It's a good habit to get into if you're a first time investor. Another reason I'll be using "xxxx" as the "face" of the company is that there is some distance from the politics that my alliance is involved with.

My alts are the following:
xxxx (research alt)
xxxx (research alt)
xxxx (research alt)
xxxx (CEO alt so that I can have some kind of clear reporting)
xxxx (not currently used for anything in particular)

Looks like this guy is just trying to build credibility so he can scam peop... oh wait.


Seriously:
Having an IPO template devalues any IPO based on it to be honest. I would prefer to see "custom" offerings as I can judge the competency of the person making the offering more accurately. With a template, all that's required is an ability to fill in a form. It reminds me of the situation with resumes in the real world.

I disagree. Most eve players have no idea how to open a business, or even how to develop a business plan. They think an IPO is “I want money to build ships” or “I want ISK to trade”. This template provides a platform to get the entrepreneur’s thoughts together and a venue for investors to grasp their thoughts. Without a solid plan, your business is bound to fail.

In terms of risks, investors need to evaluate the two major risks factor independently; business risk and scam risk. The standard template should provide enough information to investors so they can determine the business risk. Investors need to realize that a solid, bullet proof, business plan IS NOT a guarantee against scams.

Scamming in eve is allowed and even encouraged by ccp. Therefore, it is very unlikely that you can protect against scams, unless you are holding to collateral. And even in situations where collateral is held, you can still be scammed. There are a few things you can look for when assessing the scam risk.


Scam Risk Flags
No references
Unknown main
Shady past
Recently bought character
No character history
Young character
Not posting alts
First post
Avoiding questions
Discouraging questions in thread
Cannot explain business plan
Numbers don’t add up
Too good to be true
Amount ISK too great for character history
Convo only
Screen shots as prove
Misleading statements
Boosting numbers
Proposing a “Bank” as first investment
“It’s a secret”
“It’s a secure investment”
“You can trust me”
And more ….

I can't believe I missed that haha, thanks. It's official, I am ret@rded.

I never bothered correcting the grammar from Hexxx's original template. You're a hero. You've saved me a lot of effort.