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April 1, 1998 / Second Quarter 1998 / Issue 11 (originally published by Booz & Company)
Competing Through Innovation: The Case of Broderbund
As product life-cycles become shorter, the ability to innovate becomes a more important factor. But how do you innovate consistently? And how do you manage creative people whose jobs require them to "think differently"? Broderbund shows the way.
by Glenn Rifkin
In the world of high technology, where legions of 25-year-old programmers have seven-figure net worths and the operational definition of eternity is 18 months (the length of an average product cycle), the management of creative people is a skill akin to herding cats. Nonetheless, most high-technology companies, which eschew traditional management and organization structures, have based their long-term survival on finding ways to operate without stifling creativity and innovation, often the heart and soul of their corporate cultures.
In the consumer software market, for example, an industry barely 20 years old, the log of best practices in managing creativity is hardly a hefty volume. Software is an industry of fits and starts, of intense product cycles, where the phrase "business as usual" is out of place because the fundamental business can change almost every year. Much of what drove the early successes -- a deep belief in a radical or innovative idea and a willingness to do whatever it took to get a product out into the market -- eventually gave way to harsher business realities.
With success and growth came real management challenges, chiefly how to recruit, retain and motivate a band of brilliant and iconoclastic product developers with self-worths highly inflated by the new technology-driven economic model.
At a company like Broderbund Software Inc., the highly successful pioneer of the PC-based education/entertainment software market, the formulas for success, like the industry itself, have shifted dramatically, forcing the company in the last year to restructure and reevaluate its long-term strategy. The market -- flooded with competition, bloated by too many products and moving swiftly from the shrink-wrapped, off-the-retail-shelf model to the Internet -- has undergone a metamorphosis and confronts a new, uncharted landscape. As distribution channels shift, creativity and innovation are, more than ever, the fuel for future growth. One thing remains clear: past glory is a poor barometer for future success in a highly fickle, highly dynamic business.
Broderbund knows that truism as well as any company, having seen its fortunes soar in the early years of the 1990's and then sag under competitive and creative pressures. Much like the film industry, Broderbund's market is a "hits" business, with a few blockbuster titles producing a high percentage of the earnings. Tomorrow's best sellers can emerge from a raft of new, unknown shops while former winners may drift into irrelevance. Like "Monopoly" or "Clue," some software titles become evergreens and sell well for years. But most are gone and forgotten in a year or two. Products are as affected by the "buzz" on the World Wide Web as by massive marketing campaigns. In the customer base of young "gamers," the shelf life of a product is often measured in days or weeks and even the biggest sellers are just vague memories a few years past their halcyon days.
But Broderbund (Danish for "brotherhood" and pronounced BROO-der-bund), founded in 1980 by brothers Douglas and Gary Carlston and based in Novato, Calif., has amassed a wealth of knowledge and management skill and fostered a creative culture unparalleled in the software business. If there are lessons to be learned in managing creativity in a software company -- or any other business where creativity is key -- Broderbund is a seasoned teacher. Indeed, how Broderbund has managed to roll with the punches, and how it has been forced to reshape the special culture that is its lifeblood, is a story that will resonate with managers of many other companies in flux.
In a market where a single hit product is a rare achievement, Broderbund has produced a long string of winners -- from its hugely popular "Print Shop" series and innovative children's offerings like "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?" "Kid Pix" and "The Living Books" series to "Myst," the most popular software game ever (with nearly four million copies sold since it was introduced in 1993, generating close to $200 million in revenues). Last year, after a long delay, the company brought out "Riven: The Sequel to Myst," selling more than a million copies between late October and January 1998, and pent-up demand quickly vaulted the new game to the top of the best-seller list.
For much of its history, Broderbund operated more like a Hollywood studio or book publisher than a technology company. Though it is located in the hills of Marin County, north of San Francisco, and a good two-hour drive from the more notable Silicon Valley, Broderbund attracted an army of young, talented animators, musicians, writers, designers, engineers and programmers who heard through the grapevine that the company was a haven for creative types. People had "room to roam," said Harry Wilker, an 11-year Broderbund veteran and senior vice president for product development.
With profit margins of 80 percent providing virtually unlimited resources, the creative teams building Broderbund's products had freedom to push the limits of the available technology. Unlike its Silicon Valley counterparts, Broderbund was not driven by stock options (though they were an important enticement). Creativity, in fact, was the company's currency and its lure. Recruitment and retention of the best and the brightest was made easy by a combination of reputation, performance and location. Marin, with its proximity to San Francisco, the Napa Valley and the nearby coastline, proved seductive to those who found Hollywood and Silicon Valley distasteful.
Operating as both a production house and a publisher, Broderbund was never hung up on the "Not Invented Here" syndrome. In fact, Broderbund's early business model, according to Doug Carlston, was to acquire software from independent "authors," and handle the final programming, if needed, as well as marketing and distribution. As technology and the resulting products grew more complex, the number of people required to complete the technical and support tasks grew significantly and Broderbund built facilities to do what outside contractors couldn't do on their own.
At the same time, Broderbund executives also recognized that the costs and resources required to create everything in-house were prohibitive and the company could better leverage its reputation in the marketplace by distributing titles like "Myst" or "Prince of Persia" that were produced elsewhere. Hybrid solutions -- employees working with outside contractors -- became commonplace. In some cases, when Broderbund sought out the best talent and they couldn't be persuaded to come in-house, relationships were formed and long-term deals were cut.
For much of the 1990's, Broderbund set the pace in consumer software, a market that grew to $2.63 billion in 1997. As profit margins and revenues soared, the company became a Wall Street darling, going public in 1991 at $11 a share and growing steadily to a peak of $76 a share in September 1995. "Myst," a compelling and graphically rich fantasy created by Cyan Inc., a tiny game maker in Spokane, Wash., fueled much of the growth, sitting on top of the best-seller list for two years.
But in 1996, growth slowed sharply in the consumer software market while a flood of products jockeyed for shelf space. Forced to cut prices to stay competitive and hurt by the delay of the "Myst" sequel, Broderbund watched as its margins shriveled. It felt the full force of the slowdown in 1997. Though revenues increased marginally last year -- to $190 million, from $186 million in 1996 -- net income dropped to just under $10 million, from $36 million. Wall Street punished the stock, which dropped as low as $17.75 a share in 1997, and Broderbund was forced to restructure.
The shakeup was orchestrated by Joseph P. Durrett, a veteran of the consumer packaged goods industry, who was named chief executive by the board in late 1996. In 1997, Mr. Durrett proceeded to reorganize the company into business units by product segment, rather than by business function, in an attempt to focus more on the customer. The company's entertainment division, which produced a string of exciting computer games and distributed "Myst" and "Riven," was renamed Red Orb Entertainment in order to create a strong brand in its particular niche and to differentiate Broderbund's games from its education and productivity products.
The most profound change for veteran Broderbunders was the belt-tightening and cost controls, in effect a dose of old-fashioned, traditional management by the bottom line. The days of flexible budgets and free spending were quickly replaced by a cost consciousness that put every creative decision under scrutiny. The Creative Center is now shuttered and sabbaticals are no longer discussed. In this environment, employees feel pressure to meet deadlines and to contain costs in ways that had always been foreign in Novato.
As the high-technology sector matures, more of its companies will face a similar transition and similar problems. For veteran Broderbund managers like Mr. Wilker, the shift to the new hard-edged environment has made it absolutely necessary to find ways to retain the vital link to the creativity that made the company what it was in the first place.
THE MOTIVATION LINK
Teresa Amabile, a professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School, has spent the last 20 years studying the management of creativity in organizations. The most essential element -- and the one most often ignored -- is motivation, she said.
"People will be most creative when they are motivated -- primarily by interest, enjoyment, personal challenge, involvement in the work itself, and not by external inducements," Professor Amabile said.
Particularly in high-tech companies, this "intrinsic motivation principle" is crucial to successfully managing creativity, she stated. Thus, while stock options and outlandish compensation packages grab the headlines around Silicon Valley, the true motivator for creative people is to offer them the toughest challenge.
In her research, Professor Amabile compiled a list of six stimulants and supports to creativity. They are:
1) Freedom or autonomy -- feeling a sense of control over your own ideas.
2) Challenge -- working on important, complex problems that others can't solve. This has a huge effect, particularly in high-tech companies where people feel they are doing what everyone says is impossible.
3) Sufficient resources -- having enough backing to do a job well.
4) Work group supports -- receiving support from a creative team trying to solve a problem. This encompasses a mutual sense of trust, a free flow of ideas and information and a shared sense of commitment to the project. While there may be moments of heated debate, there is always an openness to other opinions.
5) Supervisory encouragement -- having an immediate supervisor who sets clear, strategic goals for the team but at the same time allows operational autonomy. Such a supervisor communicates effectively and also protects the group from corporate interference.
6) Organizational encouragement -- having upper-level management who foster creativity with an effective system of rewards and recognition, along with a free flow of ideas and information.
Professor Amabile uses the "creativity" maze as an analogy. If an employee thinks of a task as a maze to get through, there is often one clear path to the solution. But with most tasks, especially in high-tech settings, there are many ways to solve a problem, and these are often much more interesting, exciting and elegant than the one obvious way.
"If you are extrinsically motivated, if you are the rat with the cheese outside, the best thing to do is get out of the maze," Professor Amabile said. "But if you are intrinsically motivated, the process is exciting and challenging to you. You enjoy the maze, and deviating, finding other solutions."
Most people who go into high-technology careers do enjoy the maze, she said, and they need a work environment that fosters that enjoyment. "They can't be loaded down with creativity killers," such as too much employee evaluation and surveillance or severely constrained resources, she said.
For that reason, a company like Broderbund, which suddenly found itself going from abundant to constrained resources, has faced a stern test of its ability to manage creativity, not only in recruiting and retaining talented employees but in maintaining the appropriate culture.
Mr. Wilker, the senior vice president for product development, has always enjoyed the maze. As the company's creativity chief, he has been responsible for the definition, design and publication of its software. In that capacity, he helped define the culture for Broderbund's creative teams -- the writers, designers, animators, musicians and engineers who produced its string of hits. An exuberant 52-year-old entrepreneur and ex-New Yorker, Mr. Wilker loved that culture, notably the freedom to push the envelope of both the technology and the game concepts that flowed in and around the Broderbund "studio."
Today, Mr. Wilker acknowledges that the world has changed and he is frustrated. "Now every creative device has an economic question," he said. "Can you sell this? Can it be merchandised?" At the same time, many new titles are sequels or extensions of existing products, thus cutting off some of the challenge and incentive that software developers get from pursuing hot new games.
Mr. Wilker and other Broderbund managers are most frustrated by the squeezed prices and crowded display shelves that now define the company's business environment. But it was Broderbund's very success -- its stratospheric margins and skyrocketing stock price -- that helped transform that environment by attracting so many new competitors. Many of the new arrivals focused far less on quality than Broderbund has and flooded the market with inferior products. A parent who goes to the mall, spends $49.95 for a computer game and watches in horror when her bored 5-year-old shuts off the computer after 20 minutes is unlikely to buy more software, regardless of the vendor.
Nonetheless, Mr. Wilker knows that a huge audience remains for Broderbund's products -- the company shipped 46 new titles in 1997, up from 42 and 36 in the two previous years -- and he has succeeded in holding onto a solid staff. In the realignment, he no longer runs the entire creative group. But his nearly two decades in the software business makes him a full professor of high-tech creativity management.
Mr. Wilker believes that the commandments for successfully managing creative people are simple, intuitive and more art than science -- and that they apply now more than ever, given all the new constraints. The key ingredients:
Fostering good communication.
Trusting your people.
Realizing that the entire organization is creative and that good ideas can and will come from anywhere.
Making sure there is a well-conceived design document or blueprint for every project.
Checking milestones along the way; evaluating prototypes, keeping projects flowing.
Having the ability to champion projects but also to kill projects, if the economics or market demands it.
Avoiding divisive practices, like paying internal product royalties to employees.
Knowing when and how to shake up stalled projects.
Recruiting the best and brightest; promoting the ones with vision and organizational skills; distrusting formal credentials and long résumés.
Mr. Wilker echoes Professor Amabile on the question of what drives creative people. "Most of the people in this industry, outside of the few stars, are not primarily driven by economics," he said. "Making good money is important to them and they are well paid, but that is not what drives them." At Broderbund, where the stock is far off its all-time high, stock options are even less of a motivating factor than before.
Indeed, according to Ken Goldstein, vice president and general manager of the Red Orb Entertainment division, most of his creative people have done the same work at some point in their lives for free.
"My people are hard-core gamers," Mr. Goldstein said. "They are our own customers. They play a lot of games. And if you don't love the art and science of making games, you'll burn out after the 600th night in front of the computer and the 4,000th piece of pizza. The only thing that carries you is a passion for making really cool software."
And in the interest of avoiding turf battles and political infighting, employees don't get product royalties. Paying internal royalties "is incredibly divisive," Mr. Wilker said. "You don't really know who contributed more than someone else, and with teams of 10 to 12 people contributing to the development of a product, it's hard to determine how royalties would be divided."
So Broderbund pays competitive salaries and bonuses and appeals to the creative souls of its 1,000 employees to keep them around. That appeal generally works. Even with the constraints imposed by the tougher operating environment, the company is still considered by many to be the best at creating games, although Broderbund executives concede that recruitment at the top ranks is harder than it used to be.
The typical Broderbund employee looks a lot like those who work in Silicon Valley or Redmond, Wash., where the Microsoft Corporation reigns. Most Broderbunders are in their late 20's or early 30's, have college degrees, are single and are intensely driven, with a deep visceral love and understanding of their product, in this case, games. Jeans, T-shirts and tennis shoes define the dress code.
Often socially shy and awkward, they tend to watch cartoons, shop at F.A.O. Schwarz and spend their vacations at Disneyland or playing computer games, their own and those of competitors. When "Quake II," a competitor's hot new game, hit the stores, for example, three Broderbund developers rushed out, bought a copy and immediately set up an all-night "Quake-a-thon" at the office to test the product.
When veteran employees, those in their 30's and 40's, take their young children to the office, a practice that is actively encouraged, the younger staffers bring out the abundant toys they have on their desks, sit on the floor and play with the kids, testing their new ideas and enjoying themselves. "Some part of them is a child that never grew up," said Michelle Bushneff, an art director and 13-year Broderbund veteran.
But while software programmers have earned a well-deserved reputation as lone wolves, preferring long, solitary hours in front of the computer monitor, Broderbund's employees are just the opposite. Here, collaboration is the foundation of a team-based approach that prizes the individuality of its members. Mr. Goldstein, a six-year veteran, said it is a "very vocal and opinionated culture," with spirited and heated discussions a regular part of the workday.
"Everyone here is creative in some form," Mr. Goldstein said. "Without that creative spirit, you'll have a hard time working here."
Added Laurie Strand, vice president of the education studio unit, "The best creative team is one with a shared vision and an ability to respect each other's disciplines. Content is what really motivates people. They feel they are really contributing creatively. Taking cartoon characters they grew up watching, for example, and bringing them to life in a computer game."
And with consumer tastes shifting quickly, constantly and without obvious logic, flexibility is crucial for managing the creative teams. Ms. Strand described the recent birth of a "Carmen Sandiego" spinoff, "Carmen Sandiego Word Detective." That product began as an educational game called "Word Workshop," a language-learning companion to the company's popular "Math Workshop."
After six months of intense design and development, "Word Workshop" was nearly complete when management decided that the competition for shelf space had become too cutthroat. To have a better chance in the stores, the game would have to be recast as a line extension to Carmen Sandiego.
"I had to call everyone into a room and tell them that we had to redo everything and put it into the context of Carmen," Ms. Strand said. Rather than grumbling, the team pressed forward without missing a beat.
Like a SWAT team leader, the product manager, who acts much like a movie or television producer, marshaled the creative forces. In the first meeting were eight staffers and outside contractors: artists, writers, software designers and programmers. The first order of business was brainstorming a story line that would fit in with Carmen. As with all such projects, the one essential element is to decide what the core game is about -- how will it work, what will make it exciting and addictive? Without that element, called the game play in the business, there is nothing to work on.
Ideas were tossed about. Someone suggested that Carmen, the noted international thief, would steal the unstealable: language. She would scramble the words and players would have to decode her diabolical actions. She would also need to be tracked down and caught. A freelance screenwriter, brought in for the meeting, suggested that a new character be introduced, a secret agent with a checkered past who works for the good guys. The idea was adopted.
Once the story line was set, the product manager drew up a mission statement and assignments were made. A script had to be written, and the sights and sounds of a new electronic world had to be created. Someone suggested sponsoring a contest on America Online to name the new character, an approach that eventually produced the moniker Chase Devineaux.
The artists began drawing the characters and 20 contract animators were hired from around the United States to help with the laborious task. If Carmen was to dash off to 20 different places, each location had to be drawn in a certain cohesive way. Software code had to be adapted to the new structure of the game; it could not be played the same way as other Carmen games. The product, aimed at children 8 through 14, also had to offer different degrees of difficulty as succeeding levels of play were reached. And throughout the process, the educational content had to be run past a panel of teachers serving as advisers.
Armed with a design document, team members went off with their assignments. Prototypes were built at each step of the way, and two-hour meetings were held twice a week to chart progress. The game went into full production mode within six months, about a third the usual time, and hit the shelves late last year.
Mr. Wilker noted that throughout this type of process, "there is immense room for creativity." Nonetheless, he added, it is only by everyone following a single vision that the goal is reached. "The person with the design vision must be in control," he said.
PROTECTING THE VISION
One of the keys to Broderbund's success, according to Mr. Wilker, is that it has always been agnostic about creative visions: they can come from anywhere, from project managers, artists, programmers or outside contractors. But once the vision is identified and put in position, Broderbund managers protect it like guardians of the flame. Part of that process is shielding creative people from the bureaucracy, Mr. Wilker said, by steering clear of committees "and insulating them from the suits." Without this shield, he explained, new products will feel as if they have "come right out of a focus group."
Nonetheless, Mr. Wilker, who views formal organizational rules and regulations with disdain, recognizes that the "suits" need to be represented; business acumen is an increasingly necessary ingredient for success in today's harsher marketplace.
"You need to get that stuff into the process," he said, but not without translating it, filtering out the nonsense and guiding it. He said the mantra of his creative teams has long been, "Tell me what you need done -- don't tell me how to do it."
Broderbund clearly understands those parameters, even with the new constraints that it must operate under. Working as closely as it does with Cyan, the creative house behind "Myst" and "Riven," tests the company's understanding of managing creativity. "Riven," the brainchild of designers Rand Miller and his brother, Robyn, was four years in the making, required a team of 25 writers, artists, designers and engineers and cost upward of $10 million. (Part of that cost went for the construction of a building to house the development team.) In the world of entertainment software, it was akin to Hollywood's "Titanic" in terms of its expense and how much was riding on its success.
Though "Riven" was a year late and Broderbund's stock paid the price for the tardiness, the company gave Cyan its creative space. "They were very hands-off in the development and creativity of the game," said Tony Fryman, Cyan's project manager for "Riven."
Mr. Wilker, in fact, explodes the myths of high-tech creativity, all those images of individual geniuses huddled over keyboards turning out dazzling, bug-free software. "The process requires constant attention and it is driven by the design documents, which always bring us back to what we want to do," he explained. "It is an iterative, by-touch process, and extremely people-intensive."
Indeed, complex software, like "Riven" or "Journeyman Project 3," another new Broderbund title, is often the result of more than one inspired vision. It is cumulative, built over time and fleshed out like a novel, with regular and rapid feedback as the design process unfolds. Constant testing of prototypes is also required. As a project scales up, the costs committed to it increase exponentially, "so you need to know you are right," Mr. Wilker said. "Wasted effort is the great killer of software."
Doug Carlston added that the fostering of mutual respect is crucial to product development. "We want people not to feel that in order to get their own moment in the sun, they have to deny it to others," he said.
Besides wasted effort, the other great menace in the design process is the onset of ennui. Then heels drag and costs begin to mount. In these instances, Mr. Wilker says, a manager must shake things up and "destabilize" the situation. That can be done in different ways: by moving key people off the project and replacing them with others, by implementing zero-based accounting ("If you can't cost justify this, we'll kill it") or by making a consultant-like assessment to figure out what is wrong. "A project gone awry never rights itself," Mr. Wilker insisted. "The worst thing you can do is nothing."
As Broderbund moves forward, Mr. Wilker faces his toughest challenge. Shrink-wrapped software, the company's meat and potatoes, is no longer the sweet spot in the market. Broderbund has created an on-line business unit to accelerate sales of its products over the Internet. But as any high-tech company caught in a market transition knows, this is the time when it is hardest to recruit and retain the top people.
Mr. Wilker looks to savvy producers like Mr. Goldstein and Ms. Strand to drive the creative engine forward. Recognizing talent, "avoiding the self-aggrandizing types" and putting the right people in charge are among the most critical skills for managing creativity, he said.
His advice is to question résumés and formal credentials. "This is a business where people have résumés as long as your arm," he said. "I'm sure there are 50 people out there who claim to have written 'Carmen Sandiego.' "
"I look for people who are really intelligent, cooperative and organized," he added. "These projects have big budgets and get very complex. If you are not in control, they can eat you alive."
A New Division Fueled By Creativity
Ken Goldstein, the 35-year-old vice president and general manager of the Red Orb Entertainment division at Broderbund Software Inc., began his career as a television writer, once working for the executive producer of the award-winning "Hill Street Blues." A Yale graduate, Mr. Goldstein has an unusual background for high technology but it was actually a lure for Broderbund, which prizes writers, artists and designers as highly as software programmers.
Over the last two years, Mr. Goldstein has been tapped for a key assignment: to snare a bigger piece of the growing entertainment segment of the consumer software market. Broderbund executives had become concerned that more than 40 percent of the market was devoted to entertainment and that the company's only successful offering in the category was "Myst." When Red Orb was spun off as a separate brand last year, Mr. Goldstein, an accomplished product designer and manager, took the reins. Finding and managing creative talent who can help Broderbund take bigger steps in entertainment is now his mandate.
Under Mr. Goldstein, Broderbund has shipped a spate of new CD-ROM games, including "Warlords III," "Take No Prisoners," "Journeyman Project 3," "War Breeds" and "Extreme Warfare," most of which were produced by third-party developers and then published by Broderbund. The $70 million business unit scored its biggest win when "Riven: The Sequel to Myst" shipped in October 1997 and immediately drove Broderbund from No. 10 on the entertainment games list to No. 1.
"This is a hits business," Mr. Goldstein said. "Now you have to create hype, get the excitement going, get the product on the shelf and pray." Mr. Goldstein points out that the market has shifted in the last three or four years. There used to be more room for "art films," he said, experiments or pet projects that might be nurtured into successful products. In the past, a game might have had six months of shelf time in a computer store or educational software outlet before it was dubbed a flop.
But with the hype generated by the promise of multimedia personal computers, a flood of CD-ROM games has deluged the market, setting off a battle for shelf space and forcing game makers to quickly win the hearts and minds of customers. Like the movie business, the first weekend of product reviews can make or break a new game.
Today, most of Broderbund's products are sold through mass channel retail outlets like CompUSA or Best Buy, where strict performance hurdles such as "inventory turns" or revenue dollars per square foot determine how long a game will be displayed.
"I know if I don't sell through a good 10,000 units in the first month, I'm in trouble," Mr. Goldstein said. "I've seen games go from prime real estate to the discount bin in 60 days. The retail price literally drops from $49.95 to $19.95 in that time."
To compete in such a market, the proper management of the creative process has become more crucial than ever before. Mr. Goldstein understands that he must not only have a productive internal staff but also actively mine the outside opportunities. "I used to listen to a lot of product pitches," he said, "but it wasn't all that fruitful. Today, I do more outreach, more missionary work."
When he or his staff finds a great game, Mr. Goldstein calls the author and starts the courting process -- what are the plans for a sequel, is the author happy with the current publisher, is there any interest in working with Red Orb?
If there is a positive response, Mr. Goldstein solicits a brief product plan from the author. As the publisher, Broderbund can throw seed money at a project to get it started. Early on, before any large sums are promised or spent, Mr. Goldstein must decide whether the project is worth "taking all the way."
After getting a complete outline of the game and how it will be played, Mr. Goldstein asks for a design document, a 50-to-200-page blueprint or road map for the software development. Prototypes of characters and situations are "built" and Mr. Goldstein gets a sense of whether the developer can actually produce what is promised in a reasonable time frame. A product cycle is 18 months on average, and one of the key issues that Mr. Goldstein must resolve is where the technology is likely to be at that point.
Michael Foulger, Broderbund's chief technical officer, consults with Mr. Goldstein and his staff. He not only forecasts what the technology landscape will look like -- software designers operate under Moore's Law of Computing, which holds that computing power doubles every 18 months -- but also points out what tricks are now available, or soon will be, that can jazz up a game or give it an effect that is unique. "Riven," for example, makes spectacular use of digital audio and video to give it a surrealistic, movie-like feel but requires a PC with a Pentium chip that has a minimum of 100 megahertz of processing power..
The gamers who buy these products are avid techies who upgrade their systems often and want only the state of the art with the most power. If a product is hugely successful, Broderbund can later issue a "light" version for less powerful PC's.
The first 60 to 90 days of the development process are crucial. If the designers are way off track, taking six months to complete the initial work, Mr. Goldstein gets nervous and may pull the plug. At this stage, if he commits, there is little chance of turning back; the commitment goes from 10 percent of the proposed budget to 70 percent, and contractors will be hired and engineers assigned. As the market has changed, budgets for building games have soared. "Myst," for example, was developed for $600,000. "Riven" cost upward of $10 million, including the expense of putting up a building to house its small army of creators. Games developed for under $1 million are rare nowadays.
As publisher, Broderbund often pays for all upfront costs as advances against royalties, thus assuming almost all of the financial risk, and pays the developer in fixed increments as pieces of the game are delivered. Product developers, like authors and songwriters, make their money on royalties. A hit software package can be highly lucrative. It can, indeed, be a rags-to-riches business. Cyan Inc.'s Rand and Robyn Miller, barely able to pay their rent before creating "Myst," took in more than $25 million on the megahit game.
"It's a cyclical business," Mr. Goldstein said, "just like Hollywood. One minute you're hot, the next minute, you're not." Even the coolest and most financially successful games of a few years ago, like "The Seventh Guest," are little more than fond memories and technical anachronisms, virtually unknown to a new generation of 14-year-old gamers.
All of which means that there are no guarantees, even when the best and most creative game makers are on the job. "Rand and Robyn Miller are brilliant and I definitely want to publish their next product," Mr. Goldstein said. But he also understands that the odds for a big payoff are long. Of 800 software games released in a given year, only 25 will make money while another 80 will break even. "If you're not willing to accept failure, you shouldn't even put your toe in the water," he said.
Douglas Carlston, Broderbund's chairman and co-founder, agreed. Because of the increasingly high cost of producing games, software publishers "want a high level of certainty," he said. "The more money they put in, the more certainty they want. But it's hard to get certainty. Everyone wants to get products that will become classics, evergreens. You can say you'll only do evergreen products, but those are rare. You have to do a lot of products to find one."
To find its evergreens, Red Orb fields a core staff of 50 full-time employees. With six to eight development teams operating internally and externally at any given time, the number of contract workers it uses can ramp up to 200.
These product developers -- young game fanatics who gladly put in 16-hour days and six-day weeks during the final stages of product testing and debugging -- need a certain environment in which to thrive.
"The No. 1 consideration is work environment," Mr. Goldstein said. "Does it have the heart of a creative shop, in the sense that you allow people the freedom and resources to try new things? That is the No. 1 issue in talent retention." The process is team-oriented, iterative and highly creative. Those seeking individual glory will not thrive at Broderbund.
Only the superstars, like the Miller brothers at Cyan, have marquee value. The average professional salary at a place like Broderbund is $50,000 to $75,000 while veteran product designers can earn double that, hardly the kind of financial rewards that stock options can bring in Silicon Valley. "Most people who work for the game companies are not going to get wealthy," Mr. Goldstein said.
Still, though Broderbund's growth has slowed and its stock price has faltered, its long-term prospects remain strong. And that is proving increasingly attractive to its employees as they get older, start having families and become more concerned about financial stability.
"Just as growth investors often swap out for value investors in our stock," Mr. Goldstein said, "we've had growth employees swap out for value employees."
Glenn Rifkin, glennrifkin@worldnet.att.net
Glenn Rifkin has covered technology for the New York Times and has written for the Harvard Business Review and Fast Company. He is coauthor of Radical Marketing (HarperBusiness, 1999) and The CEO Chronicles (Knowledge Exchange, 1999).
Topics: motivation, design, innovation, operations, trust


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Q: How to color date range in SAPUI5 date picker? Is there a way to change the color of the range in the date picker, so from the date from to date to like on the image? 14. - 23.

A: If you want the user to select a date range, you should use the DateRangeSelector. It visibly marks the selected date range. Documentation  and Samples: https://sapui5.hana.ondemand.com/sdk/#/entity/sap.m.DateRangeSelection/sample/sap.m.sample.DateRangeSelection

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Crowdo is a regional Fintech platform offering a full portfolio of alternative financing solutions across Peer-to-Business Lending and Equity Crowdfunding. With operations in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, Crowdo boasts a global community of over 30,000 members and has successfully financed more than 3,500 projects to date.
What is Crowdfunding with Debt?
Crowdfunding with Debt is a new way to use the internet and latest technologies to efficiently connect businesses trying to raise funds with Lenders looking to invest in promising Entrepreneurs and Small-Medium Size Businesses (SMEs). Everyone can directly invest and support local SMEs and everyone can access funding without relying only on traditional financial intermediaries such as a banks.
What is Crowdfunding with Equity?
Crowdfunding with Equity is a new way to use the internet and social media to connect businesses trying to raise funding and Lenders looking to invest in promising new Startups and Small-Medium Size Businesses (SMEs) efficiently.
What are the intended benefits of Crowdfunding with Debt and Equity for Entrepreneurs and SMEs?
For Entrepreneurs and SMEs, it aims to provide a simpler and better way to raise fund online. Simpler, because you can leverage a standardized template and an easy online process to configure your fundraising request; Better as you can now leverage the full power of the internet such as digital and social media to market and PR your fundraising activities to raise Lender awareness and encourage their participation.
What are the intended benefits of Debt Loan for Lenders?
For Lenders, it aims to provide a more transparent and diversified approach to investment opportunities. Each Lender Member has access to investment opportunities in SME loans previously available only to a few professional Lenders. All the information of each loan is easily accessible via the web portal. Thanks to the low minimum investment size required, Lenders can potentially spread their investments across multiple investment opportunities hence diversify their portfolio. Finally, Lenders can easily track their investment performance online, anytime, anywhere.
What are the intended benefits of Equity Offer for Lenders?
For Lenders, it aims to provide a more transparent and diversified approach to early stage investing. Each Offer will have a Q&A section where prospective Lenders with different backgrounds, expertise and knowledge can post questions and comments about the investment opportunity. Depending on the minimum investment size of the Offers that Lenders are assessing, Lenders can potentially spread their Investments across multiple investment opportunities, hence diversifying their portfolio.
Who are the Loan Borrowers?
We are open to all types of businesses. All Borrowers must first successfully undergo Crowdo's Due Diligence process.
What is an Equity Issuer?
An Issuer is a Corporation or Venture Capital Fund which is seeking to raise fund online through Crowdo's platform. All Issuers must comply with Crowdo's Membership Agreement and be vetted before launching Offers.
Who is eligible to become a Loan Borrower?
Crowdo's aim is to facilitate Debt fundraising for any company anywhere in the world.
Is Crowdo a fund for Debt?
No. When Lenders invest in an loan through Crowdo they invest solely in the loan that they have chosen. However, upon request we can package multiple loans to be made available for investment funds looking to invest in larger pools of loans.
Who is eligible to become an Equity Issuer?
For SGD and USD denominated Equity Offers: Crowdo's aim is to facilitate fundraising for any company and venture capital fund anywhere in the world. For more details on eligibility, please review our Issuer Membership Agreement.
For MYR denominated Equity Offers: a Sendirian Berhad (private limited company) incorporated in Malaysia with a paid up capital of less than 5 mn MYR or a Venture Capital Fund registered with the Securities Commission of Malaysia.
A Loan (or Debt Security) is an arrangement whereby one or many lenders/Lenders gives money to a borrower and the borrower agrees to repay the money along with interest at some future point in time, according to a pre-agreed repayment schedule. A Loan (or Debt Security) is defined by an amount (principle), the duration of the loan (tenor), the interest rate returned to Lender (interest rate) and by the frequency of the repayments to Lenders (frequency).
What is an Equity Offer?
An Offer is the fundraising conducted by an Issuer which includes business proposal, financials, investment documents and other information required by Crowdo.
Who can become an Lender?
By submitting required information via Crowdo website, everyone can become a Crowdo Malaysia Platform Lender and Crowdo Indonesia Platform Lender. To begin the application process, signup and login to the website and click on the "Become Lender" link. Once your application has been approved, you will be a Qualified Lender and start making investments. Please note that Crowdo International Platform is only open to Accredited Lender (AI) or Institutional Lender (II). To apply to be an AI and II, please click on "Accreditation".
Does Crowdo review each Loan before it is published?
Yes. Each submitted financing request will need to undergo business and technical reviews conducted by the Crowdo Team and its Partners before being published on the platform. However, this review is not meant to recommend the investability of the business or guarantee Investment returns. Each Lender will need to make their own investment decision.
Does Crowdo review each Equity Offer before it is published?
Yes. Each submitted Offer will need to undergo business and technical due diligence conducted by the Crowdo Team and its Partners before being published on the platform. However, this review is not meant to recommend the investability of the business or guarantee investment returns. Each Lender will need to make their own investment decision.
Does Crowdo review each Equity Offer's Q&A / Update Section?
Crowdo does not review or approve the contents published in the Q&A / Updates section. These are "one-off communications" between Issuers and potential Lenders and should be treated as one-on-one conversations. It is the responsibility of the Issuer to monitor and respond to questions raised in their Q&A / Forum and respond to the potential Lenders accordingly. We are not able to remove Q&A / Updates content on request. However, we reserve the right to remove any contents in these sections that we consider spam, abuse or trolling.
Does Crowdo advise as to where to invest?
No. Crowdo is not authorized to provide financial advice. While we confirm and approve all the information provided in each offer, we do not make our own judgment about whether it's a good investment opportunity or not. We believe that a large number of diverse Lenders are better suited to assess the business's prospects than a few professional managers (Crowd Validation).
Is Crowdo a fund for Equity?
No. When Lenders invest in a business through Crowdo, they invest solely in the single Offer that they've chosen. However, we occasionally make available Offers for individual Venture Capital Funds registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore / Securities Commission of Malaysia looking to raise investment for a pool of known or to-be-selected businesses.
Is Crowdo an authorised and regulated operator?
Indonesia: Crowdo is officially registered by the Financial Services Authority of Indonesia (OJK) as a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Operator.
Singapore: Crowdo is a Capital Market Service License holder (CMS: 100544-2) approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Malaysia: Crowdo is registered with the Securities Commission of Malaysia as a Recognized Market Operator and allowed to operate a platform for Equity Crowdfunding.
By submitting required information via Crowdo website, everyone can become an Lender on Crowdo Platform Lender. To begin the application process, signup and login to the website and click on the "Become Lender" link. Once your application has been approved, you will be a Qualified Lender and start making investments. Please note that SGD and USD denominated investments are only open to Accredited Lender (AI) or Institutional Lender (II) as per Monetary Authority of Singapore definition. To apply to be an AI and II, please click on "Accreditation".
What is an Accredited Lender(AI)?
What is an Institutional Lender(II)?
What is a Sophisticated Lender?
Malaysia Tax Residents: Institutional Lenders with minimum net assets of 10mn MYR, and High Net Worth Individuals with total wealth or net personal assets of 3 mn MYR and above (either MYR or foreign currency equivalents).
Non-Malaysia Tax Residents: Same definition as above in foreign currency equivalents.
What is an Angel Lender?
What is a Retail Lender?
Who does the vetting of Loan Borrowers?
Crowdo. We have a number of measures in place to evaluate the Borrower's submission, including conducting upfront checks, holding entrepreneurs and businesses accountable for the information they have provided us, and, if necessary taking legal action against the entrepreneurs and businesses for non-compliance.
Who does the Due Diligence of Equity Issuers?
Crowdo. We have a number of measures in place; including conducting upfront checks, holding Entrepreneurs and Businesses accountable for the information they have provided us, and, if necessary taking legal action against the entrepreneurs and businesses for non-compliance.
Why should I Invest in Debt Loan?
There are a number of reasons you may want to invest in a Loan: 1) To diversify your investment portfolio with an investment product (SMEs Loan) currently not widely available via traditional investment channels 2) To generate an additional source of income via a fixed income investment; 3) To help SMEs to grow their business and build a stronger economy; Lenders should implement a diversification strategy when building an investment portfolio. Diversification involves spreading your money across multiple investments in order to have investments that will sustain in adverse market conditions and mitigate losses. However, it will not lessen all types of risk.
Why should I Invest in Equity Offer?
There are a number of reasons you may want to invest in an Offer: 1) To diversify your investment portfolio. 2) To make a return on your investment. 3) To help a friend launch their business. 4) To help small businesses. Lenders should sought a diversification strategy when building an investment portfolio. Diversification involves spreading your money across multiple investments. Providing you with a greater peace of mind as your investments are affected by adverse market conditions and losses. However, it will not necessarily reduce the different types of risk.
What are the risks/return of investing in Debt Loan?
The Lender has to bear the risk that the Borrower may not repay their debt. There are several factors used by Lenders to assess the risk of an investment such as: Borrower's past repayment history, Borrower's financial situation and assets pledged as collateral to the debt financing. In general, risker investments are expected to give higher return to Lenders to compensate for the risk taken. Besides, Lenders may bear also the currency risk. The table below shows the highest and lowest rates of returns (excluding defaulted loans) and weighted average rate of returns (excluding defaulted loans), net of fee and charges to Lenders for our disbursed loans in each of th epast calendar year and the non-performing loan rates, computed as the ratio of loans outstanding over the total amount of loans disbursed in each of the past calendar years. The ratios presented are a snapshot of our statistics for each of the past calendar years and do not include the subsequent recoveries of loans outstanding.
Lenders should note that historical rates of returns may not reflect future returns.
What are the risks of investing in Equity Offer?
You will be investing in very early stage businesses. The typical risks are as follows: 1. The Issuer fails and closes the business. In this case, it is highly likely that the Lenders will not be able to recover their original investment; 2. Lack of liquidity. Even if the business succeeds, it may take a substantial period of time until Lenders are able to sell their shares in the business; 3. Dilution of the Lender's shareholding. If the business raises subsequent fundraising and issues new shares, participants in previous rounds of investments will now own a smaller % of the entire company. For more information, visit our Risk Warning section.
How much can I invest in Debt Loan?
There is no limit to the investment amount into a Loan. As an Lender Member you can diversify your investments across a portfolio of different loans and equity offers. However, an Lender should only invest the amount that they are comfortable with based on the risk profile of the investment.
How much can I invest in Equity Offer?
As Lender you should only invest amounts that you are comfortable with based on the risk profile of the investments.
For Debt loan, you should expect to receive in return the amount you invested (principle) plus an interest amount (interest return). Principle + interest return are repaid according to a pre-agreed repayment schedule.
For Equity Offer, you will become a shareholder of the Issuer. These shares may be direct shareholding or via a nominee. Please review each Offer in detail to see which is the case.
What is the interest returned on my Debt investment?
How much equity do Lenders get for their Equity investment?
Each Issuer decides the amount it wishes to raise in exchange for an agreed upon percentage of its equity, and each Lender's equity interest will be proportionate to the size of their investment.
I was notified that the fundraising of a Loan I invested in is unsuccessful, what happens now?
The amount you bid on that fundraising loan will be refunded to your online account.
I was notified that the fundraising of a Loan I invested in is successful, what happens now?
At the end of the funding period, if the Loan confirm the loan, the next step will be the completion process. During the completion process, we will facilitate the transfer of money in exchange of the Lender funds via the escrow account. The Lender's funds will continue to be protected and the Bank Trustee will only release the funds if it is satisfied. This process may take a few days. After everything is completed, Lenders will be notified of their investment status.
I was notified that the fundraising of an Equity offer I invested in is unsuccessful, what happens now?
The Fund Trustee will initiate a refund process and your funds will be restored based on your original mode of payment.
I was notified that the fundraising of an Equity offer I invested in is successful, what happens now?
At the end of the Offer period, if the Offer has reached its minimum target, the next step will be the completion process. During the completion process, we will facilitate the transfer of shares in exchange for the Lender funds via the escrow account. The Lender's funds will continue to be protected and the Bank Trustee will only release the funds if it is satisfied. This process may take a few weeks. After everything is completed, Lenders will be notified of their shareholding status either by the Issuer or the nominee.
Why is my refunded amount is different or less than my original investment?
Please note that all investments and refunds are processed in Singapore Dollar (SGD), Malaysian Ringgit (MYR), Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) or US Dollar (USD) depending on offers and could be affected by exchange rate fluctuations if your investment was in a other foreign currency. Additionally, depending on your mode of investment, there will be bank transfer and payment processing fees to be borne by the Lender member.
I have zero balance, can I still bid?
No. You will be prompted to top up your account balance in order to be able to invest.
Are my investments made public?
For Debt Loan, your investment will not be made public.
For Equity Offer, Lenders will be able to choose whether to make investments public or anonymous through the platform. However, Issuers will have transparency to participating Lenders, and if a Offer is successful (depending on the shareholding structure), your ownership & shareholding in the Issuer may be made public.
Does the Loan Borrower receive my investment right away?
No. The investment amount you bid to a loan will be secured in your online account until the offer is successful. Only when the fundraising is set as successful, the funds are transferred to the Borrower. If the fundraising is not successful, then the funds will be returned to the participating Lenders.
Does the Equity Issuer receive my investment right away?
No. Your investment amount will be held in a Trustee Account until the end of the Offer period. Only in cases where the Offer reaches its minimum target amount prior to the expiry date of the Offer will the funds be transferred to the Issuer in exchange for the issuance of new shares to the Lenders. If the Offer fails to reach its minimum target, then the funds will be returned to the participating Lenders.
Can the Loan Borrower reject your funds?
Can the Equity Issuer reject your funds?
Yes. During the cooling off period, the Issuer may decide to reject your funds at its own discretion. The cooling off period means six Business Days, or such other period as may be agreed by the Issuer and the Platform Operator in writing.
Is my Debt investment guaranteed?
No. Despite some debt notes being personal/ corporate guaranteed, it does not mean your investment will definitively be returned. You should notice that your investment will have risks. However, you will be able to invest in offers with different risk profiles. For example you will be able to find offers with collateral which are generally considered less risky than uncollateralized loans.
What happens in the event of a Loan Borrower delay or default on a repayment?
A default event is defined as 90 Days delayed repayment. If an Issuer delays a repayment for more than 90 days, this is considered a default and the default procedure is triggered.
In the case of collateralized loan or loan with personal/corporate guarantee, the default procedure consists of liquidating the collateral and/or claim for the guarantee. The proceeds of the liquidation net of legal fees will be used to repay the outstanding principle to Lenders.
In case of non collateralized debt, Crowdo will engage the Loan Borrower to explore potential repayment options while keeping the Lender informed of the progress.
What is the Loan Tier?
The Loan Tier is Crowdo's proprietary index of the risk profile of the loan. There are 6 levels: A+ (less risky), A, B, C, D, E (higher risk). There are several factors used to assess the risk of an loan and assign the Tier. Some of the factors are: Issuer's past repayment history, borrower's financial situation and assets pledged as collateral to the debt. In general risker investments are expected to give higher return to Lenders to compensate for the risk taken.
It is important to note that these Loan Tiers are specific to Crowdo published loans and they are different for tiers or labels use by other companies or institutions and therefore they should not be used for risk comparison with loans or other investments outside of Crowdo platform.
How is the Loan investment repayment schedule calculated?
The repayment is calculated using an effective annual interest rate. The annual effective interest rate is the annual rate that is charged for financing (or made by investing) which takes into account the compounding effect. The repayment schedule is calculated to give Lenders a constant monthly repayment amount which pay off his/her investment with the specified interest rate, over the specified period. The constant monthly instalment amount is calculated using the PMT formula in Excel: Monthly Instalment = PMT(Effective Annual Interest Rate/12, # of repayments, debt principle) The break down of monthly principle repayment and monthly interest repayment can be calculated as following: a) Monthly principle repayment amount is calculated using the PPMT formula in Excel: Principle Repayment Month n = PPMT(Effective Annual Interest Rate/12, n, # of repayments, debt principle) b) Monthly interest repayment amount is calculated using the IPMT formula in Excel: Interest Repayment Month n = IPMT(Effective Annual Interest Rate/12, n, # of repayments, debt principle) You can also calculate the monthly interest repayment using the following formula: Interest Amount Month n = (Outstanding Balance Mount n) * (Effective Annual Interest Rate) / 12.
What is the Loan effective interest rate?
The effective interest rate is the annualized rate that is charged for debt financing (or made by investing) which takes into account the compounding effect. As an Lender you will receive every month a repayment which includes monthly principle repayment plus monthly interest return. The monthly interest return is calculated every month as the agreed interest rate on the outstanding principle. The outstanding principle is the amount you invested minus all the monthly principles already repaid to you.
What is the Loan annual percentage rate(APV)?
The annual percentage rate is the annual rate that is charged for debt financing (or made by investing), expressed as a single percentage number that represents the actual yearly cost of funds over the term of a the debt. If the Lender invests 10,000 SGD in a 12 month debt with 10% annual percentage rate and monthly repayment, the monthly interest amount is calculated at 10% of the principle such as: month 1 return = (10% on 10k SGD)/12, month 2 return = (10% of 10k SGD)/12, month 3 return = 10% of SGD 10k SGD)/12, etc.
Can I Withdraw/modify my investment Bid?
For Equity investment Lenders can cancel or modify their investment bids at any time during the cooling off period. For Loan investment Lenders can cancel or modify their investment bids at any time during the fundraising period. You can cancel/modify your investment bid from the My Investments section of the website.
You will be able to withdraw your Available Balance ( committed amount is excluded) from your online account any time after 1 month from your first Top Up.
Which legal documents do I get as an Lender in a Loan on Crowdo Platform?
For IDR denominated loans: you will have a Participation Agreement where you appoint Crowdo as your agent for that specific investment and a Debt Note which constitutes the actual loan agreement between you and the borrower.
For SGD and USD denominated loans: you will have the Terms & Condition of Application, Escrow Agent Agreement and receive an Application Form on your dashboard. After the offer is fully funded, you will receive a Notes Certificates and other transaction related legal documents on your dashboard.
Why do I need to Top Up to be able to invest?
To be able to bid an amount to an Debt Loan or Equity Offer during the fundraising period you need to have an available balance in your online account, which is equal to or greater than the amount your want to bid. This amount will be frozen in your account until the end of the fundraising period and labelled as "Bid Amount". If the fundraising is successful the amount will be invested in the selected offer. If the fundraising is not successful the Bid Amount will be release to your online account.
To be able to Top Up your account you need to be an Lender Member. If you are an Lender you can click on "Top Up" button in your Lender Dashboard to find the instructions to top-up your online account. To top-up you need to: 1 - Transfer the amount you want to add to your online account to a designated bank account via regular bank transfer. In the transaction description add your online account number which you can find in the Top Up page. Minimum top up amount is IDR 2,000,000 for your IDR account, or SGD 10,000 for your SGD account. 2 - Scan or take a picture of the proof of payment and uploaded to you online account in the Top-Up page. 3 - As soon as your transfer is confirmed your account balance will be updated accordingly.
How is a Loan collateral handled?
If a Loan has a collateral, the collateral is pledged by the Borrower before the funds are disbursed. The collateral is safeguarded by one of our trusted partners or secured by a notary fiduciary or deed.
The value of the collateral is evaluated at the time of financing application by a professional with relevant experience in assessing same / similar assets. The LTV is calculated as a % of the collateral assessment taking into account the quality of the asset, any Issuer historical repayment performance and other factors.
Are there any fees when I withdraw my money?
Crowdo does not charge any fee if you withdraw your money but the amount you receive would be net of bank transfer fees. The amount of the transfer fee will depend on the type of transfer as well as the fee of your local banks.
What is the tax implication for Lenders?
Generally, income derived from transactions processed through the platform are subject to tax.
For Indonesia Tax Residents investing in IDR denominated investments: the reference tax rate is 15% (income tax) applied to the interest earned from their investment returns. In order to incorporate this income into your tax reporting efficiently, Lenders should consider engaging with a tax consultant.
For Non Indonesian Residents investing in IDR denominated investments: The interest payments from borrower(s) to Lenders would be deemed as income originated in Indonesia and subject to withholding tax. The liability to withhold rests with Loan Borrower. Therefore, in connection with the loan, there should be no Indonesian tax implications for Non Indonesia Resident Lenders. Nevertheless Non Indonesia Residents Lender might be subjected to taxation on Indonesian investment in their country residence and/or origin.
For Singapore Tax Residents investing in SGD denominated investments: according to Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), interest income from loans to companies are taxable at progressive tax rates for tax residents.
For Non Singapore Tax Residents investing in SGD denominated investments: tax rates are generally at 15% and subjected to withholding. The tax rates could differ on a case-by-case basis e.g., tax treaties.
What is the Exchange Rate Risk?
Exchange rate risk or currency risk is a form of risk that arises from the change of exchange rate of one currency against another. These fluctuations result from the unpredictable gains and losses incurred when profits from foreign investments are converted from the foreign currency into Lender's currency. For example, if your money denomination is not SGD when you invest in SGD loans your investment is exposed to exchange rate risk.
What is a Material Adverse Change?
Please refer to related section in Membership Agreements.
How will I be notified of a Material Adverse Change?
What happens in the event of a Material Adverse Change?
How will Lender make a return from an Equity investment?
Lenders, who hold shares of a business, are entitled them to participate in selling off (for capital gains) when the business completes an IPO or a trade sell. In some cases, but rare, businesses will issue dividends to their shareholders.
When can I withdraw from my investment?
You can withdraw the available balance on your Crowdo account at any time.
Who has access to my investment during the Equity Offer process?
During the Offer period, all Lender funds are kept in an escrow account under the care of the Fund Trustee. The Fund Trustee has specific instructions on when it is allowed to release funds to the Issuer (When the Offer is successful), and when it must facilitate the return of funds to the Lenders (When the Offer is unsuccessful). The Issuer does not have any access to the funds during the Offer period.
What are the condition for a fundraising to be considered successful?
An Equity fundraising campaign is considered successful when the funds raised have reached the minimum agreed target amount.
A Loan fundraising campaign is considered successful when the funds raised have reached 80% of the target amount. If the funds raised are less than 80% target amount the Borrower has the option to either accept or reject the fund raised. In this case if the Borrower accepts the amount raised the Loan fundraising campaign will be considered successful.
Will I always become a direct shareholder in the Equity Issuer?
An Issuer has a choice of either direct shareholding and/or shareholding via a nominee. This information will be posted on the Offer and should be taken it into consideration before making an investment.
What is a Nominee and what does it mean for my shareholding in an Equity Investment?
Under a nominee structure, the nominee will be reflected on the Issuer's shareholder registry and the Lender will become the ultimate beneficiary owner (UBO) of the Issuer shares via the nominee. The nominee's role will be to represent the UBOs at the Issuer's AGMs and other events which require shareholder representation and input.
Is Crowdo going to do all or most of my Loan marketing for me?
No. As one of SE. Asia's longest running platforms, you will have the benefit of getting exposure to our existing community base. However, we do not act as promoters for individual Borrowers.
Can I raise more than my Loan target amount?
Who is eligible to get a Loan from Crowdo?
Most businesses worldwide are eligible to raise funding in Crowdo platform.
How much money can I raise as a Loan through Crowdo?
For IDR denominated loan, a Borrower may raise up to 2 Billion IDR.
For SGD and USD denominated loan the limit must fit within the prospectus exemptions.
If I submit a Loan application, is it published right away on Crowdo's platform?
No. Each submitted fundraising request will need to be vetted by the Crowdo team before being published on the website.
What do I give Lenders in exchange for their Loan investment(s)?
If the fundraising is successful you will receive the funds from the Lenders (loan principle) and you are expected to repay to the Lenders the loan principle amount + interest, according to the pre-agreed repayment schedule and interest rate.
Am I able to get the investments as soon as they are committed by the Lenders?
No. Before each Loan is published, the Borrower is required to set the duration of the fundraising period. You are only allowed to access Lender funds if the fundraising is successful before the expiry of your fundraising period. If at the end of the fundraising the fundraising amount is above 80% of the fundraising target the fundraising is considered successful, if the fundraising amount is below 80% the Borrower has the option to accept or reject the Loan.
You can set your funding period to any time between 10 to 45 days. This duration is decided before the launch of your fundraising loan.
For IDR denominated loans all approved and registered members on the platform will be able to view the published offer information on the Crowdo Platform.
For SGD and USD denominated loans only Accredited Lenders and Institutional Lenders can view the offer information on Crowdo Platform.
To be approved as an Borrower on Crowdo, you will need to undergo a vetting process and also submit to us a set of business and financial information. To begin the application process, signup and login to the website and click on the "Apply For Loan" link.
If a Loan fundraising is successful, how do Borrowers receive their money?
If the fundraising loan is successful, the raised amount net of processing and administrative fees will be transferred to the bank account you have specified during the loan application process.
Can I ask for more than 1 loan simultaneously?
Yes, you will be allowed to have more active loans if you have good repayment records of existing or past financing activities.
Can I invest in my own Loan?
Is Crowdo involved throughout the fundraising period?
While Crowdo provides end-to-end support throughout the fundraising period, the Borrower is expected to take responsibility and leadership in promoting its fundraising in compliance with local regulations.
What fees are charged to the Borrower?
Basic fees charged to Borrower are processing fees and an administrative fee calculated based on the effort required to onboard and vet the financing application.
How will Crowdo help me in my fundraising process?
Before the launch of your fundraising loan, Crowdo will assist you in preparing your loan fact sheet. After your fundraising loan has been published, Crowdo may choose to publish your fundraising loan on our newsletter to our membership base.
What is Crowdo involvement after a successful fundraising?
Crowdo will provide infrastructure support to help collect the repayments from the Borrower and distribute it to the Lenders. The status of the repayment process will be updated and visible on the website.
What is the tax implication for Borrowers?
For IDR denominated loan: If the Borrower borrows from Indonesia Resident Lenders there is no applicable tax arising specifically from the loan as long as it is recognized as an expense and the money are loaned by Indonesia Resident Lenders. However, if the borrower defaults on their loan, they will be required to recognize the loan as income on their tax reporting. If the Borrower borrows from Non Indonesia Resident Lenders, the interest payments from borrower to Non Indonesian Resident Lenders would be deemed as income originated in Indonesia and subject to withholding tax of 20% (domestic) or 10% under most of Indonesia's DTAs. The liability to withhold rests with the borrower.
For SGD denominated loan: If the Borrower raises financing from Singapore Resident Lenders there is no applicable tax arising specifically from the loan as long as it is recognized as an expense and the money are invested by Singapore Resident Lenders. If the Borrower raises financing from Non Singapore Resident Lenders, the interest payments from both Borrower to the Non Singapore Resident Lenders would be deemed as income originated in Singapore and subject to withholding tax of 15%. The liability to withhold rests with the Borrower.
If I submit an Equity Offer, is it published right away on the Crowdo platform?
No. Each submitted Offer will need to be vetted by the Crowdo team before being published on the website.
Who is eligible to raise funds as Equity on Crowdo Platform?
For SGD and USD denominated Equity Offer: Crowdo's aim is to facilitate fundraising for any company and venture capital fund anywhere in the world. For more details on eligibility, please review our Issuer Membership Agreement.
For MYR denominated Equity Offer: To be eligible to raise funding, you must be a Sdn Bhd (private limited company) incorporated in Malaysia with a paid up capital of less than 5 mn MYR or a Venture Capital Fund registered with the Securities Commission of Malaysia.
How much money can I raise through Crowdfunding with Equity?
For SGD and USD denominated Equity Offer: the amount must fit within the prospectus exemptions.
For MYR denominated Equity Offer: a Sdn Bhd (private limited company) can raise up to 3mn MYR during a 12 month span and cumulatively 5mn MYR. A Venture Capital Fund can raise unlimited amounts of funds.
What do I give Lenders in exchange for their Equity investment(s)?
If the Offer is successful, you are expected to issue shares in accordance with your Offer details.
No. Before each offer is published, the Issuer is required to set the duration of the fundraising period. You are only allowed to access Lender funds if you achieve your minimum target amount in Lender commitments before the expiry of your fundraising period. If you do not achieve your minimum target amount, the funds are returned to the Lenders.
You can set your funding period to any time between 10 to 45 days. This duration is decided before the launch of your fundraising offer.
What am I expected to do during the Equity Offer period?
For MYR denominated Equity Offer: The Issuer is encouraged to actively market and promote their Offer via various social media, digital, events and other marketing channels to raise awareness with prospective Lenders and convince them to invest in your business.
For SGD and USD denominated Equity Offer: No public marketing is allowed during the Offer period. However, Issuer is encouraged to pitch to Lender during Events.
While we encourage Issuers to disclose as much information as possible to promote transparency and raise awareness with prospective Lenders, the Issuer will be able to choose information that it may only wish to disclose on an individual request basis.
Is Crowdo going to do all or most of my Offer marketing for me?
No. As one of South East Asia's longest running crowdfunding platforms, you will gain exposure to our existing Lender community base. However, we do not act as promoters for individual Offers.
If an offer is successful, how do Issuers receive their money?
During the Offer period, all Lenders' funding commitments are managed by a non-Crowdo third party Trustee. The Trustee will liaise with all involved parties including the Issuer, Crowdo and the Issuer's corporate secretary to ensure a smooth exchange of funding and shares.
Can I create more than 1 Equity Offer simultaneously?
No, each Issuer may only have one active Offer at any point of time.
Can I run one Equity Offer concurrently off of multiple Crowdfunding Equity platforms?
Can I invest in my own Equity Offer?
Yes, absolutely provided you have the funds to invest. Any indication of Offer manipulation may result in your Offer being suspended, modified or cancelled.
I've found investments from another source. Can I add it to my total?
Yes, please notify the Crowdo Team and after we have seen the relevant paperwork, we can add it to your total.
What are the Equity Offer updates?
Each Issuer will have a dedicated section on their Offer page to share progress the Issuer is making to prospective and participating Lenders. It is a great tool to raise visibility and credibility about your business.
While Crowdo provides end-to-end support throughout the Offer period, the Issuer is expected to take responsibility and leadership in promoting its campaign, increase public awareness and also actively participate in Lenders communication.
What fees are charged to the Equity Issuer?
Basic fees charged to an Issuer are processing fees, onboarding fees and an administrative fee which is charged as a % of the funds raised.
Before the launch of your Offer, Crowdo will assist you in customizing your Offer marketing plan. After your Offer has been published, Crowdo may choose to publish your Offer on our newsletter to our membership base.
Our fee varies by the country of origination.


@24AheadDotCom I have no idea, but I don't want them to die.
@24AheadDotCom @CatholicismUSA I don't think offering humanitarian aid is the same thing as encouraging them. I couldn't refuse aid.
@24AheadDotCom Then I think we are pretty much in agreement. I don't want to encourage them to come here either.
.@disciple96: all those who offer inducements to come here: teddy bears, Matricular cards, ID cards, college discounts etc. encourage them.
@24AheadDotCom I just think we need to provide food & water & a place out of brutal sun. Then send them back. No other encouragement.
.@CatholicismUSA: OK Davey, you couldn't answer that question (twice). Try another: would attrition (aka self deport) reduce border deaths?
.@lineupsheep: if parents knew kids would get fewer bennies, wouldn't get jobs, would be sent home immediately would fewer send kids here?


We had a fun opening weekend Sunnyshore Studio's Dorsey Family second annual Christmas show, "Christmas on Camano." Here are some of the highlights.
My brother Jed and I cut down our Christmas tree. Our plan is to "home grow" the Studio's tree each year!
And, as she always does, mom made the space so beautiful with her gift of decorating and all the pretty things she has.
On Friday night Jenny led the "unveiling" of my Dad's annual Christmas painting and cards.
It's a lovely scene from the Cedarhome area.
There was art from every family member. Fairie's by Fanny Y. Cory.
Ann Dorsey had her bright acrylic paintings on display, as well as her new Camano Island poster!
The siblings all had paintings too. Jason's watercolors.
April's acrylics and mixed media.
Jed had top sales for the opening (no surprise there!), which we were all very happy at as he makes his living as an artist. He has quite a fan base in Washington, and his art is prized by collectors.
Jed painted live on Saturday, and it was impressive to watch his painting take shape.
The finished product is really quite impressive. I can't show it here. But it will be for sale on Saturday for a mere 900$.
Most special was seeing friends and artist colleagues from Camano. We are trying to build community through art, and it's awesome to see that happening.
We'll be open the follow five Saturdays from 10:00am-5:00pm. We'd love it if you would stop by, view the art, shop for gifts for friends and family, and enjoy one of Mom's cinnamon rolls.


Re. "Rohrabacher dismisses global warming, warns of China (Aug. 9): U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) has been around way too long. It troubles me that he keeps getting re-elected to my congressional district. He is a Republican representative who distinguishes himself more by demagoguery than accomplishment.
This is a four-minute snippet of one of the incendiary speeches Rohrabacher has blessed us with during some 26 years as our representative for the 48th Congressional District.
This speech was presented to a select audience of Newport-Mesa Tea Party members.
His penchant for hot-button issues and abrasive statements — global warming is a "total fraud;" the National Security Agency violates your privacy; big government is out to get you; be afraid of radical Islam; and Obamacare takes away your rights — appeals to conservatives and hides his lack of legislative accomplishments, not to mention oratorical skills.
We need someone to represent the interests of all residents of the district, not just Tea Partiers.
One hundred and thirty cheering Tea Party advocates packed the Halecrest Park Swim and Tennis Club to hear Rohrabacher in the above video clip.
How many of his estimated 712,000 constituents does Rohrabacher really represent?
Haven't we had enough yet of the "surfing" congressman, Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa)? Has the "liberal conspiracy" polluting the river jetties got to him? What will it take for the voters to stop electing him?
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a longtime member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, recently brushed aside concern that the wildfires currently scorching his state and causing millions of dollars of damage have anything to do with climate change.
In fact, he told constituents at a town hall [in Newport Beach] that "global warming is a total fraud," employed by liberals to "create global government."
When I read the initial quote, I assumed it would be a committee member from an uneducated, rural area of Mississippi. I apologize to the state of Mississippi. It is a representative from my home state.
I am embarrassed that he is from my state. He sure puts Huntington Beach on the map, but this is not a distinction I care to be associated with.


You've got to hand it to Google. Not content to corner the market as the most popular search engine in the universe, they now offer another in a series of innovative and soon to be indispensable features. The latest idea is to now incorporate search queries via local area parameters that will make results pages region specific and thus, even more relevant.
This may not sound like much of an advancement, but in reality it is, and is yet another means by which Google continues to set the search bar higher.
By profiling and analyzing user queries, Google found that many searches are location specific. What they finally realized however, was that location specific results are only provided if the user searches using location in the search query; any Toronto Googler worth their salt knows that looking for a good sushi bar or auto repair shop in Toronto will only show local results if you include the word Toronto in the query.
To address this issue, Google now includes regional specific information regardless of whether you specify your location in the search request.
In a nutshell, Google will now match search results by linking your IP (Internet Protocol) address with a general geographic region, and will offer local area results via Google maps even if you don't identify your location in the request.
For example, entering the term Starbucks in www.google.ca brings up a list of local Starbucks locations in the (416), funny enough, where I happen to live.
As cool – some may say creepy – as that is, you can also use the 'change location' link above the map display to further refine your results. The whole idea is to make searching for information as intuitive and relevant as possible.