Fun fair — SteemCN

An end of year update from David Greyling, COO FunFair Technologies.

Introduction
An exciting 2018
FunFair as a Business
Three Pillars of Success
Summary & Conclusion

Introduction

What a phenomenal 6 months it has been for FunFair!

Since June we have grown the team by over 500%, released over 5 product updates, won the Malta iGaming ICO of the year award, participated as the Global Sponsor of Devcon3, where we received huge accolades for our ground-breaking Fate channels, all of which whilst delivering against our ICO roadmap set out in June.

Moreover, we have made significant progress on our 2018 vision as well as the building blocks required to help us achieve our objective of delivering blockchain technology to the $60bn gambling industry.

We have ambitious plans and we continue to invest accordingly. This week alone we have secured four more hires in our technology, game design and administration teams. Combined with current vacancies, of which there are an additional 20 positions, our headcount is set to rise to approximately 50 team members by the end of Q1 2018.

We are also fortunate to have Stefan Kovach join us, in a consultancy capacity, to help with the development of our business strategy, plus brand and marketing activities. Stef is an industry executive with a wealth of experience, having headed up the marketing functions of both PokerStars and bwin.party – two of the biggest brands in online gambling.

Talent acquisition and retention is key to our success and we will continue to focus on creating a friendly and creative working environment that facilitates innovation.

An exciting 2018

We have ambitious plans and we believe that we are in a unique position to deliver disruptive technology to the Gambling industry. To do this we need to scale our team, whilst keeping our end-users’ needs at the forefront of product development.

We are making good progress with this and look forward to sharing with you how we intend to structure and run the product teams in the new year.

Our primary goal for the start of 2018 is the public release of the first FunFair blockchain casino. This will entail a new lobby, updates to our proprietary Fate Channels, new gaming content and a brand new design interface. We are already engaging with operators and affiliates, who have demonstrated significant interest in our technology, and will be working towards on-boarding a partner for a Q2 release. Our ideal partner will work alongside our teams to iterate and enhance the technology, in order to allow us to establish a rollout plan for H2. In return, we will offer access to innovative blockchain technology and a growing cryptocurrency community.

High level 2018 Outlook:

Q1:

In January we will be submitting to the UK Gambling Commission our application for a Remote Gambling Software License.
In February we will be attending ICE Gaming, an international B2B conferencing event, where we will be introducing the FunFair brand to the gaming industry.
By the end of March V1 of the FunFair blockchain casino nears completion. This release will allow for real FUN to be used on the Main Ethereum Network for the first time.
Q2:

Operator On-Boarding: Deploying the FunFair casino in partnership with a friendly operator; objective: learn, adapt & iterate the technology as part of a soft launch.
Further product enhancements and features will continue to be worked on and, as we scale, we expect to introduce more regular product releases.
Engaging with 3rd party game developers, publishing API documentation and sample games and contracts.
Q3-4:

Product feature enhancements and further operator on-boarding.
Comprehensive operator reporting and administration tools.

FunFair as a Business

From a pure business perspective, we are stronger than ever, having spent the past two months establishing the core of the operation. This effort included a review of the corporate structure for the operating entity and identification of the markets where we intend to apply for gambling licences.

We have therefore instructed lawyers and are, in some cases, liaising directly with the gambling commissions in the United Kingdom, Malta and Gibraltar with a view to achieving licensure at some point during the first part of 2018.

Unlike many of the other blockchain projects in the space we see the complexity of the fractured legislative landscape as an opportunity to help educate regulators, particularly in the more reputable jurisdictions, about the benefits of the technology from a regulatory oversight point of view.

It goes without saying that establishing the legal basis for offering our services is particularly important, as we begin to engage with operators for launching our products in the new year.

I am also pleased to let you know that we have formalised our finance and accounting procedures. This is an area many start-ups tend to neglect and by ensuring that the correct controls are established at the very beginning, the business has the required foundation to support future successes.

Furthermore, our treasury is in very good health and over the past month we have streamlined our holdings. We converted our remaining Bitcoin holdings into a rising market and currently hold 85,000 ETH and 4.45BN FUN, with a year’s worth of fiat currency to cover our operating expense.

Recently we sold some FUN tokens to an institutional investor utilising 250M of the annual 1BN allotment. This was an exception, as we do not intend to reduce our FUN holdings for the foreseeable future, unless a strategic target suddenly presents itself.

In summary we have a very strong financial basis to help us accomplish our mission, whilst also allowing us the ability to respond to investment opportunities as the technology landscape rapidly evolves.

Three Pillars of Success

When I joined the FunFair team I committed to establishing a foundation for success; one that attracts the best talent, focuses on the customer and creates an environment which underpins our hunger as a start-up.

We operate in a competitive landscape and it is our ambition and drive as a team, which sits at the core of our ability to deliver on our promises.

It is the combination of these factors that will allow us to deliver our product roadmap and the services that we want our customers to enjoy.

A strategy that can be summarised as the FunFair Pillars of Success:

Operational excellence

How we operate as a team; focusing on product quality and delivery capability
How we treat our Token holders and our Business partners; transparency in everything we do
Product Capability

Be the best; in driving product innovation & value, not for the sake of technology, but with the goal of delivering engaging customer experience
People & Culture

Attract the best talent, retain the best talent
Be friendly, have fun, and enable a creative environment that naturally drives innovation

Summary & Conclusion

We have enjoyed a very successful start to our new business, and we remain hungry and excited about bringing our product to the wider market in 2018. We are full of ideas and passion to deliver ground breaking blockchain technology which can add real value to gambling consumers globally. We now have a business structure in place that will enable us to succeed in the delivery of that vision.

On behalf of the entire FunFair team I’d like to thank all our supporters and advisors for their continued support and trust throughout the year.

Enjoy the holidays, and we’ll see you in the new year.

Thanks for reading!

David Greyling & the FunFair Team