Hi mmvvaa, thanks for letting me know. That sucks, I'm really sorry. It's fixed now and should be working well again! Shiphawk is one of our competitors but we're focussing on international shipping, meaning that our UPS lies in a database of lots and lots of international shipping providers.
Thanks again for giving it a try. If you happen to know any startup that sends a lot of stuff internationally, please do let me know :)
The only positive aspect of this, and make no mistake - this does not excuse their fishy behaviour - is that Yahoo has lead the way in defending its user's privacy against the NSA.
I would love to hear from Yahoo (hopefully from Marissa Mayer, or whoever authorised it at Yahoo), and from uTorrent. I was personally chearing for Yahoo's new breath of hope, under Mayer's leadership. This is a pretty crappy move. An apology would be enough.
- We started development in nov '11 and only officially launched operations in May 16th, 2012, to be precise.
- Our current run rate is US$88,000 (as of our latest numbers). Run rate is an extrapolation of the most current numbers, if they are extended for a year.
- So far, we have grossed more than US$500K. I am not going to dig into our margin details here, but yes. We have grossed more than that since we started operations (may '12).
Thanks for the feedback, and from a first read of what we do, yes. You are spot on.
We believe we can make use of a severely underutilized pool of resources (empty trucks) in developing countries, some of it as a result of a huge industry that has transformed very quickly to adjust to the organic growth, as well as to other factors like free trade agreements that have escalated the need for transportation companies to be much more competitive in a global landscape.
The same challenges apply to the cargo generators, which have relayed on excel sheets or custom tools to manage their logistics, but that are constantly struggling to find the right solution to manage their specific needs.
I won't bore you with details, but logistics is much more than just putting cargo on a truck (think of security, insurance, satellite tracking, etc...), and we are integrating several services to simplify this for our customers.
Our focus right now is LATAM, and would most likely head towards other developing markets before trying anything in the US.
That's probably the most pragmatic and best approach: to understand the needs of your specific market area and all of the participants, and nail them. Having met with Bryan a couple months ago, he understood the pain points in the US market (having basically grown up in the industry…) and nailed them. I'm sure he's learned more since we've last spoke with the help he has gotten to carry out his vision.
It's really great to see companies like these. Good Luck!
Thanks for the feedback. We just fixed some of the more obvious corrections, and look forward to discuss the ones that require a bit more time with the people that we speak with (timeline, etc...).
Are you speaking from personal experience, then? Care to share details? I appreciate that you are giving feedback, but it is very vague. What parts of the copy do you feel are not ok?
MiCarga founder here. This is not a solicitation, and we explicitly put it here before the beginning of the letter:
"(Note: The information in this document does not constitute an offer or solicitation to purchase securities of the Company)."
We wanted to use a format to tell our story to potential investors, and we felt that this format was fitting. Once again, the format is an experiment, but in no way it is a solicitation. We see it more as a first step to start a longer conversation with potential investors (accredited ones, to be precise).
You might be surprised to learn how broadly the SEC and courts have interpreted terms like "offer" and "general solicitation".[1] An offer is any "attempt ... to dispose of ... a security ... for value".[2] The SEC "has confirmed that uses of ... unrestricted websites ... constitute general solicitation."[3]
Had you done this last Friday, you would be hard-pressed to find an experienced securities lawyer who would tell you that the letter posted on your web site does not violate US laws. The good news is that due to regulations that went into effect on Monday, you have not yet violated US securities laws. However, because you've engaged in general solicitation, you are now subject to, among other things, additional investor verification requirements before you actually sell securities to any US investor.[4] If compliance with US laws is or will be important to your business, be sure you get help from a very experienced securities lawyer with the rest of your fundraising process. There are many traps for the unwary.
[1] Some illustrations:
SEC v. Arvida Corp., 169 F.Supp. 211
Chris-Craft industries, inc. v. Bangor Punta Corp. 426 F.2d 569 (1970)
SEC v. Commercial Inv. & Dev. Corp. of Florida, 373 F.Supp. 1153 (1974)
SEC v. Thomas D. Kienlen Corp. 755 F.Supp. 936
Diskin v. Lomasney & Co., 452 F.2d 871
Hocking v. Dubois, 885 F.2d 1449
"(Note: The information in this document does not constitute an offer or solicitation to purchase securities of the Company)."
"We are sharing this letter with you because we believe you might be interested in investing in our company. We'll tell you a bit about our story, where we are today, why we're raising funds and why we are the best bet you can make today."
"If you're interested in being part of our round, please email us two possible time slots to talk:"
As another HNer kindly pointed out to me, the rule requiring the filing of a Form D 15 days before any general solicitation is, at this point, still just a proposal.
But based on what we're seeing here, it does appear that at least some of the companies already engaging in general solicitation don't even know that they'll need to file a Form D if they're successful in raising funds.
MiCarga cofounder here. We wanted to tell our story, in a format that suited our position right now. It is an experiment, and we are fully aware that it may not be the right format for every investor. Regardless, we wanted a space to tell our story in more detail, and start better conversations with the right investors.
Just tried to look for a rate from '90210' to 'Berlin', but couldn't get further than this: http://cl.ly/image/1z3k0u3s0h1Y
I remember reading recently about several similar apps tackling the same problem. shiphawk comes to mind.
Good luck.