It is good that most liars eventually get caught. Promoting your business on Crowdcube using projections that are totally divorced from reality will eventually kill your business.
There is a classic case on Crowdcube right now. Craved raised cash on Crowdcube with fantastic projections. Now that money has run out with break even a distant dream, they are trying to raise more. But in 2018, investors are waking up to Crowdcube's games.
When you predict revenues of £1m and you achieve £185k - 'learning curve' doesnt quite cut it with irritated investors. It would have done in 2016 but this game has now become so commonplace that even Crowdcube investors have had enough. There is no trust that this business will ever deliver a single promise it makes or that it even cares a hoot for its investors.
Had they pitched with sound financial projections the first time and missed them by say 100%, then things might now be different. Even an extension on the pitch has fallen flat. They clearly sought and took some very very bad advice.
We hoped that businesses would learn from this - we have been warning about it for years. Judging from some of the live campaigns at the moment, it seems a forlorn hope. This really is a crying shame because some of these businesses might in fact have been able to achieve something. But the stupidity of the Crowdcube model will ruin this for them. It is and will continue to be a harsh lesson.
I’m a bit bored of the parallels to Naked Beer in their pitch.......which basically says that their original business model doesn’t work........and where on earth do you get a £1.6m pre-money valuation from?
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