Ooooph, that’s really harsh. Did these guys really get $750k from the fund and then just drop nem and crypto altogether?
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So how is this helping NEM again?
There isn’t any mention on the website of using NEM technology or blockchain.
Did we get fucked on this one? @jason.lee @Inside_NEM
Their app also only has like a 100 installs. So no one is using it.
Guys, i think you need to give them a break. NEM Is mentioned on their website if you scroll down and see the list of partners.
They are still yet to roll out nationwide, there is alot of work done to get to this point.
Kia ora koutou, hello to many, @TulipMaina, @corporal_clegg, @r3n3, @TakaNobu, @GodTanu, @Takeuchi,
Choice has been head down tail up launching our beta pilot in Wellington the past two weeks, we warmly welcome the questions you have,
I am pleased to share with you all our recent national news coverage from our pilot the last 2 weeks;
The Robin Hood payment system providing a PayWave alternative - The Spinoff
Online rival to PayWave proving popular in Wellington - One News (National TV News)
Open banking aims to create competition in payments space - Radio New Zealand
Blockchain,
Choice has successfully tested and proofed our fiat - crypto - fiat on/off ramp on the NEM blockchain utilising the Catapult Test Net. This was completed in mid 2018 under Milestone 3. For Choice to successfully use the NEM blockchain in market we require the capability of Catapult for speed and efficiency. As you are aware the release of Catapult has been delayed for over 1 year now and this has forced Choice to make some critical technical decisions during our journey. A result of this is launching our Beta pilot in market without using our blockchain backend. As a startup it is critical to be in market and testing our processes, systems and infrastructure whilst keeping our eyes on the horizon. We wholeheartedly back the NEM Foundation and the team to deliver on Catapult before the years end.
As you are experts in releasing products to market and have experience in the startup space I am sure you understand the value and the requirement to keep moving in market irrespective of the best case scenario to prove hypothesis and garner user adoption.
Pilot results
767 total user downloads (split between iOS and Android)
$8075.93 total transactional throughput
661 transactions
$33.05 of impact to Wellington’s Compassion Soup Kitchen
Our main objective for this pilot was to launch a payments revolution to Aotearoa (MVP) where everybody wants an invite. Following this launch with 12 of Wellington’s coolest small cafes and bars we have been approached by several large retailers and organisations furthering their interest in the Choice value proposition.
Our greatest key result here was to understand if the users who downloaded Choice once would use it again. We aimed to achieve a result of 50% of users that used Choice once would use it 2+ times. I can proudly share with you that our user retention rate during this pilot was 53%. This is no mean feat in startup land and has given the team a fantastic data set to assess wether we have product market fit.
NEM Community Fund & Investment
As you are aware Choice has received 4/6 milestones to date. These have all been approved by the NEM Community Fund Council. This process involves sharing sensitive documentation such as high level Memorandum of Understandings (MoU’s), contracts and technical architecture documentation. In a perfect world it would be great to share all of this information with the NEM community in an open space but as you know this is not quiet a reality. To unlock a milestone any organisation must pre-achieve a milestone before unlocking the relevant funding - this is the premise for milestones. Choice has received approximately $660,000 NZD of funding from the NCF to date. This has only been reimbursed once this money has been spent (at our cost) for achieving milestones.
As you are aware the NCF was wound down earlier this year for various reasons. This decision significantly impacted our roadmap, runway and the progress we were making. As a startup this took a significant toll on our team around financial security and the responsibility we held as founders. Following our final milestone redemption (Milestone 4 Q1 2019) myself and the other founders have been forced to seek additional funding to support this venture. To bolster our efforts we have been advised to raise further capital. I can proudly share with you that Choice has successfully raised a $200k SAFE in the last month and is about to close a further $300k SAFE before the end of this month (expected). This validates the Choice value proposition, our team and the technology we are committed to building. As I would imagine many of you are yourselves founders or entrepreneurs and would understand that this is no mean feat.
Our website currently hosts the NEM logo on the main page in our partners section. Our number one priority is to use our landing page to communicate what Choice is to the average consumer to achieve mass market adoption. Our landing pages and user experience is thoroughly user tested by our product team whom prioritise the most critical information. The priority here is to clearly, concisely and quickly communicate to consumers what Choice is, where to use it and how to use it. As you are aware it is difficult enough to convince a consumer to utilise a new product and change their payment behaviour. We do not intend to disrespect any support from NEM to date, we simply put our customers as the second highest priority with our team at number one and our relationships and external stakeholders at number three.
We view the utilisation of the NEM infrastructure like the magic that enables you to send an email from one gmail account to another. The similarity here is that a user never asks how an email is sent - just like a payment.
Feel free to check out our viral video for this most recent launch.
It’s easy to make a difference with Choice
The Choice team is a passionate team of individuals aiming to make a hugely significant impact in the world and we owe our current success to the support the NEM community has contributed to date. We are on a journey just as the NEM blockchain itself is. Please understand that overnight successes don’t just happen and 9/10 startups fail. At the start of the year with the foreclosure of the NCF any dispassionate or mis-aligned group of entrepreneurs without their hearts in the game would simply up and leave. Of which we have done the opposite, gone to market and raised further investment. We are engrained with our kaupapa (purpose) and will continue to sail our waka (ship) across the global seas for as long as we see our mahi (work) continue to inspire and make a difference in this world,
Kia māia, (be bold and adventurous)
Alex and the team at Choice
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Thanks for the update!
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Saying partner isn’t the same as saying “powered by”, “built using” NEM!
If it becomes as success which we the nembers hope it does, I think NEM should be cited a bit more as the plumbing behind the technology.
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Thanks for the update. SO waiting for catapult. NIP8
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Thanks for the update @alexmccall and team. We can see the progress and will continue to follow the updates, congratulations on the further fundraising as well.
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Good stuff. Makes sense. Congrats on the raises! Hope they bring you good partnerships as well as the money!
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Kia ora @TulipMaina - more than happy to mentioned “powered by” and/or “using NEM” when we are in-market utilising this infrastructure 
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Thank you @corporal_clegg - strategic investment is definitely front of mind and a large part of our intent
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