Some time after I joined this forum, I joined LFGSS. I'm not a London fixed gear cyclist but it was obviously a very well supported and lively forum. Then I made a terrible mistake: I dared to cross reference a 'bike for sale' advertisement to the advertisement for the same bike on this site. I did so because the photograph upload facility on LFGSS wasn't working properly. The result was a death sentence without possibility of reprieve - I was banned from the site for life. I've written very politely to David Kitchen (Velocio), the guy who runs LFGSS, not once but three times, and have never had the courtesy of a reply. It's hardly the spirit in which fellow cyclists normally communicate with each other.
This is particularly strange because he is now setting out to raise a 3rd round of funding for his Microcosm IT business. You can find plenty of information about this on the LFGSS site. He has already raised funds through crowd-sourcing at Seedrs.com. I've read his proposal, and even considered investing but I won't be doing so for two reasons. If the way he treated me is indicative of his customer service policy, his business is going to fail. Customers have a way of making their grievances known. Secondly, at no point in his sales pitch to investors does he make a compelling case for how his forum IT platform will offer benefits over those that already exist, are well proven, and well financed. In other words, I see no reason for it to succeed. And certainly no justification for the £2 million valuation that David Kitchen put on the business for his most recent funding round. I have a feeling that the 'Dragons' would roll around the floor laughing at that number. Of course, by initially appealing to cyclists to fund his efforts (which will probably include his salary, unless he has an independent source of income), he exploits the fact that we all feel more warmly towards those with whom we share a common interest. It creates an instant bond of trust, even though there is no logical reason why it should do so. My advice to amateur investors would be to proceed with great caution. Funding businesses through Kickstarter and Seedrs is a very risky business, as this independent article clearly explains: http://www.kernelmag.com/yiannopoulos/2 ... from-you/#. I am all for innovation, particularly in cycling, and I'm very much in favour of supporting fellow cyclists to get cycling-related businesses off the ground. I've run my own successful businesses, or been a major shareholder in the businesses, for over 30 years, so I do have a grasp of the basics here. But if would-be cycling entrepreneurs like David Kitchen want our money, showing fellow cyclists the most basic courtesy should perhaps be a pre-requisite.
Has anyone else received the same kind of treatment from LFGSS?
This is particularly strange because he is now setting out to raise a 3rd round of funding for his Microcosm IT business. You can find plenty of information about this on the LFGSS site. He has already raised funds through crowd-sourcing at Seedrs.com. I've read his proposal, and even considered investing but I won't be doing so for two reasons. If the way he treated me is indicative of his customer service policy, his business is going to fail. Customers have a way of making their grievances known. Secondly, at no point in his sales pitch to investors does he make a compelling case for how his forum IT platform will offer benefits over those that already exist, are well proven, and well financed. In other words, I see no reason for it to succeed. And certainly no justification for the £2 million valuation that David Kitchen put on the business for his most recent funding round. I have a feeling that the 'Dragons' would roll around the floor laughing at that number. Of course, by initially appealing to cyclists to fund his efforts (which will probably include his salary, unless he has an independent source of income), he exploits the fact that we all feel more warmly towards those with whom we share a common interest. It creates an instant bond of trust, even though there is no logical reason why it should do so. My advice to amateur investors would be to proceed with great caution. Funding businesses through Kickstarter and Seedrs is a very risky business, as this independent article clearly explains: http://www.kernelmag.com/yiannopoulos/2 ... from-you/#. I am all for innovation, particularly in cycling, and I'm very much in favour of supporting fellow cyclists to get cycling-related businesses off the ground. I've run my own successful businesses, or been a major shareholder in the businesses, for over 30 years, so I do have a grasp of the basics here. But if would-be cycling entrepreneurs like David Kitchen want our money, showing fellow cyclists the most basic courtesy should perhaps be a pre-requisite.
Has anyone else received the same kind of treatment from LFGSS?