Thanks for your excellent post,
@Access2020. I'm looking forward to further conversation and analysis on this.
Not sure about a "product deep dive", but I think there are a few dot points to consider as we think about where the future could take us.
- Firstly, let's acknowledge that in a relatively short space of time the company has developed the Spacetalk Kid's watch out of a need identified in their previously "bread and butter" business of school tracking. They achieved that with a minimal dilution and are now debt free.
- They have achieved an impressive list of retailers in Australia, NZ and the UK, including JB HiFi, Curry's, Noel Leeming (big NZ retailer) among the retailers, as well as telcos Spark (Telecom NZ), Sky and Vodafone.
- The business model includes a recurring revenue of app fees - an income stream that is often overlooked (by some) in valuation, but grows in significance with each sale.
- There has been some conversation around marketing of late, particularly on review sites. My view is that in Aust and NZ, Spacetalk has a reasonably high online presence. I think I would find it and seek out product specific reviews if taking a look at this space without previous knowledge. Perhaps some work needs to be done in the UK in terms of search visibility (when not searching for Spacetalk)
- Future runway in terms of product development - a new 4g watch that is waterproof has been announced. Waterproofing has been identified as a particular issue among our client base. Good to see it being addressed. 4g opens up new market possibilities more easily imo. The other issue that is identified as a problem has been battery life. I am wondering how easy it is to address this given the demands on the battery for the intended function of the watch, but no doubt improved tech will be incorporated into future versions of the watch.
- Future runway in terms of new markets. So far we have been in the English speaking world. Is a US, Canada or South Africa launch the next step? The company also has EU privacy and data storage compliance issues sorted. To make a move into a EU country would seem to me to be a sensible market expansion, too. Don't know how hard it would be to deal with the language issue in terms of both firmware and marketing.
Then there is the new Spacetalk Life. In my view this is a big development. - The main market space here as I see it is those seniors who are concerned about their personal safety, but do not qualify for government assisted packages to address their needs.
- For the company to apply for and qualify for government funding for those seniors who qualify for assistance would be huuuuuuge!
- Many seniors (like the rest of us) have given up their landlines and switched to mobile communications. Some older "safety" systems required a landline to work in the home, but this is less and less an issue.
- We are competitively priced, and offer a greater range of functionality compared to those devices sold as alarms - eg https://nationalhealth.com.au/medical-alarms/?gclid=CjwKCAjwx9_4BRAHEiwApAt0ziIve_N2o52QAFQP23a4taWmKQ-8RXnFyk5EqnhgQx8TzQHeKaQrERoCLw4QAvD_BwE
- Many seniors (including my Mum) would rather wear a watch than a pendant that identifies them as an "oldie"
- Has all the must have features and more - I particularly like the "call back" feature.
However, I have some concerns around the distribution of Spacetalk Life. Certainly their website dedicated to it looks great. I stand to be corrected but the company has not released a plan or announced retail/telco partners for this device. I would like to see that happening reasonably quickly. That being said, it seems a sensible plan to roll it out in a measured and strategic way. This could be a company changer, and as such, execution is important.
Future product development has been alluded to by the company and discussed here. Pet trackers imo could be in our view provided the margins work and perhaps as a plug in to the AlMyTribe app??? Devices designed for workers who work alone are a possibility, but we are getting more and more "niche". I can't see another large market opportunity outside the pet space but would be pleased to be educated!
Not sure if this helps - not much new here - but offered FWIW
