Seeking for strategic advice

[Ansis]

I am working on a project where the project team has stuck with a
strategic difficulty. I would be grateful if somebody could

help with advice.

First, let me tell about the project nature. For confidentiality
resasons I cannot tell the exact project concept, therefore

will use a parable (similar description). Let's assume we are
organizing a concert with the following conditions:

1) ticket costs 4 eur
2) concert will take place only if and only after 2 million tickets are
sold, because organizing expenses are so high that we

cannot organize the concert until 2M tickets are sold
3) tickets are sold in web with credit card payments.

At such conditions, no bank will be willing to provide credit cards
internet merchant account because it looks like a fraud,

fraud scheme, though it is not.

Therefore we had came to one solution - we add the following
conditions:
4) if 2 million tickets are not sold within 3 years, money left at this
moment, is donated to charity, huge international

charity organizations
5) money left - approximately 50% of turnover (because we will have
natural business expenses - marketing and administrative

expenses). this means, if 2 million tickets are not sold within 3
years, approximately 50% of turnover will be donated to

charity.

Again, at this point we cannot get merchant account, because nobody can
be sure we will fulfill our promise.

Again, we had solution for this - we could set up a kind of trust
account where only bank is given the rights to make

payments. namely, each month we transfer 50% of previous month's
turnover to this trust account, where it stays either for

three years, either till 2 million tickets are sold. if 2m tickets are
not sold within 3 years, the bank has to transfer all

money from trust account to pre-agreed charity organizations.

Still, a bank has no certainty we are not scammers and not doing fraud
- because they do not know what we are doing with the

rest 50% of turnover, if they are really needed for the business
expenses, or they are simply "stolen".

One solution for this would be adding an "auditor" to this model -
company or organization that is checking our expenses

regulary and taking responsibility they are provable etc. at this
stage, whole model could work, but it is becomming too

complicated to be understood by common audience, and too complicated
for the project marketing - at this point there is no

real option for fraud, but on the contrary, for customers, it starts
to look like fraud because too many conditions and sides

are included.

Is there any other option, solution you could suggest? we cannot afford
to invest 2Mx4=8M eur ourselves. we cannot keep 100%

turnover in trust account, because then it is impossible to advertise
the project and to cover administrative expenses.

I hope someone has the answer...

Ansis

[Wayne Sallee]

Maybe you could offer a package deal. Find a product that
will go well with the ticket sales, and work a deal with
the supplyer or manufacture of that product so that you
can sell that product at a low price, with the stipulation
that not only will the customer get a good deal on this
product, but if things go well they will also in so many
years get a free ticket.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets

Post by Ansis
I am working on a project where the project team has stuck with a
strategic difficulty. I would be grateful if somebody could
help with advice.
First, let me tell about the project nature. For confidentiality
resasons I cannot tell the exact project concept, therefore
will use a parable (similar description). Let's assume we are
1) ticket costs 4 eur
2) concert will take place only if and only after 2 million tickets are
sold, because organizing expenses are so high that we
cannot organize the concert until 2M tickets are sold
3) tickets are sold in web with credit card payments.
At such conditions, no bank will be willing to provide credit cards
internet merchant account because it looks like a fraud,
fraud scheme, though it is not.
Therefore we had came to one solution - we add the following
4) if 2 million tickets are not sold within 3 years, money left at this
moment, is donated to charity, huge international
charity organizations
5) money left - approximately 50% of turnover (because we will have
natural business expenses - marketing and administrative
expenses). this means, if 2 million tickets are not sold within 3
years, approximately 50% of turnover will be donated to
charity.
Again, at this point we cannot get merchant account, because nobody can
be sure we will fulfill our promise.
Again, we had solution for this - we could set up a kind of trust
account where only bank is given the rights to make
payments. namely, each month we transfer 50% of previous month's
turnover to this trust account, where it stays either for
three years, either till 2 million tickets are sold. if 2m tickets are
not sold within 3 years, the bank has to transfer all
money from trust account to pre-agreed charity organizations.
Still, a bank has no certainty we are not scammers and not doing fraud
- because they do not know what we are doing with the
rest 50% of turnover, if they are really needed for the business
expenses, or they are simply "stolen".
One solution for this would be adding an "auditor" to this model -
company or organization that is checking our expenses
regulary and taking responsibility they are provable etc. at this
stage, whole model could work, but it is becomming too
complicated to be understood by common audience, and too complicated
for the project marketing - at this point there is no
real option for fraud, but on the contrary, for customers, it starts
to look like fraud because too many conditions and sides
are included.
Is there any other option, solution you could suggest? we cannot afford
to invest 2Mx4=8M eur ourselves. we cannot keep 100%
turnover in trust account, because then it is impossible to advertise
the project and to cover administrative expenses.
I hope someone has the answer...
Ansis