X-Message-Number: 9419
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 12:52:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: Money

On Tue, 7 Apr 1998, Perry Metzger wrote:

> I will state that they aren't being run in what I would term a
> businesslike manner, and that I personally believe growth would be
> fairly high if they were being run as a business.

I realize you believe this, but I don't see any evidence for your belief. 
Regardless of the way cryonics organizations are run, we do know that 
cryonics has received huge amounts of publicity over the years, and we 
know that this publicity generates relatively few inquiries (compared 
with other services). This suggests to me that most people simply are not 
ready to embrace the concept of cryonics yet, for whatever reason. In 
other words, we have a product that few people want to buy. Therefore the 
discussion of the manner in which the businesses are run is secondary. 
The primary question is whether our product can be sold at a profit. I 
believe at this time it cannot.

> With a real business plan, and real marketing, a cryonics organization 
> could easily make real money.

Where is the proof for this claim?

> Seriously, the money you are talking about isn't even enough to start
> a nice, big suburban supermarket. Obviously, people have managed to
> build suburban supermarkets, so money like this must be available.

Obviously the business of freezing people in expectation of renewed future
life is very different from running a suburban supermarket. Your
comparison is so far-fetched, it calls into question your other
statements. Groceries are something that any investor can understand, and
there is ample documentation suggesting the kind of return on investment
that one should expect. By comparison, cryonics is totally far-fetched to
most people, and there is no proof whatsoever that cryopatients can be
revived. It is not comparable to food retailing, semiconductors, or
anything else that I can think of. 

> Guess why. I WANT TO BE A CUSTOMER, NOT A "RELIGIOUS ZEALOT". I don't
> volunteer for my life insurance company. I don't volunteer for my
> automobile manufacturer (who's paint spraying robots each cost more
> than the $600,000 you are mentioning.) Why should I volunteer for my
> cryonics organiztion?

I feel exactly the same way. It became apparent to me however that public
resistance to the concept of cryonics is so high at this time, it's going
to be very difficult to run cryonics as a business. Therefore, in the
meantime, we're stuck with a nonbusiness model, which I dislike as much as
you. 

> There is no major secret here, either. Go out, find a good MBA with
> the soul of an accountant, put together a team and a business
> plan. Get a book on business plans first so you can see how they are
> written and learn a bit about VC so you can understand how it
> works. Then go to VC people with the thing. It may take you a couple
> of years to find the money, so its better to start quickly.

Thanks for the advice.

--Charles Platt

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=9419