I don't think you really understand the product if you think that AO1 needs to partner with any of these companies in order to really achieve success... I worked in the marketing department of Victoria's largest real estate office and have spent a lot of time looking at the product and can definitely say that people are really confused about what the actual offering is, and how competitive it is with other solutions out there.Everyone seems to be so excited about the "360 virtual tour" offering that is offered by AO1, however this technology has been around for YEARS and almost every single photographer for a real estate agency is offering this as a free inclusion these days. Numerous companies have already partnered with the big real estate portals in order to provide this service, most notably (and best presented) would be Matterport. This offering from AO1 isn't anything new, and if anything, is just cumbersome as it means that the real estate agent has to go out and purchase a 360 camera in order to create these virtual tours themselves. Real estate agents don't have time for that stuff, so that task gets palmed off to the photographer who currently already has the equipment and systems in place to produce these. I really don't think that in any way this product is going to be what propels AO1 forward and people REALLY need to stop giving this offering so much weight. It is old technology and already used extensively in the marketplace.
Where AO1 has a more unique offering, is with the remote routine inspections tool. I'm yet to see anything similar and AO1 have partnered with the biggest property management systems (PropertyMe, PropertyTree, etc..) in order to provide integration which is definitely a step in the right direction. Management in my opinion, seem to have sat on their hands however throughout the entirety of last year and have seemingly missed out on a big opportunity in terms of client onboarding. This year they seem to be putting more effort in, and partnering with the REIV was another step in the right direction and should definitely get things moving, but the move has come so late that it almost seems as if a CR is inevitable.
While I do believe in the company, and have previously held and participated in the last CR, an entire year has passed since then and last quarter, only $15k was receipted from customers. If it wasn't for a $447k grant last quarter, AO1 would have lost $439k for the quarter which is a huge amount of expenditure for a company that only has $650k in the bank as of December. I definitely would like to make an entry back into this stock, however the fact that at the end of Dec 2020 they only had 1.48 quarters of funding left, I can't help but be concerned that the recent price movement over the past few days is an indicator of the inevitable CR, less than a year from the last one.
I could be wrong about an impending CR, and as a result I'll probably have to enter at a significantly higher price, but something just doesn't seem right. If there was plenty of money in the bank, without a doubt I would buy in as I think they are really onto something, but given that there hasn't been any news, something just feels off.
Full disclosure, I do want to get back into AO1 in the future and this definitely isn't a downramp as I believe the company has a very unique offering with huge potential, they are just in a very awkward position financially, and this sort of offering usually comes with a free trial for clients, which could mean it's another few quarters before any of the new partnerships begin to have a financial impact on the company. Good luck to everyone holding, and for your sake I hope I'm wrong about the pump. Hopefully it doesn't cost me too much to enter in the future
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