April 3 Update 11pm: Get the pigs fitted for their wings!

Hey Everyone!

So here we are! 3 weeks since I decided to register owntheleafs.ca and begin chasing the dream.

This is what we have accomplished to date:

1) Media: CRAZY!!! MacLean’s has it in their newsmakers section in the April 11 issue on page 10 so check it out. You know the rest… Toronto Star Front Page, CTV National News with Lloyd Robertson. Sun Media, Blogs

All toll, it has been 32 media interviews.

2) Website: version 2.0 is now up and running. Hope you like the welcome video and the cleaner design.

3) Email marketing: next blast will go out Monday night.

4) Legal: This is where it is getting interesting. A social media campaign is great to raise awareness and pledges. The real challenge comes when you start asking REAL people for their REAL $$. I have never taken anything more seriously than how we can structure this to make it a win-win-win. This being said, it is a much slower process but once we have the ability to accept real $$, I believe we will hit the goal quickly.
I believe we are very close to being taken seriously as a legitimate bidder for the 66% share.

5) Sleep: Haven’t had much of it since we started this ride. Thanks for all your emails and encouragement. Imagine enrolling in a boot camp that you didn’t know you were being enrolled in until the instructor was yelling at you to get out of bed at 5:15am and explain to people why you are there :) Except it wasn’t a boot camp instructor, it was Newstalk radio in Toronto wondering what the ()#$* am I thinking? Did I mention I have a family and actual work committments too??? :)

It has been an amazing ride so far and I look forward to this dream coming true.

The next step is going to be even more scary than talking on live television in Toronto (which has been described as the Vatican of Hockey). Imagine submitting an offer to the Pope telling him why you as one catholic should be able to buy Vatican City. So, here we are, sitting in the Pope’s office waiting to find out if he would entertain our offer!!!

After that, now we only have the small step of setting a fund that will allow us to accept your $$.

You are all going to learn along with me and any input you have is more than welcome!

Do dreams come true? Get the pigs fitted for their wings! Because here we come!

Believe in the Dream!

Darren

8 thoughts on “April 3 Update 11pm: Get the pigs fitted for their wings!

  1. Great job on getting this going. Will the funds be transferred to a large law firm? Thinking it may be most acecpted to have a strong firm brand accept and hold the money in trust. Might really help you get off the ground and ensure people are taking this seriously and realize their money is secure if things do not work out. Just a thought.

    • Aaron,

      Great ideas! definitely going to do it the most legitimate way we can so people feel the most secure. This is the reason it is taking a little longer to start accepting funds. Want to do it right!

  2. It’s a great idea, but does it have to be $1000? Someone like myself can’t afford to drop 1k on something like this.

    • One need only see how much money the Leafs have piled up for decades of complete mediocrity (at best) & repulsive, cynical, cash grabs and you’ll quickly realize that $1,000 is a bargain at twice the price. It might just be the safest investment there is out there today.

      If it helps, just think of how much money of yours the Leafs already have. Imagine if that money stayed in your pocket instead.

      Anything less than a $1,000 wouldn’t demonstrate the level of commitment needed to finance such an operation. Anything less could serve as a donation to a cause, perhaps, but not a “level headed financial investment”. In fact, $1,000 is probably far too low for the financial crowd to take seriously, even with a million or more pledges, but here’s hoping.

  3. Great job so far…will you be prioritizing people who have expressed interest in buying shares of whatever legal structure is setup? I work in securities and though I am not a lawyer I don’t see how potential investors would be allowed to purchase shares without a prospectus, but that would make buying shares a public race…those with more pull with whichever broker your entity takes on will have access to shares first. I for one have signed up and would love to buy shares, I just hope I’ll get a chance once the structure is up and running.

    Thanks for clarifying based on your discussions with your legal team.

    Gaby

    • Hey Gaby!

      Thanks for your question. We are getting the prospectus together now that we know our bid would be taken seriously. It is quite an investment in time and money to even get a prospectus together. To answer your other question, all comments need to be approved and I just haven’t been here to reply and approve it. Thanks!

      Darren

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