[ActiveMining] The Official Active Mining Discussion Thread

[drawingthesun]

You need to stop asking so many questions, buy more shares, and cheer louder!

Actually Ken doesn't seem to care so much about people buying shares, the share price in general and people cheering. This is probably a good thing.

I think Ken cares a lot about the company and knows he can't do much until the first chips come in. So until then there really is not so much to be done (except make the website quality on par with our competitors)

So the real question is, when do we get the first chips?

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[VolanicEruptor]

It's time for us to start helping him with marketing.  Get involved in the hardware discussion threads and mention the machines, rather than hanging out in bitcoin securities threads.  We need to advertise the product, not the stock.  Get out there, make some new threads, and get people talking.

[drawingthesun]

It's time for us to start helping him with marketing.  Get involved in the hardware discussion threads and mention the machines, rather than hanging out in bitcoin securities threads.  We need to advertise the product, not the stock.  Get out there, make some new threads, and get people talking.

I do agree, but its kinda hard because the entire community has been burned by pre-orders so many times.

We really need the first chips before we can even accurately price the machines.

[kslaughter]

It's time for us to start helping him with marketing.  Get involved in the hardware discussion threads and mention the machines, rather than hanging out in bitcoin securities threads.  We need to advertise the product, not the stock.  Get out there, make some new threads, and get people talking.

Good idea!

[VolanicEruptor]

It's time for us to start helping him with marketing.  Get involved in the hardware discussion threads and mention the machines, rather than hanging out in bitcoin securities threads.  We need to advertise the product, not the stock.  Get out there, make some new threads, and get people talking.

I do agree, but its kinda hard because the entire community has been burned by pre-orders so many times.

We really need the first chips before we can even accurately price the machines.

Kid, we need preorder SALES before we can produce the chips!  So get out there! 

[VolanicEruptor]

The queue is small right now, he only has $100,000 of sales so far!  So get in there and you won't be waiting 3 months!  
Would you rather be in an order queue that has $2,000,000 worth of orders in front of you?
Or one with $100,000?
Yeah, that's what I thought

I believe this is a strong selling point.  Low sales means a very early spot in the order queue!  

edit: fixed

[SoylentCreek]

It's time for us to start helping him with marketing.  Get involved in the hardware discussion threads and mention the machines, rather than hanging out in bitcoin securities threads.  We need to advertise the product, not the stock.  Get out there, make some new threads, and get people talking.

Good idea!

Where are we at on PR? Also, I sent you a PM earlier that you should really take a look at when you have a moment.

[kleeck]

As promised, here is Ken's response to my questions:

I've made my rounds with a few of the larger holders I've come to know in the ActM community and I've come across a few of the same questions/concerns over and over. I thought I'd just write you, as they all seemed to think it fruitless to even inquire. I'm not asking for a direct answer here necessarily, though if you do give me one I will immediately post it to the forums, but these questions would be good to publicly answer.


1. Is there a certain amount of money that MUST be made in sales in order for ActM to move on to assembling devices? There have been rumors that two million is needed to move forward according to plan. Is this the case?

This is under the NDA.

2. Given that we have missed out on early profits due to poor pricing, and that those profits have been taken by competitors, do you have any plans to get ActM caught up to the pack? ~$90K is a terribly small number of sales in the face of $17M between CoinTerra and Hashfast (http://thegenesisblock.com/cointerra-and-hashfast-sell-17m-of-bitcoin-miners-open-second-batch-sales/). Could you address this?

Yes, we are working to get caught up to the pack.  Both CoinTerra and HashFast were is stealth mode and where somewhat ahead of us on their development of their 28nm technology.

Now the ~90K is not revenue, but sales profit.  Our revenue was ~$330,000.  CoinTerra and HashFast post revenue figures, our revenue  figure is a lot higher like theirs; however, how much profit did they really get?

3. Now that the eASIC deal is behind us, could you outline the plan moving forward for assembling the miners? What is your process? How many staff will you have on hand? Where will this be done (I know you've mentioned "the warehouse" in the past, is that it?)

Yes, we have ~2,600 square feet of space which we are turning into a manufacturing site.  This site will be used to assemble the final product.  The number of staff will depend on our sales from now until we start assembling the units.  The more sales the more staff we will need to assemble more units to meet the demand.

4. Further, could discuss how ActM is going to set itself apart when it comes to shipping devices? Shipping reliability is critical, as you know, and it would be a confidence booster to hear a thoughtful process has been devised.

Shipping reliability is critical under the current system of mining, that may change in the future. We are working to be competitive  in the market place with shipping. stay tuned for more developments.

As you can see, there is a lot of unknowns, even among some of your biggest shareholders. We would like all the dots connected, and to see the plan that you have come up with laid our in a clear way for us. Is there anything you can do to relay what you have in store for these coming phases?

We are in the the chip and PCIe board design phase now.  We are also working on increasing sales, as you know we have just announced the easic deal which has given us a lot of respectability.  We have just been added to the "theGenesisBlock" mining calculator.  This has caused us to start receiving a lot of traffic to our website from links like this.

Ken

[SoylentCreek]

So, $330K in sales then. Still quite a bit behind the other players, but then again, they're not too bad considering the almost nonexistent marketing. Ahem...

Anyways, if anyone wants to help spread the word about ActM, I would strongly suggest posting to www.reddit.com/r/bitcoinmining.

[FloatesMcgoates]

The important question is when will these sales be reflected in dividend payments

[VolanicEruptor]

The important question is when will these sales be reflected in dividend payments

Once the products have been shipped and all costs have been paid for, of course.

[VolanicEruptor]

Looks like Bitcoin Payment option has been added to the checkout.

[deizel]

BTC is accepted but it's not obvious until you check out.

[VolanicEruptor]

BTC is accepted but it's not obvious until you check out.

This has changed since his post.  It is very obvious on the checkout screen.

[deizel]

BTC is accepted but it's not obvious until you check out.

This has changed since his post.  It is very obvious on the checkout screen.

I think you are both saying the same thing.. that it only mentions it on the checkout screen.

Do I have to create an account? I didn't get that far because abandonment rate. Using one of the "one-page checkout" modules could help (e.g.).

However, a little PHP-wizardy in product.tpl should allow both prices to be displayed much earlier in the process.

[ffssixtynine]

BTC is accepted but it's not obvious until you check out.

This has changed since his post.  It is very obvious on the checkout screen.

I think you are both saying the same thing.. that it only mentions it on the checkout screen.

Do I have to create an account? I didn't get that far because abandonment rate. Using one of the "one-page checkout" modules could help.

However, a little PHP-wizardy in product.tpl should allow both prices to be displayed much earlier in the process.

We are. The btc issue and high friction check out process were some of the problems we have with the store. We checked the other stores and 'bought' from them too. They weren't without issues either it has to be said. At one point I couldn't buy from cointerra because it couldn't handle a non US address despite having a country drop down. However, generally all were much lower friction than vmc's store and clearer on Btc purchases.

[zumzero]

It's time for us to start helping him with marketing.  Get involved in the hardware discussion threads and mention the machines, rather than hanging out in bitcoin securities threads.  We need to advertise the product, not the stock.  Get out there, make some new threads, and get people talking.

Good idea!

Yes, a good idea.

A high-end glossy website is also a good idea.  It will generate sales far more effectively than us simply promoting the products ourselves.  We need feedback from people who have already purchased using the currently clunky website and we need to evolve accordingly.  We also need to understand what decision making processes potential buyers go through leading up to a commitment to a purchase from an online store such as ours.  Understand that and we're on to a winner, but only if we act upon that understanding and make necessary changes to that website.

I am totally convinced that the Board of Advisors will have covered this ground with Ken, but am equally convinced that it is our duty to continue this role until the day that Ken concedes we are right on this one.  He listened before to the community and his decision to do that is what made the IPO a success.  I am confident he is still listening and that we should not let up until he finally gets it. 

[SoylentCreek]

The site really needs to change it to where it shows the price in USD as well as the "live" Bitcoin price directly underneath it.  I cannot imagine that this would be very difficult to do.  The way it is now, it looks as if we do not accept it, which considering that we are a company that is structured around Bitcoin's existence, doesn't ring a few positive bells from my perspective.  I imagine that if I was your typical Joe-Schmo miner looking to upgrade from GPU mining, I would be much more willing to do business with a company that promoted the fact that they accept Bitcoin, rather than one who does not.

[VolanicEruptor]

If any company had a highly profitable Bitcoin miner on hand, they would never sell it to you.  Your best bet is a preorder because your funds are going directly to the actual manufacturing of the hardware, which belongs to you as soon as its put together.  There is a much larger markup when a company has to invest their own money for inventory.  In this case however, you have directly fueled your own production for the maximum profit potential.

This is a quote from the thread.. if anyone wants to hire me for marketing, give me a shout.  

[zumzero]

lol bros!

I take your point guys but I don't believe in ignoring people any more and I was taught to stand up to bullies.

Anyway, I'll go away as I'm hijacking this thread at the moment.  Apologies.