Hello all! When I first saw the video, I was amazed. I sent an e-mail to this guys, showing my interest and promising to collaborate and promote their product at my chess club.
Even though their promotion video was really fishy, I almost believed we were about to enjoy a great chess product.
They answered my e-mail a few days later. They basically said that yes, the product "would work as in the video", once it was made, and then they asked me how much money I could raise for them.
This was my e-mail, all in caps because I had to fill in a form in their site, which only allowed caps, for some reason... they are able to make great hardware, with great software connectivity, yet to send them an e-mail you have to fill in a form in their website and you are only allowed caps?
"DEAR REGIUM, I HAVE JUST SEEN YOUR VIDEO. i'M A LONG TIME USER OF DGT
PRODUCTS, CURRENTLY OWN THE BLUETOOTH BOARD. YOUR BOARD IS OBVIOUSLY VERY
MUCH SUPERIOR, AND ALSO SEEMS MUCH PROMISING ON THE SOFTWARE SIDE, WHERE DGT
HAS ALWAYS BEEN VERY MEDIOCRE.
I AM A MEMBER OF CLUB ESCACS MOLLET, NEXT TO BARCELONA, WINNER OF 2017
CATALAN LEAGUE, ONE OF THE TOP CHESS CLUBS IN CATALONIA. I HAVE ALREADY
SHARED YOUR VIDEO WITH THE CLUBS BOARD, AND EVERYONE HAS OFFERED TO
COLLABORATE WITH YOU IN ANY WAY YOU MIGHT NEED, BE IT BETATESTING, DONATION,
OR WHATEVER YOU MIGHT NEED. IF IT WORKS AS IN THE VIDEOS, YOUR BOARDS ARE
OBVIOUSLY THE FUTURE OF HIGH-END CHESSBOARD MARKET.
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR PROJECT, AND WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK!
JOAN"
This was their answer. Yes, they are obviously spanish, as you can guess by the mail they sent you in bad english, warning you that this situation is "in the hands of their lawyers". They replied to me directly in spanish. As you know, Spain is a country well known for it's ability to manufacture great and innovative technology (sarcasm sign):
Estimado Joan,
Gracias por tus amables palabras. Efectivamente el tablero funcionará como
muestra el video y esperamos que revolucione el mundo del ajedrez y lo lleve
a otro nivel.
Agradecemos mucho vuestra predisposición para ayudarnos, ya que ahora
estamos en la etapa promocional buscando patrocinadores que apoyen nuestra
campaña en Kickstarter que pronto lanzaremos. Para nosotros sería de gran
ayuda que difundierais nuestra web lo máximo posible por cualquier canal.
Como muestra de agradecimiento, en caso de que consiguierais un número
significativo de patrocinadores, estaríamos dispuestos a haceros una oferta
especial en el precio. ¿Cuántos patrocinadores crees que podríais conseguir?
Quedo a la espera de tus comentarios.
Recibe un cordial saludo,
Alex"
Translation: "We are promoting a product that doesn't exist, trying to raise a lot of money. Trust us, we totally won't take all your money and disappear".
For now, I'll stick to my combination of bluetooth DGT board and Acid Ape Chess. Thank you very much.
Hello all! When I first saw the video, I was amazed. I sent an e-mail to this guys, showing my interest and promising to collaborate and promote their product at my chess club.
Even though their promotion video was really fishy, I almost believed we were about to enjoy a great chess product.
They answered my e-mail a few days later. They basically said that yes, the product "would work as in the video", once it was made, and then they asked me how much money I could raise for them.
This was my e-mail, all in caps because I had to fill in a form in their site, which only allowed caps, for some reason... they are able to make great hardware, with great software connectivity, yet to send them an e-mail you have to fill in a form in their website and you are only allowed caps?
"DEAR REGIUM, I HAVE JUST SEEN YOUR VIDEO. i'M A LONG TIME USER OF DGT
PRODUCTS, CURRENTLY OWN THE BLUETOOTH BOARD. YOUR BOARD IS OBVIOUSLY VERY
MUCH SUPERIOR, AND ALSO SEEMS MUCH PROMISING ON THE SOFTWARE SIDE, WHERE DGT
HAS ALWAYS BEEN VERY MEDIOCRE.
I AM A MEMBER OF CLUB ESCACS MOLLET, NEXT TO BARCELONA, WINNER OF 2017
CATALAN LEAGUE, ONE OF THE TOP CHESS CLUBS IN CATALONIA. I HAVE ALREADY
SHARED YOUR VIDEO WITH THE CLUBS BOARD, AND EVERYONE HAS OFFERED TO
COLLABORATE WITH YOU IN ANY WAY YOU MIGHT NEED, BE IT BETATESTING, DONATION,
OR WHATEVER YOU MIGHT NEED. IF IT WORKS AS IN THE VIDEOS, YOUR BOARDS ARE
OBVIOUSLY THE FUTURE OF HIGH-END CHESSBOARD MARKET.
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR PROJECT, AND WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK!
JOAN"
This was their answer. Yes, they are obviously spanish, as you can guess by the mail they sent you in bad english, warning you that this situation is "in the hands of their lawyers". They replied to me directly in spanish. As you know, Spain is a country well known for it's ability to manufacture great and innovative technology (sarcasm sign):
Estimado Joan,
Gracias por tus amables palabras. Efectivamente el tablero funcionará como
muestra el video y esperamos que revolucione el mundo del ajedrez y lo lleve
a otro nivel.
Agradecemos mucho vuestra predisposición para ayudarnos, ya que ahora
estamos en la etapa promocional buscando patrocinadores que apoyen nuestra
campaña en Kickstarter que pronto lanzaremos. Para nosotros sería de gran
ayuda que difundierais nuestra web lo máximo posible por cualquier canal.
Como muestra de agradecimiento, en caso de que consiguierais un número
significativo de patrocinadores, estaríamos dispuestos a haceros una oferta
especial en el precio. ¿Cuántos patrocinadores crees que podríais conseguir?
Quedo a la espera de tus comentarios.
Recibe un cordial saludo,
Alex"
Translation: "We are promoting a product that doesn't exist, trying to raise a lot of money. Trust us, we totally won't take all your money and disappear".
For now, I'll stick to my combination of bluetooth DGT board and Acid Ape Chess. Thank you very much.