Stolen Goat buy Wildcat

[Lazarus]

I think the days of people in sheds doing stuff is pretty much over - see also LED lights
Still some space for niche bespoke bike /bag makers [ at a price] or ones with loyal fan bases [ Cotic/Jones etc]

[jameso]

I think the days of people in sheds doing stuff is pretty much over - see also LED lights

Don't agree tbh, but I may be missing something. Aside from recent market disruption and interest rates if you need a loan (and admittedly that's all fairly big stuff) I don't see anything having changed there in the last 10-15 years. Brands who start small, know what they're doing + why and can communicate well should do ok Vs the mainstream. And I suppose you should never bank too much on stable market or economic times.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I tend to think there's room for both - although, I believe 'barns' rather than sheds is where it's at these days The hardest thing is perhaps trying to transition from cottage / shed / barn manufacturer to something grander ... can be very easy to lose your way between the two.

[stevenshand]

I think the days of people in sheds doing stuff is pretty much over - see also LED lights
Still some space for niche bespoke bike /bag makers [ at a price] or ones with loyal fan bases [ Cotic/Jones etc]

I hope not!

[belugabob]

I've just had an email from Wildcat, offering me the opportunity to invest in them (well Herd Group Holdings, the new parent company) via crowdfunding.

I'm oot but, if anybody else is interested, then here is the link...

https://www.seedrs.com/the-herd-group/c ... 8f7c36f8ce

...the usual investment caveats apply - as shown at the top of that page

[JohnClimber]

Saw that, but the headline of
"Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest"
On the very top line of the email was enough to scare off a Yorkshireman like me

[Bearbonesnorm]

Have I not delved deep enough but I can't really see much mention of returns or benefits. Apologies if it is there and I've not seen it.

[johnnystorm]

Crowdfunding is second only to NFTs in things I'm thrilled to see in cycling.

[stevenshand]

Have I not delved deep enough but I can't really see much mention of returns or benefits. Apologies if it is there and I've not seen it.

This isn't really a crowd-fund campaign like Kickstarter or some of the others out there. Seedrs is an investment platform that allows easy purchase of shares/equity in a business. What you're buying is a percentage ownership of the business. The returns are as you would see when investing in any other business, either through dividends* or more likely through an exit if the company is sold at a later date.

Companies would traditionally raise finance for expansion via more traditional routes like VC funding, Angel investment etc. Platforms like Seedrs allow businesses to take advantage of a potentially larger group of interested individuals investing smaller amounts. Seedrs takes on the admin of this and they act as an individual or single point of contact for the group of investors to keep the management of a large cap table to a minimum.

It's not like some of the kickstarters/crowdcube campaigns that are popular for raising money to get a product to market. As an individual, you could have early access to those products at a (usually) cheaper price.

*I don't know for sure but I doubt this particular share ownership programme offers a class of shares that pay dividends. I might be wrong but that level of detail will be available when the campaign goes live.

** I should also say I'm not part of this campaign at all. It's the new Wildcat owners.

[Bearbonesnorm]

With you Steven - so, true 'shares' then as you say.

[Ian]

The hardest thing is perhaps trying to transition from cottage / shed / barn manufacturer to something grander.

This. What might appear straightforward from the outside is very different on the inside.

But looking back, I’m pretty pleased the products we designed have stood the test of time. We had fun in the process, rode bikes in some amazing places, met some great people and made new friends along the way.

[belugabob]

The hardest thing is perhaps trying to transition from cottage / shed / barn manufacturer to something grander.

This. What might appear straightforward from the outside is very different on the inside.

But looking back, I’m pretty pleased the products we designed have stood the test of time. We had fun in the process, rode bikes in some amazing places, met some great people and made new friends along the way.

And we thank you for that, Ian

[redefined_cycles]

This isn't really a crowd-fund campaign like Kickstarter or some of the others out there. Seedrs is an investment platform that allows easy purchase of shares/equity in a business. What you're buying is a percentage ownership of the business. The returns are as you would see when investing in any other business, either through dividends* or more likely through an exit if the company is sold at a later date.

Companies would traditionally raise finance for expansion via more traditional routes like VC funding, Angel investment etc. Platforms like Seedrs allow businesses to take advantage of a potentially larger group of interested individuals investing smaller amounts. Seedrs takes on the admin of this and they act as an individual or single point of contact for the group of investors to keep the management of a large cap table to a minimum.

It's not like some of the kickstarters/crowdcube campaigns that are popular for raising money to get a product to market. As an individual, you could have early access to those products at a (usually) cheaper price.

*I don't know for sure but I doubt this particular share ownership programme offers a class of shares that pay dividends. I might be wrong but that level of detail will be available when the campaign goes live.

** I should also say I'm not part of this campaign at all. It's the new Wildcat owners.

Thanks v much for this clarification Steven... I was left wondering what type of investment it was/is aswell after getting the email through.

[jameso]

But looking back, I’m pretty pleased the products we designed have stood the test of time. We had fun in the process, rode bikes in some amazing places, met some great people and made new friends along the way.

Got a lot of respect for what you did there Ian - the products were innovative above the rest, great quality and UK made, and you knew what you wanted to do and stuck to the track. I hope the new owners keep in touch and listen to your ideas.

[Dave Barter]

But looking back, I’m pretty pleased the products we designed have stood the test of time. We had fun in the process, rode bikes in some amazing places, met some great people and made new friends along the way.

Got a lot of respect for what you did there Ian - the products were innovative above the rest, great quality and UK made, and you knew what you wanted to do and stuck to the track. I hope the new owners keep in touch and listen to your ideas.

Agreed, my journey began on a bike fully Wildcatted up

[psling]

Agreed, my journey began on a bike fully Wildcatted up

Same here, Wildcat were my first bikepacking specific bags

I also found great inspiration from Ian's Middle Ring all the Way blog and films

[pistonbroke]

Strangely for me, I was an early adopter of Wildcat gear, I think I am the proud owner of one of the first batch of custom full frame bags made by Beth. This was the best part of 15 years ago and it's first proper outing was WRT#2 where she was curious to know how it was performing. The bag is still going strong, albeit now sporting a replacement zip as the old one finally gave up 3 months ago. It has been fitted to 4 frames, the original On One Scandal, and 3 VanNicholas Ti. It's crossed the Pyrenees, done Spain's coast to coast 5 times , survived the Badlands, Burrally and the mountains of Cataluna, been stuffed with omlette baguettes, cooking kit and porridge. In fact the frame bag size has determined the frame size on all these bikes. Currently prepping all the moving parts of my XC bikepacking bike in readiness for my 1200km Spanish Divide trip in April and a 650km event from Burgos to Valencia in May. Money well spent and certainly more durable than other brands who seem to spend more on giving influencers stuff than making kit that lasts.

[Bearlegged]

Things I don't need: more bags

Things I do need:

omlette baguettes

[jameso]

Agreed, my journey began on a bike fully Wildcatted up

Same here really, started with a generic roll-bag type seatpack then got a Wildcat as a better option. My Wildcat seatpack is now 12 years old... been along the Great Divide, N-S of Israel, loads of miles in Europe, 5 x TNRs... probably my most consistently and well-used bit of kit. The custom framebag on my all-roader has lived on the bike for almost 7 years now too.