Tomato Energy (Electric Only Supplier) - Too Good To Be True ?

QrizB

That's a typical technology start-up - produce a just-about-adequate product and sell it at a loss to build market share, then hope to be sold to a VC for $billions before the money runs out.

MWT

QrizB said:

That's a typical technology start-up - produce a just-about-adequate product and sell it at a loss to build market share, then hope to be sold to a VC for $billions before the money runs out.

Typical of an under-funded start-up for sure, and one of the things most likely to discourage a VC even if otherwise interested is a complex shareholding structure.

I really do like the idea they started with, just not the way they went about it....  

Bendo

MWT said:

Newbie_John said:

They also leave everything to very last minute and pay in the end like there is some kind of plan - get a sponsor, larger business client.. but need to delay the process as much as possible.

Right now I'd hope they were trying very hard to sell the parent, Senapt, as a potential Kraken competitor, and let Tomato die on the vine so to speak.

That will be a hard sell. 10 months on and they still can't manage the basics of interacting with adopted SMETS1 meters.

Their reference (and only) customer on the verge of losing their supply licence partly aided by Senapts product being rubbish. I can't see a big queue of people wanting to jump into that fire.

MWT

Bendo said:

MWT said:

Newbie_John said:

They also leave everything to very last minute and pay in the end like there is some kind of plan - get a sponsor, larger business client.. but need to delay the process as much as possible.

Right now I'd hope they were trying very hard to sell the parent, Senapt, as a potential Kraken competitor, and let Tomato die on the vine so to speak.

That will be a hard sell. 10 months on and they still can't manage the basics of interacting with adopted SMETS1 meters.

Their reference (and only) customer on the verge of losing their supply licence partly aided by Senapts product being rubbish. I can't see a big queue of people wanting to jump into that fire.

I never said it would be easy...

Newbie_John

Bendo said:

MWT said:

Newbie_John said:

They also leave everything to very last minute and pay in the end like there is some kind of plan - get a sponsor, larger business client.. but need to delay the process as much as possible.

Right now I'd hope they were trying very hard to sell the parent, Senapt, as a potential Kraken competitor, and let Tomato die on the vine so to speak.

That will be a hard sell. 10 months on and they still can't manage the basics of interacting with adopted SMETS1 meters.

Their reference (and only) customer on the verge of losing their supply licence partly aided by Senapts product being rubbish. I can't see a big queue of people wanting to jump into that fire.

It wouldn't need fixing in a first place if they started with Prime tariff for everyone and Lifestyle for those they can serve - SMET2 - similar to as Good Energy is doing it.

MWT

Newbie_John said:

Bendo said:

MWT said:

Newbie_John said:

They also leave everything to very last minute and pay in the end like there is some kind of plan - get a sponsor, larger business client.. but need to delay the process as much as possible.

Right now I'd hope they were trying very hard to sell the parent, Senapt, as a potential Kraken competitor, and let Tomato die on the vine so to speak.

That will be a hard sell. 10 months on and they still can't manage the basics of interacting with adopted SMETS1 meters.

Their reference (and only) customer on the verge of losing their supply licence partly aided by Senapts product being rubbish. I can't see a big queue of people wanting to jump into that fire.

It wouldn't need fixing in a first place if they started with Prime tariff for everyone and Lifestyle for those they can serve - SMET2 - similar to as Good Energy is doing it.

... but it does need fixing if Senapt have any aspirations to get other energy companies interested in the software...

Bendo

Newbie_John said:

Bendo said:

MWT said:

Newbie_John said:

They also leave everything to very last minute and pay in the end like there is some kind of plan - get a sponsor, larger business client.. but need to delay the process as much as possible.

Right now I'd hope they were trying very hard to sell the parent, Senapt, as a potential Kraken competitor, and let Tomato die on the vine so to speak.

That will be a hard sell. 10 months on and they still can't manage the basics of interacting with adopted SMETS1 meters.

Their reference (and only) customer on the verge of losing their supply licence partly aided by Senapts product being rubbish. I can't see a big queue of people wanting to jump into that fire.

It wouldn't need fixing in a first place if they started with Prime tariff for everyone and Lifestyle for those they can serve - SMET2 - similar to as Good Energy is doing it.

Well, it depends on how you define wouldn't need fixing. Now that SMETS 1 adoption is complete, meters that could not be adopted are supposed to be replaced.  There is an obligation on suppliers to be DCC users and be able to access their customers meters. It would probably be significantly more expensive to replace SMETS 1 meters than fix their buggy code.

Only accepting customers onto non smart tariffs doesn't get around the obligation to take smart readings.

Qyburn

MWT said:
. 

Not really...

Here is the whole story from a news piece in 2021...

https://www.newpower.info/2021/04/interview-is-electricity-retail-complicated-farouk-alhassan-says-no-he-wants-to-make-it-easy-for-suppliers-and-customers/

Note the author citing Bulb as an example of how a start up can make it.

MWT

Qyburn said:

MWT said:
. 

Not really...

Here is the whole story from a news piece in 2021...

https://www.newpower.info/2021/04/interview-is-electricity-retail-complicated-farouk-alhassan-says-no-he-wants-to-make-it-easy-for-suppliers-and-customers/

Note the author citing Bulb as an example of how a start up can make it.

Unfortunate choice for sure...

WibbleBaaaaaa

Newbie_John said:

Bendo said:

MWT said:

Newbie_John said:

They also leave everything to very last minute and pay in the end like there is some kind of plan - get a sponsor, larger business client.. but need to delay the process as much as possible.

Right now I'd hope they were trying very hard to sell the parent, Senapt, as a potential Kraken competitor, and let Tomato die on the vine so to speak.

That will be a hard sell. 10 months on and they still can't manage the basics of interacting with adopted SMETS1 meters.

Their reference (and only) customer on the verge of losing their supply licence partly aided by Senapts product being rubbish. I can't see a big queue of people wanting to jump into that fire.

It wouldn't need fixing in a first place if they started with Prime tariff for everyone and Lifestyle for those they can serve - SMET2 - similar to as Good Energy is doing it.

Well, i take my hat off to you sir, you stuck with TE despite the ongoing failed gloom and doom predictions of many, and so far you have been 100% correct in doing so, so my hat off to you sir, and hopefully come the winter TE have solved the last few issues and you are enjoying that 5p overnight heating tariff.