December 2017 • Company News
Editors Notes: The following was originally sent out in an email to potential investors and advisors on December 1st, 2017. It has been published here for transparency, information in the below may no longer be accurate or correct.
As you may know, last month we announced PrivatePatrons, a new platform designed for independent sex workers to promote themselves and get paid.
Since then, we’ve received some press coverage (thanks Erika!), and have been working on our beta launch. People have also been signing up for early access by following the link in this tweet.
Over the past month, people have had a few questions about PrivatePatrons, and what it is exactly. In this email I’d like to address these questions, and share some recent company and product news.
PrivatePatrons is a platform for sex workers, whether you’re an escort, stripper, cam performer, professional dominatrix, or any other form of sex worker. Designing features for the platform is consequently a little difficult: not all features work for everyone. Our product still in the early days, and is evolving quickly, as I work out which features to build.
The current roadmap is to have a beta available mid-December, which will allow you to create a profile (sign-in via twitter), add a picture & description, and add all the links to services you use: whether they’re to your twitter, ads, clip stores, or cam/phone lines, or website.
From there, we’re implementing secure identity verification, discoverability and search, and “following” for patrons. We’re also planning messaging, inbox and monetization for 2018.
On identity verification, personally I wish I didn’t need to perform this, but I need to in order to be legally compliant hosting more risqué pictures and for processing payments in the future. To ensure your privacy and safety, I’ve been consulting with legal and security professionals as to how to best secure the documents required for identity verification.
Shortly I’ll be releasing some open-source code that enables all services on the web to improve the security of how they transmit and store the identity verification documents that they process. This is using a technology which means the document is encrypted before it leaves your computer and is only able to be decrypted with a password that only the service provider has.
I’m happy to do a demo for you via skype or video call, just reply to this email and let me know you’d like a demo.
Editors Note: Whilst the about technology will still be released as open-source, and may be used in some form by Unobvious Technology, we will most likely be using a third-party for performing Identity Verification for Know Your Customer regulation compliance.
This third-party will have a strict confidentiality agreement and will not store information for any time beyond immediate processing to see verify the identity document and the person using it.
On the business side of things, I’m presently at a deadlock starting Unobvious Technology as a company. In order to properly setup the legal entity, I need €1500 in cash. This covers the business registration & legal fees, and the fee for starting to process payments on the credit card networks (that alone costs €500).
I’ve been looking into running a crowdfunding campaign to raise the initial capital, but don’t really have many ideas for rewards that I could give in exchange for contributions. I’ve also been looking at whether I can accept initial investment from independent people interested in the company, in exchange for shares.
As a shareholder, you’d legally be a part of the company, and have a vote at board meetings. The total shares on offer for this would be 25% of the total shares of the company. The other 75% I’ll retain as the primary shareholder, with some being used for future growth, investment or hiring.
In other business matters, I’ve been learning more about business management, legal compliance, and working on documentation about how we approach things as a company. For instance, I’ve recently written a draft of the Safety, Security, and Privacy Technology doctrine for the company.
Recently I’ve had to focus on freelance tech work to pay the bills, so I haven’t been making as much progress on developing PrivatePatrons as needed, nor have I been as active on Twitter. I’ve also worked hard to resolve a sleeping problem that was draining my productivity, and have made great steps towards resolving that — onwards and upwards!
As for other products or services I’ve previously talked about, or ideas I’ve shared in the past: those are currently on hold, so that we’re 100% focused on PrivatePatrons, but I haven’t forgotten about them.
Next year is looking to be an exciting year for Unobvious Technology, and PrivatePatrons. We’re aiming to launch monetized features, including messaging, pay to view content/messages, and patreon-style subscriptions.
Ultimately, the goal is to be operating in a cash positive manner by September 2018. That means we’re aiming to be profitable each month, after all expenses and dues are paid from our revenue.
Thanks for all the advice, support, feedback, and conversations so far!
Yours,
Emelia Smith
Founder of Unobvious Technology
