Recording of the meeting with Steve Orenstein from Locate is now up, and you can access the transcript here: Locate2U Transcript.pdf

Big picture, it feels like the business has taken time to find its footing. Zoom2U (essentially an Uber-style marketplace for deliveries) doesn't excite me much, especially given that the actual Uber and others already operate in this space. Locate2U seems more promising. The growth there has been encouraging, but it's still early days and they remain a very small player.

Given my stance on Bitcoin, I’m naturally supportive of their treasury move. But it does feel like an odd call for a business that’s not yet cash flow positive and is still raising capital via an ATM facility. To me, Bitcoin makes more sense as a treasury asset when you're flush with cash and don’t have any pressing capital needs -- or if you're trying to offer indirect Bitcoin exposure to certain pools of capital (like Strategy (MSTR) does). But Locate is tiny and illiquid, so that angle feels like a stretch.. at least for now.

That said, I don’t think Steve is being disingenuous. He’s clearly a committed Bitcoiner. I just question whether they’re at a stage where a permanent holding makes sense. If they are on the cusp of break-even, and can fund growth internally from here, it may turn out to be a brilliant move. I just hope they’re never forced to sell, because volatility could easily land them in a tough spot.

Either way, it’s a bold and noteworthy step.

I’m not a holder, but I’ll be watching. If we see sustained sales momentum, positive cash flow, and a disciplined approach to their Bitcoin strategy, that could change.

Zoom2U is in a trading halt:

As I mentioned in a Straw last week following our interview with the CEO, this was always a possibility given their cash burn and balance sheet.

It's a shame they need to do this at the current market price -- eg if they want to raise $5m, that's an extra 37m shares that need to be issued (about 21% of the current shares outstanding). And usually you need to entice the market with a discount too.

Still, will wait to see exactly what the details are before making any judgement.

A few quick notes following our meeting with founder and CEO Steve Orenstein.

First off, thanks @rh8178 for suggesting the business. I thought it was pretty interesting.

I thought Steve was very impressive. Clearly a successful and capable entrepreneur having built Connect2Field in 2010 and sold to Fleetmatics (NYSE:FLTX) just three years later.

He has 25% of the company, and seemed to be very product and customer focused. Also made some very sensible comments in terms of capital management (it's the return, not the spend that matters most).

They seem to have really gained momentum -- a result of having (quite cleverly) nurtured and accelerated a solid network effect.

Sales are obviously growing very strongly, and it seems very noteworthy that enterprise level customers are being onboarded (Bunnings, Decathlon etc). There's also a very strong tailwind in terms of industry dynamics, and I think they will prove to be a very appealing offer to Uber drivers and the like who are looking for additional sources of revenue.

Cash burn is an issue -- even if the money is being put to good use. I suspect they will need to raise cash in the next year or so even though Steve is very cost focused.

It's on my watchlist.