Ex-CEO von Dziobak Larp Studios bittet um Unterstützung

Viele kleine Unternehmen kennen das: Am Ende des Jahres häufen sich viele Ausgaben und selbst, wenn das Jahr an sich gut lief, kann die Liquidität etwas leiden. Falls man jedoch noch ein paar Rückschläge verkraften musste, kann es auch schon richtig eng werden.

So geht es derzeit den Dziobak Larp Studios, der Firma hinter vielen beliebten Cons wie dem College of Wizardry, Convention of Thornes oder Fairweather Manor. Nach einem geplatzten Zusammenschluss mit Imagine Nation Collective und dem Abgang eines Produktionsteams zum Ende des Jahres ist es um die Liquidität zum Jahresende nicht gut bestellt.

Um hier schnelle und unbürokratische Hilfe innerhalb der Community zu leisten, hat Claus Raasted Harløvsen, der ehemalige Geschäftsführer der Dziobak Larp Studios kurzerhand einen Finanzierungsaufruf gestartet. Die Idee ist, Dziobak Larp Studios mit kleinen privaten Darlehen mit maximal dreimonatiger Laufzeit auszuhelfen. Diese sollen von Mitgliedern der Larpszene kommen und dürften wesentlich leichter zu erhalten sein, als größere Summen von wenigen Investoren. Wer bereit ist, Dziobak über eine kurze Laufzeit finanziell zu unterstützen, darf sich gerne direkt an Claus wenden, der potentielle Unterstützer mit weiteren Infos versorgt und die Finanzierung koordiniert.

Dear network

The elephant is doing a balancing act indeed.
I am in a weird situation, and am asking for help because of it. I do this knowing how taboo a subject money is, and posting this from waaay into the uncomfortable zone. Still, I’d rather ask and feel uncomfortable than not try at all.

So here’s the situation.

Dziobak Larp Studios (the company behind College of Wizardry, Fairweather Manor, Convention of Thorns, COEE and more) is in a rough spot cash flow wise.

Simply put, we got through our 2018 event season while skirting dangerously close to the edge, and we’re doing a massive restructuring right now. After a merger with Imagine Nation Collective that got cancelled in the 11th hour (due to mutual agreement – no hard feelings there on either side) and a production team that’s leaving here at the end of the year, we find ourselves in a position where huge changes are happening.

This is good, since it means we can take some of the learnings of the last four years and apply them to how we run the company. Yay. Happy smiles and woohoo.

However, it also means that we’re in a strange place right now. On one hand, the future is looking better and better – fewer expenses, bigger b2b projects and more solid economy behind the larp projects. On the other hand, we have been „in flux“ for almost a year now, and while we’ve still run cool events and interesting projects, we’re feeling the cash flow issues biting us in the ass.

Ironically, things are looking up and moving in the right direction FAST. Just not fast enough.

So where am I going with this long ramble? Well, right now, we have salaries to pay for the people leaving, so they can get a proper sendoff and not be left hanging. We have castles and bus companies to pay, and we have a hundred small costs that all need to be paid now. Meanwhile, most of our money is coming in from b2b projects, and this close to Christmas, companies usually shut down outgoing payments and thus become very hard to get money out of.

To sum up – we’re doing better than we have been (ever), but we’re in cash flow trouble. And that’s why I’m doing what I did a year ago. I am asking for help.

Last time I did so, it produced a solid amount of money (some of which has been paid back to angel investors already and some which is scheduled for payback later). Whether that’s the case this time as well or not… well, there’s no way to find out but try, right?

Bottom line: If you are willing and able to help with a short term loan (for a month or three), then I will be grateful. Because then I can lend the company money. And indirectly, some pretty awesome people will be grateful, since we’ll then use the money to pay them. 

And if you don’t have the finances and/or the inclination, that is totally understandable. Sending some merry Christmas spirit my way will also be appreciated!

Cheerful, if deeply uncomfortable greetings from Claus

.– Claus Raasted Harløvsen

Kontakt: claus.raasted@gmail.com

Artikelbild: ©Teilzeithelden/Dziobak Larp Studios