Australian Wine Startup - Investment Opportunity

[Cmjritchie]

So I took a punt the other week - Wine Valet

Birchal

www.birchal.com

Not sure if anyone has heard of these guys or interested but I kinda like the concept. QLD based tech startup.

Check it out

 

[QF WP]

I got an email a couple of weeks but after reading, felt it wasn't worth the investment - regardless of who they have on their advisory committee.

 

[drron]

Even if I was 50 years younger this does not appeal to me.
Half the enjoyment of wine throughout my life has been trying many wines and finding the styles and winemakers of those wines I enjoy.

 

[Daver6]

They lost me on the opening line

The only wine club in the world with WineDNA™ technology

Well duh. If you've trademarked WineDNA (and not licensed it to others) then of course you're the only wine club using it

More seriously, it looks like just another wine subscription service with possibly a gimmick so they deliver what you like. I don't see any barriers to entry for new competitors or exciting wine e-tailers offering a similar service should it prove to be popular.

 

[TheRealTMA]

They lost me on the opening line



Well duh. If you've trademarked WineDNA (and not licensed it to others) then of course you're the only wine club using it

More seriously, it looks like just another wine subscription service with possibly a gimmick so they deliver what you like. I don't see any barriers to entry for new competitors or exciting wine e-tailers offering a similar service should it prove to be popular.

This one is also from Queensland remember!

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premiumwinecard.com

 

[QF WP]

Got another email from them this morning...sounds like they are short of their target.

 

[Cmjritchie]

Got another email from them this morning...sounds like they are short of their target.

You are right, I think it's pretty tight.

I'm a fan of new emerging tech, especially Aussie based stuff - hopefully it gets across the line and they can give it a nudge

 

[QF WP]

In Wine Valet news we’ve made great progress in our private raise with over 50% of funds raised already...today is the final day

That's where they hoped to get the majority of their raise - from the informed

Birchal won’t process your payment until the conclusion of the raise. When making your investment you’ll still need to provide your payment details, but no funds will change hands at that time.

Most people don't want to give their hard earned until the last minute...that why the interest peaks in the last few days of any capital raising. Expressions of Interest aren't worth anything until funds change hands

 

[Daver6]

You are right, I think it's pretty tight.

I'm a fan of new emerging tech, especially Aussie based stuff - hopefully it gets across the line and they can give it a nudge

Call me a cynic though, what exactly is so new and ground breaking about their tech? It's simply creating a dataset for the wines and users and then matching the two sets.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Got another email from them this morning...sounds like they are short of their target.

Not surprised. How do they expect to capture the market when there are tons of good aps that do this already including Vivino?

 

[TheRealTMA]

They lost me on the opening line



Well duh. If you've trademarked WineDNA (and not licensed it to others) then of course you're the only wine club using it

More seriously, it looks like just another wine subscription service with possibly a gimmick so they deliver what you like. I don't see any barriers to entry for new competitors or exciting wine e-tailers offering a similar service should it prove to be popular.

WineDNA is not a 'registered' trademark in Australia that I could find on IPAustralia?

Edit: Note the use of the tm symbol is actually meaningless and has no legal basis or legal claim. Unless the term is formally a mark registered with the country IP Agency (Ip Australia e.g.), it's just a vague meaningless statement.

It is often used to indicate to competitors and consumers that you intend for your brand to operate as a "trade mark". The use of this symbol however does not mean that your trade mark is registered, nor does it indicate that you have any rights pertaining to registered trade marks under the Act.

In fact, with our company, we use (C) to legally claim copyright on code and documents and (R) to mark our main trademarks registered with IP Australia, and TM (year) as an indication that we historically may make a claim to warn others who may attempt to use the terms to "pass off" as a product from our company. (A very vague concept, but hey! )

ref:

Trademark Symbols - International Trademark Association

Let our Fact Sheets help you answer basic questions about trademarks, intellectual property (IP), and related legal topics.

www.inta.org

​

How to write the ® R,™ TM, © C symbols - Bonamark

How to type the ® R,™ TM, © C symbols. What do they mean? How to use them in different countries? Don't get sued for misusing! Learn everything about them!

bonamark.com

​

 

[Cmjritchie]

Call me a cynic though, what exactly is so new and ground breaking about their tech? It's simply creating a dataset for the wines and users and then matching the two sets.

I agree that it's not ground breaking, although I am yet to look under the hood of their code. From my understanding user rate the wine (similar to Vivino) and the app matches all future wines delivered thorugh the subscription to their preference of taste. Vivino allows you to buy stuff but not nessacarily matched to your preference and purchase one bottle of this and one bottle of that is not viable through Vivino as they are just a reseller through other sites (like vinomofo).

It's a way that begginers and people who drink wine but are not hardcore (like a few of us here) can explore wine and have some sort of assurance that it will match their profile. That's where the subscription comes in base to peoples preferred price point.

It's like Cellarmasters where they send a selection of wines monthly/quarterly or whatever that is selected by a panel but Wine Valet select it by the users preference or 'Wine DNA'. Correct me if I'm wrong but Cellarmasters allow a choice of red/white/mixed and maybe by price point but not actual match to your preference??

I could see this being popular with people that don't collect or cellar wines for long term, just want access to good wines they like for drinking now and can rely on this subscription turning up regularly

 

[Cmjritchie]

Update from Wine Valet;

OUR CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN IS PUBLICLY LIVE!

We just wanted to take a moment to thank our early investors for coming in as we've now successfully raised over $47,000!

Yesterday we had over $10,000 invested and here is what some of new shareholders had to say about their reasons for investing in Wine Valet:

- I know that this is a good opportunity.
- I believe in what you’re doing and I’d like to support you.
- I have been receiving your emails since last year. I ultimately decided to invest after thoroughly reading your investment document and getting a feel for the company as well as how hard you and Alain have worked over the years.

The vision from day one has been to reinvent and revolutionise how wine makes its way from vineyards all over the world to the consumer in a way that empowers growers and respects and celebrates the individual palate of the wine drinker.

The funds raised from this campaign will be channeled into a nationwide marketing campaign targeted to transform Wine Valet into a trusted and loved brand.
We’re now inviting you to join our current investors in this round before it closes, as we now launch to our wider network. Investments start from just $200.

 

[misohoney]

Feels like you're advertising for them at this point

 

[Cmjritchie]

Feels like you're advertising for them at this point

Well that's helpful @misohoney - thanks for your constructive input.

There were a few people discussing so I thought I'd share an update that just came through.

I'm not shying away from the fact that I hope they get across the line - as I've said I'm a supporter of local tech stuff, especially in the wine scene. No harm in giving a plug to other people if they interested. If you aint into it or interested in the slightest then why come into this thread?

 

[support]

Just to get everything on the table @Cmjritchie, other than investing your hard earned in the offer, do you have any association to the company beyond the investment you made?

 

[Cmjritchie]

Just to get everything on the table @Cmjritchie, other than investing your hard earned in the offer, do you have any association to the company beyond the investment you made?

100% not. I jumped on the wagon in the early stages as a punter and an interest in local tech.

I am not affiliated or aligned with the company at all - just a supporter and someone who is hopeful that it works out and provides Aussies with a local platform to use for wine

 

[QF WP]

Yep, I got the same email about the same time. Not going to sway my decision.

 

[olympicwiz]

We just wanted to take a moment to thank our early investors for coming in as we've now successfully raised over $47,000!

I think this is more a function of the strong equity markets/excess liquidity around the globe rather than on the merit of this particular business idea. People are seen taking on excessive risk and throwing money at anything so comes as no surprise they raised money relatively easily.

In a strong wind even turkeys can fly. For the sake of the investors, I hope it does well.

 

[SleepyPolarBear]

100% not. I jumped on the wagon in the early stages as a punter and an interest in local tech.

I am not affiliated or aligned with the company at all - just a supporter and someone who is hopeful that it works out and provides Aussies with a local platform to use for wine

I just found that co-founder Sarah in one of my whatsapp wine groups, but I would not touch this investment with a ten foot pole.

$4.15m evaluation for an untrialed concept app which is basically a glorified drop shipper is a joke. It targets women, whom lets be honest, are far more restraint on their wine purchases, and focuses on "taste" which is like 5th in the line for how people pick wine, after: Price, Brand, Memories, Locale. Props to supporting local startups, but with no revenue, they are going to burn through that ~60k and be asking for more funds in the very near future. Futhermore, attracting just 25% of their max offering of 240k is not exactly a positive sign.

Not intentionally wanting to bash the investment, but I failed to see any value in it, let alone $4.15m.