Water to Go returns to Crowdcube after 4 years. How have they done?

Water to Go raised £191k on Crowdube in 2014. Its filtered water bottles promised the earth but have since failed to deliver much apart from £1.15m of accumulated losses. Now they are back on Crowdcube at the same valuation as 2014.

We wouldnt bother to highlight this new pitch of theirs had they been a little more honest. Their new Crowdcube pitch hardly mentions the 2014 raise - it gets a line about how oversubscribed it was. What investors want to know guys is how you have done in 4 years - what have you achieved and the honest reason you are now looking for new cash. This is not a game where the person who best hides the truth, wins.

Just to be clear, we are working with historic data, so 2018 could have seen sales soaring and business in profit. What we do know is that in 2014, the company told investors it hoped to be making a profit in 2016 of £2.5m on revenues of £10.9m. The actual revenue for 2016 as recorded in their filed accounts was £323k with losses for the year of £312k. This £323k is about half of the 2015 figure. The company has made nothing but losses since 2014. Yet the Crowdcube projections showed nothing but profits. 

All the above is not available in the latest Crowdcube Water to Go page. Is that misleading - you decide. 

So what about now? Well the company certainly needs cash. But with reviews that have a common theme - the bottles are not robust and do leak  - it needs a a lot more than that. These are recent reviews. This is not mentioned on Crowdcube but is in plain sight for anyone looking into the company. That is not sensible. 

One of the key problems with this product is that the mass market it seeks to access is not a market than can afford its high price tag. Third world countries where water supplies are troubled by bacteria are not inhabited by people with a spare £25. Likewise countries that do have plenty of such people, have water supplies that do not need a filter. There is a total misalignment. That might explain why after 4 years pummelling the roads to try to sell this product, sales went down last year. There are now of course plenty of alternatives - whereas 4 years ago Water to Go did have an advantage.

But the investment now may make sense - they have a new team to promote and they are still in business and one hopes, would have learnt a lot. Just be aware of what has happened since 2014 and make an informed decision. Crowdcube have failed to mention most of this.  This is exactly why ECF Buzz is so needed......Join us https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ecf-buzz-the-crowd-investors-information-centre/x/19804529/