Thought-Wired

By Dmitry Selitskiy

PledgeMe.Investment

Technology,



NZ $285,188 pledged


171 people pledged


Closed


NZ $200,000 minimum target


Min

NZ$200,000

Max

NZ$350,000

100 100% Complete

This campaign was successful and closed on 19/09/2016 at 7:00 PM.

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About

Thought-Wired

Thought-Wired is a high-tech social enterprise making nous™: a thought-controlled communication system for people who cannot move or talk because of physical disabilities

 

Together we want to make life better for millions of people

There are more than 6 million people around the world who cannot move or speak because of severe physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy or motor-neuron disease.

Often they have sound, healthy minds.  

People with profound physical disabilities and their carers have to go to extreme lengths in order to communicate. And in many cases they simply cannot communicate at all. Given the technology available today, it shouldn’t be that hard.

 

Introducing nous™: thought-controlled communication software

nous™ uses brain-sensing technology. Users don’t need to be able to move or speak. Just think. A lightweight headband detects the user’s thought patterns and translates them into signals, which the nous™ software then translates into actions.

nous™ teaches people how to control their thought patterns so that they can select words and images on a computer screen, allowing them to communicate.

Beyond communication, the possibilities are endless. Anything that can be controlled with a computer, a smartphone or a tablet could be operated via nous™. It could be a motorised wheelchair, the lights in your home, a bionic arm...

 

We have proven our prototypes work and there is market demand

We have successfully trialled the nous™ prototypes and are now ready to finish building and launch the first commercial version.

During our research and customer trials, we have confirmed that nous™ will improve the quality of life for our customers. We have also confirmed that our proposed subscription model at the price of $199 per month is affordable and represents good value for our customers.

 

Our share offer

We are seeking between $200,000 (7.58%) and $350,000 (12.54%) (NZD) of capital in this round of funding. Investor shares are priced at $1 each, with a minimum purchase of 500 shares.

 
Investment Tiers & Rewards

TW Investment Tiers

Depending on the sum of your investment you’ll be entitled to these investor rewards:

  • Discounts – you’ll be entitled to a discount on nous™ subscription for life and a discount on brain-sensing devices such as Muse that we resell (one-off or lifetime depending on the investment tier). Subject to investor discounts Ts&Cs.

    You can gift your nous™ subscription discount to anyone who needs it!

  • Recognition – we will immortalise your support within nous™ itself either in the Help/About screen and in the special section of our website. Unless, of course, you ask us not to.
 
Rights attached to all shares

The shares on offer are investor shares. These are non-voting shares, except in very limited circumstances. This ensures that shareholders’ core rights are protected and gives shareholders the right to one vote on a proposal or resolution:

  • That would affect the rights attached to the investor shares;
  • To put the company into liquidation; 
  • For the disposal of the whole, or a material part, of the property, business and undertaking of Thought-Wired Limited.

Investor shares will give the holders:

  • The right to an equal share in dividends and other distributions made by Thought-Wired Limited (subject to the rights of any other class of share); 
  • The right to an equal share in the distribution of surplus assets of Thought-Wired Limited.

Investor shares do not give shareholders any rights to vote on the appointment or removal of directors.

We recommend that you read our constitution. 

 
Shareholdings

TW Shareholdings 

a) F&F Investors are friends & family who joined us in 2014 through a convertible debt mechanism. Details available on request.

b) NB: Additional 40,000 shares issued to the Employee Share Option Pool (ESOP) as part of this share issue. Hence the discrepancy between the percentage of PledgeMe investors shares indicated at the top of the PledgeMe campaign page and the real percentage listed here. (PledgeMe's built-in calculator could not accommodate for this scenario)

 

About our Team

 

Dmitry Selitskiy, Founder & CEO, left his IT career to start Thought-Wired, motivated by the experiences of his relatives. His cousin lives with severe cerebral palsy which has left him locked-in for life. Dmitry has five years’ experience in IT. His previous roles included business and systems analysis, systems architecture and implementation and project management. He received his BBIM and BCom (Hons) degrees from the University of Auckland. Since founding Thought-Wired, he has received extensive mentoring and coaching from the experts at Ākina Foundation, ICEHOUSE, and independent entrepreneurs. Dmitry is responsible for all non-technical & commercial aspects of the venture.

 

 

Dr James Pau, Product Lead & Co-founder, joined Dmitry because he believes that brain-computer interfaces have the potential to add the most value to the lives of those with disability, and is an expert in this technology. James has six years’ research experience and knowledge in working with brain and muscle activity. He first completed a BE (Hons) in Mechatronics Engineering (a fusion of mechanical, electrical and software engineering) at the University of Auckland, followed by a PhD and Postdoctoral research in Biomedical Engineering. He has experience working with brain-sensing technology, and understands its capability and where the limitations currently are. James’s primary responsibility is leading the nous product development.

 

Sarvnaz Taherian, User Research Lead & Co-founder, wants to address the fact that people who have severe disabilities and their support network are often let down by society and industry. Sarvnaz is a PhD candidate in Psychology at the University of Auckland, and a former research assistant at the Cerebral Palsy Society of New Zealand. She has three years’ experience working in the disability sector. Her work focuses on the usability and effectiveness of hi-tech assistive devices, and the aspects of human- computer interaction that need to be taken into consideration when designing such systems. She has a deep understanding of user needs, from a multiple stakeholder perspective, and the processes required to improve the adoption of assistive technology. She leads user research, field work and nous trials at Thought-Wired.

 

 

TW Konstantin Selitskiy

Konstantin Selitskiy, Non-executive Director & Co-founder, is passionate about the translation of new technology into commercial products. His background is in science and technology and he brings 25+ years of experience in entrepreneurship and management. As a co-founding, non-executive director he ensures that there’s a healthy balance between our ambitions and being realistic. We lovingly call him our Chief Sceptical Officer.

 

 

Stefan Rochfort, Advisor & Software Engineer, brings 18 years of experience in the IT industry as a software developer, analyst, DBA, project manager, digital media creative, and head of department.  He consults on many aspects of the business, engages his generous network of industry professionals, and keeps his hands dirty with digital media production and software engineering.

 

 

See our full investment memo to read about our amazing extended team of experts and advisors.

 

 

What we've done so far

Thought-Wired nous™ prototype testing

 

Over the last 5 years we have actively involved our potential customers in the design process. We have interviewed, demonstrated and trialled our concept to hundreds of people in order to gather their feedback.

 

This has given us valuable insights, including:

  • Even the most basic communication, such as “Yes” and “No” responses is hugely valuable
  • It is critical to guide the user through the learning process to achieve good results
  • Gamified training leads to higher user motivation and better performance
  • We can greatly improve quality of life by connecting to music and entertainment applications
  • Our potential customers believe nous is well worth the price we have indicated

We have been recognised through wins in Microsoft’s Imagine Cup, The University of Auckland’s Velocity Entrepreneurship Programme, and Akina Launchpad Accelerator.  As well as gaining support from Callaghan Innovation through two successful R&D Project grants.

The feedback from the community of end users, carers and support organisations such as ATANZ, TalkLink, Cerebral Palsy Society of New Zealand, and Carlson School for Cerebral Palsy to name a few, has been extraordinarily positive.

"This technology can revolutionise the lives of our students, families and our lives. It's absolutely amazing." – Cathy Herries, former Deputy Principal at Carlson School for Cerebral Palsy, Auckland

 

 

What's next?

With this investment, we aim to achieve the following: 

  • Finish building the first commercial version of nous™
  • Sign-up the first individual customers and produce case studies with them 
  • Formalise key strategic partnerships to access the early adopters 

By doing this, we will be ready to launch nous™ internationally next year.

The first version of nous™ is targeted for 600 customers in the first full year of sales, out of a potential addressable market of 360,000 people.

Our initial focus is to sell directly to people with disabilities and their families, while we set up other channels for sales and funding.

In the future, our goal is to have nous™ partially funded by healthcare agencies and insurance companies, and revolutionise the care given to all of the people who are limited by their physical constraints today.

This is a chance for your money to fundamentally change people’s lives

By creating and delivering nous™ to people with profound disabilities in New Zealand and internationally, together we will:

• Empower individuals with disabilities to live healthier, happier lives by being able to communicate;

• Reduce stress and improve quality of life for caregivers supporting these individuals;

• Promote better social integration and equality in communities.

 

See our full Investment Memorandum HERE for all of the details of our plan.

 

 

Risks and Challenges

 

Risks.

How we'll mitigate it.

Loss of key staff: we are heavily reliant on our founders, especially Dmitry and James to run the business and develop the product

We are actively documenting and sharing knowledge between team members.

We will expand the team so that responsibilities and knowledge are not concentrated to a small number of people. 

We will set up key person insurance.

 

Cash flow: we are a tech start-up that is yet to start generating revenue from its core product so borrowing money is not easy

We will always exercise caution and planning in preparing our budgets by consulting our advisors.

We will attract financing via multiple sources in the future (pre-orders, R&D grants, equity) until we reach scale and profitability as described in the full Investment Memorandum document.

 

nous™ does not work well enough for intended users

We employ user-centred design process which means we are developing nous™ with our users incorporating their feedback into development as fast as possible.

We have advisors assist us in ensuring that we follow this practice effectively.

 

nous™ does not gain approval or support from funding agencies

We will initially sell nous™ directly to customers to avoid delays in securing agreements with funding agencies. 

Funding agencies support solutions that demonstrate impact and there are enough early adopters who can purchase nous™ without funding and can contribute evidence to gain their support.

We are also looking at sponsorship models to assist those who cannot afford the product.

 

Distance to market: New Zealand is geographically remote from many of our key international markets

We will establish a network of partners in key markets to drive sales and provide support to customers.

Our selected entry markets are strategic beachheads to greater regions, e.g. Australia to APAC.

In the long term, we aim to establish our own local offices or subsidiaries in key markets such as the US.

 

Regulations: nous™ could face regulatory hurdles in international markets

nous™ is not a medical device or product so it will avoid many hurdles. 

We have received advice from peer companies who are developing assistive devices and are preparing for any regulatory approvals we may require in the future.

We will employ a regulatory compliance specialist if we anticipate significant regulatory barriers.

Competition: there are currently no existing strong competitors in our space, but that could change

We are carefully watching both the technological and application sectors of the industry.

We have the first-mover advantage in New Zealand and are not planning to slow down. Our ability to innovate grows exponentially as we develop our technology.

We can partner instead of competing. We can potentially licence some of our intellectual property to other market players instead of engaging them in a race.

The total global market is large enough to support multiple successful players.

 

Note from PledgeMe

We have completed a Veda check on the company and their directors, as well as a google check. There were no adverse findings.

 

 

Updates 6

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T-3 days: 137-strong and pushing to the max!

16/09/2016 at 1:19 PM

It’s been a month since we launched our equity campaign and what a month it’s been!

137 investors | $240k invested | Minimum target achieved | 3 days to go

One hundred and thirty seven investors make up a very special group who believe in our mission, our team and our tech. 

They say it better than we could, anyway:









We are continuing to be humbled and encouraged by the level of support we’ve received and the calibre of people joining us as foundational investors. We thank you all!

We aren’t lifting the foot from the accelerator, though. There are still three more days to go and we have the controls set for the max target. Do share the campaign with one or two friends or colleagues who you feel would get most excited about Thought-Wired. There is still time!

> If you’re following this campaign and have not made up your mind–now is the time: http://pldg.me/tw
You still have a chance to join the 137-strong community who believe that the world can be made universally accessible with our technology!
Our campaign closes on Mon Sep 19th, 7pm sharp.

Our stories & more

 

Thanks for continuing to be awesome!

The Thought-Wired team.

Three weeks in, sights set on max!

09/09/2016 at 2:57 PM

Thanks to 112 investors who believe in us, our mission and our venture, we’re less than $17k away from meeting our minimum target! You daily blow us away with your considered, forward-thinking support!

When we cross this threshold, those pledges become real investments, and the team will have the resources to push forward to our goal of launching the first commercial version of nous™ next year.

Minimum threshold vs Maximum target

Crossing the minimum threshold will be an excellent outcome, but together we can do more.

We did not set our maximum funding goal at $350,000 arbitrarily. The closer we get to the maximum amount, the more we can do without distracting ourselves by needing to secure more funding. Every extra $25k means another month’s worth of brain-power hours to pump into building the best possible product and reaching more people who need it, faster.

> If you have already invested, you’re a hero! What makes a hero into a super-hero? They keep doing more heroic things. Tell a few of your friends and colleagues about Thought-Wired, about nous™ and about your pledge, and you’ll be superifying your hero status! Thank you!

> If you’re following this campaign and have not made up your mind about becoming an investor - now is the time: http://pldg.me/tw. Join the other 112 kind-hearted forward-thinkers who believe that the world can become universally accessible through our technology!

Hot off the press this week

NZ Innovation Awards Finalists

We’re super excited and humbled to be selected as finalists for NZ Innovation Awards 2016 in two(!) categories: Innovation in Health & Science and Excellence in Social Innovation.  Check out the calibre of our fellow finalists on Idealog.

The Everywhere Initiative by VISA Finalists

Earlier today we also got word that we’ve been selected as a finalist for the Visa Everywhere Initiative! So we’re off to Sydney in two weeks’ time to compete for up to AUD$70,000. Exciting times!

Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge TOP 500

On top of all the local recognition, Thought-Wired’s been recognised internationally by the Hello Tomorrow Global Summit & Challenge.  It’s quite incredible to be selected alongside other top 500 deep-tech startups in the world!

Upcoming events

Auckland, Wednesday Sep 14th

We’re coming back to GridAKL (101 Pakenham St West, Auckland Central) for an interactive demo session at the TechCafe. You'll be able to drive our thought-controlled robot with your mind, see nous™ in the flesh, and ask us your curliest questions between 11am and 1pm on September the 14th.

> Details & RSVP at https://attending.io/events/thought-wired-gridakl-demo or on Facebook. Almost 50 people are already going!

> Watch the recording of this week’s Wellington event on Youtube.

In the media and on the blogs

 

Thanks for continuing to be awesome!

The Thought-Wired team.

Two weeks, $166k and 83% of the minimum target. Wow!

31/08/2016 at 4:30 PM

Hello!

Two weeks, $166k and 83% of the minimum target. Wow!

96 kind-hearted, smart-headed investors have put us within lunging distance of our minimum target. At 200k the pledged investments become real and so does the dream of making the world accessible to the millions of people for whom it currently isn’t.

At 200k we’ll be able to finish building nous™ v1, launch it in New Zealand and grow organically from there. But we won’t be taking our foot off the gas when we get to that minimum - if we make it to 350k we can prepare and execute a large-scale international launch of nous™ faster, and get the technology to more people who need it sooner.

> If you’re following this campaign and still thinking of becoming an investor, time is fleeting - get in quick: http://pldg.me/tw 

If you already invested, THANK YOU and congratulations – welcome to Thought-Wired, we know you’ll be very happy here!  Please consider spreading the word to your trusted networks about your excellent and good-hearted investment!

Upcoming events

We’ve a couple of events in the next two weeks for you.  You can find out more about us, ask us anything about the technology and the business, and even try nous™ interactive demos yourself!

Wellington, Wednesday Sep 7th

Dmitry is coming over to meet Wellingtonians on September the 7th. A meet and greet session will be hosted by the PledgeMe team at Southern Cross Garden Bar & Restaurant (39 Abel Smith St, Te Aro) from 5.30pm.

> Please RSVP at https://attending.io/events/thought-wired-investor-meet-greet if you are attending in person

> Save the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSNcmkXlJGg to catch the livestream

Auckland, Wednesday Sep 14th

We’re coming back to GridAKL (101 Pakenham St West, Auckland Central) for an interactive demo session at the TechCafe. You'll be able to drive our thought-controlled robot with your mind, see nous™ in the flesh, and ask us your curliest questions between 11am and 1pm on September the 14th.

> Details & RSVP at https://attending.io/events/thought-wired-gridakl-demo

In the media and on the blogs

Sarv&Arian.jpg

 

 

 

Thanks for continuing to be awesome!

- Dmitry & the Thought-Wired team.

We're over $120k!

23/08/2016 at 3:31 PM

Hello!

Well.. can you believe we only launched on Wednesday? We can’t... So much has happened!

We reached $120k!

Here we are, not even one week later and we’ve passed the $120k mark! Given that our minimum target is $200k in order for these pledges to be a real and actual thing, we are totally thrilled with that. For us, watching that number go up and up has been like watching a Telethon. So exciting! If you’re one of the people who has already pledged - THANK YOU

We really appreciate all of the support we’ve received so far. The sooner we get across the line the sooner we can start instigating our plans to get this technology to those who need it. 

If you know anyone who might also be interested in supporting us, we’d love if you could share this campaign on.

If you’re following this campaign and still thinking of becoming an investor, please get in quick: http://pldg.me/tw

Leave it too late and you might miss your chance to become one of the original investors in Thought-Wired. You know, one of those visionaries who could see where the technology was going and got in on the ground floor.

We were on TV!

Oh and we may have mentioned (only a few million times on social media already) that we managed to get ourselves onto Seven Sharp on launch day. They did a pretty decent job of explaining what we’re about. If you haven’t watched it yet, here’s the link again. Please pass it on to others who haven’t heard about us yet:

http://tvnz.co.nz/seven-sharp/mind-control-has-potential-help-severely-disabled-people-world-over-video-6486740

We’re listening

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know by now that we develop nous™ by closely listening to feedback from our users. 

We apply the same principle to everything else we do.

We had some feedback that the summary metrics table that we used in our investment document (pages 2 and 8) and on our campaign page was confusing. So, we’ve taken another shot at it here:

The numbers are still the same but should now be easier to follow. If you come across anything else in our documentation that makes you scratch your head, let us know!

We’re always happy to answer your questions.

Did you miss our launch event?

If you missed your launch event, you may have heard that we demonstrated our technology on the night and everyone had heaps of fun with it. So if you couldn’t make the event but would like to see the technology for yourself, please get in touch. We’re arranging some casual events where you can drop in and try the technology and ask us questions. 

 

Thanks for your continued support!

 

- Dmitry & the Thought-Wired team.

    Details

    Offer Details

    Current Valuation 2,400,000
    Raise Minimum 200,000
    Raise Maximum 350,000
    Share Price 1.00
    Minimum Pledge 500.00
    Maximum Shares Offered 350,000
    Explanation of valuation:

    We have valued Thought-Wired at $2.4M (prior to the issue of investor shares).
    This is based on 4x projected revenue for the first full year of sales, which is the
    minimum multiplier expected in our industry.
    See our investment memo for detail.

    Financial Summary

    Prev Year Current Year Est. FY 2025 Est. FY 2026
    Revenue NZ $40,467 NZ $77,400 NZ $874,000 NZ $3,457,000
    Operating Expenses NZ $62,618 NZ $237,900 NZ $658,000 NZ $1,630,000
    EBITDA -NZ $38,808 -NZ $169,000 -NZ $210,000 NZ $44,000
    Net Profit -NZ $38,808 -NZ $170,000 -NZ $215,000 NZ $22,000

    Company Details

    Company Name: Thought-Wired Limited (registered as THOUGHT-WIRED LIMITED)

    Company Number: 3779156

    Companies Office URL: https://www.business.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/3779156

    Incorporation Date: 13 Apr 2012

    Company Status: Registered

    Entity Type: Registered

    Constitution Filed: Yes

    Annual Return Filing Month: June, last filed 03 Jun 2016

    Addresses:

    Registered Office 9 Prospect Terrace
    Silverdale
    Silverdale
    Address for Service 9 Prospect Terrace
    Silverdale
    Silverdale

    Company Documents

    Documents no longer available to download, as this campaign has closed

    Director Details

    Name Role Profile URL Invested?
    Dmitry Selitskiy CEO https://nz.linkedin.com/in/dselitskiy
    Konstantin Selitskiy Non-executive Director https://nz.linkedin.com/in/konstantinselitskiy
    Dr James Pau Product & Tech Lead https://nz.linkedin.com/in/james-pau-3241041b

    Questions 9


    Hello are you able to provide an update on the investment? Thanks

    Posted on 29-08-2020 by Lisa Bell

    Hi Dmitry, it's Danny Squires here - looking good for your first target now! I'm keen to see the answers to Tim's earlier questions - are you able send these through to me please?

    Posted on 10-09-2016 by ecoArk Ltd

    Dmitry, I've been unable to access your Q&A response to Tim http://bit.ly/TwPmQA1 - would you please provide a valid hyperlink. Thanks Bevan

    Posted on 07-09-2016 by Bevan Wallace

    Hi Bevan.
    Apologies, indeed there's an issue with the link. We emailed you the answers direct. Hope this helps!

    Answered on 07-09-2016 by Dmitry Selitskiy


    Hi there. Is the IP action plan referred to in the IM available?

    Posted on 05-09-2016 by Finn

    Hi Finn.
    Please email directly to discuss. This is getting into strategy so we will not share this information publicly.
    Cheers, Dmitry

    Answered on 05-09-2016 by Dmitry Selitskiy


    Amazing work Dmitry and team. Well done for getting this far! I have been watching from afar for a while and am really interested in helping the company grow.

    I have a few questions (that you have probably asked of yourself a few times in the last few years!)

    Funding R&D/early sales growth:

    In your estimates, you have very aggressive sales targets. Do you think that you will be able to scale the business to move from an R&D-led company to a production and sales-led company?

    Much of your early revenue expectations rely on equity crowdfunding and R&D grants via Callaghan Innovation. What is the backup plan if those don't eventuate?

    Sales & marketing questions:

    How have you devised the total market size?

    Have you verified that your market is willing to use a subscription-based model for care?

    Are insurers be willing to fund a subscription to nous? Do you have the resources to undertake those negotiations to get nous to be an approved intervention?

    Do you have any keystone customers/partners that are willing to (part-)fund trials or medical-grade validation? As an outsider looking in, a natural local partner would be F&P Healthcare.

    Who are your distributors for offshore markets?

    What are your sales channels for offshore markets?

    What regulatory or trade barriers exist in those jurisdictions for EEG-type devices? Does the team have the legal capacity to push through them those barriers?

    Product questions:

    Do you have secure supply agreements for the 3rd party devices that you are intending to deploy with/for nous? What happens if one of the suppliers goes under?

    The company doesn't seem to have reserves to cover a possible (probable?) full product recall for its early products. Is that the case? What steps are being taken to mitigate that risk?

    Operational questions:

    Operating expenses seem to be fairly conservative. For example, you are modelling on 6 FTEs. Yet none of your current staff appear to be focused on production and/or customer support (see also the first question). Scaling to 10k customers within 3 years sounds hard.

    Posted on 02-09-2016 by Tim McNamara

    Hey Tim!
    These are excellent questions, thank you for taking the time.
    We took the time to address them as well. Being unable to format the answers here, I've put them in a neat list: http://bit.ly/TwPmQA1
    There are some details that I avoided going into publicly for commercial reasons. Happy to talk further offline in confidence. Cheers, Dmitry.

    Answered on 03-09-2016 by Dmitry Selitskiy


    Hi. With the gifting of the discount, is it possible for multiple investors to gift their discount to one person who needs it for a combined discount? Cheers. Malcolm.

    Posted on 01-09-2016 by Malcolm

    Hi, Malcom.
    Thanks for the great question. Yes, it may be possible unless you are already at the maximum 20% tier. We will need to confirm your exact situation and the final discount individually with you and your group. Happy to discuss further. My contact details are in the Investment Memorandum on the cover page. Cheers, Dmitry.

    Answered on 01-09-2016 by Dmitry Selitskiy


    Has there been other uses of the product considered? One good use would be to monitor long distance trucker to alert them before they fall asleep.

    Posted on 01-09-2016 by Chuck Bird

    Hi Chuck,
    Indeed, great idea! There's a lot of research into potential uses of such technology (EEG). There even has been a trial project in Australia looking at drivers' attention. Also, headsets like the ones we use, are being used in applications designed to improve people's ability to focus, for example for children with ADD/ADHD.
    From our perspective, we're open to such future opportunities and will leverage them to grow the business as long as it does not detract from our core purpose of enabling people with disabilities.
    Thanks for the question!

    Answered on 01-09-2016 by Dmitry Selitskiy


    Could I have more details on event on 7 Sept please.

    Posted on 31-08-2016 by Chuck Bird

    Hi Chuck,
    On the 7th I'll be over in Wellington to meet with anyone interested in our venture, the nous™ product and an opportunity to invest. The bulk of the time will be devoted to Q&A with people attending and wrapped up with an interactive demo of the current nous™ prototype.
    It is hosted by the PledgeMe team at at Southern Cross Garden Bar & Restaurant (39 Abel Smith St, Te Aro) from 5.30pm on Sep 7th.
    Please RSVP at https://attending.io/events/thought-wired-investor-meet-greet

    Hope this helps and we'll see you there!

    Answered on 31-08-2016 by Dmitry Selitskiy


    Will the technology be on display at Wednesday 7 event, if I brought my friend with cerebral palsy who is non-verbal but can write/type slowly,
    Has the technology been shown to add benefit for someone functioning at this level?

    Posted on 31-08-2016 by Rob Baker

    Hi Rob!
    Dmitry will have the demo set up with him exactly for a situation like this.
    That said, if your friend can slowly write or type, then nous™ ver. 1 would not be of huge benefit at this point in time as it is aimed at enabling basic communication to start with.
    We still encourage you to come and have a chat so we can see which future possibilities will be of benefit to your friend!

    Answered on 31-08-2016 by Dmitry Selitskiy

    Pledgers 171

    Elton Chan
    08/09/2016 at 10:34am
    Keegan
    08/09/2016 at 9:42am
    Chris
    08/09/2016 at 12:04am
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    Dave Allison
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    Rhys
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    Ruth
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    Fiona Sanggang
    04/09/2016 at 7:58am
    Marina Selitskaya
    02/09/2016 at 10:11pm
    David Wong & Yu Hwee Tan
    01/09/2016 at 9:25pm

    "Great stuff James & Team! "

    Minty Hunter
    01/09/2016 at 6:52pm
    Geoff Whitcher
    01/09/2016 at 9:48am

    "it is a wonderful concept, I will watch with interest as the project evolves"

    Nikhil Ambani
    31/08/2016 at 10:08pm
    Tim Bird
    31/08/2016 at 6:21pm
    Virginia Sharplin
    31/08/2016 at 11:43am
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    Marilou Yu
    30/08/2016 at 11:48am
    Tu Nguyen
    29/08/2016 at 9:53pm
    Justine Pepperell
    29/08/2016 at 9:16pm

    "Love it - go well! "

    Susan
    29/08/2016 at 6:44pm
    Yun Hong Hua
    29/08/2016 at 3:10pm
    Patrick & Melanie
    29/08/2016 at 12:09am
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    28/08/2016 at 7:14pm
    Peter Maurice
    28/08/2016 at 6:42pm
    Sally Petersen
    28/08/2016 at 5:35pm
    Fred Pau
    28/08/2016 at 11:22am

    "Great work to date, incredible dedication, looking forward to see the life changing impact from nous!"

    Peter Thaleikis
    27/08/2016 at 9:48pm
    Kris
    27/08/2016 at 9:04am
    Graham Barker
    26/08/2016 at 9:36pm

    "Great work! Look forward to seeing your continued success."

    Thought-Wired

    Thought-Wired is a high-tech social enterprise making nous™: a thought-controlled communication system for people who cannot move or talk because of physical disabilities

     

    Together we want to make life better for millions of people

    There are more than 6 million people around the world who cannot move or speak because of severe physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy or motor-neuron disease.

    Often they have sound, healthy minds.  

    People with profound physical disabilities and their carers have to go to extreme lengths in order to communicate. And in many cases they simply cannot communicate at all. Given the technology available today, it shouldn’t be that hard.

     

    Introducing nous™: thought-controlled communication software

    nous™ uses brain-sensing technology. Users don’t need to be able to move or speak. Just think. A lightweight headband detects the user’s thought patterns and translates them into signals, which the nous™ software then translates into actions.

    nous™ teaches people how to control their thought patterns so that they can select words and images on a computer screen, allowing them to communicate.

    Beyond communication, the possibilities are endless. Anything that can be controlled with a computer, a smartphone or a tablet could be operated via nous™. It could be a motorised wheelchair, the lights in your home, a bionic arm...

     

    We have proven our prototypes work and there is market demand

    We have successfully trialled the nous™ prototypes and are now ready to finish building and launch the first commercial version.

    During our research and customer trials, we have confirmed that nous™ will improve the quality of life for our customers. We have also confirmed that our proposed subscription model at the price of $199 per month is affordable and represents good value for our customers.

     

    Our share offer

    We are seeking between $200,000 (7.58%) and $350,000 (12.54%) (NZD) of capital in this round of funding. Investor shares are priced at $1 each, with a minimum purchase of 500 shares.

     
    Investment Tiers & Rewards

    TW Investment Tiers

    Depending on the sum of your investment you’ll be entitled to these investor rewards:

    • Discounts – you’ll be entitled to a discount on nous™ subscription for life and a discount on brain-sensing devices such as Muse that we resell (one-off or lifetime depending on the investment tier). Subject to investor discounts Ts&Cs.

      You can gift your nous™ subscription discount to anyone who needs it!

    • Recognition – we will immortalise your support within nous™ itself either in the Help/About screen and in the special section of our website. Unless, of course, you ask us not to.
     
    Rights attached to all shares

    The shares on offer are investor shares. These are non-voting shares, except in very limited circumstances. This ensures that shareholders’ core rights are protected and gives shareholders the right to one vote on a proposal or resolution:

    • That would affect the rights attached to the investor shares;
    • To put the company into liquidation; 
    • For the disposal of the whole, or a material part, of the property, business and undertaking of Thought-Wired Limited.

    Investor shares will give the holders:

    • The right to an equal share in dividends and other distributions made by Thought-Wired Limited (subject to the rights of any other class of share); 
    • The right to an equal share in the distribution of surplus assets of Thought-Wired Limited.

    Investor shares do not give shareholders any rights to vote on the appointment or removal of directors.

    We recommend that you read our constitution. 

     
    Shareholdings

    TW Shareholdings 

    a) F&F Investors are friends & family who joined us in 2014 through a convertible debt mechanism. Details available on request.

    b) NB: Additional 40,000 shares issued to the Employee Share Option Pool (ESOP) as part of this share issue. Hence the discrepancy between the percentage of PledgeMe investors shares indicated at the top of the PledgeMe campaign page and the real percentage listed here. (PledgeMe's built-in calculator could not accommodate for this scenario)

     

    About our Team

     

    Dmitry Selitskiy, Founder & CEO, left his IT career to start Thought-Wired, motivated by the experiences of his relatives. His cousin lives with severe cerebral palsy which has left him locked-in for life. Dmitry has five years’ experience in IT. His previous roles included business and systems analysis, systems architecture and implementation and project management. He received his BBIM and BCom (Hons) degrees from the University of Auckland. Since founding Thought-Wired, he has received extensive mentoring and coaching from the experts at Ākina Foundation, ICEHOUSE, and independent entrepreneurs. Dmitry is responsible for all non-technical & commercial aspects of the venture.

     

     

    Dr James Pau, Product Lead & Co-founder, joined Dmitry because he believes that brain-computer interfaces have the potential to add the most value to the lives of those with disability, and is an expert in this technology. James has six years’ research experience and knowledge in working with brain and muscle activity. He first completed a BE (Hons) in Mechatronics Engineering (a fusion of mechanical, electrical and software engineering) at the University of Auckland, followed by a PhD and Postdoctoral research in Biomedical Engineering. He has experience working with brain-sensing technology, and understands its capability and where the limitations currently are. James’s primary responsibility is leading the nous product development.

     

    Sarvnaz Taherian, User Research Lead & Co-founder, wants to address the fact that people who have severe disabilities and their support network are often let down by society and industry. Sarvnaz is a PhD candidate in Psychology at the University of Auckland, and a former research assistant at the Cerebral Palsy Society of New Zealand. She has three years’ experience working in the disability sector. Her work focuses on the usability and effectiveness of hi-tech assistive devices, and the aspects of human- computer interaction that need to be taken into consideration when designing such systems. She has a deep understanding of user needs, from a multiple stakeholder perspective, and the processes required to improve the adoption of assistive technology. She leads user research, field work and nous trials at Thought-Wired.

     

     

    TW Konstantin Selitskiy

    Konstantin Selitskiy, Non-executive Director & Co-founder, is passionate about the translation of new technology into commercial products. His background is in science and technology and he brings 25+ years of experience in entrepreneurship and management. As a co-founding, non-executive director he ensures that there’s a healthy balance between our ambitions and being realistic. We lovingly call him our Chief Sceptical Officer.

     

     

    Stefan Rochfort, Advisor & Software Engineer, brings 18 years of experience in the IT industry as a software developer, analyst, DBA, project manager, digital media creative, and head of department.  He consults on many aspects of the business, engages his generous network of industry professionals, and keeps his hands dirty with digital media production and software engineering.

     

     

    See our full investment memo to read about our amazing extended team of experts and advisors.

     

     

    What we've done so far

    Thought-Wired nous™ prototype testing

     

    Over the last 5 years we have actively involved our potential customers in the design process. We have interviewed, demonstrated and trialled our concept to hundreds of people in order to gather their feedback.

     

    This has given us valuable insights, including:

    • Even the most basic communication, such as “Yes” and “No” responses is hugely valuable
    • It is critical to guide the user through the learning process to achieve good results
    • Gamified training leads to higher user motivation and better performance
    • We can greatly improve quality of life by connecting to music and entertainment applications
    • Our potential customers believe nous is well worth the price we have indicated

    We have been recognised through wins in Microsoft’s Imagine Cup, The University of Auckland’s Velocity Entrepreneurship Programme, and Akina Launchpad Accelerator.  As well as gaining support from Callaghan Innovation through two successful R&D Project grants.

    The feedback from the community of end users, carers and support organisations such as ATANZ, TalkLink, Cerebral Palsy Society of New Zealand, and Carlson School for Cerebral Palsy to name a few, has been extraordinarily positive.

    "This technology can revolutionise the lives of our students, families and our lives. It's absolutely amazing." – Cathy Herries, former Deputy Principal at Carlson School for Cerebral Palsy, Auckland

     

     

    What's next?

    With this investment, we aim to achieve the following: 

    • Finish building the first commercial version of nous™
    • Sign-up the first individual customers and produce case studies with them 
    • Formalise key strategic partnerships to access the early adopters 

    By doing this, we will be ready to launch nous™ internationally next year.

    The first version of nous™ is targeted for 600 customers in the first full year of sales, out of a potential addressable market of 360,000 people.

    Our initial focus is to sell directly to people with disabilities and their families, while we set up other channels for sales and funding.

    In the future, our goal is to have nous™ partially funded by healthcare agencies and insurance companies, and revolutionise the care given to all of the people who are limited by their physical constraints today.

    This is a chance for your money to fundamentally change people’s lives

    By creating and delivering nous™ to people with profound disabilities in New Zealand and internationally, together we will:

    • Empower individuals with disabilities to live healthier, happier lives by being able to communicate;

    • Reduce stress and improve quality of life for caregivers supporting these individuals;

    • Promote better social integration and equality in communities.

     

    See our full Investment Memorandum HERE for all of the details of our plan.

     

     

    Risks and Challenges

     

    Risks.

    How we'll mitigate it.

    Loss of key staff: we are heavily reliant on our founders, especially Dmitry and James to run the business and develop the product

    We are actively documenting and sharing knowledge between team members.

    We will expand the team so that responsibilities and knowledge are not concentrated to a small number of people. 

    We will set up key person insurance.

     

    Cash flow: we are a tech start-up that is yet to start generating revenue from its core product so borrowing money is not easy

    We will always exercise caution and planning in preparing our budgets by consulting our advisors.

    We will attract financing via multiple sources in the future (pre-orders, R&D grants, equity) until we reach scale and profitability as described in the full Investment Memorandum document.

     

    nous™ does not work well enough for intended users

    We employ user-centred design process which means we are developing nous™ with our users incorporating their feedback into development as fast as possible.

    We have advisors assist us in ensuring that we follow this practice effectively.

     

    nous™ does not gain approval or support from funding agencies

    We will initially sell nous™ directly to customers to avoid delays in securing agreements with funding agencies. 

    Funding agencies support solutions that demonstrate impact and there are enough early adopters who can purchase nous™ without funding and can contribute evidence to gain their support.

    We are also looking at sponsorship models to assist those who cannot afford the product.

     

    Distance to market: New Zealand is geographically remote from many of our key international markets

    We will establish a network of partners in key markets to drive sales and provide support to customers.

    Our selected entry markets are strategic beachheads to greater regions, e.g. Australia to APAC.

    In the long term, we aim to establish our own local offices or subsidiaries in key markets such as the US.

     

    Regulations: nous™ could face regulatory hurdles in international markets

    nous™ is not a medical device or product so it will avoid many hurdles. 

    We have received advice from peer companies who are developing assistive devices and are preparing for any regulatory approvals we may require in the future.

    We will employ a regulatory compliance specialist if we anticipate significant regulatory barriers.

    Competition: there are currently no existing strong competitors in our space, but that could change

    We are carefully watching both the technological and application sectors of the industry.

    We have the first-mover advantage in New Zealand and are not planning to slow down. Our ability to innovate grows exponentially as we develop our technology.

    We can partner instead of competing. We can potentially licence some of our intellectual property to other market players instead of engaging them in a race.

    The total global market is large enough to support multiple successful players.

     

    Note from PledgeMe

    We have completed a Veda check on the company and their directors, as well as a google check. There were no adverse findings.

     

     

    You need to pledge to see this update.

    You need to pledge to see this update.

    T-3 days: 137-strong and pushing to the max!

    16/09/2016 at 1:19 PM

    It’s been a month since we launched our equity campaign and what a month it’s been!

    137 investors | $240k invested | Minimum target achieved | 3 days to go

    One hundred and thirty seven investors make up a very special group who believe in our mission, our team and our tech. 

    They say it better than we could, anyway:









    We are continuing to be humbled and encouraged by the level of support we’ve received and the calibre of people joining us as foundational investors. We thank you all!

    We aren’t lifting the foot from the accelerator, though. There are still three more days to go and we have the controls set for the max target. Do share the campaign with one or two friends or colleagues who you feel would get most excited about Thought-Wired. There is still time!

    > If you’re following this campaign and have not made up your mind–now is the time: http://pldg.me/tw
    You still have a chance to join the 137-strong community who believe that the world can be made universally accessible with our technology!
    Our campaign closes on Mon Sep 19th, 7pm sharp.

    Our stories & more

     

    Thanks for continuing to be awesome!

    The Thought-Wired team.

    Three weeks in, sights set on max!

    09/09/2016 at 2:57 PM

    Thanks to 112 investors who believe in us, our mission and our venture, we’re less than $17k away from meeting our minimum target! You daily blow us away with your considered, forward-thinking support!

    When we cross this threshold, those pledges become real investments, and the team will have the resources to push forward to our goal of launching the first commercial version of nous™ next year.

    Minimum threshold vs Maximum target

    Crossing the minimum threshold will be an excellent outcome, but together we can do more.

    We did not set our maximum funding goal at $350,000 arbitrarily. The closer we get to the maximum amount, the more we can do without distracting ourselves by needing to secure more funding. Every extra $25k means another month’s worth of brain-power hours to pump into building the best possible product and reaching more people who need it, faster.

    > If you have already invested, you’re a hero! What makes a hero into a super-hero? They keep doing more heroic things. Tell a few of your friends and colleagues about Thought-Wired, about nous™ and about your pledge, and you’ll be superifying your hero status! Thank you!

    > If you’re following this campaign and have not made up your mind about becoming an investor - now is the time: http://pldg.me/tw. Join the other 112 kind-hearted forward-thinkers who believe that the world can become universally accessible through our technology!

    Hot off the press this week

    NZ Innovation Awards Finalists

    We’re super excited and humbled to be selected as finalists for NZ Innovation Awards 2016 in two(!) categories: Innovation in Health & Science and Excellence in Social Innovation.  Check out the calibre of our fellow finalists on Idealog.

    The Everywhere Initiative by VISA Finalists

    Earlier today we also got word that we’ve been selected as a finalist for the Visa Everywhere Initiative! So we’re off to Sydney in two weeks’ time to compete for up to AUD$70,000. Exciting times!

    Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge TOP 500

    On top of all the local recognition, Thought-Wired’s been recognised internationally by the Hello Tomorrow Global Summit & Challenge.  It’s quite incredible to be selected alongside other top 500 deep-tech startups in the world!

    Upcoming events

    Auckland, Wednesday Sep 14th

    We’re coming back to GridAKL (101 Pakenham St West, Auckland Central) for an interactive demo session at the TechCafe. You'll be able to drive our thought-controlled robot with your mind, see nous™ in the flesh, and ask us your curliest questions between 11am and 1pm on September the 14th.

    > Details & RSVP at https://attending.io/events/thought-wired-gridakl-demo or on Facebook. Almost 50 people are already going!

    > Watch the recording of this week’s Wellington event on Youtube.

    In the media and on the blogs

     

    Thanks for continuing to be awesome!

    The Thought-Wired team.

    Two weeks, $166k and 83% of the minimum target. Wow!

    31/08/2016 at 4:30 PM

    Hello!

    Two weeks, $166k and 83% of the minimum target. Wow!

    96 kind-hearted, smart-headed investors have put us within lunging distance of our minimum target. At 200k the pledged investments become real and so does the dream of making the world accessible to the millions of people for whom it currently isn’t.

    At 200k we’ll be able to finish building nous™ v1, launch it in New Zealand and grow organically from there. But we won’t be taking our foot off the gas when we get to that minimum - if we make it to 350k we can prepare and execute a large-scale international launch of nous™ faster, and get the technology to more people who need it sooner.

    > If you’re following this campaign and still thinking of becoming an investor, time is fleeting - get in quick: http://pldg.me/tw 

    If you already invested, THANK YOU and congratulations – welcome to Thought-Wired, we know you’ll be very happy here!  Please consider spreading the word to your trusted networks about your excellent and good-hearted investment!

    Upcoming events

    We’ve a couple of events in the next two weeks for you.  You can find out more about us, ask us anything about the technology and the business, and even try nous™ interactive demos yourself!

    Wellington, Wednesday Sep 7th

    Dmitry is coming over to meet Wellingtonians on September the 7th. A meet and greet session will be hosted by the PledgeMe team at Southern Cross Garden Bar & Restaurant (39 Abel Smith St, Te Aro) from 5.30pm.

    > Please RSVP at https://attending.io/events/thought-wired-investor-meet-greet if you are attending in person

    > Save the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSNcmkXlJGg to catch the livestream

    Auckland, Wednesday Sep 14th

    We’re coming back to GridAKL (101 Pakenham St West, Auckland Central) for an interactive demo session at the TechCafe. You'll be able to drive our thought-controlled robot with your mind, see nous™ in the flesh, and ask us your curliest questions between 11am and 1pm on September the 14th.

    > Details & RSVP at https://attending.io/events/thought-wired-gridakl-demo

    In the media and on the blogs

    Sarv&Arian.jpg

     

     

     

    Thanks for continuing to be awesome!

    - Dmitry & the Thought-Wired team.

    We're over $120k!

    23/08/2016 at 3:31 PM

    Hello!

    Well.. can you believe we only launched on Wednesday? We can’t... So much has happened!

    We reached $120k!

    Here we are, not even one week later and we’ve passed the $120k mark! Given that our minimum target is $200k in order for these pledges to be a real and actual thing, we are totally thrilled with that. For us, watching that number go up and up has been like watching a Telethon. So exciting! If you’re one of the people who has already pledged - THANK YOU

    We really appreciate all of the support we’ve received so far. The sooner we get across the line the sooner we can start instigating our plans to get this technology to those who need it. 

    If you know anyone who might also be interested in supporting us, we’d love if you could share this campaign on.

    If you’re following this campaign and still thinking of becoming an investor, please get in quick: http://pldg.me/tw

    Leave it too late and you might miss your chance to become one of the original investors in Thought-Wired. You know, one of those visionaries who could see where the technology was going and got in on the ground floor.

    We were on TV!

    Oh and we may have mentioned (only a few million times on social media already) that we managed to get ourselves onto Seven Sharp on launch day. They did a pretty decent job of explaining what we’re about. If you haven’t watched it yet, here’s the link again. Please pass it on to others who haven’t heard about us yet:

    http://tvnz.co.nz/seven-sharp/mind-control-has-potential-help-severely-disabled-people-world-over-video-6486740

    We’re listening

    If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know by now that we develop nous™ by closely listening to feedback from our users. 

    We apply the same principle to everything else we do.

    We had some feedback that the summary metrics table that we used in our investment document (pages 2 and 8) and on our campaign page was confusing. So, we’ve taken another shot at it here:

    The numbers are still the same but should now be easier to follow. If you come across anything else in our documentation that makes you scratch your head, let us know!

    We’re always happy to answer your questions.

    Did you miss our launch event?

    If you missed your launch event, you may have heard that we demonstrated our technology on the night and everyone had heaps of fun with it. So if you couldn’t make the event but would like to see the technology for yourself, please get in touch. We’re arranging some casual events where you can drop in and try the technology and ask us questions. 

     

    Thanks for your continued support!

     

    - Dmitry & the Thought-Wired team.

      Offer Details

      Current Valuation 2,400,000
      Raise Minimum 200,000
      Raise Maximum 350,000
      Share Price 1.00
      Minimum Pledge 500.00
      Maximum Shares Offered 350,000
      Explanation of valuation:

      We have valued Thought-Wired at $2.4M (prior to the issue of investor shares).
      This is based on 4x projected revenue for the first full year of sales, which is the
      minimum multiplier expected in our industry.
      See our investment memo for detail.

      Financial Summary

      Prev Year Current Year Est. FY 2025 Est. FY 2026
      Revenue NZ $40,467 NZ $77,400 NZ $874,000 NZ $3,457,000
      Operating Expenses NZ $62,618 NZ $237,900 NZ $658,000 NZ $1,630,000
      EBITDA -NZ $38,808 -NZ $169,000 -NZ $210,000 NZ $44,000
      Net Profit -NZ $38,808 -NZ $170,000 -NZ $215,000 NZ $22,000

      Company Details

      Company Name: Thought-Wired Limited (registered as THOUGHT-WIRED LIMITED)

      Company Number: 3779156

      Companies Office URL: https://www.business.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/3779156

      Incorporation Date: 13 Apr 2012

      Company Status: Registered

      Entity Type: Registered

      Constitution Filed: Yes

      Annual Return Filing Month: June, last filed 03 Jun 2016

      Addresses:

      Registered Office 9 Prospect Terrace
      Silverdale
      Silverdale
      Address for Service 9 Prospect Terrace
      Silverdale
      Silverdale

      Company Documents

      Documents no longer available to download, as this campaign has closed

      Director Details

      Name Role Profile URL Invested?
      Dmitry Selitskiy CEO https://nz.linkedin.com/in/dselitskiy
      Konstantin Selitskiy Non-executive Director https://nz.linkedin.com/in/konstantinselitskiy
      Dr James Pau Product & Tech Lead https://nz.linkedin.com/in/james-pau-3241041b

      Hello are you able to provide an update on the investment? Thanks

      Posted on 29-08-2020 by Lisa Bell

      Hi Dmitry, it's Danny Squires here - looking good for your first target now! I'm keen to see the answers to Tim's earlier questions - are you able send these through to me please?

      Posted on 10-09-2016 by ecoArk Ltd

      Dmitry, I've been unable to access your Q&A response to Tim http://bit.ly/TwPmQA1 - would you please provide a valid hyperlink. Thanks Bevan

      Posted on 07-09-2016 by Bevan Wallace

      Hi Bevan.
      Apologies, indeed there's an issue with the link. We emailed you the answers direct. Hope this helps!

      Answered on 07-09-2016 by Dmitry Selitskiy


      Hi there. Is the IP action plan referred to in the IM available?

      Posted on 05-09-2016 by Finn

      Hi Finn.
      Please email directly to discuss. This is getting into strategy so we will not share this information publicly.
      Cheers, Dmitry

      Answered on 05-09-2016 by Dmitry Selitskiy


      Amazing work Dmitry and team. Well done for getting this far! I have been watching from afar for a while and am really interested in helping the company grow.

      I have a few questions (that you have probably asked of yourself a few times in the last few years!)

      Funding R&D/early sales growth:

      In your estimates, you have very aggressive sales targets. Do you think that you will be able to scale the business to move from an R&D-led company to a production and sales-led company?

      Much of your early revenue expectations rely on equity crowdfunding and R&D grants via Callaghan Innovation. What is the backup plan if those don't eventuate?

      Sales & marketing questions:

      How have you devised the total market size?

      Have you verified that your market is willing to use a subscription-based model for care?

      Are insurers be willing to fund a subscription to nous? Do you have the resources to undertake those negotiations to get nous to be an approved intervention?

      Do you have any keystone customers/partners that are willing to (part-)fund trials or medical-grade validation? As an outsider looking in, a natural local partner would be F&P Healthcare.

      Who are your distributors for offshore markets?

      What are your sales channels for offshore markets?

      What regulatory or trade barriers exist in those jurisdictions for EEG-type devices? Does the team have the legal capacity to push through them those barriers?

      Product questions:

      Do you have secure supply agreements for the 3rd party devices that you are intending to deploy with/for nous? What happens if one of the suppliers goes under?

      The company doesn't seem to have reserves to cover a possible (probable?) full product recall for its early products. Is that the case? What steps are being taken to mitigate that risk?

      Operational questions:

      Operating expenses seem to be fairly conservative. For example, you are modelling on 6 FTEs. Yet none of your current staff appear to be focused on production and/or customer support (see also the first question). Scaling to 10k customers within 3 years sounds hard.

      Posted on 02-09-2016 by Tim McNamara

      Hey Tim!
      These are excellent questions, thank you for taking the time.
      We took the time to address them as well. Being unable to format the answers here, I've put them in a neat list: http://bit.ly/TwPmQA1
      There are some details that I avoided going into publicly for commercial reasons. Happy to talk further offline in confidence. Cheers, Dmitry.

      Answered on 03-09-2016 by Dmitry Selitskiy


      Hi. With the gifting of the discount, is it possible for multiple investors to gift their discount to one person who needs it for a combined discount? Cheers. Malcolm.

      Posted on 01-09-2016 by Malcolm

      Hi, Malcom.
      Thanks for the great question. Yes, it may be possible unless you are already at the maximum 20% tier. We will need to confirm your exact situation and the final discount individually with you and your group. Happy to discuss further. My contact details are in the Investment Memorandum on the cover page. Cheers, Dmitry.

      Answered on 01-09-2016 by Dmitry Selitskiy


      Has there been other uses of the product considered? One good use would be to monitor long distance trucker to alert them before they fall asleep.

      Posted on 01-09-2016 by Chuck Bird

      Hi Chuck,
      Indeed, great idea! There's a lot of research into potential uses of such technology (EEG). There even has been a trial project in Australia looking at drivers' attention. Also, headsets like the ones we use, are being used in applications designed to improve people's ability to focus, for example for children with ADD/ADHD.
      From our perspective, we're open to such future opportunities and will leverage them to grow the business as long as it does not detract from our core purpose of enabling people with disabilities.
      Thanks for the question!

      Answered on 01-09-2016 by Dmitry Selitskiy


      Could I have more details on event on 7 Sept please.

      Posted on 31-08-2016 by Chuck Bird

      Hi Chuck,
      On the 7th I'll be over in Wellington to meet with anyone interested in our venture, the nous™ product and an opportunity to invest. The bulk of the time will be devoted to Q&A with people attending and wrapped up with an interactive demo of the current nous™ prototype.
      It is hosted by the PledgeMe team at at Southern Cross Garden Bar & Restaurant (39 Abel Smith St, Te Aro) from 5.30pm on Sep 7th.
      Please RSVP at https://attending.io/events/thought-wired-investor-meet-greet

      Hope this helps and we'll see you there!

      Answered on 31-08-2016 by Dmitry Selitskiy


      Will the technology be on display at Wednesday 7 event, if I brought my friend with cerebral palsy who is non-verbal but can write/type slowly,
      Has the technology been shown to add benefit for someone functioning at this level?

      Posted on 31-08-2016 by Rob Baker

      Hi Rob!
      Dmitry will have the demo set up with him exactly for a situation like this.
      That said, if your friend can slowly write or type, then nous™ ver. 1 would not be of huge benefit at this point in time as it is aimed at enabling basic communication to start with.
      We still encourage you to come and have a chat so we can see which future possibilities will be of benefit to your friend!

      Answered on 31-08-2016 by Dmitry Selitskiy

      Elton Chan
      08/09/2016 at 10:34am
      Keegan
      08/09/2016 at 9:42am
      Chris
      08/09/2016 at 12:04am
      Anna Guenther
      07/09/2016 at 5:52pm
      Dave Allison
      07/09/2016 at 5:51pm
      Rhys
      07/09/2016 at 12:00am
      Philippa Wadsworth
      06/09/2016 at 8:18pm
      Ruth
      06/09/2016 at 8:26am
      Fiona Sanggang
      04/09/2016 at 7:58am
      Marina Selitskaya
      02/09/2016 at 10:11pm
      David Wong & Yu Hwee Tan
      01/09/2016 at 9:25pm

      "Great stuff James & Team! "

      Minty Hunter
      01/09/2016 at 6:52pm
      Geoff Whitcher
      01/09/2016 at 9:48am

      "it is a wonderful concept, I will watch with interest as the project evolves"

      Nikhil Ambani
      31/08/2016 at 10:08pm
      Tim Bird
      31/08/2016 at 6:21pm
      Virginia Sharplin
      31/08/2016 at 11:43am
      Diana
      31/08/2016 at 11:32am
      Marilou Yu
      30/08/2016 at 11:48am
      Tu Nguyen
      29/08/2016 at 9:53pm
      Justine Pepperell
      29/08/2016 at 9:16pm

      "Love it - go well! "

      Susan
      29/08/2016 at 6:44pm
      Yun Hong Hua
      29/08/2016 at 3:10pm
      Patrick & Melanie
      29/08/2016 at 12:09am
      David Vaeafe
      28/08/2016 at 7:14pm
      Peter Maurice
      28/08/2016 at 6:42pm
      Sally Petersen
      28/08/2016 at 5:35pm
      Fred Pau
      28/08/2016 at 11:22am

      "Great work to date, incredible dedication, looking forward to see the life changing impact from nous!"

      Peter Thaleikis
      27/08/2016 at 9:48pm
      Kris
      27/08/2016 at 9:04am
      Graham Barker
      26/08/2016 at 9:36pm

      "Great work! Look forward to seeing your continued success."

      This campaign was successful and got its funding on 19/09/2016 at 7:00 PM.

      This campaign has closed, but this company may choose to do more equity raises on PledgeMe in the future. If you're interested in investing in Thought-Wired, you can sign up to be notified when a new equity campaign from this company is published.

      Notify Me

      Investor Perks

      Bronze

      NZ $500.00+

      Part ownership of Thought-Wired Limited with non voting shares. | 3% lifetime discount on nous™ subscription. | Recognition within nous™ and on our website.

      Silver

      NZ $1,000.00+

      Part ownership of Thought-Wired Limited with non voting shares. | 5% lifetime discount on nous™ and a one-off 5% discount on third-party products we resell. | Recognition within nous™ and on our website.

      Gold

      NZ $2,500.00+

      Part ownership of Thought-Wired Limited with non voting shares. | 10% lifetime discount on nous™ and a one-off 10% discount on third-party products we resell. | Recognition within nous™ and on our website.

      Platinum

      NZ $10,000.00+

      Part ownership of Thought-Wired Limited with non voting shares. | 20% lifetime discount on nous™ subscription and on third-party products we resell. | Recognition within nous™ and on our website.

      Warning statement about equity crowdfunding

      Equity crowdfunding is risky.

      Issuers using this facility include new or rapidly growing ventures. Investment in these types of business is very speculative and carries high risks.

      You may lose your entire investment, and must be in a position to bear this risk without undue hardship.

      New Zealand law normally requires people who offer financial products to give information to investors before they invest. This requires those offering financial products to have disclosed information that is important for investors to make an informed decision.

      The usual rules do not apply to offers by issuers using this facility. As a result, you may not be given all the information usually required. You will also have fewer other legal protections for this investment.

      Ask questions, read all information given carefully, and seek independent financial advice before committing yourself.