RealStew, a sustainable fund raising solution for charities and social causes A Short History of RealStew AND Operational Milestones The genesis of RealStew’s growth, as a platform, started in early 2009 from a garage on the bush clad slopes of Titirangi, Auckland, New Zealand. It is appropriate, from what follows, that it started here as the name Titirangi means ‘fringe of heaven’ and we believe that RealStew is an inspired dream which has become a social reality. Paddy & Mandy Delaney founded RealStew on the back of the mantra that RealStew be a ‘Global Community that Shares’. The platform morphed, with the contributions and support of highly skilled programmers and humanitarian idealists from being an esoteric concept to a corporate entity delivering tangible benefits to a global base of Users. The journey has had its challenges, financially and technically, with more good decisions taken than bad ones and by managing to prevent the bad ones from crippling the fledging enterprise. At all stages there was an appropriate balance, in the decisions made between the need to make a profit and providing a value added service while maintaining the ethos of RealStew as being an Agent of social good. Deliverable Goals: The platform launched with three primary deliverable goals, namely:
To create a digital place where Users can ‘have a conversation’, where they can engage, interact, share and transact;
To build a revenue model (to finance the platform) with a set of interlinked tools (Applications /’Apps’) that enhances the outcome of the Users interactions. The primary value proposition being to inter alia: o Reduce cost; o Save time; o Improve operational efficiency, and: o Empower Users, through better communication, to build a stronger brand advocacy in their relationships with contacts.
To establish an environment where Users have no reason or wish to switch their allegiance to any other communication platform.
Stages in the roll out: The initial coding was to set up a basic ‘User Group’ or ‘Notice Board’ system where Users with a common interest could share and engage. The channel of communication and functionality was complimented by a real time CHAT system and enhanced further with a CRM system. Various renditions of the UI (User Interface) followed along with the development of a number of API’s which all enhanced the platform adding to its value proposition and attracting a broader base of global Users. By focusing on the three challenges and applying the ‘Agile’ system of planned iterations of the code with scheduled developments to the platform, RealStew has secured a global following in its 5 year history. Funding the growth: Funding was initially limited to capital contributed by the Founder with nominal contributions of capital ranging from $3000 to $100-00 from just over 1000 Users who joined ‘The Foundation Club’. They received shares in the fledging entity and through the Foundation Club User Group became a sounding and beta testing board for RealStew Management and the development team. With the successful establishment of the Communication and Knowledge Aggregation Division it was decided in mid-2013 that the time had come to direct the Company towards establishing its Financial Services Division. Anticipating the importance of the Financial Services Division, in relation to the Communication and Knowledge Aggregation divisions, a capital call was made on all Foundation Club Members in July 2013 where $250 000 was raised. Further capital calls exceeding $1 300 000 were made in 2014. Funds were deployed to enhance the security of the platform, build the core elements of a cloud based online accounting system and establish a platform to facilitate the management of funds and a payment gateway for the financial transfer and payment of funds in every recognized global currency as and between RealStew Users within the RealStew Eco-System. Positioning RealStew: It was also decided to relocate RealStew to London and seek initially a listing on the NZX (New Zealand Stock Exchange) board and later a dual listing on the AIM (London Stock Exchange). Paddy Delaney (Founder) relocated with his family to London in December 2013, mandated to:
Relocate the financial and corporate head office to London; Appoint a professional team of consultants to assist RealStew secure a dual listing on the AIM board;
Build, twinned to the initial Auckland Centre, a Technical and Support Centre so as to enable RealStew to offer 24/7 global support capabilities to its burgeoning RealStew Mentor and Affiliate Agent network;
Build a technical team to entrench and develop the Financial Services, financial settlements and services division;
From the London Office open and manage the launch of a broader global based network of offices in India (Delhi), South Africa (Durban) and the USA (Seattle – planned 2015). Establish and build relationships with strategic partners in London.
In the time since relocating to London the RealStew business model has matured along with the development of the underlying code with RealStew positioned to accelerate its growth through the rest of 2014 with the stated objective of having a base of 1 billion and as the financial gateway, administering the online accounting and financial management of 100 million Users by the end of 2018. This will position RealStew as an Agent of change and a leading service provider in Communication, Knowledge Aggregation and Financial Services. A perusal of the RealStew Official Facebook page and development timeline gives a good overview of the journey to date and the aspirations in coming years. https://www.facebook.com/realstewconnects
RealStew is at the embryonic stage in its growth but as each year passes the rate at which the model has matured and become globally represented is a clear indication that it will rapidly become one if the World’s principle communications platforms.
Global Structure: With a global network of hot desks, SOHO and virtual offices RealStew practices what it preaches. Each and every division is connected on the RealStew platform with high levels of 24/7 engagement and interaction. The enterprise tools materially reduce the time and resources it takes to attract and convert new clients into active Users while reducing operational costs. RealStew is relentlessly stripping most fixed costs, ploughing back profits to enhance the Platform and build a solid base for growth. RealStew’s primary source of revenue is subscription fees for Applications. As a SaaS (Software as a Service) enterprise, RealStew has, through the use of its technology and management style, debunked the idea that you have to make huge losses to secure market share and continuously make capital calls on shareholders to fund an out of date business model.
2015 and RealMobile Release: Early 2015 (January) will see the release of RealMobile (phase 2) and on regular three weekly intervals the code is updated to materially grow RealStew with Mobile being the primary channel for such growth.
The RealStew Affiliate Sharing Model RealStew operates as a collaborative with the lion’s share of its revenue, earned from subscription to a growing library of integrated Applications, shared with Members. The only requirement to participate in the sharing program is that Members agree to receive a portion of the shared revenue. Subscription revenues are received by RealStew in all of the World’s primary currencies and are distributed in the currencies they are received in. Members notionally have the funds credited to their accounts as they accrue during the course of the month. On the last day of the month, they are assessed and new totals are posted.
The Month end accounting of the funds: As part of the RealStew end of the Month close off procedure, an accounting is made as to what tax is due on the received funds. In addition, nominal amounts are deducted on each currency amount to cover ledger fees.
Setting up a Charity Ledger: Prior to any tax (or ledger fees) being deducted, Members will be holding a set of balances in a number of currencies and will be asked if they would like to authorize RealStew to round down all transactions in their accounts to a whole number so that the cents, pennies and fractions can be donated to a ‘Charity Ledger’ maintained by the Member. The Member, in addition to the rounding down of transaction amounts, may elect to donate a further set percentage of accrued funds to the Charity Ledger. The Member will then reference a register of Charities that wish to receive funding and issue RealStew with standing instructions to clear the Charity Ledger each month with set percentages (total 100%) to be transferred to the nominated Charities on the register. Receipts will be issued for the funds and at no charge to the Charities the funds will be transferred to a commercial bank account according to registered instructions.
The sustainability of the funding is huge The sustainable nature of the funding provides a material source of income for Charities, empowering them to focus more on their charity charters rather than having to expend their time and resources on continuously raising funds. Administration is kept to a minimum with no charges levied by RealStew. The natural flow and interaction of a global base of Members (in their social, personal and business engagement on the Platform) provides a sustainable source of funding. Funding is global and in all the main currencies. Members decide on which Charities or causes they wish to support.
Setting up the Charity Register The setting up of the Charity Register will commence in early 2015. It follows that to register the Charity will need to become a RealStew Member. At this stage RealStew has not set any minimum requirements as far as the number of links or level of support that RealStew would expect to receive before RealStew will entertain any participate in any of the funding initiatives. Suffice to say it will be minimal but it does follow that, being a collaborative platform, it is not unreasonable to expect some support.
Giving and Sharing is symbiotic RealStew will also present additional avenues, other than rounding down distributed funds, and lump sum payments to fund Charity Ledger accounts. RealStew believes that the process of giving is a natural phenomenon in the same way that it embraces the notion of sharing as a sustainable phenomenon and core ethic of the Platform’s sustainability and growth
ONWARDS & UPWARDS